excursionist

a person who travels for pleasure
a list of things to do for weekend excursionists in the city

abstruse

difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand
you're not the only one who finds Einstein's theory of relativity abstruse

Folks: My Ham Radio Call sign: 57HS1835

A spider caught in its own web!

Writing...

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo (DDG) is a general search engine designed to protect user privacy, while avoiding the skewing of search results that can happen because of personalized search (sometimes referred to as a filter bubble).

Read on:

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DuckDuckGo

Definition dark web (darknet)

The dark web, also referred to as the darknet, is an encrypted portion of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and requires specific configuration or authorization to access. Although the dark web is sometimes portrayed as a domain frequented by criminal elements, it is also created and used by people who require privacy for entirely legal reasons, such as the exchange of proprietary business information. In such a case, information may be exchanged through an encrypted peer-to-peer (P2P) network connection or by using an overlay network, such as Tor.

Read on:

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/dark-web

deep Web

The deep Web, sometimes called the invisible Web, is the large part of the Internet that is inaccessible to conventional search engines. Deep Web content includes email messages, chat messages, private content on social media sites, electronic bank statements, electronic health records (EHRs) and other content that is accessible over the Internet but is not crawled and indexed by search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing or DuckDuckGo.

Read on:

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/deep-Web

Effects of cyberextortion

The cyber economy research firm Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that the annual global cost of damage from ransomware would be greater than $11.5 billion by 2019, up from $325 million in 2015. In its "2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report," Cisco reported that ransomware is growing at an annual rate of 350%. While Cybersecurity Ventures estimated that ransomware damages would exceed $5 billion in 2017, that is still just a fraction of the nearly $600 billion cost of cybercrime in 2017 estimated by McAfee.

Read on:

https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cyberextortion

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a digital currency (also called crypto-currency) that is not backed by any country's central bank or government. Bitcoins can be traded for goods or services with vendors who accept Bitcoins as payment.

Read on:

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Bitcoin

command-and-control server (C&C server)

A command and control server (C&C server) is a computer that issues directives to digital devices that have been infected with rootkits or other types of malware, such as ransomware. C&C servers can be used to create powerful networks of infected devices capable of carrying out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, stealing data, deleting data or encrypting data in order to carry out an extortion scheme. In the past, a C&C server was often under an attacker's physical control and could remain active for several years. Today, C&C servers generally have a short shelf life; they often reside in legitimate cloud services and use automated domain generation algorithms (DGAs) to make it more difficult for law enforcement and white hat malware hunters to locate them.

Read on:

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/command-and-control-server-CC-server

cyberextortion

Cyberextortion is a crime involving an attack or threat of an attack coupled with a demand for money or some other response in return for stopping or remediating the attack.

Read on:

https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cyberextortion

ransomware

Ransomware is a subset of malware in which the data on a victim's computer is locked, typically by encryption, and payment is demanded before the ransomed data is decrypted and access is returned to the victim. The motive for ransomware attacks is nearly always monetary, and unlike other types of attacks, the victim is usually notified that an exploit has occurred and is given instructions for how to recover from the attack. Payment is often demanded in a virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, so that the cybercriminal's identity is not known.

Read on:

https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/ransomware

History and Etymology for celibate + My comments: Sanskrit and Arabic

Note: The traditional hypothesis that caelebs goes back to a compound *kai̯elo-libh- (with the first element compared to Sanskrit kevala- "exclusively oneʼs own, alone, whole" and the second to Gothic liban "to live," English live entry 1) is now considered dubious.

I think Sanskrit and Arabic are the roots of all languages. I think Sanskrit should be revived. It's a treasure trove -- would undoubtedly change the way we think and all that. Moreover, like Arabic, it's a very sacred language. 

hello girl

Definition of hello girl
late 19th and early 20th centuries : a woman working as a telephone operator

huh

English Language Learners Definition of huh
informal
chiefly US —used at the end of a statement to ask whether someone agrees with you
—used when you have not heard or understood something that was said

—used to show surprise, disbelief, or disapproval 

Definition of huh
—used to express surprise, disbelief, or confusion, or as an inquiry inviting affirmative reply

Promotion (chess)

Promotion in chess is a rule that requires a pawn that reaches its eighth rank to be immediately replaced by the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color.[1] The new piece replaces the pawn, as part of the same move. The choice of new piece is not limited to pieces previously captured, thus promotion can result in a player owning, for example, two or more queens despite starting the game with one.[2] Pawn promotion, or the threat of it, often decides the result in an endgame. Since the queen is the most powerful piece, the vast majority of promotions are to a queen. Promotion to a queen is also called queening; promotion to any other piece is referred to as underpromotion (Golombek 1977).

If the promoted piece is not physically available, FIDE rules state that the player should stop the game clock and summon the arbiter for the correct piece. Under US Chess Federation rules and in casual play, an upside-down rook may be used to designate a queen (Just & Burg 2003:16–17).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotion_(chess)

Happy Independence Day, everyone! :-)

...At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.... (Tryst with Destiny)

Tag Questions

Prof. Kev Nair's Fluency Development Course -- Book # 9 -- Page # 58 -- Topic: Tag Questions

Soviet MS-61 Cockpit Voice Recorder from a MiG-21 interceptor

My comments: question tag

In India -- in Indian English, we say 'No?' as a question tag with everything. But that's not correct. Or we say 'isn't' with everything. That's incorrect either.

I devised 'eh?' to make any statement interrogative.

Example: You speak English eh? Keyboarding? Repetitive strain injury (RSI) eh? No! LOL

Definition of eh
—used to ask for confirmation or repetition or to express inquiry —used especially in Canadian English in anticipation of the listener's or reader's agreement

question tag

question tag
a short phrase such as "isn't it" or "don't you" that is added to the end of a sentence to check information or to ask if someone agrees with you:

In the sentence "It's hot, isn't it?", "isn't it" is a question tag.

English Language Learners Definition of tag question
grammar : a brief question (such as "don't you?" in "You know him, don't you?") that comes at the end of a statement usually to ask if the statement is correct

Definition of tag question
: a question (such as isn't it in "it's fine, isn't it?") added to a statement or command (as to gain the assent of or challenge the person addressed) also : a sentence ending in a tag question

Thirty seconds vocab challenge LOL

schadenfreude

You've got 30 seconds to look up / Google this word and tell me its meaning! Your time starts now.

Dalek

an imaginary creature that talks in a strange voice and kills people:
The Daleks were the most frightening characters in Dr Who (= a television programme about a man who travels in space and time).

English Vinglish

Hindi movie actors speak in English off-screen -- I find that quite queer and whacky! LOL

bounty hunter

Definition of bounty hunter
1
: one who tracks down and captures outlaws for whom a reward is offered
2
: one who hunts predatory animals for the reward offered

eh

Definition of eh
—used to ask for confirmation or repetition or to express inquiry —used especially in Canadian English in anticipation of the listener's or reader's agreement

powwow

Definition of powwow
an American Indian medicine man
an American Indian ceremony (as for victory in war)
an American Indian social gathering or fair usually including competitive dancing
informal, now offensive
: a social get-together
: a meeting for discussion

teleconferencing

Definition of teleconferencing
: the holding of a conference among people remote from one another by means of telecommunication devices (such as telephones or computer terminals) 

English Language Learners Definition of teleconferencing
: the use of telephones and video equipment to have a meeting with people who are in different places

Definition of shock jock

: a radio personality noted for provocative or inflammatory commentary

Buddhahood

My definition of Buddhahood is when you start understanding -- when you've answers -- Bodhi tree moment -- Nothing is perplexing anymore --