Microsoft on Tuesday revealed that two security flaws impacting Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM) and Task Scheduler have come under active exploitation in the wild. The security vulnerabilities are among the 90 security bugs the tech giant addressed as part of its Patch Tuesday update for November 2024. Of the 90 flaws, four are rated Critical, 85 are rated Important, and one is rated Moderate in

The Iranian threat actor known as TA455 has been observed taking a leaf out of a North Korean hacking group's playbook to orchestrate its own version of the Dream Job campaign targeting the aerospace industry by offering fake jobs since at least September 2023. "The campaign distributed the SnailResin malware, which activates the SlugResin backdoor," Israeli cybersecurity company ClearSky said

Why is it that in every recent Presidential election I’ve found myself saying, “We’re a nation of (now) some 330 million people, and these are the best two we can pick from to lead us?” In a recent piece, Wall Street Journal defined the choice as Awful versus Empty. (Google will get you there, though […]

Recently saw this on YouTube, from a grandmaster competition shooter who is also in law enforcement. I agree with him. I’ve said for years that while a shooting match is not a gunfight, a gunfight most certainly is a shooting match. Competition experience makes shooting under pressure the norm. Wyatt Earp competed in the informal […]

Historically, both law and facts are on the gun owners’ side of the “gun control” debate, and the Other Side had relied largely on emotion.  I respectfully submit that emotion is something our side should play to, as well. I made that point recently at the 2024 Gun Rights Policy Conference in San Diego last […]

The Second Amendment Foundation has released a 22-minute video celebrating its fifty years of fighting for gun owners’ civil rights. Some of those who’ve been along for most or all of the ride, including founder Alan Gottlieb, give insight into how far we’ve come.  See it here:

Another year, another attempt at keeping track of what I’m doing. The weird thing about this site is…

Work 2021 at work started in a fairly typical way. Over the course of the christmas break our…

The difficulty of this weeknotes things is that entire weeks can go by without anything interesting happening. That’s…

This is, without doubt, the stupidest coffee device I have ever bought. But I have bought it.

In the waning days of his campaign, former President Donald Trump has further embraced some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s incorrect or controversial views on health, including vaccines and fluoride.

The post Trump Embraces RFK Jr.’s Views on Vaccines, Fluoride appeared first on FactCheck.org.

We'll know soon enough who won the 2024 general elections for president, Congress and other important positions. But we don't have to wait a second longer to find out this year's FactCheck Award winners.

The post The 2024 FactCheck Awards appeared first on FactCheck.org.

A misspelling of former President Donald Trump's name occurred on an optional ballot review screen in Virginia, prompting an unfounded claim on social media of "election fraud." The error was a typo that appeared only on the ballot review screen, not on actual ballots, and would not affect any votes, election officials said.

The post Typo in Trump’s Name on Ballot Review Screen Is Not ‘Election Fraud’ appeared first on FactCheck.org.

Social media users have spread a quote attributed to Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, claiming he said "we won’t be certifying the election" if former President Donald Trump wins. Raskin responded, saying the quote is "100% fabricated" and that "America is having a free and fair election and Congress will certify the winner." The origin of the posts appears to be a misleading account of Raskin's comments in February.

The post Raskin Didn’t Say He ‘Won’t Be Certifying the Election’ appeared first on FactCheck.org.

Social media users alleged bias against former President Donald Trump when a Google search on Election Day for “where to vote” returned an interactive map to find a person’s polling station when including the word “Harris” but not “Trump.” The reason is because “Harris” is a county in Texas, whereas “Trump” is not a location.

The post Google’s ‘Where to Vote’ Search Result Reflects Quirk of Candidate Surname, Not Bias appeared first on FactCheck.org.

Q: What will happen in Donald Trump’s New York state criminal case now that he is president-elect?

A: Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but the judge could decide that sentencing is no longer appropriate. If Trump does receive a sentence, it could be appealed, or the judgment could be deferred until 2029, when Trump would be out of office.

FULL QUESTION

What happens if Trump wins the election and then he gets sentenced at the end of the month?

The post Trump’s New York Case: What Happens Now? appeared first on FactCheck.org.

Some social media posts falsely claimed that CBS News reported there was "cheating" in the 2024 presidential election that benefitted President-elect Donald Trump. We found no evidence of such a report, and a CBS News spokesperson said the outlet "did not report or say there was cheating in the election."

The post Posts Falsely Claim CBS News Reported ‘Cheating’ in Election appeared first on FactCheck.org.

The new 2024-25 COVID vaccines are available, so FunkyPlaid and I got ours on Friday. Because we went to a pharmacy, my health insurance didn’t cover them, so I had to use funds from my HRA. (We could have waited until our medical provider had appointments, but that would have been late September or early October — and with travel coming up soon, I was unwilling to wait.)

It is bizarre and enraging to see how agencies supposedly dedicated to public health are flailing in this moment. I’m extremely fortunate to have a job that provides health insurance, an HRA, and sick leave, and I can afford KN95 masks and rapid antigen tests. What about people who are uninsured or underinsured?

I know it’s a bummer to read this, but it’s a bigger bummer to try to survive during yet another COVID surge. Let’s take care of our health, for ourselves and for our communities.

Concentrating on

This time of year is Planner Season, when the 2025 planners are released and people like me (and maybe you too) gobble them up and then spend the rest of this year hoping that next year we have lives exciting enough to plan.

Ever the optimist, my planner line-up for 2025 is:

• For my personal planner, daily log, habit tracker, reading journal, and commonplace book, I’ll be trying the Sterling Ink Common Planner in their new N1 size, which fits inside a Traveler’s Notebook. I’m currently using a Hobonichi Weeks, which is 95mm x 186mm; the N1 size is 110mm x 210mm.
• For my work planner, the Wonderland 222 A5 Weekly Planner has been working well for me this year, so I’ll try it again in 2025.

Cultivating

✍???? Drafting two stories, one for performance (I hope ????????) and one for a collection.

???? Still knitting that gift for someone.

???? Food I made that was yummy:

• Peperonata with peppers from a coworker’s CSA box, plus peppers from our own CSA box. CSA boxes are great!
• Gluten-free vegan apple crisp. I am not a huge fan of apples in their primary form; I prefer them as a cinnamon delivery device. So this recipe from Minimalist Baker, apples chopped up and baked with oats and sugar? That works.
• Sliced heirloom tomatoes on toast spread thinly with mayonnaise. Truffle salt if you’re feeling fancy. (I was.)

???????? Learning Italian with Duolingo.

???? The workweek was short because of the holiday on Monday, but also long because of everything. I’m still trying to create better boundaries around that.

Consuming

????️ One of my planner pals shared a sample of Bungukan Kobayashi’s Yagentoshiro Reflex Violet, a dusky blue with iridescent purple shimmer.

???? “girlfriend” by Hemlocke Springs is on repeat on my brain radio.

???? You don’t need to be a Rolling Stones fan to enjoy the “I Can’t Get No Legal Action” episode of the Judge John Hodgman podcast.

???? Still working my way through the crossword puzzle books I’ve hoarded and enjoying the daily Cross|word on Puzzmo. Also, Minute Cryptic is quite humbling.

???? One last episode of “Fargo” to go, then we’ll start the latest season of “Slow Horses”.

???? What I’m reading and quoting:

• “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler: “The great and terrible thing about humankind is simply this: we will always do what we are capable of.”

Some links

From “What would an adequate COVID response look like?” by Julia Doubleday:

Right now, state representatives are deliberately avoiding mention of COVID, while propagandizing the safety of infection and/or the end of the pandemic by refusing to mask. It is hard to imagine how successful a pandemic response might be if public officials were actually trying to end the pandemic. We quite literally have public health and political and media figures working to hide three pieces of critical information: public knowledge of the virus, public knowledge of mitigation measures that would reduce viral spread, and public knowledge of the severity of the virus (which would motivate desire to reduce viral spread).

Other links:

• NaNoWriMo Shits The Bed On Artificial Intelligence (Chuck Wendig)
• Why Goblin Mode Is the New Self-Care Routine (Cleveland Clinic)
• 2024 Winners of the 17th Annual iPhone Photography Awards

One more thing

Today I’m journaling about this quote from Seneca: “Life, if well lived, is long enough.”

Look at this absolutely good girl: my canine sister, Willa.

Concentrating on

Rest, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones! We’re visiting family in Pennsylvania this week and attending a wedding in Kentucky on Friday.

When packing, I restricted myself to three notebooks and three pens because I tend to overpack and then immediately regret as I am schlepping around a stationery store in my backpack.

Cultivating

✍???? Drafting two (very different) stories. I’m looking forward to time off work to let my creative writing brain percolate.

???? Food I made that was yummy:

• Pork chops in garlic mushroom sauce, with mashed potatoes and salad on the side. I am not a huge fan of pork chops, but I got them in our CSA box, so I looked for a recipe that incorporated other things I am a huge fan of, like garlic and mushrooms.

???????? When my brain is full of Italian, I switch over to music lessons in Duolingo. It’s fun!

???? No.

Consuming

????️ Only three pens means only three inks: De Atramentis Charles Dickens, Sailor Manyo Hinoki, and Robert Oster Sydney Lavender.

???? I heard “White Gloves” by Khruangbin for the first time in a while and forgot how much I enjoy their music.

???? Recently FunkyPlaid and I tried to watch the show “Kaos” and lasted about ten minutes. I had listened to the Pop Culture Happy Hour episode on the show and thought I might enjoy it.

???? No time for games this week. I’m looking forward to some Puzzmo!

???? We started watching “My Brilliant Friend”, the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, which I read last year and loved.

???? What I’m reading and quoting:

• “The Mountain in the Sea” by Ray Nayler: “How we see the world matters — but knowing how the world sees us also matters.”

Some links

• I love Tracy Durnell’s latest weeknotes post. I’m not even mad at how it makes me feel like I’ve done absolutely nothing in comparison. ????
• Neither Elon Musk Nor Anybody Else Will Ever Colonize Mars (Albert Burneko)
• Firefly Atlas: I’m eager to see fireflies while I’m here, so I’m doing some research.

One more thing

I was a bit anxious to travel during a COVID surge, so in addition to getting the new vaccine as soon as I could, I invested in a Flo Mask Pro to wear in airports, planes, and any other crowded spaces. I’m so glad I did; it was very comfortable to wear all day, once I got used to how it felt. My glasses didn’t fog up at all, which is a minor miracle. I did get some looks (you know the kind) but that was a small price to pay for a greater chance of avoiding Covid and/or Long Covid. I only saw a handful of other people masked.

For the first day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), I want to start with something difficult, and the reason why I’m participating in this monthly challenge.

I’ve lost all affection for my writing voice, and I don’t entirely know why.

These days, it’s challenging for me to get excited about writing anything personal. Everything I post, aside from ink swatches, makes me cringe, even simple replies to others' posts. When I started writing online, it was so easy to share any little moss-bulb of detail, despite lacking confidence in my voice or purpose. It was enough to noodle in public; I had a stage (my website) and tap-tap-tapping its microphone didn’t make me feel immediately self-conscious.

A few years ago, I pushed — harder than I’ve pushed for many things in my life — for the “community” aspect of Micro.blog to be more than a shared timeline. I wanted it to be something I could lean back softly into, both an audience and support group, comprised of people who shared the same penchant for collecting and amplifying small treasures of moments.

The people exist (and they are wonderful, I read what they share with delight) but the community? I know now that what I was asking for doesn’t exist online in the same way it did, but I didn’t know that yet. I kept pushing and pushing, until one day I just … stopped. Everything I said seemed to repulse people instead of drawing them closer. It was easier to find what I needed and wanted in the friendships I was slowly and intentionally building offline than it was for me to do that online. And that was a first for me. Much of my life, up to that point, had been spent focusing on connecting online.

Because much of my life, up to that point, had been lived online.

I don’t really want to go back to living so much online. But sometimes I’m nostalgic for the feeling of being understood through my writing, shades of myself that I don’t know how to represent except through words.

It’s supremely cringey even to post this, but I’m going to push through in the hopes there’s some self-acceptance on the other side of it. I’m not ready to stop writing altogether. In some ways, I feel like I’ve barely begun.

TJ Klune's Somewhere Beyond the Sea is down four positions, ending the week at number 5. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Abigail Owen's The Games Gods Play is down one spot, finishing the week at number 6. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Rebecca Yarros' Iron Flame is down one position, ending the week at number 9. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing is down four positions, ending the week at number 15. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing debuts at number 1. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses is up one position, ending the week at number 3. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Mist and Fury is up five positions, ending the week at number 7. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Stephen King's Holly is down four spots, finishing the week at number 15. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Rebecca Yarros' Iron Flame is up three positions, ending the week at number 6. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

TJ Klune's Somewhere Beyond the Sea is down three positions, ending the week at number 8. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Abigail Owen's The Games Gods Play is down five spots, finishing the week at number 11. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

In paperback:

Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing mtaintains its position at number 1. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses maintains its position at number 3. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Mist and Fury is down four positions, ending the week at number 11. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Raven Kennedy's Goldfinch debuts at number 14. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

Stephen King's Holly maintains its position at number 15. For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.

The worst criticism I’ve ever received from an editor is “it sounds like ChatGPT wrote this.” But as soon as Melissa told me that I thought: she’s right. Unfortunately, she said this about the post I wrote about my son getting into Duke. So I’m trying again because I need to tell you that he […]

The post How my son got into Duke appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

I had email FOMO. I could be making a million dollars a year from my subscriber list! I read email marketing advice like it was porn — people say it can happen but I don’t think it really does happen. Finally I capitulated and started collecting data. The best insight from that data set is […]

The post Why am I subscribed to Penelope’s Substack? appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

Professional women’s basketball is a cesspool of mediocrity full of women gatekeeping so the sport can’t change. Fortunately, incoming rookie Caitlin Clark is worth more than the entire WNBA due to her sponsorships. This means that unlike other players, Clark doesn’t work for the WNBA she works for her sponsors and her fans. Also, Clark […]

The post WNBA is totally annoying, here’s how to fix it for Caitlin Clark’s arrival appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

From 1997 to 2012 just 1% of VC funded companies had female founders. Three of those companies were mine. People tell me it’s much better for women now, but statistically, this is BS. I raised money for a startup recently, and here’s what I found works best for female founders: Get a male cofounder. Women raising money without […]

The post How to get funding from deluded, self-congratulating investors appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

Z went to a Duke recruiting weekend where accepted kids can get a feel for the university. He hung out with some kids who decided to go to Harvard and Stanford, and a bunch of kids who decided on Duke. What was similar about all of them? They talked openly about having autism. At lunch […]

The post What explains the outsized success of autistic applicants to college appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

In the last 48 hours many of Y’s friends have been arrested for being part of an anti-war encampment at their college. I am shocked by the large number of college encampments across the US, but I knew this was coming because Y (who goes by they) has been discussing it for months. We are […]

The post My Jewish college kid is protesting the war in Gaza. And I’m proud. appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

I’m meditating now because it slows down time and I only have 14 more weeks until both my kids are at college. When Z is reading on the couch, and Nino is reading next to him, I pull up a chair and meditate with my eyes open because I don’t want to miss this moment. […]

The post How to keep a family together appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

I’ve developed a survey to give to people who slipped me into their not-friend category. Since I’m a person with no ability to cope with nuance, answers to all questions are yes/no. 1. Were you ever my real friend?  I want to know if you needed me like I needed you, but I don’t want […]

The post Questionnaire for everyone who stopped talking to me appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

The post Russian Penitentiary System of the 90s: Two Photo Projects From Foreign Authors appeared first on English Russia.

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