Tag: common sense

Forwards from our parents

Geoff and I both have Parents With Email.  This is often a good thing as it is easy to get in touch with one another.  We can email family photos and wedding related things back and forth.  Things that 10 years ago would have required a carefully timed phone call can now be handled over the internet.

Except for the forwards.  You know, those forwarded emails that you sometimes get?  Our anecdotal research suggests that you are 1000.00% more likely to receive them from your parents than from anyone else you know.  Or have ever met.  Or will ever meet.

Continue reading “Forwards from our parents”

April 1st is here again

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.

Continue reading “April 1st is here again”

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.

Continue reading “A hero of mine gets the cold shoulder”

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”

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”

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.

Continue reading “Never mess with dog lovers”