Awright, anyone else remember how to lie with statistics? HINT: Narow down the focus of your data until you get the result you want.
For this number to be statisticaly significant, you have to have a minimum of 10 data points within a standard time frame (say, 10 months). Then do some math ( +/- 3 standard deviations) and see how your data looks... anything outside the norms MIGHT be related to a special cause... but also remember you can prove a direct statistical correlation between ice cream sales and violent crime. Sometimes, it's just the heat....
In the end, anything without raw data available could just be FUD... and this smells, walks and talks like a FUDuck....
Sure there are those blowing off the work done to prepare for y2k as the paraniod ramblings of the socially maladjusted. Perhaps in some cases the scoffs are justified (enjoying that new bunker smell?). But in the vast majority of cases, the problems were identified and delt with well before they surfaced; thus it seems we did nothing at all. Kinda reminds me of the old taoist parable about the three doctors. However, for anyone who doubts the efforts were required, look towards those who forgot the responsibilities of technology. Those who ignored everything as hype now contend with failing systems, corrupt databases and the like. Critical systems were controlled by people who understand the requirments of their systems. Pity the small business owner who ignored the warnings, especially after the next reboot.
Just moved from kinda-hourly (was paid for every hour worked, but no time & half) to straight salary. Never Again. Straight salary seems to be a PHB magnet, encouraging overtime for the endless 'special projects'..the kind of things you'd never hear about if they were buying them by the hour.
I'm not concerned about a government protecting its citizens from legitimate threats, but I am concerned about that same government with unlimited police powers. When we permit our political system, either through action or inaction, to become orwellian in scope we run the risk of becoming victimized by that political system.
Say that we repeal the fourth amendment and end all personal privacy. The government is given a mandate to eliminate all threats. Who decides what a threat is? The government. Now notice that most network intrusion attempts come from linux machines. Perhaps those long-haired nerds aren't so harmless now...perhaps they bear closer watching. Someone then might get the bright idea that these people..these anti-social malcontents (they cant even dress right ferchrissakes!) should be removed from the general population because they pose a potential risk, with their constant evaluation of network security implementations.. and those cryptology freaks, what are they hiding? What dont they want us to know?
I, for one, don't want to live in a society where I worry what some bureaucrat thinks of me. I want the freedom to be left alone as I leave others alone. I dont want to consult a known list of echelon keywords, each guaranteed to trigger interest from unknown agencies, before I think what to say.
Slashdot Mirror
Awright, anyone else remember how to lie with statistics? HINT: Narow down the focus of your data until you get the result you want.
For this number to be statisticaly significant, you have to have a minimum of 10 data points within a standard time frame (say, 10 months). Then do some math ( +/- 3 standard deviations) and see how your data looks... anything outside the norms MIGHT be related to a special cause... but also remember you can prove a direct statistical correlation between ice cream sales and violent crime. Sometimes, it's just the heat....
In the end, anything without raw data available could just be FUD... and this smells, walks and talks like a FUDuck....
Sure there are those blowing off the work done to prepare for y2k as the paraniod ramblings of the socially maladjusted. Perhaps in some cases the scoffs are justified (enjoying that new bunker smell?). But in the vast majority of cases, the problems were identified and delt with well before they surfaced; thus it seems we did nothing at all. Kinda reminds me of the old taoist parable about the three doctors.
However, for anyone who doubts the efforts were required, look towards those who forgot the responsibilities of technology. Those who ignored everything as hype now contend with failing systems, corrupt databases and the like. Critical systems were controlled by people who understand the requirments of their systems. Pity the small business owner who ignored the warnings, especially after the next reboot.
Just moved from kinda-hourly (was paid for every hour worked, but no time & half) to straight salary. Never Again. Straight salary seems to be a PHB magnet, encouraging overtime for the endless 'special projects'..the kind of things you'd never hear about if they were buying them by the hour.
I'm not concerned about a government protecting its citizens from legitimate threats, but
I am concerned about that same government with unlimited police powers. When we
permit our political system, either through action or inaction, to become orwellian in scope
we run the risk of becoming victimized by that political system.
Say that we repeal the fourth amendment and end all personal privacy. The government
is given a mandate to eliminate all threats. Who decides what a threat is? The
government. Now notice that most network intrusion attempts come from linux
machines. Perhaps those long-haired nerds aren't so harmless now...perhaps they bear
closer watching. Someone then might get the bright idea that these people..these
anti-social malcontents (they cant even dress right ferchrissakes!) should be removed
from the general population because they pose a potential risk, with their constant
evaluation of network security implementations..
and those cryptology freaks, what are they hiding? What dont they want us to know?
I, for one, don't want to live in a society where I worry what some bureaucrat thinks of
me. I want the freedom to be left alone as I leave others alone. I dont want to consult a
known list of echelon keywords, each guaranteed to trigger interest from unknown
agencies, before I think what to say.
I dont want to hurt anyone. I just want to be me.