That Crazy Rocket Guy decides that he must one-up India by altering his light plans. No longer will he launch himself thirty miles through the atmosphere (and back down), but he now plans to rocket himself clear to Uranus!
Then again, who knows... Maybe there entire program consists of hiring the crazy rocket guy and blasting him to the moon. After all, the guy is crazy, and he's already had some training. It'd save the Indian project much money! --- seumas.com
I thought Rob Malda hates Debian? *cough* - *cough* He seems to attack it every chance he gets! He's a Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaandrake! Man all the way, no?
*snicker* - Now watch Rob invoke his powers of moderation to drop me to a -5 (Provoking Slashdot Proprietors). --- seumas.com
Is mostly that it's one of those things that, whether it's better or not, is used by most packages (such as Slashdot). Unless you're up for doing a re-write on your own, you're kind of stuck having to learn and handle MySQL. Not a completely bad thing, of course, but . ..
I'm in my infant stage of learning SQL and, at the urging of my geek comrades, have opted to focus on postgreSQL. This keeps me from playing with a lot of cool stuff that's out there and really only supports MySQL right now. It'd be nice to see both of the packages be robust enough (and standard enough) that they can be easily substituted (or am I only thinking that it's harder than it is because of my lack of experience with it?)
Of course, 'robust' and 'standard' is often a slightly self-cancelling comparison, isn't it? --- seumas.com
That looks like one of those eight inch long styrofoam airplane toys that you buy for a couple bucks at the toy store and launch with a plastic stick and rubberband. --- seumas.com
All I can think of when it comes to telephone companies is the T-1000 in Terminator2:Judgement Day.
You keep hacking at it; splicing it; chopping it up; melting it; freezing it; splitting it up. Nothing works. At best, you manage to break it into dozens of small chunks, but before you know it, they've instinctively re-assimilated into the original unstoppable body of the T-1000.
I'm tired of dealing with phone companies. They're one of the few commercial (non government) entities who really could care less about their customers. They don't even attempt to convey the appearence that they care about you. Just give them your money, shut the fuck up, and they'll get around to establishing your phone service when they are good and ready. --- seumas.com
[ We fade into a full shot of Linus Torvalds standing on an iceberg. ]
"Hi, I'm Linus Torvalds and this is my friend, Tux."
[ Adorable little penguin waddles over and lays a flipper against Linus' leg, snuggling up against him. ]
"Oil slicks can be a messy, dangerous and often deadly disaster. Just a couple years ago, my friend Tux here was near death due to the after-effects of just such a slick, but thanks to caring contributions from people just like you, Tux is alive and well today [ Tux smiles, sweetly at the camera ]."
[ Shot widens to show Linus standing in front of a virtual sea of oily penguins. ]
"Right now, there are hundreds of penguins -- just like Tux -- who need your help. Won't you find it in your heart to share your good fortune with those less fortunate than yourself? Please contribute to the United Penguin Care Coalition. Little lives, like Tux's, depend on it."
* United Penguin Care Coalition substitued for the South African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. Why? Duh, that would have sounded too fruity in the commercial. --- seumas.com
Is It True About Hemos and Douglas Adams?
on
Hemos Gets Hitched
·
· Score: 2
I've heard rumors (okay, I've been the one spreading them to start with, but that's beside the point here) that Douglas Adams and Hemos are planning to collaborate on a project to publish a Geek's Marriage Manual?
What was the title?..... Oh yeah!:
The Hitched Hikers Guide To The Universe! --- seumas.com
Re:I Didn't Know Real Geeks Got Married . . .
on
Hemos Gets Hitched
·
· Score: 2
Well, I'd say 'attractive' as opposed to 'hot'. I've dated both and there is a big difference (not that either is really preferable over the other).
However, in reply to your question, it is my understanding that they came from Andover during the acquisition of Slashdot. --- seumas.com
You know, in this picture Hemos looks a lot like Clark Kent. Come to think of it, his girl doesn't look too unlike Lois Lane (and certainly better than that crazy chick who went nuts a few years back, who played Christopher Reeves' Lois).
Mrs. Hemos -- a word of advice -- when your new husband starts to step into phone booths every time there is an emergency, start following him. --- seumas.com
I Didn't Know Real Geeks Got Married . . .
on
Hemos Gets Hitched
·
· Score: 2
But apparently, some do. I usually feel a little bit uncomfortable when friends of mine get married. It's like you're losing them to the other side. And, dumb as it may sound, I consider the guys of Slashdot 'friends'.
Nevertheless, congratulations, you bastard. I hope this girl knows what she's getting into. Maybe she'll make a new man out of you... and correct/verify the articles you post to Slashdot (grin).
Have fun, and don't have any little Hemos' yet... I don't think the world could quite bare it! Hope you enjoy one helluva wedding night, if you catch my drift. Keep that bag of viagra handy. --- seumas.com
...any communication for commercial purposes that includes any material that is harmful to minors, without restricting access to such material by minors...
*cough*
Does this mean Mattel will have to take down all of their Barbie-related websites? --- seumas.com
I'm tired of the NSI bullshit. I have two domains registered with them. I'm not planning to renew with them, because I do not want to be bound by the new contracts which have been implemented over the last twelve months.
The only problem is, I'm not sure how to handle the process of transferring my domain name without getting screwed by NSI. I've heard a lot of horror stories from people who have attempted to do just that. Could someone offer some advice on when, how and what to do for transferring your domain name from one registrar to another? Specifically from NSI?
Should I wait until it has expired and just renew it somewhere else? Should I do it before it expires? Do I have to send any paperwork or follow any specific process through NSI themselves? I know a lot of this info is available on NSI, but it's so obfuscated and unreliable that I would rather have information not from what they say but from the reality of what occurs -- and who best to ask than people who may hav already gone through this?
Thanks for any help you can provide! --- seumas.com
I mean, think about it. Instead of going through the trouble to research places you do business with online, to find out what their privacy practices and stances are, you can just go to the site and if it rejects you because you didn't automatically provide personal information that they have no right to, then you can just go elsewhere. They do all the 'footwork' for you in identifying themselves as businesses you may not wish to do business with! --- seumas.com
Last month, while I was crashed at work under my desk (it was one of those long days followed by a longer night), my laptop bag was stolen. What was in it? Well, aside from $900 in cash, software, some laptop related hardware, personal effects (no laptop, since that was plugged in and on my desk!), there was the following list. And before anyone talks about how dumb I was to have all this stuff out in the open, keep in mind that this was a day before our entire building's occupants was moving to a campus in another city and that I had dumped everything in this bag for safe keeping and ease of transport. Also, it was less than three feet away from me when it was stolen, but I was asleep. Finally, I was in the second floor of a completely empty, huge building and the only people ever to venture through were the night security guards, which wandered through once or twice until morning.
Anyway, the list:
Social Security Card
State ID Card
HMO Card
Medical documents
SecureID's (encryption card for online access of our VPN -- one for each company division that I work with).
Badges with my photos and employee numbers on them that allow me entry into every building on the campus.
Two CD-Rs with every email and ICQ message ever sent or received by me, including many personal documents from medical information to intimate items between a (now ex) girlfriend of mine.
Thankfully, the data contained on the CD-R's were encrypted with two types of high-level algorithms and, additionally, archived in ZIP files with a 50 character password.
But, as the police officer stated as soon as I filed the report, "Looks like someone has enough info to completely steal your identity..." --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
This is slightly off topic, but the Related Links box on this article at the top of this Slashdot page looks like this:
Linux
Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat
Dell
strategic operating systems
lexus and Toyota
preloaded
More on Linux
Also by CmdrTaco
I thought Debian was Rob's distribution of choice? Has he switched? Is Red Hat dumping some extra cash (or cool toys) on the Geek Compound to receive this extra notice on Slashdot? . . . Or are the three repetitions of the Red Hat link just an accident?;) --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
It's also my understanding that, in Germany, a manufacturer is responsible for their material, insofar as if you buy a car (specifically, I've heard Volkswagon mentioned), they must provide for a collection and recycling system for that vehical after its life. Is this so? --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
This runs ever-so-slightly off-topic perhaps, but since it is a very recent event (yesterday) and ties in with intellectual property rights and the DMCA (though not directly to software... other than MP3's)... Hmm... actually, I guess maybe it isn't off-topic after all?
I run a fairly successful (free) auction site. Yesterday, I had a voicemail left on my machine at work from the Director of Legal Affairs for Universal Records.
When I called to speak with him, and played a little phone-tag, he brought up the concern that a user had posted bootlegged Godsmack recordings, on CD-R's, on my site. Godsmack's management was not pleased with this and voiced their concern to Universal Records.
The representative I spoke with seemed understanding and realized that I am an individual operating a free, non-profit website with no intention to exploit intellectual property ownership. I explained that all I could do was review the auction in question and notify him of any decisions or actions that were made after I weighed his concern.
I reviewed the auction, which the seller had clearly explained in the item's description, was a compilation of bootlegs and songs that were not commercially available by the artist and that, as such, there was no financial impact on the artists themselves. You do not need to be a lawyer (and I am not one) to realize that this is most likely still very wrong. Bootlegging is, generally, a bad thing. And making money off it is probably almost always illegal.
Still, my concern was not for my own legal well-being, as the site clearly states that items being sold are the sole responsibility of the person posting them and all concerns should be addressed directly with that person. My concern was, in fact, how and what precident I would be setting for the future of my site and its users.
My final decision was to notify the seller of the situation, leave the auction up, put a notice on the auction item itself that the record company and Godsmack's management had concerns regarding this and as such, it was no longer available, should not be bid upon, and for all intents and purposes, the item should be considered not to exist. The auction page itself remained, until the seller willingly deleted it, for information purposes.
I notified Universal Records immediately of the decision I had made and received an email confirmation. They seem to have found my handling of the issue acceptable.
Now, my understanding is that even if these bootlegs were, somehow, legitimate and legal, I would have been required to remove/ban the auction until it could be proven that the item was acceptable to sell. Simply by someone claiming a wrong done, I would be required to behave and proceed with the assumption that, until proven otherwise, a wrong had been done. Is this correct? To what extent does this reach?
On a side note, during my conversation with the Universal Records lawyer, he said that (paraphrasing) "Our only concern is that our artists and their management feel damaged by material being exploited to make money which they should have control over." To which I replied, "I completely agree that it is wrong for someone to exploit an artist and their work for monitary gain without respect to the artist and ownership of their material."
Obviously, I was making a slight risk at agitating a lawyer with lots of financial backing by a very large corporation, but I thought it deserved to be said -- and how many chances do you get to tell a major record label what you think of their treatment of artists? I think it had to be done, or I'd be forever kicking myself for missing the opppertunity.
His response? He was silent, long enough for me to have to pose an inquisitive "...hello?" before the conversation continued. --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
I know that here, in America, we like to think that the bigger something is, the more we're getting. If you can package a Q3-Arena CD into a box as large as a refrigerator, you can probably coax us into paying another $10 bucks for it. I think that's just the way our overall mindset works.
I'm not sure if this is an American/capitalist society thing, or if this is pretty much standard everywhere.
Personally, I would prefer that all the software and games I purchase be packaged just like a music CD. Put it in a case that just safely and securely fits the product, put an insert in it, and leave it be. You can put installation instructions and contact information on the insert and put the product instructions on the CD itself. And since most people are online these days, you can make any 'extras' such as world-maps and data grids from games, available for download and printing.
It just seems incredibly silly that we should still see something the size of a jewel-case requiring more packaging than the box my freaking laptop arrived in. --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
According to things I've recently been reading, some 50% (and more) of all credit reports on individuals have detrimentally inaccurate information and, although you have the right to contest and correct these errors or omissions, they are rarely followed through.
One of the best examples is from the book, Database Nation. It seems that Equifax (as well as the other two major credit rating companies) will occasionally correct your report, only to buy "new" reports from other agencies and companies to keep their own records "up to date". But the reports they buy from the other companies have yet to be updated, so they end up reintroducing the originally false data again. The vicious circle repeats.
It's no wonder some of these middle aged suburban dudes end up shooting up fast food joints... --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
Even from the standpoint of the government, an SSN has to be a horrible choice, wraught with problems.
For starters, it is only nine digits. That means that we'll run out of numbers just shy of the billionth record.
An SSN also has no check-bit. That is, VINs on an automobile have seventeen digits, but the seventeenth is used to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of the other sixteen. Without such an additional number in an SSN, it's very easy to just make up a number. Also, since numbers are not given out in specific birth order, there is no rhyme or reason to say "This person is 40 years old, but their SSN number's range suggests they should only be 25".
It's too bad the SSN has become such a massively unique identify -- but such a poor one. On one hand, I have a name. I'm not just some record in a database's table somewhere. But then again, I am. And sometimes I wonder if perhaps we should all just say "fuck it" and let people and governments document, track and video-tape us to death. --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
You know, speaking of cotton-swabs, though, the Stasi used to build massive scent archives of citizens, by taking small squares of cloth and wrapping foil over them and the area from which they're absorbing the scent. Then they put it in an air-tight jar for use... whenever.
I assume the idea was so that they could use dogs to track down or identifiy specific people based on these databased scents, but there were probably even more sinister uses intended, I'm guessing (not that this wasn't sinister enough, but after all -- the Stasi were the ones who had a whole nation of people spying on each other). --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
First, a fingerprint serves no purpose to prove my identity for acquiring an identification card. As there are no other existing thumb-prints (of mine) on record, there is absolutely no use for them.
Second, requiring a social security number proves nothing. Social Security cards have no check-bit number that can identify patently false or incorrect number combinations, so anyone can simply make one up (or, using a birth certificate, apply for a new social security card from the state).
As far as the cotton-swab thing, I would not have even pondered the situation further, had he thrown the swab directly into a trash bin or onto the counter. It's the fact that he bundled the paperwork together and took that along with the swab into the back room that fuels a conspiracy theory (yes, I'm being decidedly facetious here).
It sure is sad how nine little numbers, originally intended as nothing more than a method of tracking social security benefits decades ago, has developed into a universally consistant method of tracking you from the cradle to the grave. --- icq:2057699 seumas.com
Slashdot Mirror
Then again, who knows... Maybe there entire program consists of hiring the crazy rocket guy and blasting him to the moon. After all, the guy is crazy, and he's already had some training. It'd save the Indian project much money!
---
seumas.com
*snicker* - Now watch Rob invoke his powers of moderation to drop me to a -5 (Provoking Slashdot Proprietors).
---
seumas.com
It might have been the VA boxes they're running on. *cough*
runs and hides under a table to avoid the hurling of rotten fruit
---
seumas.com
I'm in my infant stage of learning SQL and, at the urging of my geek comrades, have opted to focus on postgreSQL. This keeps me from playing with a lot of cool stuff that's out there and really only supports MySQL right now. It'd be nice to see both of the packages be robust enough (and standard enough) that they can be easily substituted (or am I only thinking that it's harder than it is because of my lack of experience with it?)
Of course, 'robust' and 'standard' is often a slightly self-cancelling comparison, isn't it?
---
seumas.com
This is going to be the craziest bleach-job known to man.
---
seumas.com
That looks like one of those eight inch long styrofoam airplane toys that you buy for a couple bucks at the toy store and launch with a plastic stick and rubberband.
---
seumas.com
You keep hacking at it; splicing it; chopping it up; melting it; freezing it; splitting it up. Nothing works. At best, you manage to break it into dozens of small chunks, but before you know it, they've instinctively re-assimilated into the original unstoppable body of the T-1000.
I'm tired of dealing with phone companies. They're one of the few commercial (non government) entities who really could care less about their customers. They don't even attempt to convey the appearence that they care about you. Just give them your money, shut the fuck up, and they'll get around to establishing your phone service when they are good and ready.
---
seumas.com
"Hi, I'm Linus Torvalds and this is my friend, Tux."
[ Adorable little penguin waddles over and lays a flipper against Linus' leg, snuggling up against him. ]
"Oil slicks can be a messy, dangerous and often deadly disaster. Just a couple years ago, my friend Tux here was near death due to the after-effects of just such a slick, but thanks to caring contributions from people just like you, Tux is alive and well today [ Tux smiles, sweetly at the camera ]."
[ Shot widens to show Linus standing in front of a virtual sea of oily penguins. ]
"Right now, there are hundreds of penguins -- just like Tux -- who need your help. Won't you find it in your heart to share your good fortune with those less fortunate than yourself? Please contribute to the United Penguin Care Coalition. Little lives, like Tux's, depend on it."
* United Penguin Care Coalition substitued for the South African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. Why? Duh, that would have sounded too fruity in the commercial.
---
seumas.com
What was the title?..... Oh yeah!:
The Hitched Hikers Guide To The Universe!
---
seumas.com
However, in reply to your question, it is my understanding that they came from Andover during the acquisition of Slashdot.
---
seumas.com
Mrs. Hemos -- a word of advice -- when your new husband starts to step into phone booths every time there is an emergency, start following him.
---
seumas.com
Nevertheless, congratulations, you bastard. I hope this girl knows what she's getting into. Maybe she'll make a new man out of you... and correct/verify the articles you post to Slashdot (grin).
Have fun, and don't have any little Hemos' yet... I don't think the world could quite bare it! Hope you enjoy one helluva wedding night, if you catch my drift. Keep that bag of viagra handy.
---
seumas.com
Yeah.. moderation points in politics and the law... I like that idea!
---
seumas.com
*cough*
Does this mean Mattel will have to take down all of their Barbie-related websites?
---
seumas.com
The only problem is, I'm not sure how to handle the process of transferring my domain name without getting screwed by NSI. I've heard a lot of horror stories from people who have attempted to do just that. Could someone offer some advice on when, how and what to do for transferring your domain name from one registrar to another? Specifically from NSI?
Should I wait until it has expired and just renew it somewhere else? Should I do it before it expires? Do I have to send any paperwork or follow any specific process through NSI themselves? I know a lot of this info is available on NSI, but it's so obfuscated and unreliable that I would rather have information not from what they say but from the reality of what occurs -- and who best to ask than people who may hav already gone through this?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
---
seumas.com
I mean, think about it. Instead of going through the trouble to research places you do business with online, to find out what their privacy practices and stances are, you can just go to the site and if it rejects you because you didn't automatically provide personal information that they have no right to, then you can just go elsewhere. They do all the 'footwork' for you in identifying themselves as businesses you may not wish to do business with!
---
seumas.com
Last month, while I was crashed at work under my desk (it was one of those long days followed by a longer night), my laptop bag was stolen. What was in it? Well, aside from $900 in cash, software, some laptop related hardware, personal effects (no laptop, since that was plugged in and on my desk!), there was the following list. And before anyone talks about how dumb I was to have all this stuff out in the open, keep in mind that this was a day before our entire building's occupants was moving to a campus in another city and that I had dumped everything in this bag for safe keeping and ease of transport. Also, it was less than three feet away from me when it was stolen, but I was asleep. Finally, I was in the second floor of a completely empty, huge building and the only people ever to venture through were the night security guards, which wandered through once or twice until morning.
Anyway, the list:
- Social Security Card
- State ID Card
- HMO Card
- Medical documents
- SecureID's (encryption card for online access of our VPN -- one for each company division that I work with).
- Badges with my photos and employee numbers on them that allow me entry into every building on the campus.
- Two CD-Rs with every email and ICQ message ever sent or received by me, including many personal documents from medical information to intimate items between a (now ex) girlfriend of mine.
Thankfully, the data contained on the CD-R's were encrypted with two types of high-level algorithms and, additionally, archived in ZIP files with a 50 character password.But, as the police officer stated as soon as I filed the report, "Looks like someone has enough info to completely steal your identity..."
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
- Linux
- Red Hat
- Red Hat
- Red Hat
- Dell
- strategic operating systems
- lexus and Toyota
- preloaded
- More on Linux
- Also by CmdrTaco
I thought Debian was Rob's distribution of choice? Has he switched? Is Red Hat dumping some extra cash (or cool toys) on the Geek Compound to receive this extra notice on Slashdot? . . . Or are the three repetitions of the Red Hat link just an accident?---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
It's also my understanding that, in Germany, a manufacturer is responsible for their material, insofar as if you buy a car (specifically, I've heard Volkswagon mentioned), they must provide for a collection and recycling system for that vehical after its life. Is this so?
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
I run a fairly successful (free) auction site. Yesterday, I had a voicemail left on my machine at work from the Director of Legal Affairs for Universal Records.
When I called to speak with him, and played a little phone-tag, he brought up the concern that a user had posted bootlegged Godsmack recordings, on CD-R's, on my site. Godsmack's management was not pleased with this and voiced their concern to Universal Records.
The representative I spoke with seemed understanding and realized that I am an individual operating a free, non-profit website with no intention to exploit intellectual property ownership. I explained that all I could do was review the auction in question and notify him of any decisions or actions that were made after I weighed his concern.
I reviewed the auction, which the seller had clearly explained in the item's description, was a compilation of bootlegs and songs that were not commercially available by the artist and that, as such, there was no financial impact on the artists themselves. You do not need to be a lawyer (and I am not one) to realize that this is most likely still very wrong. Bootlegging is, generally, a bad thing. And making money off it is probably almost always illegal.
Still, my concern was not for my own legal well-being, as the site clearly states that items being sold are the sole responsibility of the person posting them and all concerns should be addressed directly with that person. My concern was, in fact, how and what precident I would be setting for the future of my site and its users.
My final decision was to notify the seller of the situation, leave the auction up, put a notice on the auction item itself that the record company and Godsmack's management had concerns regarding this and as such, it was no longer available, should not be bid upon, and for all intents and purposes, the item should be considered not to exist. The auction page itself remained, until the seller willingly deleted it, for information purposes.
I notified Universal Records immediately of the decision I had made and received an email confirmation. They seem to have found my handling of the issue acceptable.
Now, my understanding is that even if these bootlegs were, somehow, legitimate and legal, I would have been required to remove/ban the auction until it could be proven that the item was acceptable to sell. Simply by someone claiming a wrong done, I would be required to behave and proceed with the assumption that, until proven otherwise, a wrong had been done. Is this correct? To what extent does this reach?
On a side note, during my conversation with the Universal Records lawyer, he said that (paraphrasing) "Our only concern is that our artists and their management feel damaged by material being exploited to make money which they should have control over." To which I replied, "I completely agree that it is wrong for someone to exploit an artist and their work for monitary gain without respect to the artist and ownership of their material."
Obviously, I was making a slight risk at agitating a lawyer with lots of financial backing by a very large corporation, but I thought it deserved to be said -- and how many chances do you get to tell a major record label what you think of their treatment of artists? I think it had to be done, or I'd be forever kicking myself for missing the opppertunity.
His response? He was silent, long enough for me to have to pose an inquisitive "...hello?" before the conversation continued.
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
I'm not sure if this is an American/capitalist society thing, or if this is pretty much standard everywhere.
Personally, I would prefer that all the software and games I purchase be packaged just like a music CD. Put it in a case that just safely and securely fits the product, put an insert in it, and leave it be. You can put installation instructions and contact information on the insert and put the product instructions on the CD itself. And since most people are online these days, you can make any 'extras' such as world-maps and data grids from games, available for download and printing.
It just seems incredibly silly that we should still see something the size of a jewel-case requiring more packaging than the box my freaking laptop arrived in.
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
One of the best examples is from the book, Database Nation. It seems that Equifax (as well as the other two major credit rating companies) will occasionally correct your report, only to buy "new" reports from other agencies and companies to keep their own records "up to date". But the reports they buy from the other companies have yet to be updated, so they end up reintroducing the originally false data again. The vicious circle repeats.
It's no wonder some of these middle aged suburban dudes end up shooting up fast food joints...
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
For starters, it is only nine digits. That means that we'll run out of numbers just shy of the billionth record.
An SSN also has no check-bit. That is, VINs on an automobile have seventeen digits, but the seventeenth is used to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of the other sixteen. Without such an additional number in an SSN, it's very easy to just make up a number. Also, since numbers are not given out in specific birth order, there is no rhyme or reason to say "This person is 40 years old, but their SSN number's range suggests they should only be 25".
It's too bad the SSN has become such a massively unique identify -- but such a poor one. On one hand, I have a name. I'm not just some record in a database's table somewhere. But then again, I am. And sometimes I wonder if perhaps we should all just say "fuck it" and let people and governments document, track and video-tape us to death.
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
I assume the idea was so that they could use dogs to track down or identifiy specific people based on these databased scents, but there were probably even more sinister uses intended, I'm guessing (not that this wasn't sinister enough, but after all -- the Stasi were the ones who had a whole nation of people spying on each other).
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
First, a fingerprint serves no purpose to prove my identity for acquiring an identification card. As there are no other existing thumb-prints (of mine) on record, there is absolutely no use for them.
Second, requiring a social security number proves nothing. Social Security cards have no check-bit number that can identify patently false or incorrect number combinations, so anyone can simply make one up (or, using a birth certificate, apply for a new social security card from the state).
As far as the cotton-swab thing, I would not have even pondered the situation further, had he thrown the swab directly into a trash bin or onto the counter. It's the fact that he bundled the paperwork together and took that along with the swab into the back room that fuels a conspiracy theory (yes, I'm being decidedly facetious here).
It sure is sad how nine little numbers, originally intended as nothing more than a method of tracking social security benefits decades ago, has developed into a universally consistant method of tracking you from the cradle to the grave.
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com