after all nuclear power has come a ways in the last 30 years.
Is it our savior now? Yep it is. I know that there are people who seem to feel that we should use less power, kumbaya, blah blah,.. but realistically that is NEVER going to happen. We are junkies for the stuff.
Question is how are we going to continue making the energy we need to keep our habit up.
Nuclear is it.
Why now? Because we have reached a point where even if we don't know what to do with the waste, we're going to have to switch to it anyway and hope that we find a solution in the future. We are fast approaching the point of no return regarding global warming (opinions of G.O.P. lackies not withstanding) so if we're going to keep up this consumption then that's our only choice.
Yeh I Know what some of you are thinking, hydrogen! Don't forget that using current technology it takes a tremendous amount of power to make hydrogen. And how are we going to do that? Solar and wind? Getting there, but not there yet.
So is deferring the issue of dealing with waste going to be THAT bad? Well it's a moot point, we have no choice.
I spent ten years as a government contractor and this shouldn't surprise anyone. First Homeland Security runs Windows which in itself isn't bad if it's properly patched and maintained.
The danger comes from the the people in government who control the money who have no technical knowledge. This is positively RAMPANT in government. Many times agencies just go with the cheapest bid and contractors give cheaper bids by hiring fairly inexperienced and not so knowledgable techs.
Many government agencies can get by with using Windows but really important agencies whose security cannot be left to chance should not be using Windows....period. Sadly Homeland Security and NSA are both starting to deploy more Windows units and that's only going to be bad for everyone.
Biggest reason why? Strong security requires techs that actually have technical knowledge and can do more than just set up insecure boxes by pointing and clicking.
Big difference between *nix and Windows?
*nix needs techs with a decent amount of computer aptitude.
Windows does not
The person attacking you, or entity, or rogue state will not be using script kiddies. This only gets worse from here. "Homeland Security" is fast becoming an oxymoron.
Quite possibly the stupidest thing done in business is acquiring a successful company and then forcing out management that got you there in the first place.
A great example is the airline industry. I used to work for American Airlines and we bought AirCal in the late 1980s, a successful airline. Thinking that somehow we had possessed a magic talisman I suppose, we proceeded to throw the routes to the dogs and our California business went to hell. Then came the establishment of the San Jose "hub" which we did to mainly get coveted Tokyo routes. We signed a deal with the city of San Jose but the deal stipulated that if we ever downgraded San Jose that we could never land in the city again. All was well and good until Southwest came to California (a carrier that also forced us to close up shop in Nashville without a fight).
Within a couple of years Southwest was trouncing our ass and United but one carrier that stood up and fought back successfuly was Reno Air. They put up a great fight with Southwest and did ok. American then suckered Reno Air into subleasing the money losing gates and operations at San Jose and then something amazing happened: Reno Air prospered!
American, thinking like every other arrogant business, bought Reno Air, installed their incompetant management (rife in EVERY legacy carrier which is big reason why they are all hurting so bad now) and Southwest's response was a big "THANK YOU"! American bought their one big competitor and Southwest already knew that American could be taken fairly easily.
Mere possession does not give you advantage, culture does. That is why Southwest is so successful as well as Apple.
Your inbox is awash in spam, your boss is chuckling over your credit report, and you've got a sneaking suspicion that Uncle Sam counts how many Löwenbräu you chug. Yes, your privacy's shot to hell, and you're tempted to shrug and settle for an open source life. But privacy isn't like virginity, forever lost after the first trespass. With some work, "reprivatization" is possible. Use this three-tiered guide to pick a level of solitude. But be warned: Going all the way off the grid is more Ted Kaczynski than Howard Hughes.
Going
Diss credit: Want to be hard to find? Start by dashing off stern opt-out letters to the big database companies and credit bureaus - Experian, Acxiom, Equifax. These folks may make a mint peddling personal info, but they can be cajoled into stopping. First, though, they'll make you jump through hoops - like filling out a 1040-sized form or idling in toll-free hell. Junkbusters (www.junkbusters.com) has a good list of opt-out addresses.
Anonymize: Ditch your ISP and sign up with a service that lets you surf by proxy, keeping your IP address concealed. Send email via an anonymous remailer like Mixmaster, a digital middleman that scrambles timestamps and message sizes. And if you're going to be advocating the violent overthrow of the government or bragging about your cool new bong, make sure your remailer routes messages through multiple machines.
Grok the fine print: Boring as it sounds, read the privacy statements that clutter your mailbox around tax time and sever ties with companies that admit, "Our privacy policy may change over time" - industry lingo for "We reserve the right to screw you."
Going Further
Ditch the digits:Want to drop out?Start by rustling up a new Social Security number.
The Social Security Administration doesn't accept paranoia as a criterion for granting a new card, but it recognizes cultural objections and religious pleas. One stratagem: Contend that your credit has been irrevocably damaged by a number-related snafu, or that you live in fear of a stalker who knows your digits. Once you switch your SSN, never use it. Instead, dole out 078-05-1120, an Eisenhower-era card that works 99 percent of the time.
Call cell-free: Use the humble pay phone. Mobile phones are being outfitted with global positioning satellite chips to comply with an FCC mandate. By 2006, all wireless networks must feature 911-friendly tracking technology. Marketers are cooking up ways to capitalize, like zapping burger coupons to your Nokia as you stroll by a fast-food joint.
Pay full price: You may relish saving 10 percent on Prell, but deep-six your buyers' club cards. Supermarkets and pharmacies haven't yet perfected the art of data mining, but it won't be long. "If you're having a child custody fight, they could subpoena your frequent-shopper cards and say, 'Look, he's buying too many potato chips, he's hurting the kids,'" says Robert Gellman, a Washington-based privacy consultant.
Gone
Move: Want to go completely off the grid? Start by moving - address changes bedevil databasers. But don't buy a home. All those loan apps will blow your cover. Residential hotels smell like cheap cigars and urine, but at least you can register under a pseudonym. Give a fake address: 3500 S. Wacker, Chicago, IL, 60616 - the front door for Comiskey Park.
Toss your cards:Pay cash for everything, and don't plan on a life of luxury. Any (legal) cash transaction more than $10,000 triggers government reporting regulations, which means you can forget about that Cadillac Escalade you've had your eye on. Settle for the subway or bus, using coins rather than prepaid fare cards, which keep a record of trips.
Go incognito: Facial-recognition gear will soon be ubiquitous in public spaces. To fool the systems, invest in a pair of bulky aviator sunglasses and a hat. If you fear being tailed, alter your gait every time you hit the street - a pigeon-toed shuffle one day, a bowlegged amble the next. There are also Central American plastic surgery mills, beloved of drug lords, that can alter the loops and whorls on your fingertips. It'll set you back 10 Gs, but then, Costa Rican doctors have been known to accept gold Rolexes in lieu of cash.
Don't use your real name..period. How much longer before single fathers have their supermarket data brought into court by upset mothers seeking retribution. "Obviously your honor he is a bad parent. Look at all the junk food he buys the kids".
I just signed up for a loyalty card this morning under the name Bucky Fuller. Other cards have names like Igor Stravinsky, Carl Yastremsky and of course John Cocktosen.
By the way should your cable company or other non-governmental entity need a SSN, use this.
078-05-1120
It's a specimen number from the Eisenhower era and works 99% of the time.
There is way too much puritanical bullshit going on with Congress and their attempt to bring on their desired theocracy. Problem is they are trying to do it a little too fast.
Bill passes, who gives a shit? It's not like the US controls the internet and it's a token gesture. If there were an organized online gaming lobby that could pay off Congressmen this would have never seen the light of day. The US has the best government that money can buy. They are so out of touch with the mainstream (Terri Schiavo anyone?) that a major realignment is going to happen hopefully with the 2006 elections.
Like the passage of the DMCA, it's just another example of a stupid congress that tries to legislate something that it knows nothing about.
When I was young back in the late 70s, there would circulate a story in the church that some old person received their social security checks mistakenly from the future. Usually the future date was the mid 80s and the check said "Not cashable without the mark of the beast" or some stupid thing.
When you call JetBlue airlines and talk to one of their reservations agents, you talking to someone sitting in their home. ALL of their reservations agents are home based. They get away with cheaper labor and a happier workforce.
Not that there's anything wrong with Indian call centers but half the time I can't get past the Indian accent to understand what the hell is being said. There is a limited amount of things they can do as well and to say that Indian call centers provide "customer service" would be an overstatement.
When you call a company for customer service you should be able to get someone able to bend the rules if circumstances warrant. The "paid parrots" of Indian call centers can't do that.
you're going to see a pilot saying "Now that these fly on autopilot, me and my co spend time playing games on our wireless".
Problem with cell phone on planes is that it lights up so many towers that you can't lock it for billing purposes....or allegedly lights up all the towers over a city.
Needless to say if this were REALLY true cellphones would be confiscated at the gate and we DAMN sure would have seen more crashes.
It's more likely that the FCC took some direction from the seat back phone providers (GTE) "Oh yeah, they need to use our 27.00 per minute safe phones". Complete and total BS.
Slashdot Mirror
your kid sister you insensitive clod!
after all nuclear power has come a ways in the last 30 years.
Is it our savior now? Yep it is. I know that there are people who seem to feel that we should use less power, kumbaya, blah blah,.. but realistically that is NEVER going to happen. We are junkies for the stuff.
Question is how are we going to continue making the energy we need to keep our habit up.
Nuclear is it.
Why now? Because we have reached a point where even if we don't know what to do with the waste, we're going to have to switch to it anyway and hope that we find a solution in the future. We are fast approaching the point of no return regarding global warming (opinions of G.O.P. lackies not withstanding) so if we're going to keep up this consumption then that's our only choice.
Yeh I Know what some of you are thinking, hydrogen! Don't forget that using current technology it takes a tremendous amount of power to make hydrogen. And how are we going to do that? Solar and wind? Getting there, but not there yet.
So is deferring the issue of dealing with waste going to be THAT bad? Well it's a moot point, we have no choice.
I spent ten years as a government contractor and this shouldn't surprise anyone. First Homeland Security runs Windows which in itself isn't bad if it's properly patched and maintained.
The danger comes from the the people in government who control the money who have no technical knowledge. This is positively RAMPANT in government. Many times agencies just go with the cheapest bid and contractors give cheaper bids by hiring fairly inexperienced and not so knowledgable techs.
Many government agencies can get by with using Windows but really important agencies whose security cannot be left to chance should not be using Windows....period. Sadly Homeland Security and NSA are both starting to deploy more Windows units and that's only going to be bad for everyone.
Biggest reason why? Strong security requires techs that actually have technical knowledge and can do more than just set up insecure boxes by pointing and clicking. Big difference between *nix and Windows?
*nix needs techs with a decent amount of computer aptitude.
Windows does not
The person attacking you, or entity, or rogue state will not be using script kiddies. This only gets worse from here. "Homeland Security" is fast becoming an oxymoron.
McBride! The rootinest tootinest outlaw ever to rustle *nix code!
Disclaimer: Yahoo! is a registered trademark of Yahoo!
And it was bomb then too
on Linux. You can strip it down pretty damn small. Just build a complete custom distro just for the laptop.
could give me Duke Nukem Forever or the next Amiga OS release.
YAY! Another proprietary format bites the dust.
of replacing successful management.
Quite possibly the stupidest thing done in business is acquiring a successful company and then forcing out management that got you there in the first place.
A great example is the airline industry. I used to work for American Airlines and we bought AirCal in the late 1980s, a successful airline. Thinking that somehow we had possessed a magic talisman I suppose, we proceeded to throw the routes to the dogs and our California business went to hell. Then came the establishment of the San Jose "hub" which we did to mainly get coveted Tokyo routes. We signed a deal with the city of San Jose but the deal stipulated that if we ever downgraded San Jose that we could never land in the city again. All was well and good until Southwest came to California (a carrier that also forced us to close up shop in Nashville without a fight).
Within a couple of years Southwest was trouncing our ass and United but one carrier that stood up and fought back successfuly was Reno Air. They put up a great fight with Southwest and did ok. American then suckered Reno Air into subleasing the money losing gates and operations at San Jose and then something amazing happened: Reno Air prospered!
American, thinking like every other arrogant business, bought Reno Air, installed their incompetant management (rife in EVERY legacy carrier which is big reason why they are all hurting so bad now) and Southwest's response was a big "THANK YOU"! American bought their one big competitor and Southwest already knew that American could be taken fairly easily.
Mere possession does not give you advantage, culture does. That is why Southwest is so successful as well as Apple.
Plastic surgery in Central America. It's cheap there especially Costa Rica.
Your inbox is awash in spam, your boss is chuckling over your credit report, and you've got a sneaking suspicion that Uncle Sam counts how many Löwenbräu you chug. Yes, your privacy's shot to hell, and you're tempted to shrug and settle for an open source life. But privacy isn't like virginity, forever lost after the first trespass. With some work, "reprivatization" is possible. Use this three-tiered guide to pick a level of solitude. But be warned: Going all the way off the grid is more Ted Kaczynski than Howard Hughes.
Going
Diss credit: Want to be hard to find? Start by dashing off stern opt-out letters to the big database companies and credit bureaus - Experian, Acxiom, Equifax. These folks may make a mint peddling personal info, but they can be cajoled into stopping. First, though, they'll make you jump through hoops - like filling out a 1040-sized form or idling in toll-free hell. Junkbusters (www.junkbusters.com) has a good list of opt-out addresses.
Anonymize: Ditch your ISP and sign up with a service that lets you surf by proxy, keeping your IP address concealed. Send email via an anonymous remailer like Mixmaster, a digital middleman that scrambles timestamps and message sizes. And if you're going to be advocating the violent overthrow of the government or bragging about your cool new bong, make sure your remailer routes messages through multiple machines.
Grok the fine print: Boring as it sounds, read the privacy statements that clutter your mailbox around tax time and sever ties with companies that admit, "Our privacy policy may change over time" - industry lingo for "We reserve the right to screw you."
Going Further
Ditch the digits:Want to drop out?Start by rustling up a new Social Security number.
The Social Security Administration doesn't accept paranoia as a criterion for granting a new card, but it recognizes cultural objections and religious pleas. One stratagem: Contend that your credit has been irrevocably damaged by a number-related snafu, or that you live in fear of a stalker who knows your digits. Once you switch your SSN, never use it. Instead, dole out 078-05-1120, an Eisenhower-era card that works 99 percent of the time.
Call cell-free: Use the humble pay phone. Mobile phones are being outfitted with global positioning satellite chips to comply with an FCC mandate. By 2006, all wireless networks must feature 911-friendly tracking technology. Marketers are cooking up ways to capitalize, like zapping burger coupons to your Nokia as you stroll by a fast-food joint.
Pay full price: You may relish saving 10 percent on Prell, but deep-six your buyers' club cards. Supermarkets and pharmacies haven't yet perfected the art of data mining, but it won't be long. "If you're having a child custody fight, they could subpoena your frequent-shopper cards and say, 'Look, he's buying too many potato chips, he's hurting the kids,'" says Robert Gellman, a Washington-based privacy consultant.
Gone
Move: Want to go completely off the grid? Start by moving - address changes bedevil databasers. But don't buy a home. All those loan apps will blow your cover. Residential hotels smell like cheap cigars and urine, but at least you can register under a pseudonym. Give a fake address: 3500 S. Wacker, Chicago, IL, 60616 - the front door for Comiskey Park.
Toss your cards:Pay cash for everything, and don't plan on a life of luxury. Any (legal) cash transaction more than $10,000 triggers government reporting regulations, which means you can forget about that Cadillac Escalade you've had your eye on. Settle for the subway or bus, using coins rather than prepaid fare cards, which keep a record of trips.
Go incognito: Facial-recognition gear will soon be ubiquitous in public spaces. To fool the systems, invest in a pair of bulky aviator sunglasses and a hat. If you fear being tailed, alter your gait every time you hit the street - a pigeon-toed shuffle one day, a bowlegged amble the next. There are also Central American plastic surgery mills, beloved of drug lords, that can alter the loops and whorls on your fingertips. It'll set you back 10 Gs, but then, Costa Rican doctors have been known to accept gold Rolexes in lieu of cash.
Don't use your real name..period. How much longer before single fathers have their supermarket data brought into court by upset mothers seeking retribution. "Obviously your honor he is a bad parent. Look at all the junk food he buys the kids".
I just signed up for a loyalty card this morning under the name Bucky Fuller. Other cards have names like Igor Stravinsky, Carl Yastremsky and of course John Cocktosen.
By the way should your cable company or other non-governmental entity need a SSN, use this.
078-05-1120
It's a specimen number from the Eisenhower era and works 99% of the time.
Groklaw cheerfully accepts donations to stay online. So pucker up buttercups and give some love to PJ. Nothing says love like a donation.
a prostate cancer cell you insensitive clod!!!
There is way too much puritanical bullshit going on with Congress and their attempt to bring on their desired theocracy. Problem is they are trying to do it a little too fast. Bill passes, who gives a shit? It's not like the US controls the internet and it's a token gesture. If there were an organized online gaming lobby that could pay off Congressmen this would have never seen the light of day. The US has the best government that money can buy. They are so out of touch with the mainstream (Terri Schiavo anyone?) that a major realignment is going to happen hopefully with the 2006 elections.
Like the passage of the DMCA, it's just another example of a stupid congress that tries to legislate something that it knows nothing about.
'nuff said
When I was young back in the late 70s, there would circulate a story in the church that some old person received their social security checks mistakenly from the future. Usually the future date was the mid 80s and the check said "Not cashable without the mark of the beast" or some stupid thing.
When you call JetBlue airlines and talk to one of their reservations agents, you talking to someone sitting in their home. ALL of their reservations agents are home based. They get away with cheaper labor and a happier workforce.
Not that there's anything wrong with Indian call centers but half the time I can't get past the Indian accent to understand what the hell is being said. There is a limited amount of things they can do as well and to say that Indian call centers provide "customer service" would be an overstatement.
When you call a company for customer service you should be able to get someone able to bend the rules if circumstances warrant. The "paid parrots" of Indian call centers can't do that.
this translator
Your dog wants a cure for cancer now.
you're going to see a pilot saying "Now that these fly on autopilot, me and my co spend time playing games on our wireless".
Problem with cell phone on planes is that it lights up so many towers that you can't lock it for billing purposes....or allegedly lights up all the towers over a city.
Needless to say if this were REALLY true cellphones would be confiscated at the gate and we DAMN sure would have seen more crashes.
It's more likely that the FCC took some direction from the seat back phone providers (GTE) "Oh yeah, they need to use our 27.00 per minute safe phones". Complete and total BS.
They are testing this as we speak. So maybe they can confirm/dispel this one.
there would be "obvious" tag on this.
Some of your prescription drugs for blank CDs?
that Groklaw cheerfully accepts donations. PJ, we are not worthy.
"The Guiding Byte"