The Guardian for this meeting was Riddle Sideways. The comments are by Riddle Sideways.

Adams Rubble: Good morning Riddle :)
               --BELL--
Riddle Sideways: Good Morning!
Adams Rubble: Happy second half of 2018
Riddle Sideways: was digging under the desk for some reason the power brick had quit
Adams Rubble: ooooo
Adams Rubble: no power=--not good
Riddle Sideways: happy new year
Riddle Sideways: yes
Riddle Sideways: happy new day
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble: hot day here
Riddle Sideways: am back from vacation
Adams Rubble: I hope it was a nice one
Riddle Sideways: much cooler here
Riddle Sideways: Saturday was 102F
Adams Rubble: ouch
Riddle Sideways: and very dry
Adams Rubble: only in high 90s here
Adams Rubble: not so dry :)

Riddle Sideways: a great time enjoyed by all
Riddle Sideways: whatever the weather we'll have a good time togeher
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble sings ..inside it is so delightful...let it swelter, let it swelter, let it swelter

Adams Rubble: Hello Storm :)
Storm Nordwind: Good morning!
Riddle Sideways: Hey Storm
Riddle Sideways: was about to talk about festival, but Storm wants no bragging
Riddle Sideways: ㋡
Storm Nordwind: What?! Brag away my friend!
Riddle Sideways: just to mention a lyric that was very nicely worded
Riddle Sideways: a little ditty by Tom Paxton
Riddle Sideways: wish could quote it correctly tho
Riddle Sideways: had to do with the reapeating theme of
Riddle Sideways: no matter how mad, disturbed the man got
Riddle Sideways: what if he could not find a gun
Riddle Sideways: not the song, but ... https://www.billboard.com/articles/n...-of-gun-debate
Storm Nordwind: I like that
               --BELL--
Riddle Sideways: ok, back to bragging ... just spent 5+ days not hearing 'The News'
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: so have (not) missed 1,234 tweets, some shootings, some bad sh*t, etc. etc.
Storm Nordwind: Is that video from the festival?
Adams Rubble: congratulations!
Storm Nordwind: yay!
Adams Rubble: can't believe Tom is 80
Storm Nordwind: Ah that was 2017
Adams Rubble: yikes
Riddle Sideways: oh there is a vid there on that page, no that is not from the dirt bowl
Riddle Sideways: a bunch of the performers were sitting a lot of performances
Storm Nordwind: Interesting point though, going 'off the grid' to some extent
Riddle Sideways: and Marcha Reeves should not sing any more
Storm Nordwind: hehe
Riddle Sideways: at 77
Storm Nordwind: I said that about Ian Anderson
Riddle Sideways: ha, yes read an review 10 years ago that Ian should stop singing
Storm Nordwind: Should HAVE stopped singing. At least 15 years ago.
Riddle Sideways: has not listened to you

Storm Nordwind: So it's easy to switch off the news. But then you're not informed. But if you switch it on, do you get a non-biased view of the world?
Riddle Sideways: there is an On/Off switch
Riddle Sideways: AND
Riddle Sideways: a slider
Riddle Sideways: to change channels
Riddle Sideways: which channel to hear?
Riddle Sideways: which point of view?
Riddle Sideways: which words tell the story?
Riddle Sideways: hear the friends tell it?
Storm Nordwind: But who does, beyond their often narrow range of channels?
Storm Nordwind: It is like the personalized filter bubble advertisers cocoon people in.
Riddle Sideways: remembering the parent's TV. it recieved 3 channels, but was never changed from CBS
Adams Rubble has not watched news in TV in about 10 years
Storm Nordwind smiles
Storm Nordwind: I've taken the habit now of reading most news about one country from the feeds in a different country, one that has less of an axe to grind.
Riddle Sideways: now with 800 TV channels, 1,234 internet radio channels
Riddle Sideways: yes, have taken to listening to NPR's The World
Riddle Sideways: which is somehow connected to BBC (PRI)

Riddle Sideways: ha, had not thought so much about grinding double bit axes before
Riddle Sideways: which side and which face
Storm Nordwind chuckles
Riddle Sideways: four surfaces
Storm Nordwind: Keep the rot out of your haft (a salutary lesson for any man, of course). ;)
Riddle Sideways: how does Iceland report what mr. T said about Iran?
Storm Nordwind waits for the punchline...
Riddle Sideways: haft rot can become hole rot?
               --BELL--
Riddle Sideways: oh, opening another tab
Riddle Sideways: looks like Icelanders keep their opinions off the Internet
Riddle Sideways: wise
Storm Nordwind: indeed
Riddle Sideways: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_of_Iceland
Storm Nordwind: Oooo - grammatical correctness in the first sentence ;)
Riddle Sideways: funny, did not have any intention of going there today
Riddle Sideways: is Media singlur or plural?
Storm Nordwind: A more salient case, perhaps, is 'data'.

Storm Nordwind: Haven't followed Icelandic media much. I do occasionally get an interesting article from Norway or the rest of Scandinavia/
Storm Nordwind looks for one
Riddle Sideways: opened tabs for RSF and the Press Freedom Index
Storm Nordwind: Here's one from the Norwegian Consumer council I read recently. "DECEIVED BY DESIGN" - How tech companies use dark patterns to discourage us from exercising our rights to privacy. https://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-con...sign-final.pdf
Riddle Sideways: skipped right to the flowchart ..... wowo
Riddle Sideways: *wow
Riddle Sideways: thanks, yet another happy article
Storm Nordwind smiles
               --BELL--
Riddle Sideways: so... what 'news' source to turn to?
Storm Nordwind: Perhaps a variety, from different countries maybe?
Storm Nordwind: Whom do you trust?
Riddle Sideways: often trust the ones that the bias is understood/known
Storm Nordwind: That can work to some extent. Though bias can cause mission, not just corruption.
Storm Nordwind: *omission
Riddle Sideways: e.g. that 'news' company that blocks items from being broadcast on their network of stations
Storm Nordwind: right
Riddle Sideways: (forget the specific name)
Storm Nordwind: It also differs depending on whether or not one is trying to effect change.

Adams Rubble: on a national level we need to be informed enough to vote wisely; we do not need to be informed so much that we are getting ulcers :)
Riddle Sideways: yes,
Adams Rubble: we can be very active and make a difference on the local level
Storm Nordwind: If you ARE trying to change the world, it behooves you to see it from your "opponent's" point of view as well as your supporters.
Storm Nordwind: of course there's a natural tendency not to do that.
Adams Rubble: I was raised on the other side :)
Storm Nordwind: Think globally, act locally, Adams?
Riddle Sideways: a local issue is coming up for a vote here, and both sides have sent so many articles to read. all contradictory
Riddle Sideways: care about the issue, but can't find the truth
Riddle Sideways: can't trust either 'side'

Storm Nordwind: Colorado provides a summary for and against from each side for voters in an extensive info booklet ahead of the ballot
Adams Rubble: nice
Riddle Sideways: have that here too
Riddle Sideways: and that is so confusing too
Adams Rubble: :)
Storm Nordwind: Oh?
Riddle Sideways: we collect and compare all the postcards, booklets, mailings
Storm Nordwind: Very few of those I find useful
Riddle Sideways: and try to pick which source is of how much value
Storm Nordwind: Own research is often more illuminating - though I understand I'm lucky being a scholar and having the time
Riddle Sideways: that voter booklet has a summary neutral statement of what the wording is. e.g. "A yes vote on this will repeal the yes you vote in #13"
Riddle Sideways: then there are 2 sided statements
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: A. it is bad
Riddle Sideways: B. it is good
Storm Nordwind: I think perhaps your booklets need to be more like ours!
Adams Rubble: CA has more ballot issues than most places
Storm Nordwind: Of course there's the shortcut so many use: "Let someone else do you thinking for you. Follow an endorsement!"
Storm Nordwind: *your
Riddle Sideways: giggles. yes, S,F, had like 100 ballot issues in 2016 and cut that to 1 in 2017
               --BELL--
Riddle Sideways: Ah! back to the first point
Riddle Sideways: which "someone" do we pick to listen to
Storm Nordwind: Nate Silver. He's always right! >;-)
Riddle Sideways: in the voting subject the Women or Daughters of Am (something or other) are usually used
Adams Rubble: are you thinking of the League of Women Voters or the Daughters of American revolution?

Riddle Sideways: also, there is the daily need to know what happened in Space and in Science and in the Arts and locally and calendar things coming soon
Storm Nordwind: Ars Technica for one
Riddle Sideways: yes. and not C/net

Adams Rubble: I must go. Have a good day and good luck on your search for answers :)
Storm Nordwind: Bye Adams!
Riddle Sideways: Thank you Adams
Adams Rubble: bye for now :)
Riddle Sideways: should go too, but so much to do that can't pick which one first
Riddle Sideways: so will stay ㋡
Riddle Sideways: main computer is back home
Storm Nordwind: Ah well, I need to cook early. So I will make the choice for you ;)
Riddle Sideways: ok, my firend have fun with cooking
Riddle Sideways: the early cook gets ...
Storm Nordwind: Thank you for hosting. And for Tom Paxton!
Storm Nordwind: The early cook gets a clean kitchen.