5 Thoughts for September 8, 2017

1. Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Design: Based on the ASCE 7 basic wind speed design for structures, Florida's newer structures should survive with minimal damage from a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, currently with 155 mph maximum sustained winds. However, were Irma to make landfall at its full strength (from several days ago with 185 mph winds) very few structures would survive. That's something to think about, going forward, if you understand the threat of climate change. Also, since Florida is full of older buildings built before modern building codes incorporating hurricane resistant design, most of the houses hit by Irma will be totaled.
2. Democrats Really Did Win: Think about how Donald's agreement with Democrats turned out. In one day, both sides of Congress readily passed the Democratic proposal and Donald signed it into law. Republicans in Congress said they're angry and shocked, but they capitulated and allowed Donald to once again dominate them. No counter at all. It's a signal to Donald that he can win if he supports Democrats, not Republicans, on many issues. He surely didn't anticipate this, but that's what he's discovering right now. Republicans surely did not mean to make this signal, but they've just told everyone that they're passive-aggressive antagonists, not leaders.
3. Equifax Debacle: This Equifax breach is exceedingly worse than almost all other breaches, maybe the worst, in fact. Their statement issued yesterday said that they discovered the breach on July 29 which is well over a month ago. The info that was stolen was the entire identity of people -- everything that's in a person's credit report, including addresses, birth date, full name, social security number. With that info, anyone can create a fake you and you might never find out. They will be able to apply for credit cards, bank accounts, mortgages, loans, and screw you over royally. The potential impact is enormous, yet, the news media hasn't treated this with the seriousness that it deserves. No amount of fraud protection can keep you safe.
4. Don Jr Keeps Lying: At first, it was about a meeting over adoptions. Then, it was a meeting over Clinton dirt. Then it was about doing due diligence on an opponent. Now, it's about Clinton's fitness. He can't stop lying.
5. YouTube Changes: Not many people will know this, but YouTube removed instant playlists for Chromecast through the desktop (Chrome browser). It's still available via mobile devices using the YouTube app, but this tiny change has been a real pain in the ass for me. The mobile app is not as useful as via browser on a desktop, so I'm quite disappointed in Google right now, for having limited the usability of YouTube.