U.S. Authorities Shut Down WordPress Host With 73,000 Blogs

This is very interesting, is it not?

After the U.S. Government took action against several sites connected to movie streaming recently, nerves are jangling over the possibility that this is just the beginning of a wider crackdown. Now it appears that a free blogging platform has been taken down by its hosting provider on orders from the U.S. authorities on grounds of “a history of abuse”. More than 73,000 blogs are out of action as a result.

They say it’s because of copyright infringement, but is it really? From reading the article here, it would seem that only sites/blogs which were streaming movies and TV shows were shut down initially, but upon further perusal, it seems like the Feds just arbitrarily shut down a server with several tens of thousands of bloggers on it without due process as is usual with this administration. How soon before they find some reason to shut down other servers or networks? What’s probably infuriating to the bloggers who were shut down is that they have no recourse. They have no idea why the server was shut down. And the Feds are mum about it. Also, if the bloggers can even get a hold of the server admin, they’re refused any explanation of why.

Perhaps this is just a “test case” for the FCC to see if or what they can get by with. Any opinions?

Mike…aka thatmrgguy

Alton Brown’s Dry-Aged Rib Roast

As many of my readers know, I am the family cook at least 50% of the time.  I love cooking (except for pastrys, candy and cookies and other crap that requires one to follow directions precisely).  

For most of my life I was too intimidated to try to cook prime rib.  One time I cooked it and it tasted like a cheap immitation of what prime rib should taste like. 

Then I discovered this prime rib recipe from Alton Brown of The Food Network.  Now we have prime rib for Christmas and other special occasions instead of the usual ham or turkey.  And prime rib, or standing rib roast, can be had for the same price as a decent steak. 

As usual, I modified the recipe a little.  I don’t always dry age it as he suggests.  My frig usually has no room.  I also do not use a terra cotta pot to cover the roast–I just use tinfoil.  The secret is in the low oven temp.  If you roast prime rib on too high a temperature it tastes much worse.  And use a meat thermometer, one that can be read from out of the oven without opening the oven to read it.  And for God’s sake don’t over cook it!  Some poor steer died so that you could cook his prime rib to perfection. 

I’ve used this recipe many times and it is impossible to screw up.  The prime rib tastes as good as any that you have ever had in a restaurant, at much less cost.  As Julia C. used to say, “Bon appetit!”

John Doe

Novel, Chapter 5

[I keep hoping that posting what I've already done will get me past the writers' block that has me held up at chapter 17... Just warning all y'all.] 

interest grabber...

 

Chapter Five: Crazy

I drove hard for about ten minutes until I saw a country store. I pulled off to the side and grabbed a rag and ran inside. I pulled the old coughing fit routine again. Cough, cough, as I covered my face. Cough, cough as I walked quickly back to the cooler, pulled out a bottle of wine and a six-pack of beer. Cough, cough as I walked up to the cashier. Cough, cough, as I grabbed a bag of beef jerky and some chips.  Cough, cough, COUGH as I carefully covered my face with the rag up at the cashier, and as I apologized for my coughing. I pulled my cap down over my face further as I dug out a twenty from my (by now disgustingly dirty) pants.  “Thanks” I mumbled as I walked outside towards the car. 

 Just then a state trooper vehicle raced by with his siren screaming and lights flashing. I suddenly realized that I had underestimated how long it would take a few fifteen year old boys, hopped up on adrenaline, to race three-quarters of a mile from where the tractor was disabled to where I had left the phones. I drove in the opposite direction that the trooper had come from, and took the first turn to the right off that road, onto just another Virginia back road. After twenty minutes of driving without incident I cracked open a beer.