Sorry that there has been such a huge gap in posts, but I have been out of commission for a little while.

I’m back, but haven’t yet gotten my next post completed. A dear friend left me a comment on the ” A Different Threat Condition” post, asking if I could provide the basics for setting up secure wireless. I’m researching it, and hope to have a post on it some time next week.

Thanks to those who have stopped by to read, always appreciated. I’ll have something worth stopping for soon.

I sit here at my computer, thinking back six years ago. Where I was, what my life was like, what was going on in the world. The world as we used to know it. September 10, 2001. The day before.

Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. I was fortunate then, I am fortunate now. A former New Yorker, I did not have any friends or relatives that worked in the Twin Towers, or even in the vicinity. Today I know at least some folks that work in the area. Then, I still had the hopes and dreams that this country, the United States of America, could live up to its potential 225 years in the making. We could make a difference. Freedom could make a difference.

Today, I still believe that this country can live up to its potential – but the comprehension (or lack of) of its citizens worries me. How easily we can be led down that path again, the path that led to Vietnam, that led to the Middle East, the lessening of freedom and the removal of truth when at the same time, in the same breath, the world is told we are promoting democracy and freedom and truth. Where is it that we have come to, and what are we doing here?

Tonight, my thoughts and prayers will be with the families of thousands of people who died six years ago NOT because they were soldiers in a war but because they were civilians at work. Not because they were Americans, but because they happened to be in two buildings that somehow came to symbolize America’s success or in four planes simply trying to get on with their lives. Many of them were foreign nationals, many of them were naturalized citizens, all were trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. None deserved the fate that awaited them.

Tomorrow, I will once again observe a moment of silence for those who cannot speak out for themselves. It will be the sixth time I have done this – it will not be the last. It is appalling that we must remember this day. It would be an injustice if we did not – an injustice to the living as well as the dead. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Good words.

I leave you with these words from Bob Dylan. I may not agree with every single thing that Bob ever said or did, but these words seem fitting. Maybe we can still learn.

Bob Dylan – Eve of Destruction

The eastern world it is explodin’,
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’,
You’re old enough to kill but not for votin’,
You don’t believe in war, what’s that gun you’re totin’,
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin’,
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Don’t you understand, what I’m trying to say?
Can’t you feel the fears that I’m feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no running away,
There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
Take a look around you, boy, it’s bound to scare you, boy,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad, feels like coagulatin’,
I’m sittin’ here, just contemplatin’,
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of Senators don’t pass legislation,
And marches alone can’t bring integration,
When human respect is disintegratin’,
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
But when your return, it’s the same old place,
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace,
Hate your next-door-neighbour, but don’t forget to say grace,
And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.
you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

I’m old enough to know better.  Trust me on that one.  I have worked my entire adult life in Information Technology, performing a wide array of tasks.  Some which included thinking about data security, and how best to implement it.  The news is full of tales of identity theft, theft of services, and the dangers of wireless communications.  Anyone who is well-read should be familiar with these things, and anyone even half-bright should be familiar with how to keep themselves and their equipment safe.

So it surprised me to see there is an unsecured wireless network in my neighborhood.  No, I won’t go into any details and hopefully it would be very obvious that I did not even attempt to explore or exploit this situation.  But my word, people, what is the problem?  If you are going to buy technology, learn how to use it wisely!  If you’re going wireless, you had better make the effort to insure it is SECURED wireless.  You realize, I hope, that not securing your network is like leaving the keys in the ignition and the engine running with the doors unlocked – you are just BEGGING someone to take your network for a ride.  YOU are responsible for your network and its use.

Wireless technology is nice – it allows me to use my laptop in the hotel room when I’m traveling for work, it allows me to use my laptop in a variety of locations while I’m AT work, and if I want to be adventurous I can always go to the wi-fi Internet café up the block.  I’d be comfortable doing that because my laptop is secure – it has antivirus software and a firewall.  It’s not COMPLETELY hack-proof (nothing is short of being unplugged) but it is difficult to hack – enough to deter the casual cruiser.

So I’m begging you folks out there who have invested in wireless networking – take the time to invest in security as well.  You never know who is cruising through your machine otherwise – and what they’re taking with them (or leaving behind).

This isn’t the first time it has happened to me, nor will it be the last. But no matter how many times it happens, it STILL pisses me off. I’m at the end of my road, waiting to turn left onto a street. My road is about 15 feet from a 4-way intersection where cross traffic has stop signs but the main road traffic (of which I will be as soon as I can make my turn) does not.

I arrive at the end of my road at the same time as a vehicle paralleling me on the cross road (vehicle A has a stop sign. Behind vehicle A is vehicle B. Vehicle B is driven by a young lady ((young compared to me)) and is a recent station-wagon, no more than three or four years old). Vehicle A has stopped, checked for on-coming traffic, and begun their turn (both A and B are making a right-hand turn – of course, taking them right in front of me). Naturally, I wait for vehicle A to make their turn because I believe in courtesy. So, vehicle A goes past me and I start to pull out.

Any guesses what happens next?

Anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

Yes. Vehicle B “hesitates” at the stop sign (in no way can her action be remotely construed as a stop) and comes cruising around the corner, causing me to hit the brakes AND the horn at the same time. She looks over at me, and I throw my hands wide in the universal symbol of “WTF are you DOING????”, she points behind her in the universal symbol of “There is no traffic – what is your problem, dude?” . Whereby I reply by pointing at the stop sign, the universal symbol of “That’s a STOP sign, not a PAUSE sign.”. She casually sticks up her fist, finger extended in the universal symbol of “Oh, well sorry but you don’t count”.

It’s times like this that I wish I still had my old ’74 Cutlass Supreme. I don’t think I would have bothered to stop in that case. So, I’d like to make this post for that lady in the station wagon.

Dear Lady In The Station-wagon That Almost Hit Me Yesterday,
I don’t know how you were taught to drive, but it wasn’t correct. You are supposed to STOP when you come to a sign that says STOP. This should not even require the minutest amount of thought. You stop, you look BOTH ways to make sure you are cleared to go. The rule is that the person to your RIGHT has the right of way.

If you had BOTHERED to stop AND THEN LOOKED RIGHT, you would have seen me. You could not MISS me – I was in the blue minivan which is almost twice the size of your little station-wagon. With my directional on, telling you that – yes, you don’t need to guess – I’m turning LEFT. Onto the MAIN ROAD. Where there is NO STOP SIGN. Since you behaved like an ass, I was able to give my teen-aged son a quick object lesson on how NOT to drive, as we were heading over to have him take his learner’s permit test.

Further, in FULL VIEW of said teenager, you shot me the bird. Another object lesson for the soon-to-be new driver, that you must constantly be on your guard because there are assholes all around you and yes, some of them appear to be nice young ladies.

Should our paths cross again, Lady In The Station-wagon, rest assured that not only will I be prepared for your ill-mannered driving, but I’ll also be ready with a gesture of my own should the situation call for it.

People like you, Lady In The Station-wagon, make me feel that periodic re-testing is not such a bad idea after all. Next time, I hope there is a cop nearby. So I can then sit idly by and laugh while you receive your multiple summonses. And NEXT TIME, Lady In The Station-wagon, I will also have my camera handy. You never know, I guess, when a little public shaming is in order.

I have long been an advocate of comfort at work, within reason. I always felt that employees performed better if they were comfortable, so I always sought out jobs that allowed me to dress down. I don’t like suits and ties every day, and I don’t like playing dress-up every day either. Considering my current place of employment lacks air conditioning, summer is usually hit or miss (warm and dry, or hot and humid) so I can appreciate being able to wear shorts. I’ve even been told that I can wear sandals at work if I want, and one of my co-workers actually spends the day in her slippers.

However, there is comfort and then there is HYGIENE. One ends where the other begins, people. If your place of employment allows sandals, great. You want to wear them? Go ahead. But there are several folks here who have a habit of going around barefoot. Yep. Into the men’s room, then into the lounge (kitchen area, where we typically congregate to eat). All around the building. Makes me want to deliberately track all kinds of unmentionable stuff into the office.

What are you people THINKING???? That the rest of us LIKE staring at your feet all day? That we don’t wonder what kinds of stuff you are carting around with you as you gaily traipse from bathroom to kitchen, your uncovered dogs dancing across the floor? I realize that you want to be comfortable. We ALL do. But should I start wearing my gym shorts in?? Huh? Would you LIKE that? I doubt it.

In short, have some consideration for your co-workers. We’re all here for the same reason – we HAVE to do something in order to survive. But this isn’t the show where you might get voted off the island. You should be wearing SOME measure of footwear. If not for the peace of mind of your co-workers, then at LEAST for your own podiatric health and well-being.

It seems that the revolution started with disposable diapers.  Up until the introduction of the disposable diaper in 1950, we bought for durability.  Our cars lasted well beyond 20 years, our televisions were prized possessions to be repaired, and our appliances were expected to last for life.  We were still a long way away from the returnable bottle.

Life has gotten pretty wonderful since then, hasn’t it?  In 50 years time, we now recycle an amazing amount of stuff.  But we have sacrificed durability over the long haul.  Our cost of goods may have declined, but so has the quality of those goods.  Now, if your television starts acting up after 5 years, it’s usually cheaper to just toss it and buy a new one.  Refrigerator died?  No problem – buy a new one.   Hell, today EVERYTHING is disposable, even families.  The divorce rate in this country has climbed exponentially through the 1990’s.

I remember my older brother having a old Opel GT that, when he bought it, had 110,000 miles on it.  When he finally threw a rod in the engine years later, it had over 300,000 miles on it.  I seriously doubt that that situation will ever occur again given the quality and durability of today’s automobiles.

What happened to us?  Have we become so blasé about our lives and our possessions that we can simply throw it all away and never give a thought to the cost?  The cost of materials, the investment of time, the pain and suffering gone through?  What brought this rant on?  A simple insulated mug.  As I washed it out last night, I noticed that here was soap and water inside the liner.  Apparently I had left it immersed in the dishwater long enough for soapy water to seep in through a separation in the bottom part of the cup.  Now, I paid two dollars for this cup at The Christmas Tree Shop, because it was a spill-proof mug (and it truly is).  So, I don’t really have a lot of money invested in it.  But I bought it about 4 months ago, so if this is the standard life of said mug I’ll be buying three a year.  That’s just six bucks a year, not much really.  Sixty bucks over ten years.  Wait – SIXTY BUCKS over TEN YEARS for a lousy insulated mug?  Maybe I should just buy one of those twenty-five dollar Thermos ones.

So I have to wonder, why is it in this day and age, that we can make our computers more compact and resilient (and less costly), we can revolutionize appliances by making them more energy efficient, but we CAN’T seem to come up with a viable two dollar insulated mug?

Someone has their priorities screwed up.

Everything about life is a compromise.  Let’s face it, as the Stones said, “You can’t always get what you want”.  You go to the store to buy a bunch of stuff, but they have maybe half of the things you’re looking for.  You need to gas up the car, and there are 6 stations on the road each with a slightly different price (but you only really like 4 of the brands).  You want to buy a new camera, but the one you REALLY want doesn’t fit into your budget.  You want to go out to eat, your spouse wants to stay in (so you order take-out).
Compromise.

While life can be a compromise, you can also compromise your life by doing it too much.  Marriage is about give-and-take and works as long as neither one is always doing one of the two.  Case in point (or several, actually):  I wanted a bike (haven’t actually owned one in years), so in January I found a 10 speed English Racer for sixty dollars.  Pretty good price, and the 26 inch frame fit me much better than the 27 inch one I previously owned.   Nice.
Until I got home, and my son saw it.  He immediately fell in love with it.  He already had a 21 speed mountain bike, so I didn’t see a need for him to own a second bike (since he had no funds to pay for one himself).  But a plot hatched, and it took until June for it to come to fruition.  When school was almost out, and the kids were clamoring to have their bikes liberated from the cellar, I offered my son a deal:  my brand-new 10 speed bike in exchange for his 21-speed mountain bike.  Hey, I really could care less about what I ride, so long as I can ride.  He jumped at it.  He’s happy, I’m happy.  Good deal all around.

Except now, he wants a laptop computer.  Why?  So he can take it with him everywhere, which I strongly discourage.  At this time in his life, it is not a necessity.  He has a desktop at home (no internet connection yet) and has use of my desktop if he needs to look things up or send e-mail.  But a laptop?   When you go for portability – yep, you guessed it – you compromise.  You lose the upgradability of a desktop, the screen real-estate of a unfettered monitor.  You suddenly become a pack mule because you have to cart around a mini-mouse (if you’re a mouse person and, like me, hate those touchpads), a power cord, a surge suppressor, any extra card devices you have, and you run the extreme risk of having your laptop disappear on you.

If your job requires that you have a laptop, go for it.  There can be nothing more freeing in business than being able to carry your job with you wherever you go, and to be able to instantly connect with the outside (or inside) world.  But for students?  Personally, I’d rather know that I can add in a 320 Gb hard disk if I want to, or a new ATI Ragepro video card, or a new Soundblaster audio card.  Hell, I even like the idea of having a DVD/CD-RW drive in addition to my 3 ½ inch floppy drive instead of having to swap out devices every time I need to use the other one.  If my monitor dies, I can easily replace it (or swap it temporarily with my older one).

But I’m sure this is a discussion that I will eventually lose, as he will soon be in a position to buy one for himself.  I’ll also be the one to hear the whines when he wants to do some of things I mention above but finds he has no room in the chassis for it.

Compromise.

As some of you know, I wrote a previous entry regarding censorship occurring on Flickr, specifically the exclusion of turning off the “Safe Search” function in certain countries.  Apparently, Yahoo! is not the only internet service  site that has been having issues.  However, they certainly could take a page from Google, who have asked the US Government to step in and try to moderate how foreign governments influence internet usage.  As seen here in an article on CNN, Google is asking the US Government to consider foreign government restrictions on internet services as international trade barriers.  A vigorous round of applause to Google, for not backing down and for seeking constructive creative ways to fight back against censorship.  So, Yahoo! – where are YOU during all this?  Right – censoring your paying customers under the guise of providing a necessary filtering system to make us all feel AOL-safe and AOL-happy.

Last year at this time I was happily encouraging friends and family to join up with Flickr, as the service was pretty darned good and the price was right (hey – a free account where you could show 200 pictures was a good buy in my book).  Now?  I’d recommend checking out the other alternative sites before opening up a pro account ($25 a year) with Flickr.  If I’m using a service for free, I don’t feel I can justify complaining when they start restricting me.  But once I become a paying customer, I have no problem with doing it.  Even though my pro account is currently a gift from a friend, I am facing re-subscription in another 8 months.  An event that may very well never come about if Yahoo! doesn’t get off the fence and stand up for their customers.
Once again, competition proves to be a wonderful thing – so Yahoo!, how are YOU going to step up to the challenge that Google has laid down here?  Are you going to join the call for action, or will we just hear more of the same:
Bwaak Bwaak Bwaak  Bwaak Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak?

I have been a licensed driver for a long time now. I’ve had my license since I was 17, and have never had it revoked or suspended. So I have been at this for more than a few years. I’m not a perfect driver, and I would readily admit that I don’t always follow all the rules. I feel compelled to let the other drivers who share the road with me in on a few of my motor vehicle pet peeves.

I’m not going to drive faster because you are late. I am usually slightly over the speed limit as it is – if I’m in the left lane it’s because I am passing slower traffic. If you ride up on my bumper, I will slow down because you are an annoying ass. I don’t care what state you’re from – you have no idea how slow I can drive if you annoy me, but I promise you will find out. I have paced the car in the right lane for over a mile in order to get the point across to the moron behind me that wants to see what’s in my back seat. I’m not in a hurry – in fact, I’ve got all day.

I’m not going to merge onto the highway when there is oncoming traffic in the right lane. Therefore, if you’re in the right lane, please do one of the following:
1) Move to the left. If you have room, don’t make me wait unnecessarily. If you don’t have room, no problem, take option 2.
2) Maintain your speed AT THE VERY LEAST. Why oh why would you want to slow down and pace my speed? I’m TRYING TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY THAT YOU ARE ALREADY ON! I know the rules, I’ll wait until you go by but for Pete’s sake DON’T SLOW DOWN!

Night driving can be such a pleasant experience. There is less traffic, there are usually less hazards, and the slow people are asleep in their beds. So, when you see my headlights coming from the opposite direction, TURN OFF YOUR HIGHBEAMS! You don’t need them on constantly, and I don’t need to have my night vision suddenly disappear because you are too lazy to flip your lights down a notch.

Please, oh please, for you out-of-state drivers – LEARN THE LOCAL LAWS! There are some interesting ones that come up from time to time, make sure you know them. My favorite one is the YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS IN CROSSWALK. In my state, it is the law. It is also one of the most ignored laws. There are SIGNS RIGHT BEFORE THE CROSSWALK WARNING YOU. So there is no excuse for NOT stopping.

I am one of the fortunate few who happen to be psychic. Yes, I know even before YOU do that you just missed your turn-off and are about to slam on the brakes. But for the poor mortals behind me, USE YOUR SIGNAL, USE YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS, and GIVE THEM SOME WARNING OF YOUR INTENTIONS!

The last time I checked, the road was not your own personal driveway. Don’t drive down the center, don’t take up the turn lane if you’re not turning, and try your very best to STAY IN YOUR OWN DAMN LANE. I like my car, it is pretty with no dents in it. Do your part to keep it that way.

Lots of people have to use their cars to pick up items purchased from places like Home Depot, Sears, and such. Some items don’t fit that well in your trunk or on the top of your vehicle. We all go through this at one time or another. But is it TOO MUCH TO ASK for you to secure your load properly? I REALLY don’t need your mattress’ plastic covering to come sailing off and land quite nicely covering my windshield as you speed down the highway . Nor do I need your empty beer cans to come catapulting out of the back of your pickup truck.

Lastly, the folks that manage the malls, department stores, supermarkets, theaters, and such have gone out of their way to mark off areas where you may park your vehicle in order to shop. They even paint nice, straight, even, white lines to let you know where your car belongs. THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO TAKE UP MORE THAN ONE OF THESE SPACES. If you are out shopping in your RV (and NOT on vacation), something is wrong. Leave the motor home somewhere else, along with your boat trailer and any other lengthy attachments.

 An interesting issue has come up recently, and while I have not yet attained the level of moral outrage that my friends have, I am certainly miffed.  Many of us have the distinct pleasure of living in a country where we are allowed to criticize our government (current American administration excepted of course, since if you are in the U.S. and want to criticize GW on the street you have to do it at least a mile away from wherever he happens to be), of being able to choose the things we wish to be exposed to and effectively changing the channel on things that we don’t like (except of course when folks like the Moral Minority try to subvert that).
I was always under the impression that, like they said in Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility.  Apparently that isn’t the case – it seems that with great power comes greed, avarice, and the unflinching desire to screw your customers in the name of making a buck.
I’m referring, of course, to Yahoo! and their decision to roll out their “international” flavor of Flickr without seriously considering the consequences first.  It seems that in order to make Flickr more internationally friendly, they had to disable the ability to turn off the “safe search” feature in certain countries so that, should you live in Germany, Singapore, Korea, or Hong Kong you would NOT have the ability to say, “hey, I’m an adult and can decide for myself if I want to see pictures of half-naked or all-naked people so DON’T take me to the kittens”.  This of course also created a situation where, in many countries that allow people to choose what they wish to see, many photos which AREN’T of naked people are suddenly being censored by this feature as well.  Capitalism at its finest, and a wonderful face it puts on us for the rest of the world.
I say this because, had Yahoo! had a backbone, they could have very easily told these governments, “You CAN’T censor our members without our consent and WE WON’T LET YOU”.  They could have easily proclaimed that they would not offer users in these countries access to the Yahoo! services.  I know what you’re thinking, this is punishing the masses for the crimes of the government.   But I’d be willing to bet that it would have created such an uproar that these governments would have had to back down some.  Not completely, bullies never do.  But it would have been a much better situation all around, as would the decision to NOT include German, Korean, or the other languages with the disclaimer that “Since the governments of these countries wish to forcibly limit the content of our service we won’t be including them here”.  That could have been a powerful message.
So thanks very much to Yahoo! and Flickr for getting down on their knees and publicly prostrating themselves before repressive governments.  You claim to be listening to your membership, especially now that they are most publicly deriding your decision.  Many will not be re-subscribing in the future, so you are losing long-term customers.  I may not be back either once my subscription is up – but I am willing to be generous and give you a chance to right a grievous wrong, to declare that protecting a country’s citizenship doesn’t include censoring what information or entertainment is available to them.  To show the world that corporate America knows too well the power that can be wielded, not at the end of that all-mighty dollar that you so lecherously chase but at the end of a megaphone.
Man up, Yahoo! – what exactly do you STAND for?