Doc's Place: Rants

Doc Goes Shopping

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:09:08 GMT

I try to be a good Green person. I plan my shopping trips to make the best use of miles and gas as possible. My only explanation for yesterday is that, for some unknown reason, the gods were pissed at me. I got up early , showered, shaved ( a pretty good bleeder was produced, but nothing life threatening,) trimmed my beard, and put on clothing fit for public viewing. I even got my dentures out of the little porta-potty looking thing and wore them.

That’s where just about anything positive ended for the rest of the trip. My first stop was at the same Medium-Box Circuit store where I had previously had a less than cordial discussion with the manager over a LCD TV. At that time I had waited nearly half an hour for anyone to notice that I might want to buy something and wait on me. On that occasion I left before “being helped” and called back when I got home, getting some personal satisfaction from biting the manager and getting a gift card for my trouble. On this trip I went there first to use the gift card, only to find that a USB A plug to USB 5 pin mini-B cable was over $31.00. I grudgingly turned in the gift card and used a credit card to charge the rest of the price of a damn piece of wire which I am certain was produced in China for under $3.00.

On to the pet store. I got the boys their favorites, but when I got to the register, I was charged $2.00 more than I expected because a particular bag of anti-hairball food was priced that much lower on the shelf upon which it sat. I also embarrassed myself by getting out the wrong store’s discount card. Grrrr.

I finally went to the Big-Box grocery and general merchandise store that I usually patronize. The first irritation was the discovery that a knee brace like the one I had bought there on my last trip was now 20% off. Drat! I don’t know why I do things like this to myself, but I wandered into their relatively small electronics section and found exactly the same cable I had purchased (rebranded) for $16.00. Double drat! I then looked for a filtered water pitcher that was supposed to be on sale for about $17.00. All were sold and the ones available were over $30.00. Foiled yet again. Button batteries for a $2.00 LED flashlight and laser? $6.49 – I think not.

Then came an item that I had argued with myself about purchasing, a Barrister bookcase; the kind with a glass front for each shelf which raises and slides back above the books on that shelf. I had discussed with myself whether it was a need, a want, or some combination of the two. I had gone so far as to measure the available trunk height and width (just in case.) I even took a tape measure into the store to be certain. When I discovered that the price had risen by $20.00 since my last trip, “maybe need” was quickly lowered to the “only want” category, and I sullenly wandered on.

I then continued to do my regular grocery shopping. It was here that I found my only bargain of the day. Pepsi was on sale at two cases for $9.00. No more surprises. I just bought my regular supplies and want home. At least the car didn’t break down on the way.

Oh. One more thought. I either never received or lost the USB cable receipt, so I can’t return it.

Peace, Doc

“If men liked shopping, they'd call it research.” - Cynthia Nelms

Too Many Things Beep Or Flash!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:06:47 GMT

This is clearly going to be a rant, so if any of you don’t want to read it, it’s permissible to leave now.

The impetus for this topic came to me in my sleep. To be more precise, it woke me from my sleep. I heard an insistent, repetitive beep coming from somewhere in the apartment but couldn’t identify what or where. Bittle and Stinky didn’t seem to care much, one way or the other about it, and would not join the hunt. I set off alone on my search-and-silence mission. I shuffled carefully down the hallway trying to locate the sound. I dared not stalk it rapidly as I had not taken time to put on my glasses, a definite disadvantage. I located the noise as coming from the general direction of kitchen/dining area. OK, what might make a noise from that area? Stove timer? No. Microwave? No. Washer/Dryer? No. Smoke sensor? No. Jade plant? Yes! At least it first seemed that it was coming directly from the plants. On closer inspection, it was discovered to be my fax machine’s call for attention, bouncing off the wall in a way that definitely made it sound like it was coming from the plants. I scowled at them for their part in the plot and went on to shut off the noise. It refused to be silenced and informed me that there was a fax in memory and that I had to add paper. Paper? Oh, no! Paper is in the “room that no one dares enter.” Buck up, Boyo. This is no time to show cowardice to a small machine and a couple of plants.

Very hesitantly, I entered “the room.” I tried not to disturb the balance of anything there, and snatched the first discolored sheets of copy paper I could find. When I was able to back out of the room unscathed, I’m sure The Boys were able to hear my sigh of relief. Back to the fax machine to load and lock the paper and press “start.” For all my effort and valor, I received a “spax” from a company attempting to lease to me “a major breakthrough in Physiological Monitoring and Biofeedback software” for $75 (USD) per month, laptop included, and purporting to do “Para Spinal Imaging.” I don’t know what that is. I think they made it up. I will not mention the company’s name because, other than the spinal imaging part, they seem to be legitimate and it was the beeping that had irritated me, not the group sending the fax.

This episode did start me thinking about all the things that beep or blink in my environment. (Oh, no! He’s been thinking again!) Other than a kitchen timer, I think I’ve pretty well covered that area of the apartment. As I sit here, I hold an instrument of torture that displays a brightly colored flag and sings “bum-ble-e-beee!” enthusiastically announcing that it really is trying to start XP Pro after I pressed the start switch. As I proceed, I note that there are five blindingly bright blue LED’s which tell me that I have turned it on, that DVD is OK, a pointy circle that appears to be chasing itself, and two volume controls. Thankfully, the mute button remains dark. The latter is actually a subtle trick, however, which only allows the user to trade more blue glare for silence. Many programs announce themselves with entry marches, and of course there is the plethora of honks, beeps, and squeals that tell me that I have done something unacceptable. There are seemingly random noises that occur for no apparent reason, and always the sorrowful sounding exit tune as I shut the computer off by clicking “start.”

I looked across the room and turned on the TV. In response to a single remote button press, a red LED flashed three times and the machine greeted me with a happy, ascending “tweedle-ee-beep.” (“He noticed me! He noticed me!”) It hasn’t yet learned that people would like the volume to remain relative constant among stations, but I don’t blame it personally for that. Whenever it is turned off, it responds with a single LED blink and a sorrowful “deedle-ee-boop.”

I am nearly certain that alarm clocks set themselves. When I set mine, it never seems to wake me up, although I sometimes awaken about a minute before it buzzes. A few days ago I finally discovered the source of a tiny, repetitive beep that had remained hidden in the bedroom and occurred at about 12:35 a.m. When I was present and awake, I might hear it. If I happened to be asleep, it had never disturbed my slumber. It was a timid little radio/alarm clock that had apparently been making that noise, unnoticed, for four years.

I have made a small, slow red blinker to install under the dash of my car. It cost $1.25 (USD) and will do absolutely nothing except blink, hopefully convincing a potential thief that I have a sophisticated alarm system which would, in turn, suggest to him it would be easier to steal the car parked next to mine.

People with remote alarm transmitters on their key chains irritate the hell out of me by pressing the arm/disarm switch just as I am walking past their cars in a parking lot. Lights flash, loud honking occurs, and I jump about a foot in the air. I am reduced to pointing my keys at my car and stating, in an authoritative voice, “HONK!” I am aware of a way to retaliate, but I believe it to be illegal. Backup beepers annoy me, as do motion sensing lights and sirens. Far too many lights and noises occur inside my car, the most annoying of which being the buzz that tells me that I have once again locked myself out with the keys still in the ignition switch.

In the city and suburbs there is always a background of of flashing neon signs, honking car horns, sirens on emergency vehicles along with the red, blue or yellow “gum ball” lights or the brilliant white strobes that control traffic lights. Cell phones ringing can anger me almost as much as the conversations that follow. Wristwatch alarms, security cameras which watch us, and recently, advertising signs that start hawking their wares as one approaches them.

Taken one at a time, these are minor annoyances. Viewed as a whole, however, I believe they have led to a heightened stress level in most of us, and have produced a dangerous side effect. We have become so inured to them that we ignore or suppress them. Have you ever driven through a red stoplight because there were so many bright business signs in your field of view that you simply did not differentiate danger from background? Have you ever had the car windows rolled up and the tunes on so loud that you missed the warnings of the emergency vehicle? Have you become so used to hearing car alarms screaming for help that you simply ignore them? Or just become frustrated that something in the house is trying to get your attention, but you haven’t a clue as to what it is? Yeah. I thought so.

Peace, Doc

“Honk if you hate noise pollution.” - Author unknown, as seen on a bumper sticker.

See also: Noise pollution and light pollution.

They Shoot Visionaries, Don't They?

Thu, 29 May 2008 13:16:35 GMT

I have been collecting folders full of materials on such subjects as Electronic Health Records (EHR,) and how they may be used, government and corporate spying on various levels, the use of fear to keep the American People afraid to speak out against the obvious wrongs in out current society, the security of personal information, the use of technology to control our country's citizens, and generally being what I would refer to as "constructively paranoid." I don't believe that the aliens are out to get us nor do I put much credence in secret societies, the Illuminati, and the like. I favor the belief that money and power (quite likely interchangeable words) are a far simpler explanation. By the rule of Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation is most often the accurate one. There is no way that I can give enough information in a single post to do these subjects justice or even convey my opinions clearly. Therefore, what is on my Spaces Live platter today is a series of links to YouTube videos which make statements more succinctly than can I, by or about about men who were killed for making them. The first, by Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. is long but bears such a stunning resemblance to today's political and societal realities that I urge you to take the time to listen.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Viet Nam" (22:49)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Viet Nam (8:30)

John F. Kennedy on the truth of 911 (4:33)

John F. Kennedy "The speech that got John F. Kennedy Killed" (1:45)

Robert F. Kennedy on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Edward Kennedy's Eulogy for Robert (8:40)

It has been 40 to 45 years and I'm afraid we haven't learned much. Patterns are repeated. Let's not make it four more.

Peace, Doc

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The time is always right to do what is right." – Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

$3 Trillion Dollar Shopping Spree

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:05:35 GMT

I don't know about the rest of you, but I really have trouble wrapping my head around what $3 Trillion (USD) could actually buy. As we slide into a recession with its attendant inflation and stagnant (or worse) wages, I am frightened. We will have to deal with that debt in a very few months, as our current administration leaves office. A short, satirical YouTube film depicting what this means financially to the average American citizen should be watched before you go on.

Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films website has created a virtual spending spree for you to purchase whatever you wish with this amount of money and tally up the total as you go. I especially liked "Bob's" shopping spree because it included a box of yellow marshmallow Peeps for himself, and he only managed to spend less than $2.4 Trillion.

The videos and opinions found through the links above and below are biased. I am so sick of the lies, revisionist history, spying, and coverups that I feel it is an obligation to present the opposite end of the political spectrum. Be warned, there is obscene language in the following, and even more obscene concepts and content. I want these videos to make you angry. Angry people do something about a problem.

A Compilation of Lies by the Bush Administration (6:26)

Linda Bilmes on Our 'Three Trillion Dollar War' (20:11)

Bush Administration Caught Contradicting Itself 6 Times (6:26)

Peace, Doc

"Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence” - Henri Frederic Amiel

Addendum: In my haste to post this before I regretted it, I left out the best video, "Who Owns You Americans?" narrated by George Carlin.

Don't Worry. It's Only the Sound of Our Constitution Tearing.

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:03:12 GMT

On March 6, 2008, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a news release which in part stated:

"Babak Pasdar, a computer security consultant, has gone public about his discovery of a mysterious "Quantico Circuit" while working for an unnamed major wireless carrier. Pasdar believes that this circuit gives the U.S. government direct, unfettered access to customers voice calls and data packets. These claims echo the disclosures from retired AT&T technician Mark Klein, who has described a "secret room" in an AT&T facility. ...
The White House is putting heavy pressure on lawmakers to grant the telecoms immunity from lawsuits over the spying as part of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation pending in Congress. ...
When you put Mr. Pasdar's information together with that of AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein, there is troubling evidence of telecom misconduct in massive domestic surveillance of ordinary Americans," said Cindy Cohn, Legal Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "Congress needs to have hearings and get some answers about whether American telecommunications companies are helping the government to illegally spy on millions of us. Retroactive immunity for telecom companies now ought to be off the table in the ongoing FISA debate." (Bold italics by this author.)

This is only part of the news release, but the original has links to more and deeper sources of information. The practices described here, a part of the so called "Patriot Act" and its illegal use by our government to conduct warrantless searches, electronic or otherwise, of US Citizens, contains little that is new. The specific name "Quantico Circuit" is new to me, but I have been aware of, and active with, this and and similar organizations, to restore and preserve the freedoms we all desire, for quite some time. I am not making any requests that you write congress persons or agency heads unless you feel that you wish to. I am, however, definitely trying to make better known and emphasize information that tends to spin right past us as it becomes lost among reports of assorted celebrities' diseases and the indiscretions of American Idols. EFF's information on NSA spying, privacy issues, cell phone tracking, real-ID, Radio Frequency ID (RFID), search engine issues, travel screening, CALEA, and anonymity are all presented at the EFF site, along with actions that may be taken, personally or as part of group. EFF is an excellent organization, but it is only one of many. A listing of action groups, generally related to this topic, will be posted as a folder in the Sky Drive module. Read it or not. Take action or not. It will be there because this is an area about which I feel very strongly.

Steven Colbert of Comedy Central on The Word of the Day.

Peace, Doc

"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." - John Quincy Adams

Old Poop Rant: Part II

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:21:55 GMT

Hmm. Yesterday's post on friends and messages seems to have inadvertently struck a chord with many of my friends. Eleven comments arrived in about a four-hour period. You have to be signed in to comment. My stats showed that I received 59 hits during the 24 hour period that included these responses and only one comment had the commenter's Spaces URL attached.

You all have valid questions and observations. One reason I check my stats on a fairly regular basis is to try to prevent another episode like "The Troubles" of about a year ago. Watching the watcher, so to speak. Being careful who I accept as friends, as well as checking my stats, is a partially effective way of protecting my real friends. Granting friends status on this Space can give another person elevated privileges on my listed friends' Spaces, if you have your blog settings configured in a particular way.

The argument that people may be wary of commenting because it drew venom from those who were angry with me is valid. It should not, however, affect how many hits appear on the Spaces stat counter. That number dropped drastically and abruptly about two months ago. If it were drawn on a graph, it would appear to be a cliff with a sheer dropoff. Fifty-nine hits may seem like a large number to some, but 33 of them were to RSS feeds, six came from searches, and seven had no origination information. Only one friend was identified, and the rest showed only what was viewed, not by whom or from where.

Something has definitely changed. I am trying to discover exactly what. I no longer receive Baidu searches (possibly a political decision.) Google searches have dropped dramatically (likely a financial decision lowering the placement of sites advertising for competitors.) I don't completely understand how "MS Live" works, but it appears not to register hits by friends. (Possibly a good reason for unknowns to want to become friends with a blogger of interest?) Perhaps I sound more than suspicious and border into the paranoid, here, but a little healthy paranoia is good for you. When one's page views drop off tenfold, however, one wonders. If any of my real friends want a .pdf copy of my stats for the 24 hour period in question so that they may judge for themselves, just message me and I will send one to the email address associated with your blog. The same goes for any exchange of information, ideas, or questions.

If I have not resolved this issue relatively soon, I may simply delete the friends portion of the blog. This would not change how I feel about any of you, but would likely change how the electronic data transmission is handled and recorded. And so it goes.

Peace, Doc

"Suspicion is a heavy armor and with its weight it impedes more than it protects." - Robert Burns

Friends and ... Umm ... Lovers?

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:20:29 GMT

A relatively irritating message on my Spaces Live home page has prompted this post. A person was upset and sent what was apparently a form email to those who had not responded to their request to be friends. While I have been in the throes of packing, moving, unpacking, and trying to salvage that which is likely to be either useful or has a sentimental attachment, I have not been able to attend closely to my messages, requests, comments on posts, and the like. I have certainly not been able to respond to everyone who has commented, though I did find a moment or two to avoid the tasks facing me and respond to a few friends. I have neglected all but one of my other blogs entirely, despite the check from Google. I noted online activity, but had not had time to deal with it. That will have been rectified by the time this is posted. The convoluted syntax is used because I keep archival copies of all that I delete, and that task was not completed when I began writing this post.

I have declined all of the 26 requests to be friends that arrived over the past month. That is simply not a normal number for me and it coincides with a tenfold increase in spam to the address connected with this space. Out of the thousands of spamules I have recently received, however, I must thank the fictitious Consuelo C. Hightower for her alleged desire to help "make your trouser python huge and rock hard." I am not so amused by the breast enhancement offers, though.

There is a serious element in this post. I apologize to any reader who followed any link-backs on comments which led to obscene, vulgar, and pornographic sites. They have been documented and deleted now. I am simply sorry that I did not notice and remove them sooner.

Regarding the invitations to become friends, I am certain that I have erroneously declined several real requests, and for that I am sorry. Anyone who still wishes to be on the friends list should simply make the request once again and send a brief email to tabloodphd at gmail.com, telling me who you are and how we might know each other. All but a few of the requests I tracked led to new sites with no blog on them, closed sites, or otherwise seemed suspicious to me. I may still be a little funny in the head from the move, I fear.

Peace, Doc

"Trust your friends but always cut the cards." - Old Irish Proverb

Home Sales Are Down(ers.)

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:01:39 GMT

I preconsciously knew everything was going too well in the sale of this house. I wanted to believe differently, so I momentarily lost contact with my usual cynical, grumpy worldview. This transaction is a one-in-a-"insert a large number here" bit of serendipity that will turn into a win-win situation if we can hold our respective attorneys at bay. To give a very simplified version of the tale, so far, it started when a clean well water feed pipe to an upstairs bathroom burst and the leakage caused significant cosmetic damage to carpeting, wallboard, paint, and the like. ~ Skip four paragraphs. ~ The general contractor who appraised what it would cost for him to repair the damage asked if I was interested in selling the house. To his son. I was and I am. We talked, arrived at an "as is" price, other terms agreeable to both, and then involved my attorney. He stated that it was the strangest sale he had ever handled but that it was legal and should work.

A four generation group of family members took a tour of the house - Two grandmothers, the contractor and his wife, the son and his wife, and three children. The grannies were nodding, the son (a carpenter himself) was grinning, and the kids were playing with The Boys and asking why I had a tiny motorcycle in the living room. (No, I didn't have a good answer for that. My son had left it there.)

A tentative time schedule was worked out. I was willing to grant the contractor, his son, and/or any of their insured work crews access to the house to make repairs and improvements before it was officially appraised and sold. This was agreed to so that the house would be more appealing and would appraise for a higher price, in turn increasing the likelihood that a better and lower rate mortgage could be obtained by the buyer. It also worked to my advantage in giving me more time to deal with my "stuff," one way or another, and in not having to make repairs and improvements to the house which I could not afford and could not be certain would appeal to a prospective buyer.

After meeting with the contractor and my attorney, and finding that the deal was workable, I went into de-clutter, sell, give away, donate, and "I'll figure it out" mode. I was convinced that this transaction, for once in my life, was going to work out relatively easily. Silly me. We had left out an important variable. The buyer's attorney. I had received paperwork which looked quite official and complete from my attorney last Friday. I would have signed them on the spot. I received a call from my attorney yesterday afternoon. He said he had heard from the buyer's attorney and that there was a problem that would have to be worked out before the process could continue. Reverting to my normal suspiciousness, I believe that this is a red-herring and that there are other, yet to be discovered ramifications, about which now I can only speculate. I honestly hate to tell you how ridiculous the "problem" is. The buyer's attorney is concerned that when the wood flooring is installed, the cats might walk on it before the sealer has dried. Arrrggghh!!!

Peace, Doc

"For every human problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Rant! Spaces Changed Again.

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 21:03:11 GMT

Spaces Live Team; you guys have "improved" my space again without warning me in advance! It isn't nice to do that to old people. Changing their environmental maze upsets them. They have a difficult time getting used to innovation and change, especially without an instruction book to ignore. It took me over a year to figure out how to set a combination digital/analog watch, but that's another story. Besides, the instructions were on an inch and a half wide, two foot long strip of paper and printed in a #2 type size. I digress. Old people do that, too.

I doubt that the "Jay" who commented on my site's dreary appearance and on my "dreadful frog picture," (actually an Australian Cane Toad, the toxic Bufo Marinus) is the same person I spoke to at Microsoft, but if so, just never mind about this post. I love Spaces Live just as it is and would never criticize it.

A relatively recent appearance of Leonard was in the Sydney Morning Herald of 02-25-07. The tree limbs on my background look more sinister. Seeing them reappear was actually a relief, after the top of my space quit looking like a chocolate sundae. With so much change occurring elsewhere in my life at present, this was a little too much to tolerate without a response. It is also specially damaging to my psyche to have had this sort of experience on a Friday!

One of my alleged superiors used to do stuff like this - pass out bad news or tell me he wanted to meet with me early on Monday morning, but not say why or about what. He would do that on Friday afternoons, just as I was leaving work. I think it was a combination of delusions of superiority and his belief that knowledge (however limited) was power. He likely had little idea what he was going to say or how he planned to present it, but wanted to deliver it in the most "I know something (bad) that you don't know" way possible such that his underlings would suffer for an entire weekend. This technique was especially effective over long, holiday weekends or scheduled vacations. Why am I feeling like Dilbert now? I suppose that's the way it goes with whiners' rants.

To make myself feel a little more competent and in control, I'll pass along a tip I found elsewhere (a TechNet forum, I think) about one process that can stall out your computer if you have the Spaces Live Toolbar installed. If you look in your Task Manager and find the task "Search_Glow" running, shutting it off is the easiest way to set things aright. There are several ways of accomplishing this, but the easiest and least risky is to simply disable the Live Toolbar temporarily. Right click on any empty space in the toolbar area and a list of toolbars installed on your computer will appear. Simply uncheck "Windows Live Toolbar" and Search_Glow ends. You can then repeat the process and re-check Windows Live Toolbar to regain its functionality.

I apologize for my incoherence. I'm not even up to writing a haiku at the moment. That might require functional cognitive activity.

Peace, Doc

"Every time I find the meaning of life, they change it." - Source Unknown

1.5 Rants

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 05:29:20 GMT

I had a great journey and arrived back in St. Charles safely and in a wonderful mood with two exceptions, related solely to driving. The gas I used on the way home had increased in price by over 18% since I had left, and even more, regionally, when the differences in gas purchased on the single day of my return was considered. I filled up at $2.99/gal. when I left and arrived in Illinois to find prices of $3.85/gal., with radio reports of prices of over $4.00/gal. in Chicago. I only made one "scenic detour" at about 1:00 a.m., traveling through Tulsa, rather than around it. Perhaps Oklahoma just disorients me. The other irksome factor was the vehicle to police-presence ratio in Illinois. During a trip of about 1000 miles through several states I averaged a pleasant 10 to 15 mph over the limit on the expressways and saw only one police car traveling in the opposite direction. Only once until I got to Sangamon County, Illinois, that is. In a brief moment of "stuck behind a semi" I must have accidentally been driving within the limit as I was not caught in the speed "enforcement zone" of a stationary recording location radioing evildoers' identities to motorcycle policemen. Five motorcycle policemen and one squad car, to be exact, each with a vehicle pulled over and a ticket book in hand. At least I had my seat belt "clicked." Discretion being the better part of valor, I slowed to within 3 or 4 mph of the limit for the rest of the trip. I'm beginning to believe that I am not really all that fond of Illinois. End of minor rant.

When I got into the house, The Boys were quite pleased to see me and/or the Whiskas treats. Firstborn had taken excellent care of them and had tried to put them on a diet. They may have lost an ounce each. She had also faithfully brought in the mail and left it in a huge pile on the kitchen table. (Here comes the major rant.) While sifting through the junk mail, bills, offers of credit cards, expensive furniture, and such, I came across a letter from the Department Of Veterans Affairs. This immediately puzzled me as I am not a veteran and am a bit too old for it to be a recruitment letter. It was neither. It was a notification that my Social Security number, EIN number, NPI code, State Professional License number, DOB, and probably my full address, name, etc., had been "compromised." An unencrypted portable hard drive backup of a database on VA employee's office computer, on which demographics studies were being done became, ummm,"missing." Somehow, their obtaining this information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) without my knowledge or permission and then ~~losing~~ misplacing it has become my problem, not theirs. I feel so much more secure now that they have "conducted extensive physical searches and ... involved local police and Federal investigative resources, and a reward is being offered..." In the future, they state, that steps to prevent further security breaches or losses by prohibiting the use of external hard drives and "requiring the encryption of personally identifiable information when authorized distribution is required." The plain English version of this is that the DVA let an employee make an unauthorized (?) copy of my personally identifiable information, in plain, unencrypted text, without my knowledge, and they lost it. This upsets me. I am certain that this is not the first time a database containing personal information about me (or you) has been compromised and it will certainly not be the last. It is simply where the information age is headed. As more and more information is collected about us and governmental and private agencies access it, more will be lost. Simple.

A few years ago the FBI was openly stating that they were using a "super-snoop" program called Carnivore to obtain and decrypt almost any electronic communications they deemed necessary. At nearly the same time the NSA was bragging that their intent was to create the largest and most comprehensive database in the world. Then we didn't hear of these activities for quite some time until they were served to us on a different platter as the "Patriot Act" and communications tapping without judicial oversight. I am afraid, very afraid, even though the DVA has provided me with phone numbers of the big three credit monitoring companies, told me how to put a "fraud alert" on all my credit accounts, and promised to offer a free credit monitoring service to me in the near future. As angry as I am about this situation, I really have to compliment the Department of Veterans Affairs for having the integrity to notify me and to do something about it. I can only wonder how many times other incidents like this have occurred and no one affected has been told other than by hearing it on the news. We might begin to distrust such agencies and companies and believe that they are incompetent, after all. I cannot dissuade myself of this notion because I am only able to access one of the three credit agencies. The other two have fraud alerts or holds placed on their information. Seems that they can know it, but information about me is unavailable to me.

I'll calm myself and be in a better frame of mind soon. I am unable to remain angry after a vacation such as the one from which I just returned. I will do a slide show and at least one more post about pleasant activities. Somehow, though, I believe that there is at least one more major rant in me about the lack of "intentional" freedom of information versus the zeal with which organizations collect information about each of us, mostly without our knowledge.

Peace, Doc

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." - George W. Bush.

"We look forward to analyzing and working with legislation that will make -- it would hope -- put a free press's mind at ease that you're not being denied information you shouldn't see." - George W. Bush

Speak Softly

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 04:04:05 GMT

I have been enmeshed in a dilemma over the past few months, especially during the last few weeks. I believe in, and try to act in accordance with, the First and the Fourth Amendments of the U. S. Constitution. I have written rants about government violations of these portions of our constitution previously. The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) "Defending Freedom in the Digital World," MoveOn.Org "Democracy in Action," Care 2 Connect action groups, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) especially their ACLU v. NSA which was filed in January, 17, 2006 regarding the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.

The rights and duties associated with these amendments have taken on a much more personal relevance. I have been researching the meanings of slander and libel and, more specifically, their applications in the world of cyber-publishing, as interpreted by the EFF, Harvard Law, and others. See especially "EFF: Legal Guide for Bloggers," an article from Download.com, "The Internet can kill your reputation," the International Bloggers' Bill of Rights, EFF's "How to Blog Safely," and the list of articles from the New York Times related to online slander, freedom of speech, and connected issues.

Where is he going with all these citations? We'd rather suffer another haiku, you say? I am headed in the direction of an attempt to resolve the problem that has been harmful to me and to some of my readers since late August, 2006. Until very recently, I have made relatively minimal responses beyond the posted requests and demands that the stalker(s) cease and desist.

I was reported by one stalker to the American Psychological Association's Board of Ethics and to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (my licensing board) for alleged unethical behavior toward my stalker(s.) One might say that I then began to treat the issue as criminal rather than funny.

A few posts ago, I re-published the stalker's blog post that defamed me after the original blogger had quickly closed the site on which it appeared. I believe it was closed because someone revealed accurate personal information about the owner in a comment and thus ruined the freedom of a sniper afforded by anonymity. Since that time, new sites and personae have appeared and portray themselves to be defenders of freedom of speech on Spaces, even when such speech is clearly not within the Spaces Live Code of Conduct, to which we agree when we are allowed free access to blog sites, publishing software, etc., which Microsoft has no obligation whatsoever to grant us.

When the situation escalated from defamation to criminal impersonation, I bypassed the usual "report abuse" procedure and the "dochemoglobin" site was gone by the time I hung up the phone. That incident has been forwarded to the Microsoft Legal Department by the Abuse executive.

The allegations and demands the stalker has made in comments on this site appear to require that I apologize to three people. To two of the three mentioned, apologies have already been made, either over a year ago in a post on this Space, or in the second case in telephone calls to and from the person involved. The stalker(s) also objected to my revealing a family member's name on this blog. In fact, the offended blogger's post ranted about what was a deliberately cryptic post by me and was only identifiable when it was fully disclosed by the blogger. Many hurtful comments about me and members of my family have been openly included in posts or comments on other, now-closed Spaces. The blogger appears to be angry about my alleged posting of their "diagnosis." Unless the common Internet term "troll" is considered a diagnosis, I have never posted such material connected to anyone's name and do not intend to do so. Finally, I believe that the required removal of my post of September 30, 2006 had little to do with the content of the post, but rather to a comment the stalker had left there with a real picture of themselves rather than any of the several personae used before or since. In fact, the blogger relies on my deliberate self restraint to prevent my "outing" them completely.

I have taken a great deal of time writing what may appear to be a relatively boring post to continue to preserve the stalker's identity. I have tried even, to not state the sex of the blogger, although about 97.3% of the readers I control and manipulate to my own ends already know. (BTW, some of you are late with with your membership dues in this evil cabal, and if any of you know what it is, I would appreciate it if you would tell me when you send your checks.)

Finally, Stalker, I will give you what you want. I apologize to you for any perceived offense or harm done to you, real or imagined, directly or through a third or fourth party, and will not intentionally do anything to offend you further, except as a response to your actions. All previous statements regarding your unwelcomness on this site or those of my friends stand as stated. All unnecessary continuation of this situation will only lead to the pursuit to its' logical end.

Peace, Doc

"Speak softly and carry a big stick...." - Theodore Roosevelt 1903

Buy American? How?

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:07:26 GMT

When was the last time you heard the exhortation to "Buy American?" I had little trouble doing that when I was a child and a young man. It now appears to be Mission Impossible in most areas of the economy.

In the late '60s and early '70s, inroads into the American auto market were being made by the influx of cheaper, "better" autos from Asian/Oriental sources. I use quotation marks around "better" because they were really only cheaper. One of my two best friends in graduate school bought a Mitsubishi and had the entire engine fall out of it. The operating controls and owner's manual that accompanied it were good for entertainment value, however. We never did quite understand the heater and fan control that had settings for flow through air, closed interior air recirculation, and face. Oh well, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries had produced the Zero only about 20 years before. For decades thereafter, the quality of the imports improved to the point that American-made vehicles became second-rate when compared on such criteria such as paint quality, parts fit, mileage, features for the money, warranties, and the like. I have only owned one vehicle made outside the USA, a German Opel station wagon that was the tightest, best handling car I had owned to that point in my life. I believe the Buick division of GM was importing them at the time and had the brand loyalty thing going for them. It was a Buick Opel, not an Opel. When we visited my brother-in-law in a far suburb of Detroit, however, I was warned in all seriousness, that I'd best not park it anywhere much closer to the city or I wouldn't have window glass or inflated tires when I returned to it. He was on his way up in the auto aftermarket industry and knew of what he spoke. He had a sports version of the same year Opel and generally hid it in his garage.

I hadn't a question, before or after that particular car, of not buying American. But that has become all but impossible, at least buying a completely American vehicle. My 1986 Ford Ranger had a Mitsubishi transmission which functioned perfectly until I donated the truck nearly a quarter million miles later. My current Chevy has an Italian transmission on the transaxle. I like it, especially as I bought it at the time when everything from factory incentives to dealer loyalty rebates were all happening at the same time. I was able to purchase it new, an '04 Cavalier, in late '03 for under $10,000. I have not had a moment's trouble with it since I bought it, except for a flat tire which occurred when I ran over nails and incurred two punctures.

This idea of buying American again became an issue with me when Sony put rootkits in some of their DVD recordings which, unknown to the purchaser, installed malware in the computer which caused very bad things to happen if one tried to copy the DVD. My Tuner, tape deck, CD/DVD player, and other pieces of electronic equipment are all Sony. They are also the last products I will ever purchase from that company.

This made me more aware, once again, of my resolve to buy American. I started really looking at labels to find out where the products I now buy (and some fairly recent major purchases) are made. While this is a non-scientific and somewhat biased list, it is true:

Flannel shirt - Made in Indonesia
Lined jeans jacket - Made in Pakistan
Wrangler jeans - Made in Mexico
Hanes briefs underwear - Made in India
Thermal socks - Made in USA
Goody pony tail bands - Made in China (one pony tail ago they were made in the USA)
Centrum Silver 50+ multivitamins - Made in the USA
Generic 50+ multivitamins - No country listed
Generic aspirin - No country listed
Fancy Feast canned cat food - Made in USA by Nestle
Meow Mix canned cat food - Made in Thailand
Whiskas cat treats - Made in Canada
Generic kitty litter - Made in Canada
Duracell rechargeable NiMH batteries - Made in Japan
Rayovac rechargeable NiMH batteries - Made in China
HP wireless scroll mouse - Made in China
HP Pavilion laptop - Made (mostly?) in China
HP laptop backpack - Made in China
HP Printer/Scanner/Copier - Made in China
Aacomdata USB external hard drive - Made in China
Kyocera cell phone - No country identified on phone, probably not USA
Hardcover book - Printed in USA
Pepsi by the case - Bottled in the USA by region
Nestle Coffee Mate creamer - Made in Switzerland
Canned corned beef - Goya or Hormel, both from either Brazil or Argentina
Generic vegetable juice - No country listed
Generic canned fruit - No country listed
Yoplait yogurt - Distributed by Yoplait, USA. Trademarked in France
Bananas - Last purchased were from Costa Rica
Generic strawberry applesauce - Distributed from Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Kraft cream of rice - Distributed by Kraft Foods Global, Northfield, IL, USA
Starkist canned tuna - Distributed by Starkist Seafood Co., Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Generic butterscotch pudding - Distributed from Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Empire scrub brush - Made in USA

There is a disturbing trend here. It appears that it is not required that many food products intended for human consumption state where the product originated. All cat products were labeled for country of origin. Nothing computer or electronic related was made in the USA. It is heartening, however, to know that the US is still strong in the sock, 50+ vitamin, book, Pepsi, and scrub brush sectors. Where am I going with this? I wasn't certain until I read S's comment. I want to etch a horrible image in your memories such that you may use it to remember to buy American when possible. Imagine a situation in which I refused to use anything not clearly stated to be made in America, and possibly our Northern suburb, Canada. You get me, sitting in the Cavalier (not going anywhere because I mustn't use the transmission.) I am clad only in socks, taking a multivitamin with a Pepsi, reading a book, but am unable to communicate with anyone by phone or blog. Seemingly, the two cats with me are surviving quite nicely. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the scrub brush.

Peace, Doc

Rather than inserting my usual quote here, I will list a number of "Buy American" site URLs, pro and con. Going to most any one of them leads on to further links to follow: http://www.howtobuyamerican.com/ http://www.buyamericanmart.com/ http://buyamerican.com/ http://www.lewrockwell.com.north/north238.html http://purchaseamerican.com/ http://www.usstuff.com/ http://www.support-usa.com/ http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_buy_american http://www.bac-america.org/ http://www.madeinusa.org/nav.cgi http://www/economyincrisis.org/

Black Friday

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 08:42:13 GMT

Black Friday is nearly upon us. I am sure that most of you know what this term means, but for those of you that may not I'll explain briefly. It is the day after US Thanksgiving that marks the "official" beginning of the Christmas shopping season. The advertising hype really started back towards the end of September. Most merchants and small businesses make the majority of their profit during the period leading up to Christmas, with shoppers fueled by the perceived need to buy as many gifts as possible during the Friday (and Saturday) following Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday. It is called "Black" Friday, a rather sinister sounding name, because it usually marks the turning point of many business' operating at a loss (in the red) to making a profit (operating in the black.) It became an international phenomenon several years ago and has now become a symbol of rampant consumerism in many countries. There are web sites advertising it and the sales for that day as well as web sites protesting it and promoting Buy Nothing Day.

I am divided in my views of this phenomenon. I certainly wish well to the small business people that rely on customers purchasing items during this season to make their living. By far the majority of businesses in the country are small or very small. Actually, they are hardly ever responsible for the annoying, guilt producing advertisements which I dislike so much. Even if I did feel this way about them, Firstborn would set me straight in short order as she manages such a small business. What I find most objectionable is the pressure to spend, spend, spend, put upon us by the advertising media, usually for large enterprises or chains, to prove our "love" for anyone we might vaguely know and, therefore, "owe" a holiday card or gift. If we love, we love, and we will find our own ways of expressing it. We should not have to be pressured or nagged into showing that love in a particular way on specific days.

I am frugal and do not like contrived or "made up" holidays, either; Grandparents Day? Boss' Day? Sweetest Day in addition to Valentine's Day? In the United States, these are referred to as Hallmark Holidays because they create an expectation that the persons named in the holiday are "due" a card or gift. We are being "guilted" into spending money that we would not otherwise even think of spending, simply because once the expectation of recognition has been created, anyone who doesn't comply might be considered an inconsiderate cheapskate. That's me. I don't send any cards. The closest I come lately is to wrap the dollars I would have spent on a card in a cheap restaurant napkin and present it to the person directly. I usually write something like "Money's tight and times are hard so here's your Gosh darn ____day card," with the blank filled in appropriately to the occasion. After all, would you rather have a piece of paper that you'll never use or a couple gallons of gas or chili dogs?

I believe I'm over my rant, now. Happy Thanksgiving to all (I'll not be sending out cards) and don't get run over or crushed in the lines on Friday.

Peace, Doc

The Fence

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 18:51:14 GMT

It has been a while and once again, I do not have much of an excuse other than being occupied with other thoughts and deeds.

I have been thinking about fences. Yup, fences. It became an emotionally mixed and loaded topic when I really started mulling it over. Earlier in the week, I answered an early morning phone call to hear a man’s voice. I had no clue as to whom I was speaking or why he was talking about fences. I stopped him and asked these questions. It was then made clear that I should have read my neighborhood directory and then, of course, I would have known who he was, a representative of the neighborhood’s homeowner association.

OK. Why are we discussing fences?

We can get a group of men together and have yours out in three or four hours.

Oh, I began to understand. The old split rail fence around my house was, at best, “rustic” when we moved into this house 15 years ago. It had kept numerous dogs from marauding the neighborhood in its time. There were a few times when one would escape, the most embarrassing being when Nick the Samoyed went creek-walking with a friend and we found him begging for appetizers at a neighbor’s outdoor wedding. It received only minimal upkeep, as did many things not directly connected to raising children, medical bills, legal fees, and general household necessities. Now, it is decomposing and falling down in places, being held up by the very fencing wire that it once supported. Logically, I should have welcomed the offer of help and quite likely, I will accept it in the very near future. I had it on my “to do” list of necessary tasks before I sell this house.

I suppose it was his tone of voice and the assumption that I would know what I was being told to do, by whom, and wouldn’t be thankful for the offer of help that peeved me. Or that I wouldn’t be irritated by the six times I was told that his son mowed lawns in the neighborhood, so I need not keep the very reasonable family lawn service that Firstborn had found for me.

What have I learned?

Good fences may make good neighbors, but old, ratty looking ones certainly do not.

I probably would have been militantly on the side of the homesteaders rather than the cattlemen in the old west.

I will be less unhappy to leave this neighborhood than I would have been a week ago.

I should have all the firewood and mulch I need for two other projects.

I will finally get my money’s worth from Waste Management for hauling away garbage.

I was given something other than having half a mouthful of teeth extracted to think about for a while.

I will not have to be concerned about maintaining a fence ever again. (See, I ended that on a positive note!)

OK. I cannot resist another link to an eWeek blog article on the constitution and internet privacy with several people’s responses to it. I will just add them this way so you do not have to read them unless you are interested.

“Those who would trade safety for freedom deserve neither.”
- Thomas Jefferson

Peace, Doc

Privacy III

Thu, 18 May 2006 15:14:06 GMT

Yes, I’m afraid I am at it again about privacy. Today is the beginning of the relatively circumscribed congressional hearing that will make a recommendation whether or not General Michael Hayden, currently the military head of the NSA will become the head of the CIA. If this were only about the collection of telephone numbers, I doubt that I would even be concerned that it was happening. The collection of information, which is then available to the highest bidder, the best hacker, or the group that says “national security” first truly disturbs me. It is so much more pervasive that this news item that it has become common for us to simply accept the collection of information by anyone from credit agencies to search engines’ use in targeted marketing, from passive police surveillance to being asked your zip code at the supermarket. The reverse almost never happens. Those who demand to see public documents under the Freedom of Information Act are viewed with of suspicion when exercising their rights under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution. I recently had to pay a fine of over $80 because a friend who was buying Annie’s car drove it through the transponder lane of the tollway rather than pay the toll. The photo of the car being bad was quite clear. It irked me even further that not being the driver was an unacceptable defense and that it was falsely implied that I might be so untrustworthy that I must send a cashier’s check or money order as the only acceptable form of payment. I include the following article from Wired News as it is not written by me and is written by those who know more about what is possible than I do and may be seen as less personally biased than a cranky shrink.

Wired News: The Eternal Value of Privacy

http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,70886-0.html?tw=rss.index

By Bruce Schneier | Also by this reporter
02:00 AM May, 18, 2006

The most common retort against privacy advocates -- by those in favor of ID checks, cameras, databases, data mining and other wholesale surveillance measures -- is this line: "If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?"

Some clever answers: "If I'm not doing anything wrong, then you have no cause to watch me.” "Because the government gets to define what's wrong, and they keep changing the definition.” "Because you might do something wrong with my information.” My problem with quips like these -- as right as they are -- is that they accept the premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong. It's not. Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.

Two proverbs say it best: Quis custodiet custodes ipsos? ("Who watches the watchers?") and "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Cardinal Richelieu understood the value of surveillance when he famously said, "If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.” Watch someone long enough, and you'll find something to arrest -- or just blackmail -- with. Privacy is important because without it, surveillance information will be abused: to peep, to sell to marketers and to spy on political enemies -- whoever they happen to be at the time.

Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance.

We do nothing wrong when we make love or go to the bathroom. We are not deliberately hiding anything when we seek out private places for reflection or conversation. We keep private journals, sing in the privacy of the shower, and write letters to secret lovers and then burn them. Privacy is a basic human need.

A future in which privacy would face constant assault was so alien to the framers of the Constitution that it never occurred to them to call out privacy as an explicit right. Privacy was inherent to the nobility of their being and their cause. Of course being watched in your own home was unreasonable. Watching at all was an act so unseemly as to be inconceivable among gentlemen in their day. You watched convicted criminals, not free citizens. You ruled your own home. It's intrinsic to the concept of liberty.

For if we are observed in all matters, we are constantly under threat of correction, judgment, criticism, even plagiarism of our own uniqueness. We become children, fettered under watchful eyes, constantly fearful that -- either now or in the uncertain future -- patterns we leave behind will be brought back to implicate us, by whatever authority has now become focused upon our once-private and innocent acts. We lose our individuality, because everything we do is observable and recordable.

How many of us have paused during conversation in the past four-and-a-half years, suddenly aware that we might be eavesdropped on? Probably it was a phone conversation, although maybe it was an e-mail or instant-message exchange or a conversation in a public place. Maybe the topic was terrorism, or politics, or Islam. We stop suddenly, momentarily afraid that our words might be taken out of context, then we laugh at our paranoia and go on. But our demeanor has changed, and our words are subtly altered.

This is the loss of freedom we face when our privacy is taken from us. This is life in former East Germany, or life in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. And it's our future as we allow an ever-intrusive eye into our personal, private lives.

Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy.” The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide.

- - -

Bruce Schneier is the CTO of Counterpane Internet Security and the author of Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About

To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.

- George Orwell

Peace, Doc

Ckicken Little

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 21:21:47 GMT

I have started several other posts, but not completed them, since the last one on Privacy. This subject nags at me in the same way as not having a crystal ball to see the future, of projects one knows of but does not have control over, and generally worrying about the future in a pathological way.

Mary Shelley had this same concern when she wrote “Frankenstein,” warning of the possible outcomes of overstepping our human bounds and creating a “monster” over which we had no control or ability to predict the outcome of its release into the world. She indicated how unanticipated errors and unknown factors might completely change the nature of the intended result. She was right to worry. We turned her work into movies and Halloween costumes instead of heeding its’ foreboding.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb, earnestly believed he was doing the right thing in his research and in turning that research into reality. Soon after the Trinity Project displayed the power of atomic fission at Los Alamos, his thought, a quote from the Bhagavad-Gita, was “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” (His actual statement at the time reportedly was “It worked!”) No matter how hard the scientists involved, including fellow participants Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, and the rest, argued for the suppression of this technology, the Djinn was out of the bottle. The power of the least of atomic weapons was seen for the second and third times at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the United States immediately said the equivalent of “OK. We did it. No fair for anybody else to use it.” Sixty years later, we have survived it but not solved it. The world very reasonably fears the power of atomic weapons yet generates much of the electric power we rely on from the same process.

I saw numerous responses to my Privacy post and realized that what bothers me most is technology so far ahead of the average intelligent layman’s ability to comprehend or control it that we fail to anticipate the dangers involved, the ethics, morality, and laws that are not yet there to guide and control our use of these technologies. I centered upon information technology, but the argument could as easily be applied to genetic study and experimentation, societal controls, methods of warfare, convergences and divergences of religions and ideologies, space exploration and exploitation, and on and on. Really, it is a collective fear of the unknown, with the knowledge given us by history that, with the immensity and power of the areas concerned, just one misstep, misuse, or mistake, we are toast. I apologize about the nature of these entries. I am just the monkey screeching to the troop that there is danger out there and hoping that there is a much higher power to protect us from ourselves.

If readers are still interested in the NSA’s collection and possible uses of electronic intercepts, the following two Tech Republic articles are relevant. My problem is not with our government looking out for our welfare. Rather it is with how terribly wrong it could go, even if all concerned have the best of intentions.

Some companies helped the NSA, but which?

http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-1035_11-6035305.html?tag=nl

NSA eavesdropping: How it might work.

http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-1009_11-6035910.html?tag=alert

Peace, Doc