Erudite, insightful, self-aware and almost human: Give your local database admin a hug – it’s DBA Appreciation Day
Dutch national broadcaster saw ad revenue rise when it stopped tracking users. It’s meant to work like that, right?
Johnny Ryan, chief policy officer at privacy-focused browser biz Brave, has reported on how ad revenue increased when Dutch national broadcaster NPO stopped running third-party trackers on its online video website.
‘Google cannot stop it, control it or curtail it…’ Inside the murky world of fake addiction treatment center search spam
Special report Addicts seeking substance abuse treatment are being deceived by phony medical clinics advertising on Google’s business directory system – and the web giant seems unwilling or unable to fix the issue.
An investigator who asked to remain anonymous provided The Register with research detailing online advertising in the substance abuse treatment industry, including a review of Google search results listings and how they’re informed by Google My Business data, which companies provide about themselves to identify their store locations and hours. It appears that many of these are just front organizations, intended to pick up people desperate for care and with the insurance to pay for it.
Dig into that and I’m sure that you’ll find Scientology’s Narconon. There was a story a few years ago about that.
Speaking of Scientology… This looks like it’ll be quite the series:
Ugh, even in the Before Times, I would’ve given this a hard pass. There was a brief upside to social distancing before my colleagues found another tool to try and burst my bubble.* Then it went down like the Twilight Zone episode, “Time Enough at Last.” The first day a bunch of Zoom meeting invitations arrived in my inbox I thought, “Technology, why have you forsaken me?” 
*Roman Jones drew the best bubble, IMO:
Also speaking of Scientology, I found this funny:
In brief: MI7 hopes to film in part in Norway, but Norway currently has an entry ban for people from most countries, including the USA. The production company thought that Cruise might be able to charm the PM into bending the ban, so asked for a meeting between TC and Solberg. The PM’s office replied: We don’t do that kind of thing. You have to talk to the Ministry of Culture.
(The current culture minister is a bit of an attention whore, so he will certainly be willing to meet with Cruise, as well as advocate for special rule exemption, especially if he gets a walk-on in the movie.)
they’re not stopping
This Article From 1985 Predicted Deadly Force by Police Would Be ‘Nonexistent’ in the Future
Speaking as a part-time SQL developer, good DBAs are godlike wizards who should be celebrated every day. Huzzah!
