So far today we’ve seen some pretty inventive April Fools Jokes from corporate America. The first to cross my virtual desk was this one from “Warby Barker.” It’s a very well done prank by Warby Parker, an online glasses retailer with a social awareness bent.
Tag: common sense
Looks like Congress is getting involved now
That bit we talked about earlier where employers were asking job applicants for their passwords to their personal e-mail and social media accounts? It looks like it has gotten the attention of a few Senators, and they are not happy. Some state legislatures (California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey for starters) are also working on laws to prevent this sort of thing. So now it appears that a great national debate is in the making, and I welcome it. Personally, I find nothing wrong with Googling potential employees, but asking for passwords seems to cross a line, legally and ethically. In my mind, it is similar to the difference between doing a credit check of a potential employee and asking for that applicant’s ATM card and pin. One seeks information that is clearly in the public domain, and the other clearly is asking for something that is not.
-Geoff
A hero of mine gets the cold shoulder
Many of you who know me know that I am a great admirer of Bruce Schneier, a renowned cryptology and security expert who has been a thorn in the side of those who believe all security issues can be solved with big, expensive machines and the push of a button. He is the inventor of the term “security theater”, or measures that are more effective at looking like you are doing something than actually doing anything to make you safer. I have several of his books and I highly recommend them. Anyway, recently Bruce was uninvited from testifying in front of Congress at the insistence of the TSA. I imagine this has something to do with the fact that he is a very vocal critic of the TSA and many of their policies.
Why we don’t have Facebook- part the second
Or Twitter for that matter.
This popped up on Boston.com today and horrified us both. This is why we have an open and public blog. If you want to know anything about us it is right here.
Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords
Continue reading “Why we don’t have Facebook- part the second”
A follow-up to my earlier post on emergency planning
Now that almost everyone is back on the grid, NStar recently announced that it has no intention of reimbursing customers for any financial losses they may have suffered during the power outage this past week. And for some of those customers, I would imagine that the loss is a bit more than pocket change, to put it mildly. Imagine all of the restaurants that had to throw out all of their meat, seafood, produce, and dairy products. And that is on top of the loss they suffered for having to let customers leave without paying. Plus a couple of days where those businesses made no money. And so the wait staff and bartenders made no tips. It is not as bad as it could have been, but it was certainly bad enough. And that is why I will continue to harp on this issue of planning for events like this.
Continue reading “A follow-up to my earlier post on emergency planning”
Also known as, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
This is why I believe in emergency planning
The big news tonight here in Boston is a fire in the Back Bay that led to power going out in huge swaths of Boston. Apparently the fire started in a utility building containing two large transformers. In order to fight the fire, it was necessary to cut power to the transformers. That has now led to a power blackout in Back Bay, Prudential Center, Copley Square, Chinatown, the Theater District, and Kenmore Square. They are saying now on TV that they are allowing people to return to their homes but they have no idea when power will be restored to this area.
Continue reading “This is why I believe in emergency planning”
Dear Phillies fans in the family,
You are forthwith forbidden from mentioning Papelbon to us.
Never mess with dog lovers
I guess I should amend that to, “Never mess with animal lovers.” For me it is a more accurate statement as I am neither a dog nor cat person but an animal person. But, it was the dog lovers who got Michael Vick sent to jail and fired by the Atlanta Falcons. Now he’s consigned to the Philadelphia Eagles, my least favorite football team. Is he still making money? Sure. But is he being watched like a hawk? Absolutely.
Also, dogs can tear him apart whenever they like.
Thank you, Verizon, for proving my point
Today we lost our Internet connection yet again. It was off for at least nine hours until I got on the phone late this afternoon and managed to get them to fix it. I did not get any explanation worth a damn as to why it was no longer reliable, and I knew that it would go out yet again. So earlier tonight I tried using the online tech help assistance chat thingie since a few people had said they had better luck with that than on the phone. And the online tech apparently did not hear a damn thing I said. I am so not shocked. I tried to explain that the problem wasn’t that I didn’t have an Internet connection right that second, but that it was intermittent. Of all the techs we have dealt with, in person or on the phone or online, we have had only one who actually understood that. And so this time I tried to explain, and even let the tech connect to me remotely. Her response was to essentially play with my wireless connection. She disconnected it and then reconnected it, and was like “yay, your problem is solved!” Um, no, it wasn’t. I tried to say that it was only a matter of time until I lost my connection again, and it was like I was speaking a language she couldn’t understand. Like say, English. I thanked her for her time and then disconnected her. And so for a little while longer we had Internet access.
And then the Internet went out again for another three hours. It came back on within the past half hour.
Time to switch. And I am still so angry I am thinking about asking for a refund.
-Geoff
The Books are Taking Over... 