From rich at tnrglobal.com Tue Apr 1 14:28:35 2025 From: rich at tnrglobal.com (Rich@tnr) Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2025 10:28:35 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Happy World Backup Day Message-ID: <6045cff4-d958-462b-968f-eb87d214ba13@tnrglobal.com> Came from FB on the 1st so ... It's #WorldBackupDay ? We're celebrating by sharing a new knitted floppy disk jumper made by Leontien Talboom, a Technical Analyst at the University Library. Leontien's research project 'Future Nostalgia' is striving to preserve floppy disks and their content, with funding from The British Academy and Leverhulme Trust: https://loom.ly/2a2XzYo Want to knit your own floppy disk jumper? This blog post is here to help:? https://loom.ly/VVpxgfQ Remember to back up your files, folks! If you want to see the image: (also comments are very good bit of history) https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1050365870458410&set=a.542650951229907 Happy 1st all -- Rich Roth CEO TnR Global Bio and personal blog: http://rizbang.com Building the really big sites: http://www.tnrglobal.com Small/Soho business in the PV: http://www.hidden-tech.net Places to meet for business: http://www.meetmewhere.com And for Arts and relaxation: http://TarotMuertos.com - Artistic Tarot Deck http://www.welovemuseums.com http://www.artonmytv.com/ Shakers: http://www.shakerpedia.com/ Helping move the world: http://www.earththrives.com From tech at montaguewebworks.com Tue Apr 1 16:55:20 2025 From: tech at montaguewebworks.com (Michael Muller) Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Rewriting SSA code in months - possible? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <58b4e98f-deb8-4eae-bad4-b898bddd8ece@montaguewebworks.com> Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of the more important fired personnel at critical federal agencies, the slap-dash eager beavers running around DOGE without a leash feel like drunk moshers in china shop. Any conversion by these people will be a fiasco, because they intrinsically don't care. Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and benefits report before it's offline. Mik Mik Muller, president Montague WebWorks 20 River Street, Greenfield, MA 413-320-5336 http://MontagueWebWorks.com Powered by ROCKETFUSION On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote: > https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa- > codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed > > Hi Hidden Techies,Here's one?for coders on the list. A friend sent me > a link to this article in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are claiming > they can rewrite the SSA code in months. Wire reports that the SSA > codebase has over 60 million lines of COBOL > ?and > handles record keeping for all American workers and payments for all > Social Security recipients. The aim is to migrate all? SSA systems off > COBOL ... and onto a more modern replacement like Java within a > scheduled tight timeframe of a few months," notes Wired.Some > questions:Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a > month?What?happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes?Would SSA have > a backup system of the COBOL code? > Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits keep them safe. > If any people can do this, I know either you can or know someone who > can. Please post?your thoughts to the list.If you want to chat with me > about this situation then call me at 413-362-4392. thanks! > Amy ZuckermanHIDDEN TECH mother emeritus > I > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jonathan at ptco.org Tue Apr 1 19:54:24 2025 From: jonathan at ptco.org (Jonathan Mirin) Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:54:24 +0000 Subject: [Hidden-tech] seeking land use or general non-profit attorney recommendations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks for asking Andrew! We are looking for someone familiar with general land use issues like: - zoning - wetlands - deeds If they had experience with issues related to utilities and/or cell towers that would be a bonus :) This does not have to be the same person but we are also looking for an attorney who might be interested in learning more [about the company](https://ptco.org/about/)with an eye to potentially joining our Board. https://ptco.org/about/ Appreciate it, Jon Jonathan Mirin [Piti Th??tre Company](http://www.ptco.org) (413) 625 - 6569 Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. On Friday, March 28th, 2025 at 7:01 AM, Andrew Bellak wrote: > Hi Jonathan, > > Can you be more specific about what kind of land use? > > Regards, > Andrew > > On Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 10:46?PM Jonathan Mirin via Hidden-discuss wrote: > >> Dear Hidden-Techers, >> If anyone has any land use attorney or general non-profit attorney recommendations, thanks for passing them along. >> Appreciate it! >> Jon >> >> Jonathan Mirin >> [Piti Th??tre Company](http://www.ptco.org) >> (413) 625 - 6569 >> >> Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. >> _______________________________________________ >> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net >> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net >> >> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. >> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members >> page on the Hidden Tech Web site. >> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > IMPORTANT: Perigon Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment advisor. Information in this message is for the intended recipient[s] only. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC often communicates with its clients and prospective clients through email and other electronic means. Your privacy and security are very important to us. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC makes every effort to ensure that email communications do not contain sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, please delete and destroy all copies in your possession, notify the sender that you have received this communication in error, and note that any review or dissemination of, or the taking of any action in reliance on, this communication is expressly prohibited. We remind our clients and others not to send Perigon Wealth Management, LLC private information over email. If you have sensitive data to deliver, we can provide secure means for such delivery. Please note Perigon Wealth Management, LLC does not accept trading or money movement instructions via email. Please visit our website [www.perigonwealth.com](http://www.perigonwealth.com/) for important disclosures. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bklee at azurelink.com Tue Apr 1 20:40:07 2025 From: bklee at azurelink.com (B. Kimo Lee) Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2025 16:40:07 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] seeking land use or general non-profit attorney recommendations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8DC63E63-6751-4C03-873E-27DC915C9188@azurelink.com> Hi Jonathan, I can highly recommend Boston attorney Gregor I. McGregor of McGregor Legere & Stevens, PC. https://www.mcgregorlaw.com They have years of experience in those issues and much more. Experts in environmental law and litigation. I?m not sure but maybe utilities and cell towers might fall under the areas of Energy Siting and Industrial Compliance. Definitely wetlands and zoning, deeds, etc. You can see a list of their practice areas on their site. Good luck, B. Kimo Lee bklee at azurelink.com > On Apr 1, 2025, at 3:54?PM, Jonathan Mirin via Hidden-discuss wrote: > > Thanks for asking Andrew! > We are looking for someone familiar with general land use issues like: > zoning > wetlands > deeds > If they had experience with issues related to utilities and/or cell towers that would be a bonus :) > This does not have to be the same person but we are also looking for an attorney who might be interested in learning more about the company with an eye to potentially joining our Board. > Appreciate it, Jon > > Jonathan Mirin > Piti Th??tre Company > (413) 625 - 6569 > > > > > > Sent with Proton Mail secure email. > > On Friday, March 28th, 2025 at 7:01 AM, Andrew Bellak wrote: >> Hi Jonathan, >> >> Can you be more specific about what kind of land use? >> >> Regards, >> Andrew >> >> On Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 10:46?PM Jonathan Mirin via Hidden-discuss > wrote: >>> Dear Hidden-Techers, >>> If anyone has any land use attorney or general non-profit attorney recommendations, thanks for passing them along. >>> Appreciate it! >>> Jon >>> >>> Jonathan Mirin >>> Piti Th??tre Company >>> (413) 625 - 6569 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Sent with Proton Mail secure email. >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net >>> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net >>> >>> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. >>> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members >>> page on the Hidden Tech Web site. >>> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members >> >> IMPORTANT: Perigon Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment advisor. Information in this message is for the intended recipient[s] only. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC often communicates with its clients and prospective clients through email and other electronic means. Your privacy and security are very important to us. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC makes every effort to ensure that email communications do not contain sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, please delete and destroy all copies in your possession, notify the sender that you have received this communication in error, and note that any review or dissemination of, or the taking of any action in reliance on, this communication is expressly prohibited. We remind our clients and others not to send Perigon Wealth Management, LLC private information over email. If you have sensitive data to deliver, we can provide secure means for such delivery. Please note Perigon Wealth Management, LLC does not accept trading or money movement instructions via email. Please visit our website www.perigonwealth.com for important disclosures. >> > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew at stakeholderscapital.com Tue Apr 1 21:49:06 2025 From: andrew at stakeholderscapital.com (Andrew Bellak) Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2025 17:49:06 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] seeking land use or general non-profit attorney recommendations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Jonathan, Maybe just go with Kimo?s recommendation. I was going to ask my friend at Kestrel Trust. Regards, Andrew On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 3:54?PM Jonathan Mirin wrote: > Thanks for asking Andrew! > We are looking for someone familiar with general land use issues like: > > - zoning > > > - wetlands > > > - deeds > > If they had experience with issues related to utilities and/or cell towers > that would be a bonus :) > This does not have to be the same person but we are also looking for an > attorney who might be interested in learning more about the company > with an eye to potentially joining our Board. > > Appreciate it, Jon > > Jonathan Mirin > Piti Th??tre Company > (413) 625 - 6569 > > > > > > Sent with Proton Mail secure email. > > On Friday, March 28th, 2025 at 7:01 AM, Andrew Bellak < > andrew at stakeholderscapital.com> wrote: > > Hi Jonathan, > > Can you be more specific about what kind of land use? > > Regards, > Andrew > > On Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 10:46?PM Jonathan Mirin via Hidden-discuss < > hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote: > >> Dear Hidden-Techers, >> If anyone has any land use attorney or general non-profit attorney >> recommendations, thanks for passing them along. >> Appreciate it! >> Jon >> >> Jonathan Mirin >> Piti Th??tre Company >> (413) 625 - 6569 >> >> >> >> >> >> Sent with Proton Mail secure email. >> _______________________________________________ >> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net >> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net >> >> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. >> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members >> page on the Hidden Tech Web site. >> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members >> > > IMPORTANT: Perigon Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment > advisor. Information in this message is for the intended recipient[s] only. > Perigon Wealth Management, LLC often communicates with its clients and > prospective clients through email and other electronic means. Your privacy > and security are very important to us. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC makes > every effort to ensure that email communications do not contain sensitive > information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, > please delete and destroy all copies in your possession, notify the sender > that you have received this communication in error, and note that any > review or dissemination of, or the taking of any action in reliance on, > this communication is expressly prohibited. We remind our clients and > others not to send Perigon Wealth Management, LLC private information over > email. If you have sensitive data to deliver, we can provide secure means > for such delivery. Please note Perigon Wealth Management, LLC does not > accept trading or money movement instructions via email. Please visit our > website www.perigonwealth.com for important disclosures. > > > -- IMPORTANT:??Perigon Wealth Management, LLC?is a registered investment advisor. Information in this message is for the intended recipient[s] only.? Perigon Wealth Management, LLC?often communicates with its clients and prospective clients through email and other electronic means. Your privacy and security are very important to us. Perigon Wealth Management, LLC makes every effort to ensure that email communications do not contain sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, please delete and destroy all copies in your possession, notify the sender that you have received this communication in error, and note that any review or dissemination of, or the taking of any action in reliance on, this communication is expressly prohibited. We remind our clients and others not to send Perigon Wealth Management, LLC private information over email. If you have sensitive data to deliver, we can provide secure means for such delivery. Please note Perigon Wealth Management, LLC does not accept trading or money movement instructions via email. Please visit our website?www.perigonwealth.com ?for important disclosures. ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rob at 2disc.com Wed Apr 2 03:24:15 2025 From: rob at 2disc.com (Rob Laporte) Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2025 23:24:15 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Rewriting SSA code in months - possible? In-Reply-To: <58b4e98f-deb8-4eae-bad4-b898bddd8ece@montaguewebworks.com> References: <58b4e98f-deb8-4eae-bad4-b898bddd8ece@montaguewebworks.com> Message-ID: <195f4863ebf.e54286b1218848.4161427630768364332@2disc.com> As in love, war, sales, science, history, and most everything, I find that truly listening to others, especially those I differ from, helps me learn new things, and sometimes leads both sides to higher ground. I also learn more by following: "The beginning of wisdom is 'I don't know'" (Socrates); or Bill Mahar's ?I don?t know 99.9% of stuff.? The problem is news is for sale now. Google sucked out most news channels' ad revenue, so channels had to sell out more or less. This means it takes too much time to find out what actually is happening in a field. One way I save time is to permanently discard a news source that lied (or grossly omitted) in a major story. After doing that for years, I've had to throw out pretty much all the formerly top news sources, which presents the whole new problem of finding reliable news. One solution I tried was Musk's https://x.com/i/grok LLM because, on a purely technical basis (it would take hours to explain), Grok seems to vectorize recent data better than the other top LLMs which compile data every few months while merely slapping on more recent data. I tested Grok by asking it to examine opposing stories about DOGE. If you are one who selects facts to fit your existing understanding, and you hate DOGE, you'd love some of Grok's replies to my queries. But in general, Grok, by citing and linking to actual sources within a perspective that considered opposing views, made all the extreme views look silly. I've long thought that the greatest threat to those who aim to destroy democracy is an LLM "Truth Machine." You might think that Grok, coming from, not Musk, but teams Musk hired, must be evil so not worth trying. Myself, I try to avoid prejudice (that is, not pre-judge), and so far I have found Grok has resolved extremes to useful, nuanced assessment, which taught me a lot I did not know. ChatGPT has done so too, but not so well with recent data, and hardly at all with very recent data. While Grok beta is still free, why not ask it about, for example, the constitutional issue of https://x.com/i/grok/share/uDBx1CGKhPgYFA0mLTaLpdXUE? (That's a Grok thread.) I think you'll be surprised to find that valid points on both sides of an issue are addressed, in contrast to this or that news source that excludes one or the other side and thereby incites US neighbors to attack rather than learn from one another.? Regarding SS payments, it's really worth knowing what Musk said in this one minute video:?https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R. Will that happen? I don't know, but I sure as heck expect a half-decent news source to report that statement to me, because then I can follow-up on it later.? Here's the punch line: harmony among citizens depends on news channels that are balanced and not mere editorial fed to fan our feelings and clock click revenue. I'm still seeking one such news source, if anyone has suggestions. I've heard an India news source is good, but I forget which. Though using a "truth machine" takes much less time than verifying each news story I read, it still takes a lot more time than good ol' news that obeys no party, cites the relevant sources, and does not omit crucial parts of the story.? Best Regards, Rob Laporte CEO? |? R&D Manager DISC - Making Websites?Make Money mailto:Rob at 2disc.com,?413-584-6500 https://www.2disc.com NOTE:?Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you don?t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call. ---- On Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 Michael Muller via Hidden-discuss wrote --- Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of the more important fired personnel at critical federal agencies, the slap-dash eager beavers running around DOGE without a leash feel like drunk moshers in china shop. Any conversion by these people will be a fiasco, because they intrinsically don't care. Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and benefits report before it's offline. Mik Mik Muller, president Montague WebWorks 20 River Street, Greenfield, MA 413-320-5336 http://MontagueWebWorks.com Powered by ROCKETFUSION On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote: https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Hi Hidden Techies, Here's one?for coders on the list. A friend sent me a link to this article in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are claiming they can rewrite the SSA code in months. Wire reports that the SSA codebase has?https://oig.ssa.gov/congressional-testimony/2016-07-14-newsroom-congressional-testimony-july14-ssa-modernization/?and handles record keeping for all American workers and payments for all Social Security recipients.? The aim is to migrate all? SSA systems off COBOL ... and onto a more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight timeframe of a few months," notes Wired. Some questions: Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a month? What?happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes? Would SSA have a backup system of the COBOL code? Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits keep them safe. If any people can do this, I know either you can or know someone who can. Please post?your thoughts to the list. If you want to chat with me about this situation then call me at 413-362-4392.? thanks! Amy Zuckerman HIDDEN TECH mother emeritus I _______________________________________________ Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members page on the Hidden Tech Web site. http://www.hidden-tech.net/members -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shel at principledprofit.com Wed Apr 2 17:15:50 2025 From: shel at principledprofit.com (Shel Horowitz) Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2025 10:15:50 -0700 Subject: [Hidden-tech] News sources (wasRe: Rewriting SSA code in months - possible?) In-Reply-To: <195f4863ebf.e54286b1218848.4161427630768364332@2disc.com> References: <58b4e98f-deb8-4eae-bad4-b898bddd8ece@montaguewebworks.com> <195f4863ebf.e54286b1218848.4161427630768364332@2disc.com> Message-ID: Rob, I rely heavily on The Guardian, the AP News, Al Jazeera for Middle Eastern stuff, and perplexity.ai because it gives the sources. I also read a number of progressive columnists but I feel like listing them here is a little off topic. On Tue, Apr 1, 2025, 8:24?PM Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss < hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote: > As in love, war, sales, science, history, and most everything, I find that > truly listening to others, especially those I differ from, helps me learn > new things, and sometimes leads both sides to higher ground. I also learn > more by following: "The beginning of wisdom is 'I don't know'" (Socrates); > or Bill Mahar's ?I don?t know 99.9% of stuff.? > > The problem is news is for sale now. Google sucked out most news channels' > ad revenue, so channels had to sell out more or less. This means it takes > too much time to find out what actually is happening in a field. One way I > save time is to permanently discard a news source that lied (or grossly > omitted) in a major story. After doing that for years, I've had to throw > out pretty much all the formerly top news sources, which presents the whole > new problem of finding reliable news. > > One solution I tried was Musk's Grok LLM because, > on a purely technical basis (it would take hours to explain), Grok seems to > vectorize recent data better than the other top LLMs which compile data > every few months while merely slapping on more recent data. I tested Grok > by asking it to examine opposing stories about DOGE. If you are one who > selects facts to fit your existing understanding, and you hate DOGE, you'd > love some of Grok's replies to my queries. But in general, Grok, by citing > and linking to actual sources within a perspective that considered opposing > views, made all the extreme views look silly. > > I've long thought that the greatest threat to those who aim to destroy > democracy is an LLM "Truth Machine." You might think that Grok, coming > from, not Musk, but teams Musk hired, must be evil so not worth trying. > Myself, I try to avoid prejudice (that is, not pre-judge), and so far I > have found Grok has resolved extremes to useful, nuanced assessment, which > taught me a lot I did not know. ChatGPT has done so too, but not so well > with recent data, and hardly at all with very recent data. While Grok beta > is still free, why not ask it about, for example, the constitutional issue > of executive vs. congressonal managment of federal agencies > ? (That's a Grok > thread.) I think you'll be surprised to find that valid points on both > sides of an issue are addressed, in contrast to this or that news source > that excludes one or the other side and thereby incites US neighbors to > attack rather than learn from one another. > > Regarding SS payments, it's *really* worth knowing what Musk said in this > one minute video: > https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R. > Will that happen? I don't know, but I sure as heck expect a half-decent > news source to report that statement to me, because then I can follow-up on > it later. > > *Here's the punch line:* harmony among citizens depends on news channels > that are balanced and not mere editorial fed to fan our feelings and clock > click revenue. I'm still seeking one such news source, if anyone has > suggestions. I've heard an India news source is good, but I forget which. > Though using a "truth machine" takes much less time than verifying each > news story I read, it still takes a lot more time than good ol' news that > obeys no party, cites the relevant sources, and does not omit crucial parts > of the story. > > > Best Regards, > > *Rob Laporte* > CEO | R&D Manager > *DISC - Making Websites Make Money* > Rob at 2disc.com, 413-584-6500 > www.2disc.com > > *NOTE:* Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you > don?t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call. > > > > ---- On Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 *Michael Muller via > Hidden-discuss >* wrote --- > > Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of the more > important fired personnel at critical federal agencies, the slap-dash eager > beavers running around DOGE without a leash feel like drunk moshers in > china shop. Any conversion by these people will be a fiasco, because they > intrinsically don't care. > > Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and benefits report > before it's offline. > > Mik > > Mik Muller, president > Montague WebWorks > 20 River Street, Greenfield, MA > 413-320-5336http://MontagueWebWorks.com > Powered by ROCKETFUSION > > On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote: > > https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa- > > codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed > > > Hi Hidden Techies, > Here's one for coders on the list. A friend sent me a link to this article > in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are claiming they can rewrite the SSA > code in months. Wire reports that the SSA codebase has over 60 million > lines of COBOL > and > handles record keeping for all American workers and payments for all Social > Security recipients. > The aim is to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL ... and onto a more > modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight timeframe of a few > months," notes Wired. > Some questions: > Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a month? > What happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes? > Would SSA have a backup system of the COBOL code? > > Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits keep them safe. If > any people can do this, I know either you can or know someone who can. > Please post your thoughts to the list. > If you want to chat with me about this situation then call me at > 413-362-4392. > thanks! > > Amy Zuckerman > HIDDEN TECH mother emeritus > > I > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From valleywood2012 at gmail.com Thu Apr 3 00:14:54 2025 From: valleywood2012 at gmail.com (AI Zuckerman) Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2025 17:14:54 -0700 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Can we reverse DOGE code damage? Message-ID: Hey Hidden Techies, Got some great information from some of you about the damage the DOGE techies can do to SS data. From what we know, DOGE kids have hacked into most important government databases. Now - the challenge is to determine if their damage can be reversed. And, also, do these government agencies have backups to their systems that DOGE can not invade? I am collecting all responses and will pull together a query based on your information to WIRED and other publications / websites / social media and blogs you recommend. I want to get our knowledge out in the wider world. No need to use your names if you want to be anonymous. My editor friend Ned and I will pull together the queries. We worked on national and global stories together over the decades and co-wrote Managing Quality. Here is the woman you may not know - the investigative media person, editor and author. Visit my A - Z International Associates website ( www.aizmarketing.net) and take a look at my books (PRODUCTS) and Clients. Then check out my award with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This is my work for major corporations, government agencies (US and EU) and non-governmental agencies in the 1990s and 2000s. With training from the head of standards at Motorola I helped expose a trade war with Europe that was based on quality management, national and international standards. I am sure you techies know what a standard (building spec) is about. The content you will read if you choose is NOT OLD. It is the basis of what is taking place today with tariffs and other trade barriers. It is the hidden global economy and you are all a part of that whether you know this or not. So let's bring out knowledge to the world and save our economy and our futures. Please write to the list if you choose, but write to me personally and call me at 413-362-4392 if you want to be part of an article or series of articles. yours from Amy Zuckerman Hidden Tech's mother emeritus -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rtblechner at gmail.com Wed Apr 2 22:17:19 2025 From: rtblechner at gmail.com (Ron Blechner) Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2025 18:17:19 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Can we reverse DOGE code damage? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We definitely can insist on prosecuting the criminal enterprise behind this, as soon as they're out of power. On Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 6:05?PM AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss < hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote: > Hey Hidden Techies, > > Got some great information from some of you about the damage the DOGE > techies can do to SS data. From what we know, DOGE kids have hacked into > most important government databases. > > Now - the challenge is to determine if their damage can be reversed. And, > also, do these government agencies have backups to their systems that DOGE > can not invade? > > I am collecting all responses and will pull together a query based on your > information to WIRED and other publications / websites / social media and > blogs you recommend. I want to get our knowledge out in the wider world. No > need to use your names if you want to be anonymous. > > My editor friend Ned and I will pull together the queries. We worked on > national and global stories together over the decades and co-wrote Managing > Quality. > > Here is the woman you may not know - the investigative media person, > editor and author. Visit my A - Z International Associates website ( > www.aizmarketing.net) and take a look at my books (PRODUCTS) and Clients. > Then check out my award with the American National Standards Institute > (ANSI). > > This is my work for major corporations, government agencies (US and EU) > and non-governmental agencies in the 1990s and 2000s. With training from > the head of standards at Motorola I helped expose a trade war with Europe > that was based on quality management, national and international standards. > I am sure you techies know what a standard (building spec) is about. > > The content you will read if you choose is NOT OLD. It is the basis of > what is taking place today with tariffs and other trade barriers. It is the > hidden global economy and you are all a part of that whether you know this > or not. > > So let's bring out knowledge to the world and save our economy and our > futures. > > Please write to the list if you choose, but write to me personally and > call me at 413-362-4392 if you want to be part of an article or series of > articles. > > yours from Amy Zuckerman > > Hidden Tech's mother emeritus > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jwerner at jwdp.com Thu Apr 3 21:04:08 2025 From: jwerner at jwdp.com (Jan Werner) Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2025 17:04:08 -0400 Subject: [Hidden-tech] Rewriting SSA code in months - possible? In-Reply-To: <195f4863ebf.e54286b1218848.4161427630768364332@2disc.com> References: <58b4e98f-deb8-4eae-bad4-b898bddd8ece@montaguewebworks.com> <195f4863ebf.e54286b1218848.4161427630768364332@2disc.com> Message-ID: <4d8b7c49-b027-4c22-b2b7-5751dba405d5@jwdp.com> Good point, although probably not what you had in mind. Left out of that 1 minute video is the context, which is that Musk was discussing his claim that 40% of all phone calls to SSA are fraudulent. The NY Times had an excellent article Tuesday on where he came up with that figure, which was a report that 40% of direct deposit fraud involved phone calls. Total direct deposit fraud amounts to $100 million a year, so we're talking about $40 million in fraud from phone calls. That's not nothing, but given that SS pays $1.5 trillion a year in benefits, we're talking about less than .003% of benefits lost to phone fraud. That's not even a rounding error, as Musk surely knows. Thanks, but I'll get my news from reliable sources, not YouTube clips. Jan Werner ______________ On 4/1/2025 11:24 PM, Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss wrote: > > Regarding SS payments, it's /really/ worth knowing what Musk said in > this one minute video: https://youtube.com/clip/ > Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX?si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R youtube.com/clip/Ugkxit7SyqsJxYkfVJGYIKNYGEe8AtT5-wJX? > si=4VVWpzQnubES1r1R>. Will that happen? I don't know, but I sure as heck > expect a half-decent news source to report that statement to me, because > then I can follow-up on it later. > > *Here's the punch line:* harmony among citizens depends on news channels > that are balanced and not mere editorial fed to fan our feelings and > clock click revenue. I'm still seeking one such news source, if anyone > has suggestions. I've heard an India news source is good, but I forget > which. Though using a "truth machine" takes much less time than > verifying each news story I read, it still takes a lot more time than > good ol' news that obeys no party, cites the relevant sources, and does > not omit crucial parts of the story. > > > Best Regards, > > *Rob Laporte* > CEO? |? R&D Manager > *DISC - Making Websites?Make Money* > Rob at 2disc.com , 413-584-6500 > www.2disc.com > > *NOTE:*?Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you > don?t get a reply within an expected span of time, please call. > > > > ---- On Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:55:20 -0400 *Michael Muller via Hidden- > discuss * wrote --- > > Considering the recent backtracking and re-hiring of some of the > more important fired personnel at critical federal agencies, the > slap-dash eager beavers running around DOGE without a leash feel > like drunk moshers in china shop. Any conversion by these people > will be a fiasco, because they intrinsically don't care. > > Log in to the SSA portal and download your payments and benefits > report before it's offline. > > Mik > > Mik Muller, president > Montague WebWorks > 20 River Street, Greenfield, MA > 413-320-5336 > http://MontagueWebWorks.com > Powered by ROCKETFUSION > > On 3/29/2025 1:12 AM, AI Zuckerman via Hidden-discuss wrote: > > https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to- > rewrite-ssa- story/25/03/28/2148205/doge-to-rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months? > utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed> > codebase-in-months?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed > rewrite-ssa-codebase-in-months? > utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed> > > Hi Hidden Techies, > Here's one?for coders on the list. A friend sent me a link to > this article in Wired. Apparently, DOGE techies are claiming > they can rewrite the SSA code in months. Wire reports that the > SSA codebase has over 60 million lines of COBOL oig.ssa.gov/congressional-testimony/2016-07-14-newsroom- > congressional-testimony-july14-ssa-modernization/>?and handles > record keeping for all American workers and payments for all > Social Security recipients. > The aim is to migrate all? SSA systems off COBOL ... and onto a > more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight > timeframe of a few months," notes Wired. > Some questions: > Is it possible to handle this mammoth job in a month? > What?happens if the techies in DOGE make mistakes? > Would SSA have a backup system of the COBOL code? > > Let all of us oldsters who depend on our SSA benefits keep them > safe. If any people can do this, I know either you can or know > someone who can. Please post?your thoughts to the list. > If you want to chat with me about this situation then call me at > 413-362-4392. > thanks! > > Amy Zuckerman > HIDDEN TECH mother emeritus > > I > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion > list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members