My Thoughts On A Tragedy

There are events forever cast in our memories as freakish abominations of a cruel humanity, and almost unimaginable sadness for its victims, their families and their friends. Last night in Aurora, Colorado now joins Jonesboro Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Columbine (the high school very close to the theatre in Aurora), The North Hollywood Bank Robbery, the events of 9/11 and others as not only mere “tragedies,” but examples of terrorism.

Reading my tweetstream early today, July 20th, I saw many in a public and private capacity express condolence, sadness, fear, outrage – pure emotion as only something like Twitter can convey in real time. Many were from friends of mine – good friends. Perhaps unfortunately, as a result of some snarky tweets I saw to the NRA, I defended the 2nd Amendment. I did this because I believe in it. If it's "too soon" for me to write this ... then too bad. It was too soon for me to see some familiar, hateful and hysterical diatribes.

Later today, I read (while researching friends' tweets) ~ a girl's name, a reporter, whose name I'll let YOU research but won't give here out of respect to her family. She was a victim last night. Her last tweet: “Movie starts in 20 minutes.”

She is gone. Forever silenced. As are the other victims, a total count yet uncertain since MANY of the injured were injured critically. Along with all of you I'm sure, my prayers are with them for a speedy & full recovery. I cried reading her tweets; I'm still very upset writing this RIGHT NOW.

I know we all can't agree on everything all the time; how boring would that be? I imagine a GREAT many of you including my friend Carmen feel VERY strongly about quickly “going after” guns or gun “groups” and she and all of you are perfectly entitled to that view. Perhaps you've never liked guns. That's your right and I respect it.

However … and please read this carefully and hear me out ...

“Do not let the calamity of a few affect the rights of the many.” ~ #paulquote

The calamity of “a few” on that plane on 9/11 resulted in knee-jerk reaction … and the subsequent result? The Patriot Act. Rights of Americans were LOST with that. So often, sadly, there erupts a fervor, basic human nature really … that “this should never happen again!” That panic is exactly what a “terrorist” wants. As if anyone thinks it SHOULD happen again. As if pro-gun people are somehow elated. As if, as Ron Reagan just said ... we had an "obsession" and "fetish" for firearms. As if supporting the NRA and gun rights is evil. It's not evil. It's part of America … and as someone English, LET ME TELL YOU: gun control doesn't work. Murder by GUNS is up over last 30 years in England. REALLY up in major, congested cities like Liverpool. And "citizens," ~ the many ~ are powerless. As a side note, my cousin Stephen served in Bosnia as part of the British contingent aiding American troops there. He could have and would have died for Britain on that soil. When he returned home, he could not defend his OWN home with a rifle. A police officer in Liverpool who IS allowed to carry a sidearm … must check it in at the station at 5PM when off duty. Great. So the guy he busted last week for armed robbery is already out on bail, and standing there waiting for him. A POLICE officer. A sad state of affairs. You and I may disagree, but “slippery slope” applies to ALL rights. Womens' rights more than anything lately. Look at the Republican voting record there. Here I fear it's Democrats who will once again (it's already starting) clamor for “What are we going to do?” ~ as espoused by Mr. Bloomberg today when he said  

"You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time ..."

Ruh Roh.

I have watched the “coverage” today, and the “gun control” phrase didn't come up til about 3PM CST. But it did and I knew it would. So I'm torn between being emotional over that girl's last tweet which really affected me deeply – the social media documentation of her last minutes on this Earth .. and my undying love of this country & its freedoms. I was proud of both the President (who I love & support, BTW, and he hasn't imposed any new gun control laws as “right wing loons” feared) AND Mitt Romney, who did not politicize this event. However, since I'm sure they'll be “back to business tomorrow,” I thought, “I wish the President would shock everyone, and say my words - Do not let the calamity of a few affect the rights of the many.' - and then proclaim that this great country would NOT let this event take away a basic American right.” It would, I think, since this is BOUND to get political so we might as well get ahead of it ~ enforce Mr. Obama's love of this Constitution, unbowed & unswayed by the horrific actions of a single individual.

Don't EVER let single event, knee-jerk reactions affect a Constitution and a free peoples' rights. If we are to properly honor the victims of last evening, let us do it with their spirits knowing we are still unbowed. We are still free. We will punish the wrongdoers. We will memorialize those victims so as to NEVER forget them. And we will honor our freedom by not relinquishing it to a terroristic action of a few, in this case a sole individual.

Thank you for reading this, no matter how you feel about the “gun” issue. I decided to “stay off Twitter” today and instead write this blog, because the emotion behind this, my sadness, YOUR sadness, my and your love of America, and my love of my friends who don't agree with me … can't be pressed into “140.”

I'll end with the same words I saw repeated often today, just perhaps a little different from what seemed copied and pasted. Mine are indeed heartfelt: God Rest the victims of this tragedy, and my prayers to the wounded for a quick & speedy recovery, if “recovery” from something like this is even possible.

/Paul OX

Got Skin? Or ... How NOT to Act With Patient Referrals ~Wichita Falls, TX

Regarding a recent FaceBook post where I asked Wichita Falls, Texas locals which Dermatologist they'd recommend …

Let me ADVISE YOU ALL on this in case you “LIVE” here or have friends in this area, or if you or friends OWN a professional service ANYWHERE and wonder about "public impressions." You know, it's not just about "social media" in little mwah tweets and FaceBook posts; sometimes you have to interact with people IN REAL LIFE... who are THERE to see you based on a 25 year existing customer.

On 2 occasions, the "Receptionist Linda," another "Linda," at Dr. Linda Reinhardt's office was REALLY RUDE to Amy. During Amy's first visit of 2 most recent visits, I MET Dr. Reinhardt, who agreed to take me as a patient. I can't stand the front office rudeness, but Amy & her Mom have been patients, so I agreed to call there first. Well, after 4 attempts and "busy signals," sure enough I get "LINDA." SEVERAL people here locally have remarked on just how RUDE she is, and thinks she “runs the office.” I tell her I've met Dr. Reinhardt and have the papers right here with me to fill out & I'll bring them at the time of the appointment (I wasn't about to fill out that crap for nothing). She puts me on hold. During that time (she says) she asked the Doctor, and was told "Well, new patient soonest is September 13th." That's 3 months and a week. I said "No thanks." ... "CLICK." She puts the phone down.

IS THAT WHAT WICHITA FALLS SEES AS PROFESSIONAL? Really? That's why I posted asking the question, and have two other names here in town I'll be calling. Amy has been a patient there 25 (TWENTY FIVE) years ... and when I met the "Good Doctor" she was willing to do my procedures right then & there. FURTHERMORE, Amy had "something troubling" on the bridge of her nose, called on a Monday and GOT IN that same Monday, late morning. But "NOW" it's 3 months plus 1 week after speaking to "Linda" the Receptionist? Wow. That's just SAD. and I'm really PISSED. They jerked around the WRONG Californian. Hell, in Los Angeles you can practically get this stuff done at a 7-11; “Wednesday special, botox and a slurpee.”

Do these "Professionals" even KNOW how much business / clientele, regular and otherwise, they're LOSING because of rude front office people?

Update: Amy even went by there a few days ago in person, spoke to another front office person & requested she be called if the date could be moved up, in light of the fact Amy had gotten in "same morning" and Dr. Reinehardt had agreed previously to see me. THAT person was "summoned away," and when she returned simply took Amy's number. Again ... nothing. This place doesn't deserve to even be in business if they're RUDE to existing patients and RUDER to referred ones (me) who had CA$H in hand.

On a lighter note, most of you know I try to have a sense of humor about most things, so I'll leave you with a giggle. I need a "proper professional" to do this 5 minute procedure, because I DO NOT resemble George Clooney to BEGIN with. I can't take liberties :-) ... However, I'm about ready to say "What would Rambo do," and soak the thing with Anbesol, have a shot of tequila and take a scissors to it. "If you want it done right ...."


Have a good one, all. Thanks for reading xo

My Thoughts On Why Twitter is DEAD

May 30th will be my 3 year anniversary on Twitter. Three years ago I was listening to Don Lemon on CNN covering the Iran Revolution, where Twitter was the ONLY way of getting information, pictures & video OUT of Iran. It intrigued and fascinated me; I opened an account and about 30 minutes later this “LIGHT” went on above my head. “This is fantastic!”

Fast forward to NOW and here's what I believe Twitter has become. Not “evolved,” as there really hasn't been any evolution at all. “Become” is a sadder, better description. My breakdown of the whole pie is as follows:

40% BOTS. These can be fake accounts, auto-tweet “blast” accounts, robotic RT accounts or that dreadful “Team Follow” crap. I get 20-30 of them a day, and I block and report them. I don't WANT them as a “follower” to pad my numbers. If you think simply “not following back” solves your eventual PROBLEM, you're wrong. If you allow one, you'll get 50 more for each one. Worse, once you follow they usually unfollow; the “follower churners” as I call them. Churning, or following to get a follow and then unfollowing, is supposed to be against Twitter rules, but these churners never seem to be terminated. I'd rather be “static” and have only real people. If I DID allow them to follow, my calculations are I'd be well over 70,000 now vs 36,000 followers. But 70,000 WHAT? Followers? Nope. Get off the pipe. They're not REAL. Speaking of “real,”

20% Gurus. These gladhanding “Mwah” idiots tell you how to be better on Twitter while only talking to cliques and AUTO tweeting “Keep It Personal” mantras. Expect lots of “I love you more,” the always nipple-hardening “Together Everyone Achieves More,” regurgitated (and often stolen) quotes, and links to blogs of ideas stolen from other people as if their own thoughts. I consider these to be WORSE than the bots. They are second-grade window monitors who were never assigned that in school and by GOD they'll assert it “here” on Twitter.

20% Corporate Blasters. These are simply companies who think Twitter is a billboard because you (yes you) can't survive another day without knowing about their other coupon or the fact you can friend them on FaceBook.

15% Celebrity Blasters. These folks have the LEAST knowledge of Twitter and figure they “owe” it to you to have 10 million followers, follow 50, talk to that 50 as if they're friends and alert you to the earth shattering fact they'll be on Leno tomorrow and have a new film, and/or occasionally give a political opinion.

5% Other.

Yay! It's the “5% other” that are the reason we all get on. 95%, therefore, isn't. These 5% are people you “sort of know,” or might have met in real life, or would like to, or have a common interest, or a connection, or damn it, are just plain friendly and kind. Alert the media! They'll tweet you a joke, ask how you are and actually wait for the answer, email you some personal advice, or touch your heart. You might fall in love with one of them. I did. They just MATTER. They're kind, considerate, courteous, responsive to courtesy, and despite THEIR life problems actually help you feel better about YOURS. It is then your inclination (or it should be) to console or counsel THEM … and long-lasting, trusting friendships are born. WELL! That sounds positive. Too bad they're the 5% shining pearls in a sea of shit.

Twitter was wayyyy different when I signed up. There was a really fun bunch of interacting, pleasant, somewhat “wild” people … an evening “adult” chat that was hilarious and inspired friendship .. GREAT respons(es) to technical questions, more manners, more engagement, just plain MORE FUN. I first noticed the drop-off a year ago, and a substantial & rapid decline 4 months ago. If there are 400 million “users,” my 5% rule says that means 20 million real people worth knowing. Uh-oh … my math must be wrong. It's less than 5% ~ significantly less. WORSE: I believe actual Twitter readership is down 80%. That's right, 80%. Your tweets aren't really being “read” any more. They're being absorbed in “finger down the middle of the page, see the words but don't verbally pronounce them” speed reading fashion. I don't care how you're listed, and what lists people are “reading” to see you if you're lucky enough to be on that list …

• You're possibly being seen,
• You're NOT really being "recognized,"
• You're probably not being noticed, and
• Most likely almost NEVER “heard.”

It's a 50mph wordmill where the only thing that might help you is a catchy avatar. Even then, you're possibly seen but not really recognized, and certainly not with the desired attention to be heard.

Even if you're heard, will you be retweeted? In my opinion fully HALF of all tweets “RT'd” happen because of EXPECTANCE. The RT-er wants something, which might be merely “recognition from a honcho.” The “honcho,” much like a huge fat fish that allows “feeder fish” and doesn't eat them because they clean it's asshole … is more than happy to take them ~ hell, they EXPECT them. That's your JOB, for Chrissake. Lately, you're not retweeted (and I mean all of you as a group, not “ME” being RT'd – I get plenty) unless you've RT'd “them” earlier today or yesterday.

I tried a little experiment. I created a list called “RT Bang For Buck” and kept it hidden. I would randomly RT people on that list even if it was a coupon for grapefruits. Sure enough, I'd get a “return RT.” Then I'd leave off for a couple of days … crickets. RT them again Thursday … lo and behold an RT. I see. So it's kinda like homework. I won't waste time discussing people YOU are retweeting without any reciprocation or thanks … I don't even FOLLOW those self-glorified, cocky asswipes. Wake up and realize you don't WORK for these people. Stop being a drone. That's just your OWN fault for feeling a “need of belonging,” and that you're enslaved to them because they have 80K followers. Hell, they must me important, right? Actually no, they're just using you. That's how they have the 80K. It's kind of like that fellow sent to PRISON in California for running a newspaper ad “Send me $10 and I'll show you how to get rich.” Guess what people got for their $10 … a piece of paper saying “Haven't you guessed?” Aww. Never mind. Welcome to Twitter, where a similar newspaper ad is digitized. But the revolution won't be televised. Nor (probably) retweeted.

Well Don't Just be Negative, Paul ~ What Would You Propose?

First of all, I'm not being negative. I'm being truthful. The gurus are either too stupid to KNOW what I've just stated and many of us have felt for a while, or they DO know but figure they'll keep the idiots and attract new ones, and SOME “fresh horses” might actually pay them for their “social marketing” skills. After all, they've spent a fortune attending the latest “SocMed Convention” (actually there's one today, and combined with Follow Friday I can't wait to see the unbridled hashtagged “crap traffic” on the grid TODAY).

I don't blame Twitter for ALL of this mess; after all they provided an innovative, bright, shining new platform for social interaction that FAR exceeds FaceBook, and it took off because of it's simple brilliance, simplicity of use, worldwide importance as a news outlet and a fun forum of communication. I DO hold them responsible for “not taking it to the next level,” fixing once and for all the spamming problems and phishing links, and seemingly not enforcing the rules we all read when we signed up. I would propose the following; pay attention particularly to the last item:

1. When someone signs up, there are THREE (3) character recognition screens and THREE (3) confirming emails after that Captcha screen is completed. It's harder to fake 3 than one to see if you're real.

2. NEW Twitter “members” are allowed to follow FIFTY (50) people on their first day, 100 on their second day through 7th day, and THEN up to 2,000. 90% of the “bot” accounts wouldn't have the patience to wait a week of incremented following to start “mass following” up to the 2000 cap.

3. You should have to fill in a Captcha screen to SEND a DM. For each and EVERY DM. Every time. If a DM is that important, type the characters. This would END the phishing Dms, auto-DMs, and “Hey, tweet my blog” crap. A DM should be a personal message to ONE recipient, not a mass message. You HAVE mass messages … they're called “Tweets.”

4. Anyone following 300 people and unfollowing more than 200 the next day, or unfollowing as soon as “followed back” should be suspended. Period. I'd say taken out and shot, but there's probably laws against that. Take the math out of the spamming, and they'll go back to leaflets on windshields.

5. Most importantly: YOU should use YOUR own common sense to run YOUR Twitter. Have a good strong cup of coffee, switch on your “BS-Meter,” and take a hard look at who is REAL on there. Unfollow the people who want you in a “club.” Unfollow people who don't thank people (common courtesy) for ReTweets or engage in conversation or ONLY auto-tweet. Unfollow the people who ONLY talk to the same 6 people every morning or who tweet the 5-10 “biggest people” on Twitter hoping for a shoutout while droning on about “only wanting real followers.” Unfollow anyone who systematically (defined as weekly or more often) DM's you for favors. A little more vigilance from all of us sure would make Twitter's job of policing easier, especially since they're not doing much of it.

So … in conclusion … I'm not sure what I'm doing June 1st. Are you? And don't worry if your friends “missed” this blog; I'm sure it will be “re-blogged without permission” by some “callous opportunist.” I'm off to make some coffee, give it 3 hours, and then see how many guru blogs practically copy & paste this as their own idea. That happens to me a lot :-) Wait. Where'd my $10 go? Doh!

Be safe, all xo

No Ads, Thanks ... FiltersetP & Hosts File

This blog explains and OFFERS the 2 proven & excellent methods I use (and wrote) to stop ads during your "surfing," to speed up page loading for all sites and in the case of the 2nd method, the Hosts file - to help stop spammy links, tracking, web bugs, malware, popups & other intrusions or dangers. It doesn't require you to be a geeky tech-genius with computers; it DOES require you read instructions (rather simple ones) carefully and back up your current usercontent.css file in Firefox and HOSTS file in Windows or Linux before editing them (appending them) with the files I'll link you to. OK, now the good part:

No one I've ever met enjoyed reading ads :-) This will explain 2 simple methods of eliminating "98%" of them on all websites WITHOUT installing some "adblocking/thwarting extension." I remember installing a couple of those; in fact I beta tested the "successor" to the original ad-blocker on Firefox, until the author and I had a difference of opinions on what are called "regular expressions." I saw them as indispensable, he thought they "were too hard & cumbersome for the average person," so when he dumbed down the extension I decided not only to write my OWN "extension;" I would devise a way where the ads were blocked without an extension at all. I succeeded.


I was going to do a "Part 1, Part 2" on this blog and address these files separately, but I think since they really go together we might as well get all the tedium out of the way in one sitting. In for a penny, in for a pound, so crank up the French Press kiddies, and let's have some FUN :) God I'm a geek, and a proud one.

Some background: I was one of many DAILY branch-build Firefox beta testers since version 0.80, and remember "Public Release 1.0," or "1.0PR." To quote Pacino in "Scent of a Woman," ... "I've been AROUND, ya know?!" Firefox has come a long way, somewhat bloated to the chagrin of many, but it still remains the finest, safest browser available today. I say this after installing Google Chrome for roughly 4 months and vigorously testing and "A-B" comparing it with Firefox. Although I was impressed with its speed "most of the time," its cookie management and refusal to KEEP selected cookies while dumping the rest every time I closed the browser led me to uninstall it and return "full time" to Firefox. I also played around with Opera, and my opinion there was the same as it was 5 years ago ... "Meh." I'm keeping it for a spare in case Firefox got hosed up for some reason. But Firefox's "Profile Folder" and chrome folder, which allow for a LOT of personal customization, just can't be beat. Additionally, I'm a Linux user and therefore don't have the DREADFUL Internet Explorer to even consider ... and the Linux browswer Konqueror leaves a lot to be desired as well, frankly. So Firefox it is. I swear by my creation #FiltersetP, and I'm "online" A LOT. I use only this, along with a HOSTS file, which works great in Windows OR the Ubuntu Linux I have preferred since January 2011.



 

Part 1:

FiltersetP And How To Use It:

To block ads you can do one of the following:

• Install an extension which expands upon installation to 500K or better and slows the browser down (BOO HISS), or 
• Install the Firefox extension STYLISH  by Jason Barnabe, and incorporate my "FiltersetP Style" therefore making Stylish an adblocker AS WELL AS performing other cool functions & tweaks. #FiltersetP is the 4th most downloaded script in FIREFOX HISTORY, and enjoyed a 4.99 out 5 star rating when the had a "rating system."  The "FiltersetP Style" being found here: Filterset P on UserStyles Dot Org .. or 
• You can do what I did since the beginning and simply put FiltersetP in your usercontent file and not need an extension at ALL, Stylish, adblocker-type, or otherwise.

If you've ruled out an extension, and I hope you have, then you're left with the remaining 2 above. Jason Barnabe's extension "Stylish" is excellent and allows for ALL SORTS of cool little tweaks ... but again you're talking about installing an extension which could cause slowness. Mozilla don't tell you that but it's common sense; the more you load stuff up on there, the more has to "go on" during your surfing. Personally I have it in my usercontent.css file, which is located within "chrome" folder in your user profile folder. Don't panic and run out of the house screaming. Next section tells you where to "get to that." MAKE A COPY of your "empty" usercontent-example.css, put it on external media such as a flash drive or CD (anything besides just the hard drive you're working on) ... and then simply drag mine in. In older Firefox versions, there was already a usercontent-example.css file in your chrome folder. IN NEWEST VERSIONS, there is not ... so you'll have to create a "chrome" folder in your profile, and simply save my filterset as usercontent.css.

Your Firefox Profile folder location: Experienced Firefox users (and geeks like me) already have a shortcut to their profile folder. You can google its location & how to find it, but a simple way is to open Firefox, go to "HELP" > "Troubleshooting," and in first section of "Application Basics" you'll see "Profile Director" and "open containing folder." Click that open, open the chrome folder in older versions or create one; that's where "usercontent.css" goes. You're done!

CLOSE FIREFOX and re-open and you're good to go :-)



READY? Ohhhhtayyyy!!! To copy my FiltersetP usercontent.css, GO HERE and copy all the text (drag mouse over all of it and copy, or select "EDIT" on top, "Select All" and then Edit > Copy). If you like keyboard shortcuts use "CONTROL A" to select all, and "CONTROL C" to copy. "CONTROL V" pastes.
 

I've "erred on the side of safety" to make sure none of your content is disturbed. Just this morning I found a false positive; in my Pinterest emails I was missing the links to pictures people had commented on. I found the culprit, and that element was removed from FiltersetP. I don't see ads and I don't have problems. NOW .. if YOU do ... here's what to do: Close the browser, and open up usercontent in Notepad or text editor. I'm blessed in Linux with having "gEdit," which puts CSS, HTML and other languages in different colors ... I believe Wordpad does that in Windows but not Notepad. For this lesson it doesn't really matter. By placing /* at the start of a line and */ at the close of it, you perform what's called "Commenting out," meaning that portion is insulated and won't work. That's how you isolate portions for testing. Comment out half of FiltersetP, then the other half, and start narrowing things down. If the bottom half causes a problem, split that in 1/2 again ... and check. You'll quickly narrow down the culprit ... and remove it. Hit "SAVE" (don't save it as a text file, you'll want it saved as .css) ~ Simple. However, you should NOT have any sites where important content is hidden; I've taken hundreds of measures (and 100s of tests) to ensure this attacks ads only.

Part 2:

"HOSTS" ~ The Second Tool I Use In Conjunction With FiltersetP:

GOD BLESS THE HOSTS FILE. 

"What the HELL is that, Paul?!?!" ... Most people don't know they have one, but it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. While FiltersetP hides ad elements from view and therefore speeds up page loading slightly ... the HOSTS file is a way of telling the computer "DO NOT let abc.adservice even ENTER my computer at all!" It is a way to prevent spying web bugs, malware, advertisements, popups, and TRACKING right at the source ... the "entrance" to your computer. Think of it as a "text file firewall." You might Google the location of this also or enter "drivers" in search if you have Vista or later ... as Windows locations may vary slightly.

Windows: It's USUALLY in: C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Vista & Win7: C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\  (OR)
%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\

For the older Windows 95/98/Me:  C:\windows\hosts
Windows NT/2000/XP Pro:  C:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows XP Home C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

And in Linux, much easier: /etc/hosts

With Macintosh OS X, the procedure is similar to Linux above. The hosts file can be found in: /etc/hosts

You will as always (Boy, I bet you're sick of me telling you lot to make BACKUPS, but I'm going to pound that habit into you so help me God!) .. want to make a copy of it. Store that, together with me boys and girls .. in Documents somewhere AND on external media like a flash drive, AND/OR on a CD or external drive. I like backups of backups. I have 5. Stop laughing. If my laptop bursts into flames, I swallow the jump drive (I beg your pardon) and lightning hits my external .... Ahhh, good old CD/DVD is right there. It's my nature. Call me RainMan but I've never lost data :-)

OK, so you've spent 3 days now making backups ... here's the easy part:

1. Download my HOSTS file. 
2. Save it to somewhere you can remember.
3. Simply drag it into your HOSTS file location, and select "Yes, by God Almighty, I do want to replace with Paul's awesome kick-ass version." You're done.

One extra little bit of geekiness on the Hosts File: the computer's home "address" is 127.0.0.1 ~ and so most Hosts Files have that address for all the banned sites. However, debate raged some years ago whether 0.0.0.0. was FASTER because it sent the "spammy types" absolutely NOWHERE. I subscribe to this theory, so all my prefixes are zeroes ... 0.0.0.0.

OK, now before I give you the link, the instructions:

Windows Users: using instructions above, copy what's on the linked file, and paste it onto your HOSTS File. You can get RID of the information already there, it's informational only ... so first line on there after pasting will be 127.0.0.1 Local Host. THEN SAVE. By SAVE I mean just "save," as is, no file extension! It's not .txt or anything else, it's just plain old "HOSTS" as is. 

Linux Users: In Linux, your HOSTS file (along with every other file/folder!) is protected. You can't just willy-nilly edit something and especially the HOSTS file. Open a terminal and type

sudo nautilus

it will ask for your password. Enter that, press enter, and when Nautilus File Manager pops up, navigate to your HOSTS File and open it. I use gEdit text editor (vastly superior to Windows Notepad/Wordpad) so if it asks what application you want, tell it gEdit. It's probably the default anyway.

!IMPORTANT!: DO NOT DELETE any information already there! It contains information to your particular computer, in my case Toshiba laptop. Index to next line (clean line, left margin) and PASTE the information in the linked file. Hit "SAVE" and you're done.

Then, using instructions above, copy what's on the linked file and PASTE BELOW THE TEXT PRESENTLY IN YOUR HOSTS FILE. Do not delete any information already there (just a few lines). Index down to line directly below what's there and PASTE. Then "Save." 

Apple Users:  I don't use a MAC or Apply anything, and don't want to. That's not to be snide; I'm simply unfamiliar with the Apple HOSTS File. I can't be sure what "pretext" is on that one. I imagine you'd do the same as the Linux users and APPEND the one you have with my list. However, if you're not thoroughly familiar with the Apple HOSTS file, don't alter it, or ask an Apple-Buddy, or Google it.


OK! Now we've covered the bases according to your operating system ...

Go HERE for my HOSTS FILE and use instructions above to copy the contents.

Closing Comments:
If either of these files ~ FiltersetP or HOSTS file ~ help you, I would love TWO things:

1] to hear your comments as it will encourage others to do it, especially if they don't have a lot of technical knowlege. Again, I use both of these with remarkable results, improved page loading AND security ... and I'm happy and excited to share this information with you all.


2] FiltersetP was 2 years in the making and 6 years of field testing which continues to this day. My HOSTS file is lethally small ... 7K versus 300-900K ... and also involved a lot of intensive work and testing on my part. SO ... to help further support their development, plus these tech blogs, feel free to use the button here on the FiltersetP on UserStyles / Org Page   to DONATE. Thank you and rock on, Ad-less, faster and more secure. God Bless :-) OXO