This morning I am greeted with many articles regarding the results of the election last night and one in particular was dismaying. Rather than celebrate the triumph of a man’s ideals and the belief of those ideals by his people, this article instead chose to focus on the racial ramification of having a black man as the president of the United States. The article expounds upon the endless injustices visited upon the the African-American population throughout the ages and takes the stance that the election of Barack Obama as a form of vilification in response to past sins.

While reading this article, I thought about all of the other racial sub-groups in the United States and all that they had suffered. Prior to the arrival of the African-Americans to the young nation, oppression and genocidal policies of the government were focused upon the Native American people. In fact, I am confident that an analysis of the numbers involved with the ‘pacification’ of the various nations of that people would show that they have suffered even greater indignities than those of the African Americans. So does that mean that we should accord them privileges and status over and above other racial groups in the country?

I for one do not believe in such policies. I feel that to focus on any given race based on that uncontrollable aspect of existence is folly. Instead we should focus on the person regardless of their heritage. The more groups wave the various racial banners about the more negative the result. There are NO inherent flaws in ANY race. We are all equal at birth. It is our upbringing and development as people that determine who we are. It is to the detriment of these race specific organizations that they fail to realize this and to focus their message on that instead of promoting their own agendas.

So rather than congratulating President Obama for being the first Black President, let’s instead congratulate the MAN for winning the confidence of his people and wish him well in his new office. But regardless those of us who would not have voted for him, will be watching how he carries out his office during his coming term.

So the 10th grader finds the file and looks into it. He’s browsing around on the network in areas that he obviously has access to since he was not prevented from going there by any logical controls. Were there any administrative controls that tell the students NOT to wander around the school network? I doubt it. The poor management of digital assets is endemic to more structured organizations and I would be amazed that a school system would be ahead of that curve. Then upon seeing and reading the file, the student probably made a local copy and then with poor choice of language communicated to the authorities that this file is vulnerable. I would have to believe that unless the student in question was more mature and liguistically developed than other persons of his age group, that he used idiom normal to his peer group. Trash-talking is, unfortunately, being developed as an almost natural exension in the normal communication stream in most social groups. Hence the “Nya nya nya..” style communication would not be surprising. What is surprising is the reaction of the administration.

Instead of censuring the student, they should have taken this as an opportunity to teach the individual the right way to go about this kind of notification. In some small way they should have thanked him for his responsible attitude (although I doubt his motives were altruistic the possiblity exists of fostering a more developed sense of responsiblity through praise rather than punishment). Then, the administration of the network should have taken this as a clue to run a diligence scan on the share locations on the LAN to find any other files that may have been misplaced. What does punishing the student buy us? Instead of encouraging responsibility we engender resentment in an individual with some obvious skill and interest in technology. Next time, will that student be more likely to repeat the notification of the breach or simply exploit it to get back at the injustice he has suffered.

It really makes me wonder just who the child is in this case.

Subject: I’m voting Democrat because

I’m voting Democrat because English has no place being the official language in America

Just what are the Democrats position on this issue? I don’t know but I for one support an official language for a nation. It’s one of the elements of national identity. This particularly pissed me off a lot about Canada since there is a VERY small minority who speak French yet the rest of the country is forced to acknowledge it in public education.

I’m voting Democrat because it’s better to turn corn into fuel than it is to eat.

Not sure about this. I don’t know the issues well enough to make an intelligent comment.

I’m voting Democrat because I’d rather pay $4 for a gallon of gas than allow drilling for oil off the coasts of America .

I though that Obama supported the additional drilling… Atleast I seem to remember this in the debates…

I’m voting Democrat because I think the government will do a better job of spending my money than I could.

This is one of the things that does bug me about general Democratic policy. The notion that government operated social programs are the solution to the problems. And that funding of such programs must be borne by the people who often are denied enough clear oversight into the effectiveness of those programs.

I’m voting Democrat because when we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq , I know the Islamic terrorists will stop trying to kill us because they’ll think we’re a good and decent country.

We can sustain high deployment levels forever. But I do think that we cannot simply pull back and not leave some other options on the table to support the program of security from international threats.

I’m voting Democrat because I believe people who can’t tell us if it will rain in two or three days, can now tell us the polar ice caps will disappear in ten years if I don’t start riding a bicycle, build a windmill or inflate my tires to proper levels.

I have some doubts as to the ecological claims but I also see the sense in taking necessary steps in improving current methods of living our day to day lives. I for one always make sure my tires are properly inflated because in the end it’s my wallet that feels the pain. I am not too sure about that whole biking thing as I have a ninety mile a day commute.

I’m voting Democrat because it’s all right to kill millions of babies as long as we keep violent, convicted murderers on death row alive.

I am in conflict with traditional right wing doctrine on this. I support a woman’s right to choose. This particular moral issue is too personal for Government to play a part in. I do support capital punishment though but I don’t think that sentenced felons should be held for longer than one year.

I’m voting Democrat because I believe businesses in America should not be allowed to make profits. Businesses should just break even and give the rest to the government so politicians and bureaucrats can redistribute the money the way they think it should be redistributed.

I believe businesses should be allowed to operate according to free market principles. But I do support the reformation of members of Board of Directors to be more responsible with regards to the operations of the company and they too should be held to a higher level of accountability.

I’m voting Democrat because I believe guns, and not the people misusing them, are the cause of crimes and killings.

I support the right to bear arms and the ability to protect one’s property and person with them. However, we also need to take a better stance on just ‘who’ gets the guns and what kinds of guns we allow the general populace to own. I for one do not understand why we need assault weapons available for sale to the general public. I understand the need for shotguns and high veloticy/caliber rifles for hunting but not weapons that have ridiculous clip capacities. I also support the development of frangible ammunition as an alternative for solid core metal jacketed rounds for home defence.

I’m voting Democrat because when someone with a weapon threatens my family or me, I know the government can respond faster through a call to 911 than I can with a gun in my hand.

See above.

I’m voting Democrat because oil companies’ 5% profit on a gallon of gas are obscene, but government taxes of 18% on the same gallon of gas are just fine.

I really don’t have a problem with taxation IF it’s used prudently and responsibly. I fail to see how ANY government can efficiently do this. With that in mind, why in heaven would I want to allow them to draw more money from the companies that create the jobs to fund their folly?

I’m voting Democrat because I believe three or four elitist liberals should rewrite the Constitution every few months to suit some fringe element that could never get their agenda past voters.

I have to agree with this but with that understanding that BOTH parties are prone to this.

I’m voting Democrat because illegal aliens are not criminals, are not sucking up resources through government aid, hospital services, education, or social services, but are just people trying to make a better life by coming to America illegally. We can’t blame them for that, can we?

I have a more personal view on this issue. I came into this country legally and after a long and rather agonizing visa process. I don’t think that simply crossing a geographic line should entail any level of protection to illegal immigrants (unless there is an issue of asylum). I firmly believe foreign nationals MUST enter the country LEGALLY before being granted ANY social services save those that would return them to their home nations (BUT not in First Class!) There are some benefits that illegal immigrants get by default (better standard of living, increased opportunities, etc) that justify them getting TAXED like the rest of us. Then if they wish to remain they must undergo the normal immigration process like everyone else. Equality works both ways and humble beginnings should not exempt anyone from the process.

I’m voting Democrat because now I can now marry whatever I want, so I’ve decided to marry my horse.

I believe that ‘marriage’ is a religious institution and as such is the province of that specific religion. It is NOT for government to dictate who can marry whom (or what as the gibe entails). At the very least a state of civil union should be granted to such interested parties. After all, this is the land of the free and not the land of “whom-evers-interpretation of God” is in power.

Makes one wonder why anyone would ever vote Republican, doesn’t it?

I’d still vote Republican when I get naturalized because they are more aligned on the issues closer to my heart than the opposition. But that does not mean that I accept the entirely of their platform. I would suspect that even the Democrats have similar factions within their ranks.

This is the first post after the recent drive crash on the server. I know, I know… Backup planning could have been better but hey, the majority of the data was safe right? At least now I am planning on improving the process to make it a bit more resilient in the future. But all of that is still kind of on hold until after this next weekend. It’s the end of the current PA Renaissance Faire’s season and despite the gloomy weather forecast we’re still going!
2008 has been a great faire season for us. The company for friends from the parf.NET board has been steadily improving the experience through the camaraderie and shared love of the event. Also my photography for this season has been quite personally satisfying. I am starting to find myself and my own method of doing things with my tools. Of course the addition of the new Canon 40D body with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS lens doesn’t hurt either! But aside from the tools, finding the meaning of the photos that I take has been another wonderful voyage of discovery. Now when I look back at the photos from this season, I am not only reminded of the moments but I am also evoked by more deeper emotions that the depictions convey. I know that not everyone who looks at my work will feel the same but then, I am not taking pictures for others so much as I am for myself. If others happen to like them, that’s also an added bonus that I could share some contentment with others.

After this weekend, the hectic pace of fall will begin in earnest. The leaves are falling in legion and I have to start planning on getting them all (or as much as I can manage) out to the curb. Also the resumption of work on the basement should begin again. If not the actual building, then at least the clean-up. Oh, and of course the continued re-load of the Gallery and other stuff on the server side. These are all just some of the projects that I know of, I shudder at what I haven’t even considered yet…

We’re into the last three weeks of the 2008 Faire Season and although I will miss the event, I am also looking forward to a return to some semblance of calm on the weekends. For one thing my poor over taxed storage system will get some much needed rest. I’ll need to archive a TON of photos from this year’s faire season just to clear out some room. So far, I’ve exceeded over 40GB in space for the photos this season. That’s a tall order when you think about archiving to DVD at around 4GB/Disc. Then I’ve also pushed the gallery hard as well since the file sizes with the new 40D are significantly larger than with the old 20D.

On the creative side I think I’ve found another aspect to my photography that is bringing me a lot of peace when I look at my own work. Not that I am lulled into any belief that I’ve reached the end of that particular journey of skill. There’s still mountains more but at this current place, I find myself looking at where I am and finding some satisfaction. It’s also been very gratifying to find some acceptance and appreciation of my work by others. Not that I will always strive to shoot for appreciation and accolades… Yet, as I said, I am at peace and enjoying where I am at the moment.

Fall’s here and I can see all of the leaves turning and beginning their swan song in a blaze of brilliant glory. Every drive up to Mt. Hope on the weekend brings more changes in the scenery of the drive as the blanket of green is replaced with the riotous flames and sparkles of fall’s magic. Hopefully I’ll be able to bear that in mind as I start my own labors to clear the leaves in the back yard.

Ah well. I know I haven’t posted much this last month but as I said, processing over 600+ images per weekend does take its toll.

So now I am stuck with having to search high and low for this product in LRF or format for the reader. I’ll probably find it somewhere but the convenience factor sure took a nose dive. So who loses by this? Ultimately the concept of E-Books. If I wanted this book badly enough and was not willing to pay the premium, I would simply buy it used for considerably less (around $5.00 with shipping). I would get the materials and the Publisher and Author would not get ANY revenues from the resale of the older copy. Now what if they discounted the material and made is easier to buy online? Well the resistance due to sticker shock would go away and I’d be more likely to buy the electronic copy. Hence even if the revenue was small, the fact that it would still be revenue would be a considerable improvement over no revenue what so ever.

I know that there are likely other ‘business reasons’ for the pricing but I still say that those ‘business reasons’ should be re-evaluated based on the negative result of the status quo. Especially in light of the trying economic times.

This story may be breaking news due to the target compromised but the fundamentals of the hack have been around since before the Net was around. The ubiquity and popularity of online games has just made it that much easier to obtain hits on a larger population of targets. Mind you, the value of the results may vary greatly but the numbers raked in more than make up the probability of hitting on a big fish like this one did.

In the earlier days, this would have been done by running a social engineering hack that sold raffle tickets or the like at a location where a can-opener op was planned to gather basic demographics and to be used for further correlation with available information. Then, in conjunction with phone records research targeting dial-in lines as entry points.

In the mid-eighties to early nineties as the proliferation of Computer games started to rise along with the wide-spread use of BBSes by the earlier digital cognoscenti, ant-lion routines that were brutally primitive and prone to crashing started to show up in pirated copies of popular titles. These routines were a serious PITA but the application was usually VERY targeted towards a specific group that you wanted some payback from. The groups were usually not too sophisticated where they could identify the hack but savvy enough to know where to get the warez and how to run them. Back then the platforms of choice were the Atari and Apple platforms with no real efforts that I can recall being aimed at Commodore 64s or Amigas. The returns were usually in the form of bragging rights in that you could prove that you managed to drop code on someone else’s machine. The ability to use the victim to help proliferate the infection were rather limited but it did happen. Especially true in the case of Apple based hacks since a number of the old School Boards used to run II’s and IIe’s.

Once the PC started to gain traction and VGA started to get some following, the shift in focus began to that platform. This made the spread of ‘malware’ (which we usually just called gags) much more prevalent. Still limited as the sophistication of the users on that platform were pretty limited and the entry cost of such equipment made it unlikely for less endowed users to get onto one. Still, I can remember joke "Formatting your Hard Drive" batch files making the rounds at the various offices that I worked in.

Now, today with the ridiculously low cost of entry into a fairly decent machine, coupled with relatively easy access to broadband, the jokes and gags of the past have seen their new evolution into the next generation of underground business applications. And it is only going to get worse. I would caution ANYONE who does not run new software in a sandbox to AVOID downloading code that does not come from a ‘trusted source’ (you be the judge of that!). I usually stick to local gaming on my PCs and avoid any kind of online gaming that needs me to download code. I really have to have a high level of trust before I do that, and even then, I will usually run any new code in a VM for a while before I let it out of the sand box.

Now if I could just teach this same lesson to the girls…

Take those three movies I mentioned before… We’ve had those at the house for well over two months and I still haven’t had a chance or desire to watch them. Not that the movies are bad but I find that I spend more of my time reading or doing other things that having watching those movies takes a really low priority. Also since Shirley is back to school most of her evenings are devoted to keeping up with class work. Hence the opportunity cost of the service has been determined to be more that the return (for us at any rate).

I guess the sadness on my part is the break of something that has been long established. In a way the sentiment is rather out of place considering that I am a technologist and that I do keep pace with a rapidly changing landscape in my profession as a matter of course. It is also somewhat ironic as I am usually an agent for change and as such often impact users thourgh the changes that I drive in much the same way this break from my normal environment is affecting me. The scope of that impact is rather greater for the users though as process changes are often accompanied by changes in execution as well as the emotional impact of the new variance to the individuals, but I do understand the emotional component.

Ah, but such is life right?

New Photo Viewer

This was a very cool presentation. I love how the transitions and path mapping are being rationalized by the application. I can’t wait to see how these new viewers continue to develop.