6623169
submission
pugugly writes:
That Mortgage that you originally got from Acme, which was bought by almalgamated mortgages, a subsidiary of Dewey Screwem and Howe, LLC, which went bankrupt in 2007 and was sold piecemeal to Super-Duper mortgages group, who says you're behind on your payments (And maybe you really are?)
Well, it turns out Super-Duper Mortgages may actually have to produce the paperwork showing they own your mortgage, rather than just saying "Trust us, we do", and if they can't the debt may be vacated entirely. Since they've actually been running the mortgage industry based on exactly those kind of honor-system claims, the industry is a bit concerns at being held to the actual letter of the law.
When asked for comment CEO Will E. K. Yote responded with a sign saying "Oh no . . . Not Again"
1761737
submission
pugugly writes:
I had actually noticed that the credit card offers were not coming in the mail like they had even a few months ago, but hadn't quite foreseen this happening.
Numerous stories just within the last day about Credit Card Companies raising interest rates — sometimes more than doubling the interest while simultaneously dropping credits limits.
Issuers are adding Universal Default clauses (Late on one card, watch all your interest rates go up simultaneously) in those 'notice to cardholders' agreements, raising interest rates based on where you live rather than any actual mistake on your part, even on their best customers.
I'm so glad to have helped the banks out in this time of crisis — I can just *feel* the love.
761017
submission
pugugly writes:
In a Vanity Fair Article and accompanying video, Christopher Hitchens describes the physical and emotional reactions to waterboarding, as done under controlled conditions by former S.E.R.E. (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) Instructors.
From the Video — "They told me that when I activated the 'dead man's handle' — which is a simple process, you simply release something, let it go — I didn't do that. I practically, even though my hands were bound, I...as near as I could...I threw the thing out of my hand. I mean, I really wanted it to stop.
I could swear I shouted the code word, but I hadn't."
660106
submission
pugugly writes:
The NYtimes and NPR are both covering the recent decoding of the Platypus genome. Among other topics of interest, at 150 million years, evidently the Platypus is an older mammal than I realized.
Lesson Learned: Make sure they're strange when they're young, and they will be strange forever.
639500
submission
pugugly writes:
Wired Magazine has a seven page review Wired of a program known as SuperMemo and it's creator Piotr Wozniak. The program is designed (as I understand it) to evaluate when the best time is to refresh ones memory to facilitate memorizing information. I'm still evaluating this in my own mind, but the principle doesn't seem to be inherently pseudo-scientific.
As someone that scores highly on every aspect of IQ tests *except* rote memorization, I am perhaps too hopeful of a cheap, easy way to support my weaknesses — has anyone had the chance to evaluate this themselves? Shall we become uber-geniuses together? What Would Luthor Do?
523162
submission
pugugly writes:
Going by past history, it is safe to assume the the Democrats will fold, and all avenues for legally holding the U.S. Government accountable for illegally listening to calls and reading e-mail will be closed.
I know how to use PGP, although I've never done so. I *use* truecrypt, basically on the theory that it's a simple prophylactic procedure that insures neither loss of my laptop nor seizure of it can result in the complete publication of everything I have. For one password — well worth it. But I have not, typically, bothered to be all that paranoid.
What else. If I am the ex-wife/husband of an FBI agent who I don't trust not to peek on my internet connection in the name of 'national security', and my ISP has to pretty much assume he's telling the truth, how do I set up personal privacy, encrypted connections, and everything else to minimize the information he can compromise my privacy with.
