The Illusion of Control

From Townhall.com.

Do programmers find it hard to be Christians?

When I was growing up, I loved science - biology, geology, physics, meteorology all fascinated me. But my teachers told me the same thing again and again, "It is impossible to be a scientist and a Christian. So, if you choose to become a scientist, be ready to throw away your faith forever." As a middle schooler, that scared me and made me reconsider my future career. But as I grew in knowledge of science and of my faith, I quickly learned the battle between science and religion was largely a myth. Most scientists have a faith, and most of the faithful respect and study science.

So, I was unhappy to see this same old idea recast in a new light, which claims programmers and Christians are incompatible. Most of you know I work in the Information Technology field, and have been a programmer at various points in my life/career. I have never found my faith to conflict with my job/hobby... and neither have almost any of the programmers I work with. And my particular company hires from all over, so I know programmers who are Catholic, Protestant, Coptic, Muslim, Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, and Orthodox.

This persistent idea that Christianity and logic are somehow in fundamental disagreement needs to be taken down. Some of the greatest thinkers of history (Thomas Aquinas, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Newton, etc.) were Christians, and none could be said to be enemies of logic or science, and none would be enemies of programming if they lived today.

Happy Birthday Bow Hunter!!!

Why is the United States so quiet on the Jasmine Revolutions?

Well, the so-called Jasmine Revolutions are still rolling through the Middle East, and are lapping at the shores of Asia. Tunisia and Egypt have thrown off their decades-long dictators, and countries like Bahrain and Libya are struggling to do the same. Even Iran and Yemen are seeing mass demonstrations against tyranny. And yet, the United States has remained relatively silent. We have engaged the conflicts only after the victors are clear or the attacks on demonstrators are so monstrous that they can not be ignored. How is it that the country that regards Freedom and Liberty more highly than any other, has so little to say?

My best guess is that or leaders - primarily President Obama - is thinking one of these thoughts:
1. We're hated in the Middle East, so our support may hurt more than it helps.
2. We've supported too many Middle East Tyrants to credibly support democracy.
3. We can't afford to send money or troops, so we won't support with words.
4. These revolutions have nothing to do with America.

Unfortunately, all of these thoughts are incredibly cynical. Especially when we're lead by a man who campaigned on "Hope" and "Change". Hope and Change are coming to the Middle East. I'd rather we go down in history as standing with them, than standing on the sidelines.

Google collecting kid's SSNs

The short version: under the guise of a drawing contest, Google is asking parents to give up their children's social security numbers, place, and date of birth. If you missed it your bank and insurance company are no longer allowed to gather this kind of info, because of fears of identity theft and/or misuse of personal information. But somehow Google thinks they're different.

What could be wrong with filling out a few entry forms?

A national, commercial database of names and addresses of American children, especially one that includes their dates of birth and SSNs, would be worth many millions to marketing firms and retailers.

Of course, data collection is not the reason Google gives for doing this competition. Their FAQ says it's because "We love to encourage and celebrate the creativity of young people..." etc. If that's so, then why on earth would the contest's original Parent Consent Form ask for the child's city of birth, date of birth and last four digits of the child's SSN? Along with complete contact info of the parents.

You see what Google knows and many parents don't know is that a person's city of birth and year of birth can be used to make a statistical guess about the first five digits of his/her social security number. Then, if you can somehow obtain those last four SSN digits explicitly -- voila, you've unlocked countless troves of personal information from someone who didn't even understand that such a disclosure was happening.

This kind of data can be linked with other databases to target advertising. It's worth many times more than what Google will spend on prizes (each State Finalist gets a T-shirt!).

Amazon Prime = Netflix-Style Streaming

It has been rumored for some time, but apparently it is no longer a rumor. Amazon.Com is now offering unlimited video streaming to all existing (paid) Amazon Prime customers. I was already a customer for the discounted shipping (mostly for Christmas buying) so this is a NICE perk for me. It is likely to keep me a Prime Customer for the next billing cycle, anyway.

I am sure this intended to compete with NetFlix, but I doubt I'll be dropping one to keep the other. I guess we'll see.

UPDATE 7:00 PM: Experiments have proven that only the MAIN Amazon Prime account. Guest accounts are not eligible without upgrade.

Harsh! But not untrue...