Why am I so interested in issues of data privacy and data security? I think this story about “black boxes” in Toyota cars illustrates it well. In short, Toyota cars have airplane-like black boxes in many of their cars that can track data like speed, whether the airbags deployed, and so forth. However, the data… Continue reading Toyota and data privacy
Windows 7 complaints, corporate edition
When I first got Windows 7, I ranted a bit about the install process. Since then, I’ve had no problems with Windows 7 at home, and I have to say that I like it. It’s getting to the time, though, when we will start rolling out Windows 7 at work, and in the past week… Continue reading Windows 7 complaints, corporate edition
Grad school admission
Last week I was admitted to the University of Minnesota’s brand-new Masters of Science in Security Technology (MSST) program. I’m very excited to be in the inaugural class, and I’m glad that I finally found a graduate program that fit my needs, after spending a few years looking and coming up empty.
Precinct Caucus report
Tonight, the first Tuesday in February, was precinct caucus night in Minnesota. For those unfamiliar with this tradition, caucuses are when neighbors of like political persuasion get together, elect party leaders at the local level, debate resolutions, and send delegates forth to the next level of government where they do all of this again. After… Continue reading Precinct Caucus report
Review – What Americans Really Want…Really
The past few weeks I’ve been reading “What Americans Really Want…Really” by Frank Luntz, which I picked up using one of my many Borders gift cards I received for Christmas. It’s supposed to be a distillation of what famous Republican message man Frank Luntz has found about what Americans want out of all aspects of… Continue reading Review – What Americans Really Want…Really
Delivering for voters
If Democrats aren’t providing voters with a great message, are they providing voters with something of substance? Good question. It usually helps your reelection chances if you can provide voters with accomplishments that make them want to vote for you again. What’s the Democratic majority’s track record when it comes to niceties that Congress has… Continue reading Delivering for voters
How not to message
Democrats have long had a messaging problem, especially at the national level. Sadly, in the past few days it’s become clear that Congressional Democrats have a brain function problem as well, one that is a lot more worrisome than mere issues with messaging, but in the off chance that they stop being afraid of their… Continue reading How not to message
Political Poker
I don’t think President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, or other Democratic leaders in Congress are poker players. I think they’d be much better politicians if they were. If they were regular poker players, they’d understand that Obama and Democrats are now “pot-committed”, and folding their hand is the worst mistake they can make. Sadly,… Continue reading Political Poker
Camera lens for sale
I’ve decided to give myself a late present and purchase the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens and a few Kenko extension tubes. Based on everything I’ve read, the 17-55 is probably the best walkaround lens for a crop camera like my 40D, and it will give me a wider angle lens than what I already… Continue reading Camera lens for sale
Random Christmas photos
Julia and I went to Omaha over Christmas to visit her family. While there, I took a few photos of the fun. They are on my website and below the jump…