Speaking of doing things on our phones, I made this playlist on my phone on the train ride into NYC yesterday morning. It was inspired by the Donald Glover/Childish Gambino track of the same name that kicks off the playlist. I got off the train into a steamy NYC and I’m gonna need this playlist to get through the week. Maybe you will too. https://avc.com/2018/07/it-feels-like-summer/

We write on our phones all day long. Texts, emails, searches, etc. But long form writing is a different thing. I’m not sure how much long form writing happens on phones. I’ve been mostly writing my daily posts on my phone in the last month and I quite like it. I am writing this post on my phone on a train to NYC this morning. It has a more casual feel. The words flow naturally from my head to my thumbs to the screen. I feel connected to the writing in a way that doesn’t quite happen on a big screen. I like that I can write on my phone anywhere. On a park bench. On a train. Sitting on the beach. Being able to write anywhere makes it less of a chore and more of a treat. Like having a moleskin with you all the time. I don’t write well with a pen or pencil. It is something I’ve struggled with my entire life. Bad eye hand coordination or something else. Whatever the case, I press too hard, my hand cramps, the writing is barely legible, and I race to finish as I hate it. So my moleskin is my phone. And it is always with me and I can pull it out and start typing whenever I want. And I do that quite often. There are a few downsides to writing on a phone. I don’t have Grammarly on my phone and I quite like it to keep my writing clean and neat. And I tend to make a lot more little typos on my phone (misspellings, missing a letter in a word, etc). But I expect the tools for long form writing on a phone will improve over time. The pros outweigh the cons for me and I expect to frequently write blog posts on my phone. Many people tell me that they want to blog but can never find the time to do that. If you are someone like that, try writing on your phone. WordPress has an excellent mobile app that I write in but you could also write in Google Docs or some other mobile app. It’s easy, it can be done anywhere, and it feels so natural. https://avc.com/2018/07/writing-on-my-phone/

We write on our phones all day long. Texts, emails, searches, etc. But long form writing is a different thing. I’m not sure how much long form writing happens on phones. I’ve been mostly writing my daily posts on my phone in the last month and I quite like it. I am writing this post on my phone on a train to NYC this morning. It has a more casual feel. The words flow naturally from my head to my thumbs to the screen. I feel connected to the writing in a way that doesn’t quite happen on a big screen. I like that I can write on my phone anywhere. On a park bench. On a train. Sitting on the beach. Being able to write anywhere makes it less of a chore and more of a treat. Like having a moleskin with you all the time. I don’t write well with a pen or pencil. It is something I’ve struggled with my entire life. Bad eye hand coordination or something else. Whatever the case, I press too hard, my hand cramps, the writing is barely legible, and I race to finish as I hate it. So my moleskin is my phone. And it is always with me and I can pull it out and start typing whenever I want. And I do that quite often. There are a few downsides to writing on a phone. I don’t have Grammarly on my phone and I quite like it to keep my writing clean and neat. And I tend to make a lot more little typos on my phone (misspellings, missing a letter in a word, etc). But I expect the tools for long form writing on a phone will improve over time. The pros outweigh the cons for me and I expect to frequently write blog posts on my phone. Many people tell me that they want to blog but can never find the time to do that. If you are someone like that, try writing on your phone. WordPress has an excellent mobile app that I write in but you could also write in Google Docs or some other mobile app. It’s easy, it can be done anywhere, and it feels so natural. https://avc.com/2018/07/writing-on-my-phone/

Source: http://themusingsofthebigredcar.com/declassify-end-it-now/ Declassify what, Big Red Car? Big Red Car here on a sultry Texas Sunday. Ahh, on Earth as it is in Texas, y’all. I am tired of the continuing saga of the FBI, the DOJ, the Trump admin, the Congress, and the Mueller investigation. There is a way to end all of the pissing and moaning “most rickety tick” (this is an Army saying meaning right way.) Everybody in Washington, DC knows it, but only the President can make it happen. The solution is very simple – DECLASSIFY AND RELEASE EVERYTHING. That is where we are now. Declassify? Why, Big Red Car? What has brought me to this conclusion is watching the pathetic Strzok Congressional hearings last week. They were a circus. First, FBI Agent Peter Strzok is an arrogant ass which showed up clearly in his testimony. Sure, I wrote those texts to my adulterous lover. Sure they indicate bias, but there is no evidence that my work was impacted by my bias. Haha, I love that. You love it? Don’t you smelly deplorables get it? I’m smarter that you. I can smell you coming a mile away. My favorite revelation was his admission that the metadata from the document accurately indicated that his computer was the source of the change from “gross negligence” to “extreme careless” which he acknowledged was suggested by FBI lawyers to ensure that HRC’s actions stopped short of the exact language in the Espionage Statute which would have indicated a felony had been committed. He admitted the change was made. He admitted the metadata pegged it as being made on his computer. He recalled it was suggested by an FBI lawyer for the specific objective of skirting the statute. He indicated he did not “recall making it.” We are now in the Alice in Wonderland segment of the investigation, but there is a solution. Declassify and release everything pertinent to the investigation There are four specific bodies of documents whose release will clear things up. To be released, they will have to be declassified. President Trump has that authority.  1. FISA electronic surveillance applications. An American citizen (Carter Page) can be electronically surveilled if authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (Ted Kennedy sponsor) and as modified subsequently. To do so, the applicant (the DOJ or the FBI or both working in conjunction) must make application to a designated secret court that there is “probable cause” to believe that the target is a foreign agent or working in support of the interests of a foreign country. This is no low hurdle, brother. The application must provide sufficient evidence of this probable cause to obtain the approval of the judge. Obviously, this is an uncontested action as the target of the surveillance is not a party to the application and cannot object or refute any evidence. In this instance, the target was Carter Page, a low level, faux adviser to the fledgling Trump campaign. This was undertaken long before Trump had obtained the Republican nomination. Think about that for a second. What is unanswered currently is what was the evidence which substantiated the finding of “probable cause”. Obviously, everybody thinks it was the Russian Dicey Dossier. If so, then the application was dependent upon the oppo research of one candidate against another opponent. There is the weak support that there was allegedly a footnote which mentioned the info was sourced from the DNC and the HRC campaign – your Big Red Car simply doesn’t believe this. The second implication is that the granting of this application subsumes a right of “two hops” meaning the investigators can go after the target and the next two levels of contact – via cell phone, email, text messages. [They can go after you, your mother, and her bridge club. Sheesh!] There is the caveat, which seems to have been wholly ignored, that the locus of surveillance has to be somewhere that the target (foreign agent) will be engaged in their nefarious work. [The bridge club?] This means you can’t just make two hops for the sake of enlarging the investigation, but it has to be pertinent to the underlying investigation. In addition to the original application, there were three extensions. To obtain an extension, the applicant must swear or affirm that the prior surveillance was fruitful – meaning there was useful “take.” This is a huge bone of contention. All of this can be cleared up by declassifying (redactions are fine) the FISA electronic surveillance applications and all supporting materials.  2. FBI Woods file. The FBI cannot just staple the Russian Dicey Dossier to the FISA electronic surveillance application and call it a day. They are required to build and maintain a file called a “Woods Procedures File” which demonstrates how they vetted and verified every bit of data incorporated in or attached to the FISA electronic surveillance application. If they cannot vet or verify it, they can’t use it. This file either does or does not exist. It is going to be a very dicey problem if the FISA electronic surveillance application used the Russian Dicey Dossier and the Woods Procedures file is empty on the issue of its verification. Particularly when former Director Comey has said and repeated the Dicey Dossier was “salacious and unverified.” It is an altogether different problem if the renewals were not based on useful take. “Lucy, we got a problem here.” This problem can be cleared up by declassifying the FBI Woods Procedures file.  3. FBI Form 302. The FBI Agent who interviews anybody is required to fill out an FBI Form 302 to document the conversation. These are currently classified. One of the big sticking points is how exactly did the FBI first obtain the Dicey Dossier? One school of thought has a DOJ Associate Deputy AG Bruce Ohr, the DOJ’s primary point of contact with Michael Steele, the author of the Dicey Dossier, as a direct conduit to the FBI. The FBI interviewed Ohr twelve times. Why? BTW, Ohr’s wife worked for Fusion GPS who paid Steel for the preparation of the Dicey Dossier. Ohr was subsequently demoted – twice – by the DOJ for his involvement in this matter. Why? It would be useful to know exactly what role Ohr and his wife played, particularly as it relates to how the FBI came into possession of the Dicey Dossier and as of what specific date. The FBI says nothing was going on before 31 July 2016 while it appears that Ohr, his wife, Fusion GPS all had the Dicey Dossier in some form of distribution long before that date. All of this could be cleared up by declassifying the FBI Form 302s.  4. The FBI Form 1023. An FBI Form 1023 is the equivalent of an FBI Form 302 except it is pertinent to counterintelligence. It would be used to document every contact with anyone in regard to a counterintel investigation – people like the Australian diplomat who had a drink with George the Pop, the supposed FBI undercover guy who struck up a convo with Trump campaign folks long before 31 July 2016, the CEO/founder of Fusion GPS – just a slew of interesting folks. The declassification of these docs would shed light on and clear up any confusion as to when the investigation was really initiated, who was involved, and what roles they played. Why not, Big Red Car? Of course, the objections to this are multiple:  1. Declassifying these documents may reveal means and methods of intel gathering.  2. Declassifying these documents may reveal humint sources.  3. Declassifying these documents may compromise some unstated element of the Mueller investigation. The Big Red Car calls baloney on all of these things. There are simply guard rails which must be erected and respected. Bottom line it, Big Red Car The bottom line, dear reader, is this:  1. If the “take” on Carter Page was sufficient to obtain the original FISA warrant and three renewals, why is he walking around like a free man? In the entire campaign, this low level wannabee was the linchpin to the Russian collusion? No kidding?  2. There hasn’t been a single bit of evidence promulgated other than the Dicey Dossier. In two years, not a single thing of any portent has emerged which bears on Trump Campaign – Russian collusion.  3. Every time the DOJ/FBI has declassified or produced a document, prior objections or redactions professing a national security objection have been false. What has been revealed is that the DOJ/FBI has not been telling the truth and what was revealed was embarrassing proof of that fact. It is time to skin it back and let it stink, y’all. But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.           Share this:TweetShare on TumblrPrint Related Source: http://themusingsofthebigredcar.com/declassify-end-it-now/

I have long had an interest in determining when the video offerings available “over the top” will be sufficient so that customers will no longer need to buy video from their cable providers. I was writing about this issue in the early days of AVC, fifteen years ago, but certainly, that was way too early for the over the top market to develop. USV had an investment in this market, the hardware device Boxee, that missed the mark and was beaten by Roku and, most significantly, by AppleTV. I have not written as much about this topic in recent years as my interests have been elsewhere, but I continue to pay attention to this sector. Over the last few weeks, we have been moving into a new home where we have broadband internet and satellite television. The broadband has been working well but we have had installation issues with the satellite. And so we have been using our AppleTVs to watch video while we wait for the satellite to get installed. We have yet to find something we want to watch that we could not get over AppleTV. World Cup – yes, on the Fox app Wimbledon – yes, on the ESPN app Summer NBA League in Vegas – yes, on ESPN app It helps that we have a satellite TV account that we can log into these apps with. So while we can cut the cord, or the dish as it were, we still need to pay the legacy industry some money every month. I have heard that the new YouTube TV offering is pretty amazing. And I have also heard that the DirectTV app on AppleTV gives you everything you get on your dish. I need to check out both of those things. I also realize that many people have gone over the top in the last ten years and have not missed cable and our family is, if anything, late to making this switch. But I like to have redundancy. The internet can go down. The dish can go down. But rarely do they go down at the same time. But at some point, it may be better to have two internet providers and no video provider. We may have reached that point. https://avc.com/2018/07/going-over-the-top/