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I'm afraid that what's on my mind is serious this time. Following the events of the past day or two in Washington DC, I'd just like to reach out to everyone here in America and make sure everybody's OK.

I don't wish to start a political discussion here; I know that's not what the forums are for, and political discussions usually end up being divisive and acrimonious. All I'm asking is: are you all OK? Please stay safe.

And following up from that -- here's a message from last March, but it's a good message and even more relevant now. (Besides, I just saw it on Twitter and thought I'd share).

From Max and Mel Brooks

I just came across this ... oh, the poor, gormless, deluded pillock. First he defames a law firm who did some work for him -- so they sue him for libel ... then he defends himself -- and doesn't even show up for court ...

Did he do anything right?

I'm just thinking about how often you'll see everything from personal posts to so-called professional articles that confused Mbps (megabits per second) and MB/s (megabytes per second) when discussing Internet download and upload speeds.

I think the big problem is that not only do they look and sound similar, but ISPs often market their Internet speeds in Mbps because they can advertise a larger number.

For instance, say two ISP advertise their speeds (ISP-A in Mbps and ISP-B in MB/s) to the public. ISP-A is showcasing a speed of 20 Mbps while ISP-B is showing 9 MB/s. Right away, the average person will think that ISP-A is offering higher speeds, when in reality the opposite is true.

ISP-A's 20 Mbps equals 2.5 MB/s, whereas ISP-B's 9 MB/s equals 72 Mbps. So if you're advertising to a most-clueless public about Internet speeds, it makes sense to use Mbps, but unfortunately this also has the unintended consequence of confusing people.

Heh. The difference between Mbps and MB/s is surely intelligible to anyone who knows what bits and bytes are (or, alternatively, anyone who takes two minutes to learn).

One byte = 8 bits. Therefore, 10 megabits/second is not the same as 10 megabytes/second. 10 MB/s = 80 Mbps.

It may sound trivial, but understanding this simple equation can save a lot of misunderstandings and headaches in the long run.

That said, the abbreviations are ambiguous to a layperson. I know the difference between a bit and a byte, but I didn't know lower case "b" is a bit and capital "B" is a byte.

I guess it makes sense that a lower-case "b" should represent a smaller "value" (i.e. bit) than a higher-case "B" (i.e. byte). But I agree, to a layperson it's all so much hogwash.

(Now I'm curious. Where does the word "hogwash" come from? Pigs are not known for washing, after all.)

I remember reading that pigs actually do like to be clean, but their living situations generally don't allow for it. Well, that and the fact they roll in mud to protect their skin from the sun and overheating. Pigs don't sweat (or at least, anything close to enough to compensate for high body temperatures).

As for hogwash, I looked it up.

Unfortunately my home town made international news after riots broke out yesterday. Seeing the violence and destruction in the ugly but friendly place where I was born, grew up and met my boyfriend has been making me angry, scared, upset and nauseous.

What? Why would there be riots in your home town, BBP?

Woman duped into thinking she's engaged to Brett Michaels (of Poison) and has a sexual relationship with Nikki Sixx (of Motley Crue) - and never saw either of them in person, photo or video since the relationship started.

I don't understand how people get "catfished."

From the article above.

blabbermouth wrote: MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx and POISON singer Bret Michaels need no introduction, as they have both been playing sold-out stadiums, packed with screaming and adoring fans, for years. On today's episode of "Dr. Phil", host Dr. Phil McGraw spoke with one of the musicians' faithful followers, Tina, who claims to be more than just a fan. Tina's friend Vivian says Tina believes this because she is being catfished by someone pretending to be the famous rock stars. Vivian says Tina has been scammed so convincingly that Tina believes she has not only been texting with both rock legends for the past six months, but that she is actually engaged to Michaels and in a serious loving friendship with Sixx.

Tina says she and Sixx have a "solid, good friendship" and they text 8-10 times a day. Tina says Sixx can't call her because "his management won't allow it." As for Michaels, Tina says: "I love Bret Michaels, and he loves me. After three weeks of talking back and forth, he said he was falling in love with me… Several months ago, we were talking, and he had us take the oath over the Bible that we would be devoted to each other. After we took the oath, he proposed to me, and I said yes."

However, Tina and the man she believes is "Bret," whom she met on Instagram, have never spoken on the phone, and their entire communication is through text messages. "He tells me management pretty much controls him, that he can only text me," she says. "He can't talk to me on the phone or send a video for privacy and security reasons."

Watch below to see what happens when the real Sixx surprises Tina face-to-face, and she receives a video message from the real Michaels. Will it be the proof Tina needs to finally acknowledge she has been taken advantage of by an imposter?

There was these videos - just watch the last one......

Oh, dear. I'd never heard of "catfishing", so I looked it up -- from google:

Catfish, v. To trick someone into having an online relationship by adopting a fake identity. People who catfish others usually make up fake lives so they can be as extravagant as they want to be.

... in other words, lying scum. I'm sorry to hear that this lady was taken advantage of. Hopefully she'll learn from that experience.

I also hope she didn't lose (too much) money -- and especially not any of her personal or bank/credit card/etc. details.

Earlier this year a similar story surfaced relating to my one of my favourite bands Dir En Grey - some sorry unemployed individual maintained that he was Kyo for over 10 years to the parents of his ex-girlfriend, saying his manager took his check book. He extorted a fortune out of those people - 54 million yen ($517644) over a period of 10 years, money which said idiot used to, among others, buy a crocodile. (if you ever complain about your inlaws, there you are, it can always get worse)

This has so many Diru fans baffled - Kyo stayed silent over it but I think their lead guitarist Kaoru found it hilarious in a way - Kyo is so remarkable - very short, has an unfathomable amount of tattoos combined with ridiculously adorable facial appearances (calling him "cute" is a tried and tested way of getting him cross) and vocal skills that surpass that of most, if not all, metal singers - which begs the question:
They didn't even google him?

BBP wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:40 pm Earlier this year a similar story surfaced relating to my one of my favourite bands Dir En Grey - some sorry unemployed individual maintained that he was Kyo for over 10 years to the parents of his ex-girlfriend, saying his manager took his check book. He extorted a fortune out of those people - 54 million yen ($517644) over a period of 10 years, money which said idiot used to, among others, buy a crocodile. (if you ever complain about your inlaws, there you are, it can always get worse)

This has so many Diru fans baffled - Kyo stayed silent over it but I think their lead guitarist Kaoru found it hilarious in a way - Kyo is so remarkable - very short, has an unfathomable amount of tattoos combined with ridiculously adorable facial appearances (calling him "cute" is a tried and tested way of getting him cross) and vocal skills that surpass that of most, if not all, metal singers - which begs the question:
They didn't even google him?

Well it could have been a similar situation - where the person pretending to be Kyo - never sent photos or videos. Or used existing photos.
For example, with the Brett Michaels one - if you watch the last video - the guy who pretended to be Brett - sent her his "drivers license" as evidence. He'd taken an existing photo of Brett. Photoshopped it into a driver's license.
But what baffles me - is the driver's license had all kinds of errors (incorrectly spelled his last name; incorrectly has the abbreviation of Arizona; his photo had a bandanna, which you can not legally wear any head gear for a driver's license; among so many other things)... and she didn't notice. And the way the guy texted her - clearly someone from a different country where English was NOT their native language).

People will say what they will about rock stars and their education (in general) - but if this woman ever heard Brett speak (which is all too easy since he was on a reality show for several years) - you can tell with how he speaks did not match how he "spoke" in those texts.