Mark's Views, Perhaps — from behind my eyeballs
Has it come to this?
That photo is undoctored (except for resizing and sharpening). I took it myself. From where I was sitting in one of the over-the-wing emergency exits.
It seems to give new meaning to flying economy class!
(It’s mighty crowded under there!!)
😯
In yesterday’s news from the New York Times…
| Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law
The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews. Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional. |
But despite my repeated warnings on this blog, you continue to discuss all manner of stuff via email and phone. Don’t you?! Yeah, I thought so.
I, too.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” is such a lame defense or explanation or boast or whatever it is.
If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t mind telling me anything and everything about yourself. 😆
I came across this site earlier this morning while checking out a WordPress theme: Short-Term Loans 101.
Here’s a bit from their intro:
| If you’re thinking about getting a short-term loan, be sure to do your research — short-term loans are extremely dangerous — short-term loans cause long-term destruction.
That’s where we come in. Armed with this website, you don’t have to become another statistic — we can help you make the right decision. We’re not affiliated with any short-term loan lender. This website will teach you everything you need to know, whether you’re looking for business short-term loans or payday short term loans. Advice, resources, links and profiles of lenders – it’s all here. Make sure to read up before you get the loan. |
| Occasionally, traffic cops in Oregon nab drivers speeding over 100 miles per hour. When they do, the scofflaws tend to be young men.
At 4:45 p.m. Sunday, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy spotted a 53-year-old woman speeding east in a sporty 2003 Mazda 6 on Hylo Road Southeast, a hilly, two-lane road in Salem. |
I was in the process of shutting down computers so I could go to bed when I saw the above story. You’ve just got to read the rest of the story.
I simply don’t know which best expresses my sentiment: 😆 🙄 😯 
Vexing computer worm to evolve on April Fool’s Day
| A tenacious computer worm which has wriggled its way onto machines worldwide is set to evolve on April Fool’s Day, becoming harder to exterminate but not expected to wreak havoc.
[…] “There is no evidence of it going into attack mode or dropping any particular payload on April 1st,” Ferguson said in an interview. […] It can infect machines from the Internet or by hiding on USB memory sticks carrying data from one computer to another. Once in a computer it digs deep, setting up defenses that make it hard to extract. […] A troubling aspect of Conficker is that it harnesses computing power of a botnet to crack passwords. Microsoft has modified its free Malicious Software Removal Tool to detect and get rid of Conficker. […] Computer users are advised to stay current on anti-virus tools and Windows updates, and to protect computers and files with strong passwords. Conficker is programmed to reach out to 250 websites daily to download commands from its masters. On Wednesday, the worm will begin connecting with 50,000 websites daily to better hide where orders originate…. […] Among the ways one can tell if their machine is infected is that the worm will block efforts to connect with websites of security firms such as Trend Micro or Symantec where there are online tools for removing the virus. […] Hackers have taken advantage of Conficker hype by using promises of information or cures to lure Internet users to websites booby trapped with malicious software, according to security specialists. |
Get a FREE malware scan now (from Trend Micro)
Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? 🙄
Facebook, Bebo and MySpace ‘to be monitored by security services’
| The private correspondence of millions of people who use social networking sites could be tracked and saved on a “big brother” database, under new plans being drawn up by the UK government.
Ministers revealed yesterday that they were considering policing messages sent via sites such as MySpace and Facebook, alongside plans to store information about every phone call, e-mail and internet visit made by everyone in the United Kingdom. There was immediate uproar from opposition parties, privacy campaigners and security experts who said the plans were over-the-top and unworkable. |
Yeah. Maybe so.
Please, please!
Cell phone or email or blog or Facebook or MySpace or Twitter or whatever: Beware the Send Button!
The link will take you to the tragic story about Jessica Logan, who took a non-clothes cell photo of herself and sent it to her boyfriend. In a terrible cascade of forwards and resends, hundreds (if not thousands) of people received it. And Jessica was verbally pummeled face-to-face as well as via phone, text, email, Facebook, MySpace, and who knows what other medium.
Things like this make me mad. And sad.
Our technology allows us to do so much dumb (and worse) stuff on a whim. And regret later.
She did something very foolish in taking that photo of herself. She compounded her error by texting that photo to someone else. At that point, a character flaw or a bad attitude or a wrongly-entered recipient or a wrong key pressed or another foolish choice — and the original recipient sent it on.
And the process was repeated. And repeated. And repeated.
Have you learned the lesson now?
Message to Albert and Cynthia Logan: May you find comforting grace in Jesus Christ. As a dad, father-in-law, and grandpa, my heart aches for your daughter…and for you. I’m sorry. 😥