One year ago today: January 2, 2018, a generic day.
Five years ago today: January 2, 2014, not Billie-Bill again . . .
Nine years ago today: January 2, 2010, the crowd, not the owner.
Random years ago today: January 2, 1977, 42 years ago.
We have an extra electrical line run in. It wasn’t really an error, it just never got noticed until today. What happened is the old back bedroom was split into two lines. They were intended to be run to the old main panel, so the old line was left in place to be cut over. The electrician ran the bedroom line into the new sub panel, and now we have an extra line. It’s a hot and muggy day to be crawling around under the house, I could use some help around here. That new main plumbing line is the big task, if I get to it. The old piece had two openings, the new one (that does not cost $91) has only one. Thus, the drain pipes have to be run a bit different to accommodate the sink and bathtubs. We’ve been through worse.
This morning I was talking philosophy at the donut shop. To a 19-year-old waitress. She’d notice I was reading an article and asked some questions I just happened to have opinions on. The same questions I had asked when I was that age. You inevitably get some answers you disagree with but there’s no explanation, so you think the other person is shallow and uninformed. The school system was just as bad in my day, you had to give the answer the teacher wanted to get high marks. I would often quote the textbook verbatim. However, the mood of the room, particularly once you get into college, is often quite different. This gal was sharp enough to spot that, and that I was identifying with what she had been told. Just an interesting interlude.
Four hours later, the shed is slowly evolving. I can fit more stuff in there, which helps inside the house itself. And yes, I’ll have a small bench work area for finer jobs. There is some water damage to my belongings, but mostly books that I’ve read a few times each anyway. This compels me to fix the roof quickly, probably this weekend when cooler days are forecast. I’m due for a siesta, so check back later today. I found a big box of 8mm video tapes in the shed just when I have no way to play them back.
Colorful Irish street.
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Lack of experience trips me up again. I can only work under the house in bright daylight. There isn’t enough clearance to hang a light and what a hassle dragging one with you. But in the day it is too hot. I was under there until dark. Not much progress, but I have a list of materials and I think the expensive parts are already here. Here’s what the project is looking like by now. I spare no expense to bring you the top stories of the day, accompanied by these exciting photographs.
How about that blocked Mythbusters video? You didn't know about that? Well, Mythbusters put together an expose on how easy it is to hack RFID chips, of which you are probably carrying a few on your person right now. (I'm not.) Visa, Amex, & Discover gathered up a team of lawyers and told the Discovery network if they aired the video, the credit card companies would pull their advertising off the network. The television stationed caved and the show was never broadcast. It is disgusting that can happen in America. However, it is not the first time that the Mythbusters have been blocked or threatened. The credit card lobby has also gotten the video taken off the Internet. You can't see it because they find it too dangerous to let you know what is going on. What you may not know is that the major manufacturer of the chips was behind the ban: Texas Instruments.
In other related news, there is talk of legislation that if you use an anti-RFID wallet, you can be fined for refusing to open it at airports, etc. And up until now there was nothing people with a Tesla could do if you parked in front of the recharging station. Now, the Telsa owner can have you towed. Ah, the wild American west can make anybody a vigilante. Still, I can't get the Mythbuster ban butTexas Instruments maintaines it would let criminals know how vulnerable the cards are. Nonsense, TI, the real criminals already know. The show is more about letting the masses know of the dangers, and in the process, how slipshod your product are when it comes to security.
ADDENDUM
Splinternet. That’s how you describe the wrong way to “fix” the Internet. California has announced plans to operate its own state Internet version. In a sense, this is already happening due to censorship around the world. The thing to watch is the privacy laws. Europe is the most advanced with their right to be forgotten legislation that comes in this year. It is interesting to notice the main objectors to such laws in the USA are tech companies. It’s a clear signal that they are now purpose building computers specializing in privacy invasion. Should there be a privacy law passed in 2019, it won’t do the average Joe any good.
Why? Because the laws will only be enforceable over new information. Stupid Joe has already entered his life history on Facebook. Thus, no matter how many times Joe may have his file deleted, he can never been really, really certain there isn’t a copy somewhere. And there will be. It’s like police records. They only tell you they are destroyed. Instead, they are temporarily tucked away. The biggest impact of privacy laws may be on people like me who did not put any information on-line. It could make us conspicuous. Then you get Canadian-style laws where the police can pull you over simply because they see you have not been pulled over before.
Just you watch. Some bean-brained senator from some jerkwater place you never heard of will cause any privacy law to loose its teeth. I predict the law will not compel records to be deleted. More likely it will restrict the usage, particularly publication on line. Like the telephone no-call list, there will be exceptions that allow the baddest operators to continue by changing hats. The existing information, which is more than enough to destroy almost anybody’s situation, will simply be hidden one layer deeper. Most people who had nothing to hide will now be unable to if they decide they want to.
If you have already put your details on-line, I don’t think any new privacy laws can or will improve your circumstances. Those who took my advice many years ago may find things easier. You won’t have to be as careful about certain things. The move toward privacy isn’t enough. This blog has said that the only real fix is for somebody to invent a parallel Internet that cannot be hacked. But would the authorities even allow that? I say it would not be that difficult to implement. Maybe invent an algorithm that truly randomizes the packets to they can only be reassembled by the intended recipient using his DNA or something. Retinal scans are here, use that.
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