Category Archives: Opinions

IF We Are Truly Serious About ‘Going GREEN’ We Must STOP, Using Christmas Wrapping Paper, Forthwith.

by Anura Guruge
on December 23, 2021

I love Christmas. I love Christmas presents. I love buying Christmas presents. I love giving Christmas presents. I, however, hate — DETEST — Christmas wrapping paper.

Such a WASTE.

So pointless. So unnecessary. So stupid.

Why can’t we just give Christmas presents without having to wrap them?

Yes, of course we can. My 15-year old daughter lives for Christmas. She adores Christmas. She is not avaricious. She does NOT ask for much or want much at Christmas. But, whatever she gets, she wants it WRAPPED.

The IRONY is that she is a great believer in going green.

I have, for as long as I can remember, hated the waste of Christmas paper.

I am willing to compromise. I will GLADLY use old newspaper.

When I was young, my uncle, who bought me a LOT of Christmas presents, gave them to me in pillowcases. It was his spin on Christmas stockings. All my toys wouldn’t fit into stockings so he would give me two, three or more STUFFED pillowcases. I liked that. I would do that now.

Don’t give the prattle that Christmas wrapping paper can be recycled. Recycling uses energy and as such costs real money.

We should just do away with Christmas paper.

There is all this talk about carbon emissions & fuel mileage. Why doesn’t anybody talk about the stupidity of using Christmas wrapping paper?

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The Catastrophic ‘WordPress’ Data Breach At ‘GoDaddy’ — Another Reminder That ‘Bob Parson’ Was Irreplaceable!

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by Anura Guruge
on November 23, 2021

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Click to **ENLARGE**. From ‘*Google News*‘.

‘GoDaddy’ & I, as I talked about in this September 2021 post, go back 22-years.

I was a huge fan & promoter of GoDaddy. At one stage, c. 2010, I probably had 35 ‘products’ — viz., registered domain names, hosted sites & e-mail accounts — at GoDaddy. I had ALL of my ‘Web’ stuff with them (without exception) & tried to get most of my clients to move their stuff over to them too. I swore by GoDaddy — but the swearing had to do with how great they were. My yearly invoices from GoDaddy, as I would be reminded each year as I filed my taxes, ran into the thousands.

GoDaddy, under the legendary founder ‘Bob Parsons’ was good to I & I was grateful. It was not always smooth sailing, but boy, ‘oh, boy!’, did they try. Their support used to be so responsive. They had a highly technical group called the ‘Tiger Team‘. If you were a ‘preferential customer‘, either because you had highly technical needs or you bought a lot of products, your technical issues would be escalated to the ‘Tiger Team’. They were good. They would get on the phone with you.

Well, this is BUT nostalgia.

GoDaddy is a shadow of what it used to be in its heyday. ‘Blake Irving‘, who became their CEO, in 2013, in my opinion, changed the company forever — &, alas, not for the better. I was never a fan of his. I guess this 2017 post was not that subtle as to how I felt. SMILE.

Click image to access my ***2017 post*** at my old blog.

Well, alas, this is not the first unfortunate data breach that GoDaddy has endured. They had another one just 2-years ago! Yes, just two years ago — October 19, 2019.

I started this, my latest (& hopefully ‘greatest’) website/blog in June of this year. I spent weeks looking for the right hosting company for I — & I had decided I was going to use WordPress. I had had 20 (or more) managed WordPress sites at GoDaddy. But, this time around I barely spent 5 minutes thinking about them as an option. I went, in the end, with ‘HostGator‘. So far, they have been immaculate.

I am, of course, delighted that I am NOT a GoDaddy WordPress customer. This data breach will be such a pain for MILLIONS as they scramble trying to change passwords etc. This was NOT acceptable on the part of GoDaddy.

Bob Parsons, you are missed, sorely.

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Only In New Hampshire: Body Of 28-Year Female Found In Dumpster Is Considered ‘Not Suspicious’.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 12, 2021

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Click to **ENLARGE**. From ‘Google News‘. Also *see below*.

Ah! Ah? Come on? A body delivered to a waste disposal facility in a dumpster has to be considered suspicious. It doesn’t matter the reputation, history or police record of the deceased. It is highly unlikely they died inside the dumpster.

Once her name was released it was easy enough to do a quick search. Yes, you can easily find stuff on Facebook — including (alas) a ‘GoFundMe‘ link. She, sadly, was the mother of two young kids — one, allegedly, just one year old. I don’t care about her supposed ‘demons’. This has to be looked at as a suspicious, untimely, unwarranted death.

I could be wrong (as ever), BUT I have a nagging feeling that New Hampshire authorities appear to have a rather cavalier attitude when it comes to untimely female deaths. Yes, first & foremost my mind invariably starts with the STILL UNSOLVED murder of ‘Stacey Burns‘, in Wolfeboro, in 2009. Yes, 2009.

Click image to access my ***2014 post*** & from that, links to other related posts.

The ‘Stacey Burns’ murder still bothers me. No, I did not know her. But, Wolfeboro is a place I visit often. It is just 20-minutes away. I often talk to folks about this case — including town/county law enforcement officials. I, having lived in NH for 35 years, know of at least four unsolved murder cases involving females — Stacey Burns being one. Here, per the State (per se) is the supposed list of all NH Cold Cases. Well, you cast your eyes over it.

I don’t have to belabor what I am trying to get at.

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Just Saying That The CRAZY ‘ISIS’ ‘New Zealand’ Knife-Attacker Is ‘Sri Lankan’ Is So Misleading & Unfair!

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by Anura Guruge
on September 4, 2021

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Well, if you hadn’t already heard about it, I give you some ‘Google News‘ feeds above.

Though I have NOT been a Sri Lanka citizen or subject as of 1983 I still have to kind of identify myself as one since I was born there. So, to see headlines like this distresses I, no end. [Just for the record, I am a very proud & patriotic Brit.]

It was just like the infamous ‘Shoe Bomber‘ in 2001. He was initially thought to be Sri Lankan. I took a LOT of grief & abuse. He proved to be far from Sri Lankan. He was British.

This NZ maniac, who has now been identified by the Sri Lankan authorities as ‘Ahamed Adhil Mohamed Samsudeen‘ is, alas, a Sri Lankan. So, we have to deal with that. But, I lay quite a BIT of the blame with the (lovely, generous & kind) New Zealanders. Yes, I do.

This maniacal idiot entered NZ on a student visa in 2008. That was NZ’s call.

Less than 10% of Sri Lankan’s are Muslims & most of them are NOT radical!

So, it is kind of unfair that there is now a perception that Sri Lanka has radical muslims.

NZ had this idiot in JAIL for 3-years. They only released him 2-months ago. AGAIN, NZ’s call.

NZ could have deported him.

I am hugely fond of NZ & its good people. But, in this instance their kindness has yet again been abused.

I just wanted to present the Sri Lankan side.

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Very Proud & Happy That ‘GoDaddy’ Is NOT Helping The Insane Texas Abortion Ban.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 4, 2021

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Kicking out that radical website was a brilliant, decisive, resounding & moral act. Bravo, GoDaddy. As a customer of over 22-years I am very proud of you. GoDaddy did the right thing.

GoDaddy & I go back to at least 1999, if not earlier. Those were the heady days of when GoDaddy was still making baby steps. I switched over from ‘Network Solutions‘ & for 15-years (or more) I could NOT have been happier. GoDaddy was good to I. Those were the days when (saintly) ‘Bob Parsons‘ ran the shop, with his finger always on the pulse. On paper Bob no longer has any executive clout over GoDaddy. But, this move against Texas is very much what I expect from that great man. I am sure he made a few phone calls.

GoDaddy, under Bob, was quite the magical company. I kid you NOT when I say that c. 1999 GoDaddy & I mastered Microsoft ‘FrontPage’ hosting together. Yes, there were technical issues — but, in those days, under Bob, SUPPORT was the #1 priority & they had the so called ‘Tiger Team’. That Tiger Team & I were closely, so many times, thrashing out FrontPage hosting issues. I never dealt personally with Bob, but I had access to one of his direct assistants. He would always step in & make sure I was treated well. In 2013, when Benedict XVI resigned, my (then) ‘Next Pope‘ website, hosted with GoDaddy, EXPLODED. We were getting something like 4,000 hits per second. My hosting plan never envisaged that level of traffic. GoDaddy, even before I called them, stepped in! They had seen the ‘issue’. I was later told that Bob himself was monitoring the traffic to my site. They, i.e., GoDaddy, even without asking (or charging) me kept on increasing the hosting capacity assigned to my website. GoDaddy rocked.

I am GLAD to see that they are back to being the EXCELLENT company they once were.

If you go to my ‘old blog‘ & do a search (on the built-in search bar) for ‘GoDaddy‘ you will find tons of posts — some praising them, some lambasting them.

I am still a GoDaddy customer. Most of the domains I own (& I still own a few) & my e-mail is still with them. They no longer host any sites for I. But, that is OK. I still think of myself as a GoDaddy ‘booster’. This decision, by GoDaddy, to take a stand against the INSANE Texas abortion ban made me proud of GoDaddy. The spirit of Bob Parson prevails.

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Has The ‘Garmin’ ‘Fenix 7’ Been Delayed By Last Year’s Ransomware Attack?

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by Anura Guruge
on August 17, 2021

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Click to **ENLARGE** & read here. ***Click here*** for Wikipedia link.

Most of, if not all of, Garmin’s IT systems & networks were down for at least 10-days in June 2020. Internally it must have taken them at least another 2-weeks to ensure that everything was back to being copasetic. So, the ransomware attack had to have cost Garmin at least a month of delays. Most likely they spent another month making sure that there systems were finally as secure as they should have been in the first place.

This might explain why we have not even heard any credible rumors of the Garmin Fenix 7. It certainly is due.

The ‘Enduro’ announced earlier this year was not really a feature update. Just provided longer battery life. The Fenix 6 Pro Solar also only extended battery life. So, the last feature upgrade, i.e., the announcement of the Fenix 6, was two years ago. So, it is not unreasonable to expect a Fenix 7 anytime now.

Yes, no doubt, Garmin wanted ‘Samsung’ to get their ‘Watch 4‘ release out of the way. Well, that has happened. Garmin again as an open runway.

I would hope to see an announcement by October 2021. If not something untowards has taken place within Garmin. As always I have my ear to the ground. I will keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.

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On ‘Roku’ The ‘Willow TV’ APP Is The Best Way To Watch Cricket — Not ‘Willow’ Via ‘Sling’.

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by Anura Guruge
on August 16, 2021

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On a Roku you can get ‘Willow TV‘ cricket in one of two ways: as a channel on ‘Sling’ or directly via the Willow APP.

As of now the Willow APP is NOT just the best way to access cricket being shown on Willow — one could argue that it is the ONLY meaningful way to access Willow.

Sling, with its new user interface, has crippled Willow TV! I warned you about that a week ago.

But luckily the Willow APP is now world class. The Willow APP is a joy to use (though, I will admit, the REW & FF feature could be improved).

Yes, a few years back, the Willow APP on Roku was extremely primitive & limited. All you could do was watch live matches. That is it. This was specific to Roku. It was the Roku-version of the Willow APP.

Well, that was then & this is now.

The current APP is full-featured as my images above will show.

You have live, archives as well as selected videos. All of it is logically laid out with graphical headers & GOOD descriptions. You can see exactly what is available & easily decide on what you want to watch.

Yes, when it comes to highlights they, like ‘Hotstar’, are now catering for the limited-attention span of most Indian viewers. So, a la Hotstar, they offer numerous short highlights in addition to the proper (& main) highlight package. Well, you kind of have to get used to skipping over those that do not interest you — without reading too much of the narrative — focusing on finding the highlights. I have kind of got good at this. I can quickly find the main highlight packages — skipping over the rest.

Bottom line. Willow on Sling is no longer an option. Do NOT subscribe to Sling. Get the Willow APP directly. You will be happy & thank me for giving you this heads up.

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The New, Supposedly Improved ‘SLING’ APP. On ‘Roku’ Cripples The ‘Willow’ Cricket Channel.

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by Anura Guruge
on August 8, 2021

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The ‘Sling’ APP. on Roku now has a new, & supposedly much-improved, user interface. This was as of the last couple of days, i.e., as of say August 7, 2021.

This new, highly-graphical user-interface might be fine for the main channels on Sling — BUT it definitely cripples ‘Willow’ (as in ‘Willow TV’ that is the dedicated 24×7 cricket channel). Why?

Because the new interface doesn’t allow you to GO BACK, i.e., you can only view channels LIVE or record shows that are scheduled for later. You can’t go back, e.g., select a show that was shown yesterday. Past show are supposed to be available in the ‘On Demand’ section or in your DVR (if you had scheduled any recording). This new set-up totally & utterly CRIPPLES Willow.

Central to Willow was the ability to go back a FULL-WEEK in terms of the matches shown. So, you could go back & pick highlight episodes you wanted to watch. NO MORE. The ‘On Demand‘ section is bare. Yes, I am trying to record some future episodes. It is a MESS. It is so bad that I cancelled BOTH Willow & Sling!

I am going to try the Willow APP on Roku, directly, without subscribing through Sling. I will let you know — but it might take me a month or more. I am in no hurry.

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Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet’s Papabili Standings Have To Have Taken A Nosedive After ‘Residential School’ Murders.

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by Anura Guruge
on June 29, 2021

Click to access **MY post**, on this ‘**Next Pope**‘ Website in March 2021.

Click images to ENLARGE.
Both from ‘Google News‘ & relate to unforgivable crime of murdering, innocent indigenous kids forced to attend Canadian ‘Residential Schools‘.

As far as I can tell Marc Ouellet was not personally responsible for any of these heinous crimes — though he may have known about it way, way before it became public.

If so, why would his papabili rankings take a nosedive?

Very simple. The Church (& in this case represented by the ultra-politic Cardinal Electors) will NOT want a Canadian pope at this juncture.

Having Marc Ouellet as pope will bring this ‘problem’ way too close to the Vatican.

For a start, a Canadian pope will immediately draw more attention to this crime. It will not go away as the Vatican hopes it will. As long as there is a Canadian pope at the Vatican this crime will get talked about.

Furthermore, Ouellet, as a Canadian, will not be able to distance himself from the crimes — like Francis is doing.

The Canadian authorities & people will DEMAND that he, as pope, openly address the issue. He will have no choice but to apologize.

The Church & the other cardinals don’t want this.

Canada is now a problem.

A Canadian pope will exacerbate that problem & continue to draw attention to it.

So, with that the only plausible papabili from the Americas bit the dust!

I Like Maine’s Idea Of Taxing Companies For Recycling, We Should Extend It To Cover Litter.

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by Anura Guruge
on June 15, 2021

Above coverage from the U.K. ‘Independent’. Click here to access original article.

Great idea. Bravo. I wish them all the best. I am proud of Maine — a State I visit nearly every month. Good thinking. Alas, of course, we know that the companies will just hike up their prices & TAX all consumers. That is always the problems. Companies rarely, if ever, eat such added costs (or penalties). They just pass them on — & right now we have enough price inflation as it is.

I TRY to clear up litter on roadside — mainly because I spend so much time a day WALKING on the side of roads. What always strikes me is the regularity of the litter: McDonald’s bags, wrappers & boxes, Dunkin’ cups, Pepsi cans, Marlboro packs, etc. etc. You get the drift. Easy to make HUGE piles of collected litter from various companies. Well, why can’t we find a way to penalize these companies. They can TRY to educate their customers not to litter. We can create WALLS OF SHAME. Think about it.

But, I am glad that folks have at least started thinking about this problem. Bravo, Maine.