Fear the domestic politicians that want you to be afraid, because unlike the terrorists, they are the ones that seem to actually hate your freedom and want to take it away.?

We need to cast sunlight on the darker shadows of our world to move beyond extremist tendencies on all sides of the spectrum. ?

I found these earbuds thanks to an article on best buds under $30 on Wirecutter.com http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-headphones-under-30/ a few weeks ago and a followup recommendation from +Andy Ihnatko. 

For cheap earbuds, these actually sound really good for both music and podcasts with good range and decent bass. Perhaps even more importantly they are comfortable. I particularly like the fact that the plug is angled at 90 degrees which makes it much less susceptible to breakage when its in your pocket. Most cheap and even expensive earphones come straight out so its more likely to damage either the earphones or the plug in your device. 

I went ahead and ordered 3 pairs at $13 each and love them. ?

Some remarkably clever design and engineering goes into making a lot of stuff into a very little space. I'm particularly impressed with the shelves that move down to become supporting legs as the bed folds out of the wall without having to move any of the items on the shelf. ?

I know as a public company they have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits, but most of these organizations are nothing but mouthpieces for the billionaire class like the Koch brothers and do nothing to contribute in any positive way to the political discourse.

If this is just a way for Google to ensure they don't have to pay more in taxes, it's the wrong thing to be doing. Stop it now Google!?

Reshared post from +Mike Elgan

Web site keeps track of Black Friday deaths and injuries!

Black Friday shopping can be hazardous to your health. One web site is keeping score. 

http://blackfridaydeathcount.com/?

Shockingly given the huge array of stuff they stock, the building looks surprisingly small from the outside but they have provided me with parts for everything from my lawnmower to my furnace to my clothes dryer to the dishwasher. ?

I did however make one brief excursion today to visit the folks RepairClinic.com for a pressure switch for the dishwasher. Unfortunately this crapped out yesterday during one of the few days a year that they are closed. I turned on the dishwasher to do a load before Jules started on Thanksgiving dinner only find that the drain pump was running but it never filled with water. 

After some googling I traced the problem to either the float switch or pressure switch. After opening up the side of the dishwasher and checking the electrical switches I found them fine and it was actually a float within the switch that was contaminated and stuck. One $32 part and about 20 minutes of labor later, the dishwasher was running through  a cycle.

Had I not been the type of person that prefers to fix things myself whenever possible, this would easily have been a $200-250 service call. 

Now if only this had occurred 24 hours later or sooner, Max and I could have avoided half a dozen sinkloads full of handwashing yesterday. ?