Sometimes, most often just after the end of a warm spell, I just feel cold. You'd think that was a physiological response to the physical environment, but it seems more likely to be a psychological response to the social environment -- for which temperature is merely a trigger. No relation to the horse. Today, I think my coldness comes mainly from contact with the disinformation technology edifice.
Take, for the first example, an email message received from my primary bank. "We are bringing even stronger safeguards to your online banking experience," they said. What they mean is: (a) You must open your computer to Javascript and its attendent security risks of allowing other people to program your computer remotely. (b) You must either (b1) run a Flash plugin on your computer and retain Flash "cookies" (offically named Local Shared Objects), accepting the attendent security risks of running third-party software and of allowing security data to be stored on your computer, or (b2) use the secondary password as follows for every access. (c) For access from any other location, or if you want a least minimum level of security on your computer, you must have a cell phone, give the bank your cellphone number, and receive temporary secondary passwords on your cellphone, accepting the attendent security risks. Of course, should you be using a "smart" phone to access the internet you can combine all these security risks in one conveniently hackable device.
Take, for a second example, the website of the National Railroad Museum. It's never been particularly good, and they abandoned development of a good site some years ago in favor of keeping this monstrosity. Normally, I would never visit it. What's so terrible, you ask? Let me recount only the first atrocity one sees: The main page comes to your browser with a bit of information and a few links which you hope might lead to the information you seek when suddenly the entire screen is overwritten by an image of a completely different page. (They call this overlay an "invader", which is descriptive of how it appears, but actually it is more of a "curtain" covering the webpage.) You can't navigate on this overlay, because it is not a webpage but only a picture of a webpage. You can't search search within this overlay, because it is only a picture of a webpage. There are two ways to remove this overlay. (a) You can (a1) open your computer to Javascript and its attendent security risks of allowing other people to program your computer remotely and then (a2) move the mouse cursor to a pre-defined location within the picture and (a3) click. Or (b) you can go to some other website that treats a web user with respect.
Take, for a third example, a mailing from VSP (Vision Service Plan) to annuitants of the Wisconsin Retirement System. I'm beginning to think that I'm not sufficiently retiring, since all of these unhappy communications are able to find me. I'll say this for VSP: The information they do provide appears to be honest. In particular, on page 2 they say that if we subscribe to VSP we may "Choose a VSP Choice doctor or any other provider" and near the bottom of page 3 it explains that "If you plan to see a provider other than a VSP Choice doctor" your benefit will be limited to the amount of two years of premiums, less about $10, which likely covers the cost of having them send the check instead of you. That's honest. (Their telephone support also seems decent, so I should probably not be complaining about them at all, but as I said I feel cold today.) The problem I have with VSP is that the mailing keeps suggesting that we should view their website "for details", but so far as I could tell the website has fewer details than the 4-page mailing.
Take, for a fourth example, the newly revamped St. Norbert College website. I always rather liked the old version, but on the new version there are a couple of difficulties. Should you want to search the SNC website, you can either (a) open your computer to Javascript and its attendent security risks of allowing other people to program your computer remotely or (b) go to Yandex and find the same information securely. You know which method I choose. Again, suppose you want to learn about a particular professor. There is a profile page for each member of the faculty which includes a summary of the professor's work, a photograph, and contact information. The photo and contact data is placed in a convenient little box which in turn is placed on top of the summary text. That is, it does sometimes; apparently it depends on the browser context. And of course it would, for a web page doesn't actually exist until a browser generates it from the HTML source code.
All of this in the context of reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest which is a book filled with disinformation and hacking and threats, not to mention that it is set in cold Sweden, all of which is no doubt predisposing me to the coldness that I've been feeling just lately.