08.13.06
Liquids on a Plane
Smacking of irreverence: Liquids on a Plane:
Solar-Powered Wi-Fi (Gizmodo)
I’m not sure if this is best for the $100 Laptop project or just my back yard… regardless, let’s string together a few hundred of these and build a mesh network of WiFi across the whole darn neighborhood, eh?
08.12.06
Work Friendly
Disguise your web surfing via Work Friendly‘s new service that makes any webpage look like it’s an MS Word document.
Now, if you want a challenge, do the reverse. Make work look like fun by making it look like CNN or eBay or ESPN…
08.11.06
Lack of Security Everywhere…
Lovely. Apparently there’s a security hole in the MacBook laptops that allows malicious users to take control of the laptop… just by being within WiFi range.
You’re 0wn3d! Wi-Fi driver hack attack demoed | The Register
The lesson? When you’re not using wifi, turn it off. Also, don’t assume your Mac is more secure… any Centrino chip could be at risk.
08.10.06
More Nifong Opposition
Lawyer Targets Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor
Now Steve Monks is going to try to be a write-in candidate…
Stop Social Security!
The St. Louis Fed recently released a study on the financial position of the US Government. The short answer? Bankrupt, or at least careening towards bankruptcy.
The projected difference between the obligations and the tax receipts of the US is a staggering US$65.9 trillion. The reason for all of this is Social Security as the politicians in this country can’t stand up to the AARP and all the other special interests and admit that they’ve promised more than can be delivered on.
Social Security was originally created so that our elderly wouldn’t die in poverty. It was not created so that every man and women over the age of 65 could retire and vacation with a Winnebago.
Demographically, we have a real issue if all baby boomers try to take their claim on retirement… Other people have discussed it better than I can, but suffice it to say it’s not going to be pretty if/when people try.
Lets face facts and admit that Social Security will destroy the US if we don’t address it. Dump it completely, and create a new agency/program to help those in real need — the elderly that are in poverty or than can’t continue to work. Everyone else has to fend for themselves, no matter how much they contributed to Social Security over their working years.
Too many people are lined up to receive benefits that don’t really need them. We do not have a right to retirement, or an entitlement to leisure.
So, what will happen? Nothing… politicians are certainly predictable on that front. They will wait until there is enough of a political crisis to actually be able to do something. There’s no point in trying to act rationally now — any politician who tries to act rationally will get sacraficed by all the special interest groups and those benefiting from the boondoggle.
Politics is nothing if not irrational. Predictibly irrational at that.
08.09.06
Talking to Yourself…
In fact, Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) once opined that at some future date he believed the differences between atheists and religionists would become indistinguishable. In his view, the only difference between an atheist and a religionist is that an atheist is merely a person who, when he is talking to God, believes he is talking to himself.
In fairness, I would concede that an atheist could justifiably argue that the opposite could also be true — i.e., that a religionist is merely someone who, when he is talking to himself, believes he is talking to God.
– Robert Ringer (quoted out of context…)
08.08.06
Trust Powerball!
Lottery winners are getting smarter… here’s some news from www.powerball.com on a recent winner:
The Oklahoma Lottery announced on August 2, 2006, that the $101.8 million jackpot winner of the drawing on June 17, 2006 has claimed the prize through a trust.
“The trust format was also used because the beneficiaries wish to maintain their privacy, and they kindly and respectfully have requested that all honor their desire for privacy.”
Apparently it takes a while to set up a trust… it took the winners 45 days to claim their prize.
08.07.06
AARP Wants Me!?
I just got an AARP Membership Registration form in the mail today. How ironic.
Note to direct-mail marketers: I’m only 29 years old. I got a few years before I’m in your correct target audience. Try again.
08.06.06
Mental_Floss is Good For You
Mo Rocca interviews the guys (Duke Alumni) who founded Mental_Floss (the magazine).