Today I bought a new Wifi dongle.
My old dongle died… and / or was orphaned when my Lunix Mint updated the OS. In any event, I needed a new one.
A “dongle” is something that you plug into your computer. Like though a USB port.
Wifi is exactly that. While my laptop has a builtin wifi, I am running Lunix Mint, and the chipset is Microsoft Windows propriety.
American versions were about 10x the price of their Chinese versions. So I bought a dongle out of Shenzhen. It’s a good unit.
I bought a nice 2.5G / 5G / 6G version. It ran me about $10 us (65 yuan). The American version is about 800 yuan + taxes + 25% import tax. Is limited to 4G. No 5G and 6G.
The American version is ten times more expensive, and has less functionality.
The Chinese version is AWESOME!
It runs on Ubuntu. Which is a Linux distro.
- Lunix
- …Ubuntu
- ……Lunix Mint
- ………Lunix Mint Cinnamon
When it was plugged in, nothing happened. Bummed me out, but I didn’t freak. And calmly looked up on Lunix.
But I went on a Lunix forum, and followed the instructions found there….
I ran…
inxi -Fxxxrz && rfkill list && lsusb && mokutil --sb-state
I figured that I had previous bad or broken versions. So a clean-out might be necessary.
Followed by…
apt --fix-broken installThen I ran the commands to pull the driver from the Ubuntu repositories, and then the Linus Mint translation runs…
sudo apt update sudo apt install build-essential git dkms git clone https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU.git cd rtl8821CU chmod +x dkms-install.sh sudo ./dkms-install.sh
I then rebooted and started the system up. And it worked!
Made my day!
Today…
From Phil
What screams “I’m low class”?
My little girl goes to a preschool and she has little cute friends there.
Since it is the time of winter vacation, they had a small cute little party on the last day of school before the break. They had a performance, where almost every child performed (except one who refused to smile and was upset with his mummy over something- he was so cute).
Anyway, after the performance, there was an arrangement for refreshments too. Some was arranged by the school and some were contributions.
Since it is a preschool and children studying in the school are 25–30, arrangements were done accordingly.
When the food was served, I took a plate, added a cupcake for my girl, a cracker, grape-cheese stick, a cookie and a very small piece of cake. I took it and led my girl to a chair where we ate from the same plate.
There was another mother who sat next to me. She brought two immensely full plates. I don’t really mind people filling their plates as long as they can finish the food but her girl took a bite of a cookie and left entire things as it was and she had cakes and muffins and then she said, “Oh! I can’t finish it off. Too much sugar. I guess I will have to leave that. See, even my girl didn’t eat a thing. She insisted to get muffins and cakes and chips and now she doesn’t want to eat”.
I was astounded. How could someone be so inconsiderate. We all could see that food spread on the table was meant for everyone present there. That was the reason I took refreshments, not a meal. This woman had no guilt over wasting so much food. Why did she take such big portions in the first place? Even my girl wanted two cupcakes but I suggested that she have to finish the first and if required we would take the other one of different colour. She agreed and chose a pink one!
The same lady was also talking about how she purchased three umbrellas because she didn’t like the colour of the first or the style of the second, how she purchased clothes worth 500 dollars for her three-year-old in a single day, how she overspends on weekly groceries, what she shops and from which brand et cetera.
Similarly, there was another lady who overfilled her child’s plate and left her eating while she had her share.
We all know how little a three-year- old eats. Even if the child is very hungry, let him/her finish some portion first and then refill. We have no right to waste food. It makes you look so uncool even if you carry Kate Spade bags and wear Zara blazers.
The Lost Episode of Star Trek
Fan mashup. Oddball.
What would be the response of the United States if, sometime in the future, Chinese warships are floating just off the coast of California?
In August 2023 a group of 11 Russian and Chinese warships conducted “exercises” near Alaska’s outlying islands. They were tracked by US Navy destroyers but remained in international waters which was perfectly legal. It made page 5 of the Washington Post (below the fold). In September 2022 a convoy of three Chinese and four Russian vessels, including a destroyer and a guided missile cruiser passed by the US island of Kiska (near Alaska). It was shadowed by a US Coast Guard cutter but nobody got too offended.
Pictured below Russia’s Viktor Leonov (SSV-175) an armed surveillance vessel that loves to loiter just outside the 12 mile limit of US territorial waters along the east coast. Or, as the question puts it “floating just off the coast”. Some of its favorite spots are the US naval bases at Norfolk, New London and Cape Canaveral. It has been doing this for years.
Apparently it occasionally gets bored with “floating just off the coast” and tries to break the 12 mile limit, in particular disrupting commercial shipping lanes. What has the US done about these repeated unbearable provocations that hurt the feelings of the American people? The Leonov is shadowed by a US Navy destroyer, lately the USS Mahan, whose primary task is to tell the Russian vessel to get the hell back outside the limit. That’s the response when alien warships are “floating just off the coast”.
Below is the AGI Yantar, a Russian vessel optimized for intelligence gathering and mounting deep sea submersibles. It likes to hang around the east coast underseas cables. One more thing for 2d Fleet to keep track of.
FWIW: we’ve had Russian nuke boats cruising around for decades now and managed not to get overly excited about it. They usually get shadowed by 2d Fleet but that’s about it. There is a debate over whether current Russian sub activity off the E. Coast is greater or lesser than it was in Soviet days.
Green Acres – Old Mail Day (Part 1 of 2)
What feature in your car did you not realize you had until someone else told you about it?
Dad was straight Chevy/GMC product. I was strictly Ford. 2002 we changed places and neither of us were happy. He had a book of somewhat minor but annoying problems right from the start. He had the car for a few months. Went to pick up his grandson from school one day. On the way home, grandson made to roll the window down. Did not budge. As soon as he dropped him off, he zipped straight to the dealer. He wasn’t as gentle shutting the door as normal. Stepped up to the counter and proceeded to read them the riot act working in the point that he never had problems like this with his Chevys through the years. They told him to go to the waiting room where there was a fresh pot of coffee and sit back. They would check it out right then. He stormed in there poured his coffee, his butt brushed the chair seat not even fully seated yet when the tech opened the door telling him he was good to go. He exploded. You haven’t even had the time to pull it around yet and you’re telling me it’s ready??? I can’t believe you’d even think of trying that. I’m so fed up. It takes 3–4 trips in to fix anything and now it’s fixed in 30 seconds? Tech just grinned and asked him to come out to the drive. Put him in the driver’s seat telling him to position himself as if he was driving. Tech walks over to the passenger side to show him the window is working. Dad is flabbergasted. Tells the tech he knows that wasn’t working when he came in so what was wrong? Well sir, turn your head to see just where your arm is now. Looking under your elbow, do you see that switch? That’s a lockout button for all the windows so that kids can’t play with the windows. With that switch activated, the switches in the other doors are bypassed and will not work. Redfaced, embarrassed, he was apologizing for his attitude. Asked them what he owed for a checkout fee. They laughed it off telling him the entertainment value he brought in more than paid for it.
Do lottery winners ever regret winning?
In 1960, after winning over $100,000 in the lottery, a sum equivalent to around $3 million today’s money.
A thing that could have been a cause for celebration for many became a curse for Australian Bazil Thorne.
His winnings set the stage for a harrowing sequence of events, propelled into motion when newspapers, in a spectacular breach of privacy, splashed Thorne’s details across their front pages.
Shortly after, his son, Graeme Thorne was kidnapped for ransom.
The kidnapper stated: “I have your boy. I want £25,000 before 5 o’clock this afternoon. I’m not fooling. If I don’t get the money before 5 o’clock, I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.”
The situation spiraled out of control as the kidnappers panicked upon realizing the police were involved.
In a desperate and senseless act, they murdered young Graeme before the exchange could occur.
On Tuesday 16 August, nearly six weeks after the kidnapping, Thorne’s body was finally discovered hidden on vacant land, sending shock waves across the nation.
The meticulous police investigation culminated in the apprehension and conviction of the perpetrator, Stephen Bradley, a Hungarian immigrant.
The trial, lasting nine days, resulted in Bradley receiving penal servitude for life, the severest sentence available in New South Wales for murder at the time.
This heartbreaking story reverberated beyond personal grief as it spurred a permanent change in Australia’s laws, cloaking the identities of lottery winners in anonymity to protect them from such fates.
With what I’ve heard and read about past winners, this sudden wealth that many fantasize about might just as swiftly transform into a curse for some.
Refuel Café Louisiana Buffalo Shrimp
Forget the wings! Now you can have delicious Buffalo Shrimp.
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 5 ounces Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 1/2 pound whole butter, cold, unsalted, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 pound jumbo Louisiana shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 6 cups oil, preferably canola
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, reduce the hot sauce until thick, add the heavy cream, bring to a boil, and lower the heat.
- Over low heat, stir in the butter in stages, keeping the sauce hot the whole time. Set aside, but make sure it stays hot.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees F.
- Whip the eggs and add the milk for an egg wash.
- Bread the shrimp by rolling them into the flour, then dipping them into the egg wash, and rolling them in flour again.
- Fry shrimp in the hot oil for 3 minutes (depending on the fryer).
- Remove shrimp from oil and dry with a napkin.
- Put shrimp in a large bowl, add the reserved sauce, and toss.
- Plate the shrimp, draining most of the sauce from the shrimp as you do so, and top with bleu cheese crumbles.
When was the last time you cried and why?
Yesterday actually. I was coming out of a store and I heard something behind me. When I looked back I saw a family behind me of two young girls, a mother, and father. They were white. The two girls were acting like monkeys and making monkey sounds. The mother and father were laughing. I got in my truck which was facing them and started it up. I really wasn’t sure who the gestures were being directed at until they did it again just before getting in their car which was right in front of mine while looking at and laughing at me. I looked at the mother and father and, as the mother laughed, I looked at the father just to see if he actually saw and was okay with what they were doing. The smirking sneer on his face said everything. They meant for me to see that. To feel that. And although I have confronted racism and racist people before, I think it was the kids doing what they did that hurt me more than I had felt it before. The mere fact that kids had been taught that kind of nastiness and that it was being deliberately directed at me for no other reason than I’m black just brought immediate tears to my eyes. I couldn’t even help it. I looked the other way so they wouldn’t see me.
Green Acres – Eb & The Flying Saucer
WARS ARE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANS, ANIMALS AND NATURE
EDITOR’S NOTE
So it finally happened. The US Empire literally overextended itself in lies and conflicts, and ended up showing the world it is no longer a credible Hegemon.
Undeniably, the epochal turning point, so eagerly awaited in the Global South, came when Russia’s armies clearly defeated—against massive derogatory prognostication—the military might of the collective West in Ukraine, a gigantic accomplishment, while China quietly became the most powerful industrial engine in history. What’s probably most embarrassing to the West’s ruling cliques, those still capable of self-reflection, is that the rapid emergence of these two formidable peer powers resulted in large measure from pathetic policy errors that could have been easily avoided. Washington and its criminally complicit allies didn’t have to lose their supremacy so quickly, but greed, contempt for life and truth, and terminal corruption, not to mention the mounting, incurable ills of capitalism, their true religion, took their toll and imperial arrogance did the rest. The US and the EU are now tottering, flailing about on the world stage, showing the ravages of massive leadership failure. Dangers aside, this is good for the rest of humanity.
Washington’s problem is systemic and organic. That’s why in the midst of this self-inflicted crisis the West’s huge disinformation machine is showing signs of disarray. The totalitarian degree of censorship and deception required to deny the truth about Ukraine and now Israel apparently stressed and finally broke the walls protecting the official narrative, and now the truth, so long repressed, is pouring out from a million places like a mighty tsunami. Since truth improves the chances of survival for everyone, this is to be celebrated.
Ironically, the unmasking of the Empire occurred because Israel—Washington’s pampered Zionist protegé—has behaved in such a manically depraved way, its criminal acts so cowardly, repugnant, and unrelenting, that even parts of the mainstream media have begun to crack under public pressure and report, however gingerly, vital truths. This has sufficed to show the sheer evil, blatant hypocrisy and complicity of the Empire, further shredding the remnants of its reputation. The upshot is that the onetime feared American Empire—from its core to its satrapies—is now stuck in a multilayered, multipronged crisis, not the kind of crisis that a pathetically mediocre and often half-delusional leadership can handle. The world can do a lot better than this, and with just a little bit of luck, it will. —PG
IMPORTANT: The Greanville Post is today the best edited and annotated hybrid “aggregator” of anti-imperialist articles in the anglophone world (we print original and external materials). Don’t let it die at a moment when a victory in the battle of communications for a new type of world is more crucial than ever. Mass political enlightenment precedes mass mobilisation.
What does “not for hire” mean on trucks?
Ah, “Not For Hire.” This is actually an interesting piece of trucker lingo that can lead to a bit of confusion if you’re not in the know.
So, when you see “Not For Hire” emblazoned on the side of a truck, it’s basically saying that the truck, along with its driver, is not available for commercial services. It’s like a taxi with a “Off Duty” light, except the truck was likely never on duty to begin with.
Why display this, you ask?
Well, it has to do with regulations. Commercial trucks are governed by a slew of regulations that include commercial licenses, logs, maintenance standards, inspections, and insurance requirements. When a truck is “for hire,” it means it’s operating under a commercial entity that conforms to these regulations and is available to transport goods for others for a fee.
A “Not For Hire” truck, on the other hand, is typically privately owned, and they’re declaring that they’re not subject to the same degree of government oversight because they’re not making money from transporting goods. This might be a business transporting its own products, like a farmer taking his produce to market, or a company truck carrying equipment to a job site.
The designation helps law enforcement and other authorities quickly identify what kind of regulations to enforce with that particular vehicle. After all, nobody wants to get bogged down in paperwork for no reason – the truck isn’t a commercial service, so it doesn’t need the same level of scrutiny.
And for any would-be regulators or officers eyeing the rig with thoughts of a potential infraction, that sign is saying, “Move along, nothing to see here.” It’s a bit of a bureaucratic force field.
But let’s be clear, “Not For Hire” doesn’t grant immunity from all laws; these trucks still have to comply with safety regulations and general traffic laws. It just means they’re not engaging in the business of hauling other people’s stuff around for profit.
When push comes to shove, “Not For Hire” trucks are just out there doing their own thing, not soliciting commercial transport business, and hence they’re playing by a slightly different set of rules. It’s one of the many nuances of the road that keeps things interesting – and complicated. Just like life, right?
Whats the most humbling thing you’ve seen your father do?
My Dad walked to and from work everyday. He also walked home and back at lunch time.
I didn’t give a thought to his habit of walking. Growing up in a small town, we all walked , more so than other places. We never had a huge distance to get somewhere. Or to get back.
Mom got her drivers license after she was 40. We had always traveled in my dad’s fuel truck if we needed transportation. Mom couldn’t and wouldn’t drive it. In warm weather, my sister and I rode on the outside of the truck.
It had little cubicles we could fit down into. On rural trips, we often rode on the front.
When Standard Oil sold, Dad changed jobs and we got a Plymouth. A big boat of a car! Unless we were unable to get somewhere on foot, it sat at home.
My father walked that road to and from the school where he worked, rain or shine. Hot days and snowy, freezing cold days. He never missed a day of work.
When cancer invaded my dad’s body, he became unable to care for himself. It was heart wrenching to see him humiliated by others seeing him so vulnerable. Modesty was only one thing he had to let go of.
During his illness, I saw his poor misshapen, swollen knees. He had never said a word about his painful knees to any of us kids.
Mom said he suffered terribly because of this for years.
I was saddened and humbled by what he did to provide for all of us.
Miss you papa.
Green Acres – Old Mail Day (Part 2 of 2)
Why and how do so many people actually trust the vaccine?
Being Icelandic, and being so few people here, we are more in touch and know our story quite well.
Our graveyards are full of these. 6 siblings that died in a span of a month. Every spring, what was known as child illness moved across the country and took kids everywhere. Parents were helpless and could just cry as they lost all their kids. Even I am connected to these poor kids. The parents did have more kids and most of them became adults. The illness was called diphtheria. One relative of mine has over 20 kids which all were lost to this decease and in the end they had 2 kids that survived.
This was harrowing and unmeasurable sadness.
Since the late 1940–1950, we haven’t had any such illnesses. Nothing. Polio is unheard of but is making a comeback.
People are simply idiots, morons and easily convinced of stupid things. Propaganda works.
If Magnus and Ingibjörg, the parents of the above children could tell you anything, they would tell you to vaccinate your children.
There is a saying that no one should bury their children, yet there is a group of people who seemingly are anxiously waiting to do that.
But here is the sad part. The top antivaxers, the people on TV in interviews and “news hosts”, who tell people to not get vaccinated, they are all vaccinated themselves. That includes Robert Kennedy jr.
Can I get a meal when I travel to China?
Hi, Sinkei428. Thanks for the interesting question.
Of course you can!
As long as you have money and a mobile phone with which to scan the food seller’s QR code and make a mobile payment, you can have as many meals as you want!
Food can be very cheap and affordable here, so feel free to splurge and eat as much as you like.
The 肉夹馍 (Ròujiāmó, a.k.a. Chinese burger) shown in the picture below is filled with stewed pork and eggs and only costs 8 yuan (USD 1.12)
You can add some 凉皮 (Liángpí, cold skin noodles) and snacks to make it a more substantial meal.
Should set you back no more than 15 – 20 yuan (USD 2.10 – 2.80)
You can also use a variety of apps to have food delivered to you.
Food is literally at your fingertips 24/7.
3
Red Fish Grill Remoulade
Ingredients
- 1/2 bunch chopped parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 bunch green onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup Creole mustard
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh horseradish
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except for the vegetable oil, in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
- Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil with the blender or food processor still running.
- Season to taste with salt.
My boss asked me, “Were you born stupid or did you just grow that way”? How should I answer him politely?
I had an old boss speak to me that way. I made a mistake and said , “I’m sorry.” He responded, “You’re right. You’re sorry. Your a pathetic excuse for a human being.”
I was fresh out of high school. Very shy. And this 40+ year old man just ripped me a new one. I looked at him, and told him “I apologized. I made a mistake. But it is not okay for you to speak to me that way.” And I walked away. He later came and apologized to me. He was retired military and had a habit of speaking to employees that way. He never did it to me again.
On another occurrence, I had another employer be rude and disrespectful in front of an all staff meeting. She shushed me during the meeting when I brought up an idea. Then after went into her office. I told her that, “that her actions at the meeting were not acceptable. You tell me how valuable I am to the organization then treat me like you don’t want me here.” She didn’t remember doing it and then started to cry. I stood up and said, “You shushed me. You were disrespectful and rude. And I’m the one supposed to comfort you? I’m going home for the rest of the day.” While normally i don’t recommend leaving- in my scenario it was okay as I was almost done and salary. And honestly I did not care at that point if I got fired. I found a new job a month later.
Say something and if warranted start looking for a new job. No job makes it okay for anyone to belittle you-ever.
If you saw someone driving a Rolls-Royce, would you assume they’re wealthy?
I live in Hong Kong, which has the highest per-capita ownership of Rolls-Royces of any city in the world. The thing is, most of the Rolls-Royces you see here are chauffer-driven. So no, I don’t assume anyone driving a Rolls-Royce here is wealthy.
The Peninsula hotel has a fleet of 14 Rolls-Royce cars, which are used to ferry its well-heeled guests around town.
I do know a friend who owns a Rolls in Hong Kong. He loves it and enjoys driving it himself. But I had to laugh when he complained to me that everyone who saw him didn’t believe it was his car and thought he was the chauffeur.
Talk about first-world problems…
What is the situation with democracy in China? Are the citizens allowed to speak out against their government, or is there another system in place?
How very stupid !!!!
This stupidity is prevalent in most democracies including India
If you have a problem in your street , you blame the Chief Minister and the Ruling Party and the Prime Minister
In China, things don’t work that way
If you have a problem in your street
- You speak to your Residential Block Party Official , a Party member who is chosen for every 15–20 blocks
- You speak to your Coorporation Committee Official
- You speak to the Hotline and demand immediate service
You don’t talk to your Mayor or Governor or the Politburo or Xi Jingping
Localization is why China is so efficient
If people have problems, they will be dealt with by officials at lower levels and their performance decides their promotion
This man is the equivalent to say a Major MP in a State in India
He single handedly saved a huge amount of crop despite two floods
The problem didn’t even escalate to Xi Jingping or Li Qiang
It’s called SUBORDINATION
The Topmost Level discuss POLICIES
They discuss this with inputs from the Central Bank, the Economic Board, the Caixin Board, the Independent Experts and the Party Intelligentsia
They FRAME POLICIES, MODIFY POLICIES
Implementation of these Policies is done at lower levels
Provincial Committees, State Committees, Governors, Mayors, Residential Block Officials etc
The CPC will decide “We want to lock down based on a 3% or higher positivity ratio”
The Lower levels must make the lockdown as comfortable as possible and if they don’t, they are roasted by the people and blamed and their career suffers
The CPC will decide “We believe that Businesses should be given a tax break of 25% this year”
The Lower levels must frame the rules and regulations and efficiently bring about the policies
Indians won’t get it
In India, the MPs and MLAs have no role except to win elections and campaign
All the focus goes to the CM and the PM
So much so that more than half the people have no clue who their MP or MLA is
Not so in China
During every February (New Year), a full list of officials, their phone numbers and wechat numbers will be dropped in every Apartment
Updated list of Patrolling Policemen , Block Police Chief
The Officials are the ones who handle the problems all the way including protests
If the Covid 19 protests went sour due to lack of vegetables, the official will be taken to task
Hell, when a policeman kicked and killed a dog in Wuhan, the Official was axed for not implementing the Lockdowns properly
So Citizens ALWAYS speak out against the Government in China
ALWAYS
Much more than India at least
The problem is, the protests are always dealt with at lower levels and never escalate to attract the attention of the parasitic western media
It is only maybe 1% protests that are targeted at the CPC in Beijing
Mainly about the Lockdowns or Taiwan related
It’s why you rarely see any protests in China
Because they are done at a low level and sorted out or handled at a level that makes very little traction
Those protests you see covered by Global Media
They are those very rare protests that happen due to major policy decisions
Plus most of these protestors are Resident Taiwanese rather than Mainlanders
The simple way is THE SIGNS WILL ALWAYS BE IN ENGLISH for the Western Media
What happened that made you realize “My teacher has no idea what he or she is teaching”?
Highschool electronics class. Teacher wheeled in the A/V cart with TV and VCR. Yeah, this is an old story.
Anywho, he plugged in the power strip and inserted the VCR tape with the lesson for the day.
Couldn’t get the TV display to come on. TV was completely dead. Worked with buttons for ten minutes, checked wall plug, nothing. Finally gave up and moved on.
Later, guy in the front row got up and plugged the TV into the power strip. Seemed to work pretty well at that point.
This wasn’t the first spark of brilliance from this teacher. A few of us dropped the class. I went to Auto shop and learned how to rewire most of a 1996 Dodge Dakota.
What are the advantages of Chinese characters?
- They contain a lot of information packed in a small space.
- They are incredibly beautiful
- Text written in foreign language is immediately understandable even if you don’t know how it is pronounced
- Neologizing is easy
- They have a long tradition – millennia old texts are still readable.