Humorouz

“Realized customer service wasn’t for me when a lady on the phone told me I didn’t know how to do my job and i said ‘well walk me through it’ and she hung up”

The Oklahoma Softball program has been the standard of its sport for the last decade or so, winning four of the last six and five of the last 10 national championships.

Patty Gasso, who has been with the program since 1995, has taken Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament in every year since she came to Oklahoma from Long Beach City Junior College.

Over the last three seasons, Gasso’s squad has amassed a 166-8 record, has won the last two national titles, and is looking for their third straight.

While a healthy influx of transfers has helped the Sooners maintain their dominance over the sport, recruiting classes with players like Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings, and Jordy Bahl has ensured that OU is constantly at the top of the sports when it comes to talent.

However, it takes more than talent to win at the level that Oklahoma does. Gasso has built a culture and community among her teams that have spanned graduations. The faith-based principles that she uses to sharpen her teams are something that only comes with years of practice, dedication, and hard work.

Then again, it’s just easier for some folks to see the success in Norman and just assume that there’s something else going on.

Earlier this year, Texas head softball coach Mike White seemed to imply that Oklahoma is cheating its way to success.

“They find ways to keep reloading, and I’m not quite sure all of it is–you know, whatever, I won’t say any more,” White said while stopping himself in an interview, via KVUE’s Tyler Feldman.

Gasso responded to the accusations by taking the high road and has since had some time to think about the claims, while White seemed to walk back his comments after the fact.

On Wednesday, Gasso appeared as a guest on The Oklahoma Breakdown podcast with Gabe Ikard and Teddy Lehman and discussed her feelings on the issue a bit further.

Co-host Teddy Lehman asked Gasso to expand on a comment that she didn’t have many coaching friends, whether it be because of intimidation or something else entirely.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m a female and I get judged, but when I’m on the field, I’m a competitor,” Gasso started. “So, I’m just into it. Maybe I have a look that you might not think that I’m a nice person or something. When I go out recruiting, I sit alone because everyone’s afraid to come up and have a conversation.

“Or, because we win so much, people think that we cheat. They create stories and they’re so unbelievable, ridiculous accusations about our program: how we get players out of the portal, our players are taking illegal substances and that’s why we’re so strong. It’s gone out there and it’s come back to me and it is such a joke.

“It’s an embarrassment for our sport. To me, if I love athletics, I want to see greatness… I love to see excellence in any sport and people believe we can’t reach excellence without cheating. I’m waiting for someone to take their receipts forward, and nobody has any. I really don’t care, because I know what it means. If you can’t be us, or you can’t beat us, I guess you don’t like us.”

Patty Gasso has been one of the greatest advocates for the sport of softball of our time, and for her to have these kinds of accusations from anyone is ridiculous, let alone a rival coach.

Fortunately, the Sooners have never had any infractions under Gasso’s watch and from all accounts, the program goes above and beyond to make sure things are done the right way.

The Sooners (51-1) will continue their quest for a third-straight national championship on Friday, opening up NCAA Tournament play against Hofstra at 4:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Snooping on a partner’s phone is not unheard of in a mistrusting or unfaithful relationship.

But WhatsApp users have joked that cheating has now been ‘upgraded’ thanks to the app’s new Chat Lock feature, which allows users to keep secret conversations locked up with a password.

While it can be used for more innocent purposes such as planning surprises, many have thanked owner Mark Zuckerberg for helping to keep infidelities under the radar.

‘This is so great and wonderful news thanks Mr,’ one Facebook user said. ‘Cheating has been upgraded.’

But a cybersecurity expert warned that it could be used for ‘nefarious purposes’, with numerous Metropolitan Police officers previously charged and sacked over discriminatory WhatsApp messages.

WhatsApp users joke that it is now easier to cheat on partners thanks to a new feature

HOW TO LOCK WHATSAPP CHATS 

The Chat Lock feature was rolled out as part of WhatsApp’s continued efforts to keep messages ‘private and secure’.

In a blog post, it said: ‘Locking a chat takes that thread out of the inbox and puts it behind its own folder that can only be accessed with your device password or biometric, like a fingerprint. It also automatically hides the contents of that chat in notifications, too.

‘We think this feature will be great for people who have reason to share their phones from time to time with a family member or those moments where someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment an extra special chat arrives.’

Yet Facebook has been flooded with comments after Zuckerberg suggested that it could be used to hide a ‘secret sauce recipe’ and a ‘fight club’.

Referring to the 1999 film starring Brad Pitt, one user joked: ‘First rule of fight club…’

Another added: ‘On behalf of CPA (cheating partners association) we commend the great work you are doing.’

Someone else chimed in: ‘Wow, this is absolutely fascinating and groundbreaking! 

‘The realm of cheating has just entered a whole new level of sophistication and advancement. Thank you for enlightening us with this intriguing information.’ 

Chat Lock allows users to hide secret conversations with a password or biometric data

Facebook has been flooded with comments after Zuckerberg shared a image suggesting it could be used to hide a ‘secret sauce recipe’ and a ‘fight club’

However, the feature also comes at a time when numerous Metropolitan Police officers have been charged or sacked over discriminatory messages.

Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens was found to be in a WhatsApp group called ‘Bottles & Stoppers’ where officers joked about rape. 

Meanwhile, eight Metropolitan Police officers were previously charged following their involvement in another warped WhatsApp conversation. 

The so-called ‘Secret Squirrel S**t’ chat was revealed to contain sexist, racist, homophobic and transphobic profanities. 

With that in mind, Jake Moore, a global cybersecurity adviser at software firm ESET, believes privacy features could be used for ‘nefarious’ purposes, though he acknowledged it is difficult to establish how so this early on.

He added: ‘It’s difficult to point the finger at who specifically would use the feature but it could suggest nefarious use indeed.

‘Locking chats with a passcode adds a layer of security and improves privacy from prying eyes with physical contact. 

‘Many other privacy-focused chat applications are available but WhatsApp is the clear frontrunner with most people. Although messages are sent with end-to-end encryption (meaning that such messages cannot be intercepted) the key to unlocking these messages is the device passcode.

‘For more private chats, the “disappearing messages” feature in the app adds a much better level of security which wipes messages completely after a certain amount of time.’

To lock a chat, users should open WhatsApp and tap on the name of a group or one-to-one conversation.

A lock option should then appear, which will prompt users to enter the device password or biometric data to secure that chat. 

To reveal these, a password or biometric data should be applied after pulling down on a WhatsApp inbox.

WhatsApp claims that more options will be added to this over the coming months, as the firm believes that texting should be as private as in-person conversations.

It said: ‘Over the next few months we’re going to be adding more options for Chat Lock, including locking for companion devices and creating a custom password for your chats so that you can use a unique password different from the one you use for your phone.’

WhatsApp has been approached for comment. 

BEST WHATSAPP ALTERNATIVES

If you’re considering deleting WhatsApp, you’ll be happy to hear that there are several alternative apps to choose from:

1. Telegram

With more than 400 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular WhatsApp alternatives. 

While it looks very similar to WhatsApp, what sets it apart is the fact that it gives the option to set messages to self-destruct after a given period of time, leaving no trace. 

Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption.

However, as a WhatsApp spokesperson pointed out, Telegram ‘does not offer end-to-end encryption by default so it’s not necessarily more secure than WhatsApp’.

2. Signal 

Signal is one of the most secure messaging apps, thanks to the fact that it is open-source. 

This means that the code for the app is publicly available to view, making it near-impossible for the app’s creators to sneak in any backdoors that could allow governments or hackers to spy on your messages.

3. iMessage

If you use an iPhone, you may consider simply switching to iMessage, Apple’s own messaging app. 

The app has a number of impressive features included no character limits, the ability to send pictures and videos, and of course Apple’s animated emoji feature, Animoji.

Unfortunately, iMessage is only available for iPhone users, so you’ll struggle to interact with anyone using an Android. 

4. Google Messages

Google’s answer to iMessage is Google Messages, an Android-only messaging service. 

The app replaces your standard SMS app, and integrates with all of Google’s apps and services, making it easy to share images or use Google Assistant. 

5. Facebook Messenger

If you were put off using WhatsApp due to its sharing of data with Facebook, Facebook Messenger may not be the best option for you.

However, the app offers a number of helpful features, including games, secret conversations and video calls. 

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Harrison Ford offered a typically witty response to a reporter who admitted she still finds him “very hot”.

The Hollywood star, 80, was participating in a Cannes Film Festival press conference for his new film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which premiered on Thursday (18 May).

Ford, who reprises the role of Indiana Jones for the first time since 2008, was taken back by a reporter who opened with: “Hi, how are you? I still think you’re very hot.”

Everyone in attendance could be heard laughing as the reporter continued: “We were stunned to see you take off your shirt in the second scene. You’ve still got it. How do you keep fit?”

Responding to the question in his typically deadpan manner, Ford said, deadpan: “I have been, uh, blessed with this body. Thanks for noticing.”

The film’s director, James Mangold, and Ford’s co-star Mads Mikkelsen could be seen laughing at his response.

Ford received an honorary Palme d’Or ahead ofIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘s world premiere, during which the actor was involved in an awkward seating error with his wife Calista Flockhart.

After a highlights reel played Ford’s biggest performances on a screen behind him, he joked: “They say when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes. I just saw my life before my eyes.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which received a five-minute standing ovation, has divided critics. Find The Independent’s verdict here.

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It is the first film in the franchise, which launched with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, that wasn’t directed by Steven Spielberg.

Harrison Ford was taken aback by a reporter’s question at the ‘Indiana Jones’ Cannes press conference

The previous Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was panned by critics upon its release in 2008.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be released in UK cinemas on 28 June.