There’s a lot of trends in the U.S. that annoy me, mainly having to do with politics, pundits, and the media. The “he said, she said” method of reporting in which ridiculous arguments are put on an equal footing with sane ones, and hence legitimized. The inability or unwillingness to point out when leaders are… Continue reading Politics, without the nasty politics
Google Two-Factor Authentication
Google has recently enabled two-factor authentication for Google products like Gmail. What is two-factor authentication? It means that in addition to providing your password, you need to provide a random verification number that Google will send to your phone, either via an app, a text message, or an actual phone call. Thus, to log in,… Continue reading Google Two-Factor Authentication
Dayton’s budget
Governor Dayton released his budget yesterday. It was essentially the budget that he campaigned on: higher income taxes on the richest 5% of Minnesotans (who aren’t paying their fair share in state taxes in the first place), protections against property taxes increases by not slashing LGA to the bone, more K-12 education spending, and no… Continue reading Dayton’s budget
Motorola loses a customer
I have written earlier about my displeasure with Motorola’s delay in upgrading my Cliq XT from Android OS 1.5 to 2.1. That update was in September, when the upgrade was supposed to be out by the end of the year. Fast forward to February, and in the end, Motorola gave up. Unsurprisingly, a lot of… Continue reading Motorola loses a customer
When is a government benefit not a government benefit?
When is a government benefit not a government benefit? Apparently, when you are on the receiving end of it. So says a recent column by Bruce Bartlett, former Treasury Secretary under George H. W. Bush, today in the Fiscal Times. In a stunning table that was also referenced by the Economix blog, it shows that… Continue reading When is a government benefit not a government benefit?
Useful Computer Utilities: KeePass
Some time ago I blogged about the password manager I had been using for many years: Password Safe. It’s a great program, one that I recommend wholeheartedly. However, I’ve since switched to a new manager: KeePass. Like Password Safe, it is a pretty functional password manager that allows you to automatically generate and save passwords.… Continue reading Useful Computer Utilities: KeePass
Opting out of the health care market
Lawsuits have been filed, conflicting court decisions have been handed down, and ultimately, the Supreme Court will decide whether Obama’s health care reform will be constitutional. The main argument proffered by those against the bill is that the law regulates economic inaction, something that opponents claim Congress does not have the power to do. But… Continue reading Opting out of the health care market
National Internet ID: A Bad Idea
The Obama administration is talking about creating a unique “Internet ID” for web users in the U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is quick to say it isn’t a national ID card, or even a government-controlled system, but private creation of “trusted digital identities”. Although there are plenty of times where the need for a trusted… Continue reading National Internet ID: A Bad Idea
Hawai’ian Honeymoon
Julia and I went on our honeymoon over Christmas. We went to Hawai’i’s Big Island for a week, and it was absolutely amazing. Pictures and our trip after the jump…
Wedding Photos
We’ve posted our wedding photos here. Another big thanks to Steve and Kelsey from Holm Photo. Also, in my last post about the wedding, I forgot to mention our fantastic officiant, Tomkin Coleman. He helped us create a ceremony that was meaningful and truly our own. Thanks again to everybody!