Au Cochonnet Marin

Like a homeless dog, I have been looking for a niche (a doghouse in French).
Experts prompted me to do that… and like an obedient pooch, I am following their directives.

Incidentally, a niche can also mean “a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service” and this is going to be the subject of this post.

It all began when I started to look for ways to increase my following; when consulted, professionals said: “find your niche” and concentrate on that topic.

“Focus on identifying your target audience, communicating an authentic message that they want and need and project yourself as an “expert” within your niche”. Kim Garst

As far as I know, I never had a niche and I never pretended to be an expert on anything. The word scares me. On my blog, I wrote about pétanque, photography, French and everything else.
But that is not narrow enough they said, you need to sharpen your focus.

OK, let me think… I got it… Cherchez la femme…

My other interests being rather seasonal, I am then considering focusing on millennial women. This is a fecund subject and it is always in vogue.
What do I know about women? Like all men, practically nothing, but being “on the wallaby track” I have plenty of time to do some research.

After all, who is not interested in women? They are half of the world’s population… It is an ambitious task, but I will risk it… cautiously.

Women have changed. This is probably an understatement. They are not the “weaker sex” of my young adulthood. Today, millennials are empowered women “qui n’ont pas froid aux yeux” (who are not cold in the eyes). This odd colloquialism means that millennials today are not faint-hearted and are willing to push back.
Ask them any question and they will set you straight. There are no embarrassing subjects anymore. Ask and you shall receive.

Millennials women are not perfect, far from it, but they are in flux. They are getting more involved in government and might bring some common sense to the smelly world of male-dominated politics.

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world”.  Hillary Clinton

In conclusion, I might have found my niche after all. Trusted readers, what do you think? Is it a subject worth pursuing? Will I find enough bones in my niche to keep you happy?
Don’t be shy… I await your comments.

Alain

“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition”.  Marilyn Monroe

YouTube, I love you.
The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time on YouTube. My fondness for this site started fairly recently when I found myself incapable of setting up a product that I had just bought on the Internet.

The accompanying instructions were poor, printed on a minuscule piece of paper and extremely difficult to decipher. I logged into YouTube, looked up the name of my product and voila!
A jolly guy popped up on my screen and demonstrated how to set up my gizmo and make it do what it was supposed to do.

But YouTube does much more than that. It offers useful instructions about a large variety of subjects. Name it, and you will probably find it on YouTube. Once in a while, my Amazon Echo Wall Clock or Alexa refuse to do their job properly. The best way to fix the problem, and many others, is to consult Professor YouTube.

I just read that some of the most important life survival skills are not taught in school. A shame! Among them nutrition, basic money management, cooking, basic first aid, and human sexuality.

Yes, human sexuality. And this subject is very different from how babies are made. It is undeniable that sex is a very important factor of a relationship. But there is good sex and bad sex; if one of the partners finds the whole thing unsatisfying, there are good chances that this association will implode.
After all, this is specified in the Constitution… or somewhere else.

If you want to be proficient at anything you do, you first must learn about it. And if you are a tenderfoot in the carnal area, you can learn about the most common sexual practices on YouTube.

Doctor Lindsey Doe is a clinical sexologist and sex educator who hosts a series called Sexplanations. She is well-spoken and a vocal advocate of carnal knowledge and sexual health. There are no taboos in her dissertations and she tackles any subject with brio.

She is straightforward and not afraid to use some common street vocabulary. She calls a spade a spade and that is the way it should be.
Frankly, I was a little taken aback by the things she talked about. But I could have used some of her knowledge when I was a very green young man.

In my days, you became familiar with the subject through pathetic experiments or by visiting a house of good repute.

In conclusion…

Doctor Doe (and her pioneering colleagues) are true benefactors of humanity by breaking old taboos and senseless religious proclamations.

Alain

Yes, they damn are! And we are mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore!

I presently have 134 different passwords and they are multiplying like rabbits on moonlight. It feels like schlepping a big load on my back and it is painfully slowing me down. Just like “lovelocks” on some bridges, it is a burden and it is threatening to bring the whole structure down.

Cybercommerce is to blame for that predicament. Each time you deal with a new outfit, it demands a new password. I understand the reason behind it, but it still is a hassle.

When shopping online I try to deal with a minimum of companies to mitigate the problem. When I purchase something, I usually stick with a reliable outfit like Amazon. They know me and wave me in like an old friend… but this is not always possible.

The problem with passwords is that they have to be complex (at least 12 various digits) and difficult to guess. But on the other hand, they are also impossible to remember. I barely recall my relatives’ names, so how do you expect me to memorize q$R*!!IL6xjB and its myriads of cousins?

I thought for a while that I could use French names or expressions to stump the enemy, but unfortunately, too many people now understand that language. Then I thought about resorting to Russian (with Cyrillic characters) passwords, but the Russians are master hackers. They probably pioneered that technique. If I did this, they would probably cheer me and send me (fake) flowers.

Cybercommerce is just in his infancy and will continue to grow, but there has to be a better way of dealing with security. I understand that the big Tech Guys (particularly Google) are working on this, but tomorrow is not soon enough.

Finding a solution to this irritating problem would be like finding a cure for cancer.

In the meantime, you need to remain extremely vigilant and never use the same password for all your different purchases. The easiest way to deal with this problem is to use a password manager.

“Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don’t let anybody else use it, and get a new one every six months.” Clifford Stoll

 Hackers use bots and “brute force” attacks to crack passwords. A simple password like your firstborn or your dog’s name would not last a minute.

Think of passwords as deadbolts on your doors. If you use cheap locks, soon or later you will be burgled. I guarantee it.

Alain

PS: Just for fun… I wonder if anybody would be clever enough to break this (easy to remember) code that I just created: Aedlp@Ljdgea

Any “Like” would be appreciated ?