Beware: Facebook can cost you more than your privacy

Always remember, anything you post online eventually be seen by anyone. And often it will be the person you least want to see it. Be wise, be careful, and pretend every private post will be trumpeted from the rooftops.

In anticipation of being laid off, she updated her status on Facebook and wrote:
''I speak for myself when I say WoOOOOooooOooooHOoooOooOoo' it was pretty damn obvious something like this was coming. I'm neither stupid nor naive ... and quite honestly it is the best news ever as far as I am concerned!''
'It was not unexpected. I've just hung on by my fingertips to stick around long enough for a nice payout when they could've had me out long ago without a penny! More fool them! Haha! Xx.''
A work colleague saw the posts and told the bank.
The bank responded by ordering her to take part in a disciplinary hearing, where her bosses decided "to sack Furlong without a penny of the money she was expecting," as the Parents Lounge, a UK website, puts it.

A Wordle (i.e. word cloud based on frequency of use) based on my @Nanowrimo novel. (via http://www.wordle.net)

A Wordle (i.e. word cloud based on frequency of use) based on my @Nanowrimo novel. (via http://www.wordle.net)
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Terror attempt at Tree Lighting

One wonders if plots like this one - apparently run by a crazy loner assisted by overseas terrorists - are the reasons that the TSA and the president are so unapologetic about "Grope-Gate". It is one thing to monitor a whole organization. It is another to watch for a thousand crazy lone wolves.

A Corvallis man, thinking he was going to ignite a bomb, drove a van to the corner of the square at Southwest Yamhill Street and Sixth Avenue and attempted to detonate it.

However, the supposed explosive was a dummy that FBI operatives supplied to him, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint signed Friday night by U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen, was arrested at 5:42 p.m., 18 minutes before the tree lighting was to occur, on an accusation of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Cookie Monster Auditions for SNL

This was the first lit Christmas tree I had seen a "real" house, on a walk last night.

This was the first lit Christmas tree I had seen a "real" house, on a walk last night.
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

DSC01106

Happy Thanksgiving!

All too true!

From Townhall.com.

Did Korean War II start last night?

There are two potential regional nuclear wars brewing in the world - North Korea vs South Korea, and India vs Pakistan. We had hoped the unthinkable horror of a true nuclear war would act as deterrents to actual war. It appears we may have been wrong. Now the question hangs in the air - will America abandon her ally at this moment of crisis? Or will we all be spared by a sudden outbreak of sanity in North Korea?

North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto a South Korean island on Tuesday, killing one person, setting homes ablaze and triggering an exchange of fire as the South's military went on top alert...The shooting started bushfires at several places in the hills, he told AFP by phone after fleeing the island by ferry for the mainland port of Incheon.
"Frightened villagers rushed to nearby shelters while others were busy running away and crowded the port to escape," Woo said, adding about 1,500-1,700 civilians live on the island.
"When I walked out, the whole village was on fire," another villager was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying. "I'm at the evacuation site with other villagers and I am scared to death."

The TSA's "Grope-Gate" is strengthening the Tea Party

There are times when President Obama looks like a true genius - parsing and analyzing the national mood with piercing insight. And there are times when he truly seems to be tone-deaf to the American people.

"Grope-gate", the policy of enhanced scanning and invasive pat-downs by the TSA at airports, has triggered a chorus of outrage. It started small, with a few malcontents looking to stir the pot on civil liberties issues, but it has steadily grown as anecdotes about hands down pants, medical equipment pulled out and destroyed, and people being threatened with jail or massive fines for attempting to opt out have filled the news. In light of this outrage, a savvy politician had two choices: (1) decry the bad policy and call for change, or (2) release the intelligence that showed why such intrusions were necessary.

Instead, President Obama has supported the invasive procedures without giving any concrete evidence of their necessity (or effectiveness).

The result is likely to be a Republican Congress even more bold and unbending than would have been seen otherwise. The Tea Party rose with a very simple (some would say simplistic) narrative: "Government has gotten too big and wants to intrude into every aspect of your life." Instead of defusing this idea, the TSA policies give a concrete picture to what "government intrusion" looks like - it is agents taking naked pictures of you and making fun of them, or literally feeling you up and punishing you if you say "No." This, more than anything else, is likely to become to defining image of President Obama's America for 2011. And unlike the economy, it is nothing he can blame on anyone else. It was a policy that was ordered under his watch, for conditions that developed under his watch, and a policy which he has publicly endorsed.

Your move, Republicans. Almost anything you can do or say from here will look like the calm and reasonably approach in contrast.

Happy Birthday, CRChair!

Feel free to leave any birthday wishes here in the comments.

A Trip to See the Bowhunters

Click here to see the pictures of our trip to the Bowhunters. Pictures include those of Camp Mont Lawn which is run by the Bowery Mission, Bushkill Falls, and of a birthday party for their oldest with a clown.

Two NCAA Football Teams to Use the Same End Zone

Big Ten officials have decided to have Northwestern and the University of Illinois both use the same end zone on offense when the square off at Wrigley field. The reason for this strange change is that the teams are concerned that the one end zone was too close to the right field wall at the stadium that is usually only used for baseball. So whenever there is a change in possession that doesn't immediately lead to a touchdown, at the dead ball the ball will be repositioned so that the offense will always be heading toward the West side of the field. This seems like a good compromise that will lead to some fun memories both for the fans and for the players.

Secretary of Transportation would disable cell phones in cars

I try to give the benefit of the doubt to both sides, but there are times when someone says something that simply makes no sense. Consider for this point, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood who is proposing requiring car companies to actively jam all cell phones in cars in an effort to end "distracted driving."

The US government may require cars to include scrambling tech that would disable mobile-phone use by drivers, and perhaps passengers.

"I think it will be done," US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said on Wednesday morning, according to The Daily Caller. "I think the technology is there and I think you're going to see the technology become adaptable in automobiles to disable these cell phones."

LaHood is on a self-described "rampage" against distracted driving, and if making it impossible to use a mobile phone while in a car can save lives, he's all for it...

This means not only would it be illegal to use the cell phone while driving, but it would also be impossible for you or your passengers to use it. If implemented as proposed here, it would also jam data connections (or else drivers could simply switch to Skype) which would mean the end of Pandora or other music streaming services in the car. And, of course, it would mean the end of being able to contact emergency services from your vehicle.

There is a time and place for government intervention, and "distracted driving" is definitely a problem. But let's be reasonable and realize that such whole hog solutions create more problems than they solve.

If you wonder why we call him Bowhunter...

Sadly True

Windows Virus targetted Iranian Nuke Facilities

It is no longer a thought experiment. The age of Cyber-Warfare has begun. The only question is, who created this thing? The USA, Israel, France, Russia? I'm betting there is a tell-all book already written, waiting for the right moment.

The malware, however, doesn’t just sabotage any frequency converter. It inventories a plant’s network and only springs to life if the plant has at least 33 frequency converter drives made by Fararo Paya in Teheran, Iran, or by the Finland-based Vacon.

Even more specifically, Stuxnet targets only frequency drives from these two companies that are running at high speeds – between 807Hz and 1210Hz. Such high speeds are used only for select applications. Symantec is careful not to say definitively that Stuxnet was targeting a nuclear facility, but notes that “frequency converter drives that output over 600Hz are regulated for export in the United States by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as they can be used for uranium enrichment.”

Balancing Priorities

From here.

Windows Phone permanenty modifies MicroSD Cards

Microsoft was known in the past for its attempt to "lock in" users to their products with proprietary file formats and other tricks, that make it difficult for users to go elsewhere. But for the most part, they have changed their tune in recent years, for example changing to XML-based versions of Microsoft Office documents which are easily reabable by OpenOffice.Org and other competitors.

But now, there is news that apparently Windows Phones - lacking internal Flash storage like the iPhone - is permanently modifying any MicroSD cards used in them so that they can never be formatted or reused by any other device.

Samsung have documented the feature for the Focus, saying that inserting a MicroSD card into a Windows Phone can be considered a “permanent modification” adding ”it will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on”.

Microsoft too has warned of the permanent change, though it’s not entirely clear exactly what the OS is doing to the card.

So, if you are considering a Windows Phone, please be aware any SD card purchases should be considered a one-time expense that can't be recouped by reuse. It's a very strange way for Microsoft to have gone.

We salute you!

To any Mod-Blog readers who have served in the Armed Forced, we want to take this Veteran's Day to say it clearly: Thank you for your service. For putting our safety and freedom above your own. For dedicating your lives to others, so that we can live our lives here on the homefront. You are appreciated and remembered every day. But especially today.

Readers are encouraged to leave your own words of thanks in the comments.

You Want to What?

All I can say is "Wow!"

EMBED-Wheel Of Fortune Solved With One Letter - Watch more free videos

Moderation is never easy

We're watching you

From here. My feelings exactly.

Obesity is contagious

This is one study that will come as no shock to anyone who's tried to stay on a diet while hanging out with sugar-loving friends. They have found that having obese friends is likely to lead you into obesity as well.

The more obese friends you have, the more likely you are to become obese, a new study suggests. This confirms previous research that gaining weight may be socially contagious...

"We find that having four obese friends doubled people's chance of becoming obese compared to people with no obese friends," says Alison Hill, the study's lead author and a Harvard researcher.

About the rising incidence of obesity, she says, people have gotten better at gaining weight in recent years, but not at losing it.

David Rand, a Harvard research scientist who also worked on the study, says that the more obese people you have contact with, the more likely you are to become obese.

From my experience, the opposite is true as well - have a few friends working to lose weight or maintain their weight-loss makes you much more likely to be losing weight. Why? Simple - it's easier to exercise together, just as it's easier to pig out together. Whatever you make the center of your social calendar becomes central when you're craving human contact.

I'll do anything... except the one thing you want me to do

President Obama had admitted that the results of this week's elections were bad for him - a "shellacking" is the term he used. Clearly, the nation wants a change in course from the last 2 years, and has handed the reins of the House to the Republicans. But with a divided Congress, compromise and negotiation will be critical. So, what is the president's idea to start negotiations?

To take the one thing Republicans are sure to want off of the table completely.

"At a time when we are going to ask folks across the board to make such difficult sacrifices, I don’t see how we can afford to borrow an additional $700 billion from other countries to make all the Bush tax cuts permanent, even for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans," the president said. "We’d be digging ourselves into an even deeper fiscal hole and passing the burden on to our children."

Obama noted the importance of extending the tax cuts in the lame-duck session, but focused the address on digging in against the full extension sought by Republicans and some Democrats.

Well, clearly the president is eager to take back the "Party of No" label he had previously stuck onto the GOP. Unfortunately for him, I get the sense that many Democratic congresspeople are more ready to compromise in order to win back the electorate.

You're not fooling anyone

From here.

TV Execs hate Hulu

It is no secret that Hulu exists for one reason only - television companies are more afraid of an Apple iTunes monopoly than anything else. But it is still disconcerting to see comments like these from a Dish TV executive which disparage the service as "destroying the industry".

...broadcasters should instead reserve catchup episodes for authenticated TV Everywhere services, and only make them available freely after 30 days. “If people decide that they don’t have to pay for pay TV, then one of the pillars (of the TV industry) starts crumbling,” he said.

The reality is that Hulu isn't destroying the old TV industry, history is. It is now possible to deliver video directly via the internet, on-demand, and that will eventually allow us all to bypass cable and broadcast television. The question isn't how to stop the process, it is how to profit from it.

Just ask NetFlix. Build a better mousetrap and the world STILL will beat a path to your door.

Congrats, and a Reality Check

Congratulations to the Republican Party (and Tea Party) on winning back the House in a historic sweep not seen in 70 years. Congratulations to the Democratic Party for holding onto the Senate, if only by a seat or two.

As all parties settle down to the business of governing, let's remember a few basic facts that will be all-too-tempting to ignore:

1. This was a HOUSECLEANING, because the People believe Congress has been ignoring their will and best interests.

2. This was NOT a mandate for every Republican idea in the hopper. It was specifically a mandate to FIX THE ECONOMY. Let's not get sidetracked onto other issues, at least until people are going back to work.

3. This was a warning to all career politicians - Left and Right - that if the major parties don't get their act together, voters are ready to embrace a Third Party (in this case the Tea Party) who offers solutions and vents their anger. We see no benefit to hanging onto historical party structures "just because".

So, please govern humbly, and be focused on the task at hand. Or else 2012 will look a lot like 2010, but without a happy ending for Republicans.

Here's hoping...

From here