Brian's Blog

Well, as usual I'm here commenting on news that is about a week old. I can never seem to get around to posting something until well after the fact. Anyway, I was poking about reading my normal news sites when I noticed two interesting things. One of them is an article by John Mueller entitled A False Sense of Insecurity in which it is discussed about how the current state of fighting terrorism is way over the top to the point of being hysteria compared to the actual statistical risk. It's basically suggests that we step back, take a look at the actual real world risk of another attack, and respond accordingly.

Of more significant interest to me though is the ruling by a federal judge that the warrantless spy program is unconstitutional. The judge had some might strong words to show how she felt too.

There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. - District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor

Of course the Bush administration is appealing the ruling. Even so, I'm glad to see that at least some level heads seems to exist and are pushing back against Big Brother Bush. I just hope it isn't to little to late.

I recently found myself reading about the Enron executives being found guilty about a week ago. I can't say that I've been following the cast in any more than a superficial way, but I think it's a good thing. It's obvious to anyone no living in tunnel vision mode that corruption is rampant in many of the largest corporations in America and this is just the sort of thing that needs to happen to send a message. With all these corporate scandals going on it's good to see a bit of justice serviced. Just because they are rich and powerful doesn't mean they shouldn't be held responsible for their actions.

I say, string 'em up. Make one hell of an example out of them to scare the bejesus out of every other executive out there who's getting a big head. I hope they get to share a cell with Leroy and Bubba.

Brian in the LVLUG IRC pointed out this article at PCWorld.com that lists the top 25 worst tech products ever. I just find it amusing that AOL is number one on the list. Realplayer is in the top ten along with Windows ME, IE6, Microsoft Bob, and Sony Music CDs (think rootkit). I also find it mildly amusing that 3 of the top ten are Microsoft products.

I can't believe people like this ever make it beyond grade school. The best is he said he's a computer expert and apparently doesn't know what an operating system is. Ahh, never under estimate the power of stupid people...

Over at Dean's World he has a mention about Patent Trolling companies and how utterly ridiculous this sort of thing is. I can't agree with him more. What we have here is a company who's primary purpose is to gather a huge patent portfolio and then bring infringement suits against other companies. They to this not to protect their rights, but for profit.

The company in this case is Forgent, who owns the patent on the JPEG image format.

Forgent's biggest earner -- generating $108.4 million in settlements and licensing fees in the past three years -- has been U.S. Patent No. 4,698,672, issued in 1987 and obtained years ago in an acquisition. At the heart of the so-called 672 parent is something ubiquitous in the technology world: the JPEG format for digital pictures.

In particular, what struck me is that the CEO believes that doing this is the American way. So, the American way is to look for something that is owned by a company that doesn't care to enforce it's patent, make sure that what is patented is so common that almost everyone uses is, then acquire that patent and demand money for "infringement"? This kind of reminds me of the Rambus Law Suit.

At least the JPEG patent should expire soon.

This article about a Dutch Court upholding the Creative Commons license came with good timing. Just a few days ago I asked a friend of mine if he knew if the CC was ever challenged in court. This is of interest to me because all of my blog is protected via the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC license. I especially make sure it's on related to my photo gallery.

Granted, this is in a Dutch court, not the USA so I'm not sure how significant the ruling would be to US courts. Still it's an indication that these kind of licenses can work.

I saw an article on the improvements in Vista against spyware. It sounds like MS has really made an effort to try to keep this sort of drivel under control. However, there is this paragraph that stood out to me:

Microsoft is taking a multipronged approach to fight spyware. Unlike XP, Vista will run by default with fewer user privileges. People will have to invoke full, "administrator," privileges to perform tasks such as installing an application.

Well, all I can say is, "IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!" Sheesh, I mean, why did it take until now to not run in full administrator privileges by default? This single thing will probably make a larger impact, at least in my humble opinion, than any of the other improvements in Vista. Yet another idea borrowed by Microsoft and called innovation I guess. I wonder if they will have the su command in Vista too?

This morning on MSN Money their was an interesting article called The Rich Getting Richer Faster. This came as no surprise to me as I've had the impression that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is shrinking and either joining the rich (not likely) or joining the poor (much more likely).

What is interesting though about this article is the chart at the bottom where they compare the top 5% with the bottom 20% and give the ratio of difference. Their method is explained somewhat in the article.

My state, Pennsylvania, managed to make it into the top ten just barely at 10th place. The top 5% get paid, on average, 12 times more than the bottom 20%.

Every once in a while I see a nice little gem like this article on Alternet. Apparently Al Gore does indeed have more guts than I originally took him for. To bad he didn't seem to have them during the election in which is was defeated by the Supreme Court. These are some pretty strong words and I have to say I agree 100% on every point he makes. Bush has taken it way to far with the powers he has assumed since 9-11, and we have just left him take it without much of an argument. Hopefully more of those in power will wake up and see what is really happening and stop this before we become exactly what we fled from to found the United States in the first place. This is probably the most patriotic thing I've read from any politician in my life. Lets just hope he's not the only one who sees Bush for what he really is.

An mp3 of the speech can be found at Indybay.org.

I just saw on Wired News that Yahoo bought del.icio.us. I don't know what this will mean. If del.icio.us will change or not remains to be seen. Just in case though I'm going to think about some alternatives to it. I know you can export all your bookmarks into an XML file for backup purposes. Does something exist out there that can read in that backup? It would be nice to bring the archiving of bookmarks to my local server instead of relying on an external source.

Who knows, maybe nothing will change but I think I'll just wait and see. And have a backup if Yahoo screws it up.

While reading on my current favorite alternative news site, AlterNet I discovered that they have a nice collection of Wal-Mart coverage. I've read here and there on other places about the evils of Wal-Mart. I can't recall exactly where but I think I've seen the occasional article on other alternative news sites like Democracy Now! Anyway, this collection on Alternet is a nice central place to get caught up on the evils of Wal-Mart.

If after reading it you still shop at Wal-Mart I'd be surprised. Oh, and just in case you forgot, you are the consumer and you have power at any retail store. Corporations only think in terms of money. If they are pissing you off or going against what you think is right then don't buy there. When they see their profits take a hit they notice.

Just when I thought obnoxious phone use couldn't get any worse I read on USA Today that cell phone makers are beginning to target preteens. Yippy, just what I need is a bunch of 6 to 12 year olds running around getting cell calls with their Britney Spears ring tones set to "shatter glass" volume. How the hell can we expect children to be able to know the appropriate time and place for cell phone use when most of the adults, i.e. their parents, can't seem to grasp the concept of manners? It's nearly impossible to go anywhere for any form of entertainment and not have to contend with at least one moron with a bad case of Cell Yell.

My thoughts on a couple of things stated in the article:

"It's open season on kids," says Gary Ruskin, executive director of advocacy group Commercial Alert. Ruskin rattles off a range of concerns, from children being exposed to marketing messages on the phone itself (such as Mattel's "My Scene" design) to the potential for kids to be pressured to buy ring tones and accessories.

This has been happening a long time, kids are easy to manipulate because their minds have not fully developed. They can be easily manipulated into thinking a want is a need. Then they are encouraged to nag their parents into buying them things. In fact, a marketing expert interviewed in The Corporation said they target kids precisely because they are easy to manipulate and also stated that they have found that a parent is 40% more likely to make a purchase when nagged by a child then when not nagged. This is clearly a moral issue. I for one don't want my kids judgments manipulated by an entity who does not have my children's best interests in mind.

Marketers defend their phone products. Mattel says: "We believe it is ultimately the choice of the parent to decide when his or her child is ready for a cell phone. Research shows that kids are going wireless, and we wanted to provide girls with a communication device that is not only functional and fashionable but that also encourages responsible cell phone use."

Yes, indeed it is up to the parents to make the choice. However, keep in mind that mobile phone companies have already manipulated the adults into thinking a want is a need. Of course they are going to say yes when little Johny says he wants a cell phone. After all, doesn't everyone have one? And how can you possibly live without it? You have to keep up with the Joneses you know and it wouldn't be acceptable to put a damper on your child's social standing now would it? Not to mention the endless nagging that they want one.

Come on parents, get a back bone! Who's in charge here? You, your kids, or the marketing department? Say no, mean it, and don't back down. Kids are smart, if they figure they can work you over to get what they went then they will. I'm not saying to be draconian or anything, just start being a parent and realize that it's you who's the final word until they have grown.

At this point, Webber is just about sold. Both he and Corrao agree that cell phones can teach their kids about responsibility. Corrao's son, Daniel, does chores to earn the talk time, and Webber says he'll do the same with Jake.

Now, this probably isn't so bad of a thing. If you feel a 6 year old absolutely must have a cell phone then at least use it as a tool to teach responsibility. But responsibility can easily be taught with other things. For us an allowance (how old fashioned!) for chores completed works well. Then my daughter can save up for something she wants and we can treat her to a shopping outing. An allowance is much more versatile than talk time. You can't buy a new book or treat yourself to ice cream with cell minutes.

I can see no real reason for anyone so young to have a cell phone. Have all pay phones gone up in smoke? Can't kids call home from the class room at school to get picked up? Or even better, my parents picked me up at the end of my extracurricular activities because they knew the time it was supposed to end. Besides, if all your friends have cell phones, then they can let you borrow it if their is an emergency. You aren't going about alone now are you?

Am I totally off base here? Am I missing some key factor in this? I don't know, but either way, my kids aren't getting a cell phone until they can afford to buy their own. If we keep going at this rate there will be cell phones in prenatal care packs before long.

I just discovered that the 2005 Executive Excess Report is out. Faireconomy.org is on it's 12Th year with these reports, but I only discovered them last year. I read last years report and found it highly disturbing. And it looks like it isn't getting any better this year.

Since I'm so much gloom and doom as of late I thought I'd end with a little related humor about Technical Support from Foamy the Squirrel. Unrelated, but still therapeutically funny are Amplified Bible and Sacred Space.

By the way, Foamy is not safe for work, kids, or the easily offended. You've been warned.

I just learned today that gas prices have set a new record. The best part is that overall us Americans haven't reduced our fuel consumption. Apparently it's really important for us Americans to keep showing off our giant, gas guzzling, status symbol SUVs.

At $2.61 a gallon I'm glad I got my 30+ MPG (Highway) sedan. It's big enough to fit the family of four plus luggage for a weeks vacation and doesn't cost me $200 a week at the pump.

Lets think this out a second though. If people overall made a conscious effort to not use as much gas, thus reducing demand, then the prices would start to drop. But, I don't have enough faith in people to do that. It's going to take much higher prices to make that happen. Till then I'm going to keep walking to the store, and combining multiple errands into one trip to reduce driving.

I think it's time to dust off the bike too.

This weekend I finished reading 1984 by George Orwell. Some years ago my friend Chris introduced me to 1984 via the movie which prompted me to check out the book. Unfortunately I never finished it back then. I got to the point there Julia and Winston were in their little hideout just before they got caught by the Thought Police then put it down and never finished. I think part of that is because on that first pass through the story was nothing more than entertainment to me. All the while that I was reading it I was thinking, this is an interesting story, but this could never happen. Not here in the United States anyway!

Well, this time through I read it in a new light. This time it struck home more than that first time since I think we are seeing things come about that could lead to this sort of world. I don't mean were all going to have to learn Newspeak and call everyone comrade or anything like that. I think it will be a much more subtle sort of control if we aren't careful and the general population (the proles in 1984) don't start to care a heck of a lot more about what's going on in the world.

The technology is there, or soon will be there, to have unprecedented surveillance on the general public. For instance, police may be able to see through walls in the not so distant future. And RFID tags are another interesting one in that they are so small that they can be hidden in cloth or, even paper. Supposedly the newer $20 bills already have them. Of course, these technologies, and many others, are developed with the idea of having a practical use that is to benefit people in some way. However, as with all technology, it can be a very bad thing in the wrong hands. And that is exactly the part the worries me. I don't trust human nature to lead people to do what is right in general. And least of all, I don't trust those in power to do what is right. A good example of this can be found in the recent Pennsylvania lawmaker pay raises in which they increased their pay to the 2ND highest in the country and also discovered, and exploited a loophole in the State Constitution that allowed them to take the pay raise in the current term when the raise isn't supposed to take effect until the next term. If this sort of thing is happening on the State level I'm sure there is a good chance it's happening on the Federal level.

And then comes in the issue of influencing the minds of the people, or manipulating them to think what the government/media wants them to think. For instance, there is the large number of people who believe that Saddam Hussein played a part in 9/11 when anyone who was awake and should have noticed the sudden transition from Bin Laden to Iraq. Some how or another the media/government played the general population into thinking and actually believing something that was not true. I can remember personally thinking, "But what about Bin Laden?!" when we were hearing about Iraq and their mythical weapons of mass destruction. So, at some point 40 plus percent of the American public was manipulated into believing a lie.

The point being there is a similarity with the Party's goal of controlling minds and manipulation of the US population to gain support for a war in Iraq. Albeit, on a much smaller scale than the fictitious world of 1984. Now, the reason I think this was so easy to do is that, well, people are generally living their lives in their own little bubble and don't really care about the big picture. They aren't watching those who are in charge of maintaining their rights. And, as they say, then the cat is away the mice will play. In this case, the cat is the people, and the mice are those we elect into office.

Portions of Orwell's description of the Proles seem to describe the mind set of the general masses in the real world pretty well. A couple of them follow:

They were born, they grew up in the gutters, they went to work at twelve, they passed through a brief blossoming period of beauty and sexual desire, they married at twenty, they were middle-ages at thirty, they died, for the most part, at sixty. Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer, and, above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.

-- From 1984 by George Orwell

It was not desirable that the proles should have strong political feelings. All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer work hours or shorter rations. And even when they became discontented, as the sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because, being without general ideas, they could only focus it on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice.

-- From 1984 by George Orwell

In other words, people in general are so sucked into their selfish little worlds that they don't have the time or the care to observe what is going on around them. 1984, in my mind, is a big warning of what the world could be like, at least in part, if we don't wake up, smell the roses, and start to watch and care about what goes on in our government as well as the world.