Internet Privacy Appliance on the Horizon

It looks like TOR is heading toward going mainstream. TOR is a software that bounces your internet requests through a network to heavily obscure where the request came from. It's not guaranteed anonymity but it goes a long way toward hiding the folks who use it.

If this router configuration ends up productized folks won't have to download and configure software on their computer to gain the provided privacy... it'll just happen automatically on their router.

So the downside? I have to believe internet performance when using the TOR network will be slower.

Happy, safe and prosperous New Year EVERYONE!

Organized Primary Mischief

Primaries make sense to me for non-partisan elections but this just seems like abuse of the system.

I wonder why the government holds partisan primaries at all... I'm sure there is an explanation (past party corruption seems likely.) Wouldn't it be cheaper for the taxpayers if each registered party picked their candidate internally and then just submitted their candidate for the ballot for a single election per partisan office?

The Majik Man

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal posts a link to an NFL video on Don Majkowski I just enjoyed. Thanks for the good times Don, the Cardiac Pack days were nerve wracking but a hell of a lot of fun.

Good Software Companies

Mark Garcia extends Joel Spolsky's suggested "company quiz" that has to do with rating the quality of a software development organization.

Mark's addition of "Do you fix bugs before implementing new features?" resonated with me. In every product I've ever worked on, the priority has always been on delivering new features rather than refactoring code and eliminating technical debt until the product is in pure maintenance mode. Manufacturing companies seem to understand striving for continuous incremental improvement thing, software companies seem to relatively more short sighted point of view.

Another question that would be useful from my perspective is the level of employee turnover and how employee success is measured.

Fox News Viewers

* 91 percent believe the stimulus legislation lost jobs
* 72 percent believe the health reform law will increase the deficit
* 72 percent believe the economy is getting worse
* 60 percent believe climate change is not occurring
* 49 percent believe income taxes have gone up
* 63 percent believe the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts
* 56 percent believe Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout
* 38 percent believe that most Republicans opposed TARP
* 63 percent believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear)


I'd love to get the raw data to see how much of this is spin and how much is reality.

Catchup Link Collection

The "Editorial Board" (of one now?) agrees with what I have believed since asking for a walk-through last summer. The mall has got to go.

Lots of India news lately. Among it, Indians have made up their own currency sign. In the USA for the dollar we have $, the Indian Rupee now has it's own made up character that is a cross between a capital R and and an ancient symbol. One wonders how many national currency symbols there are. I also wonder if this won't become a trend. My initial thought though was about how much work this is going to be for computer people.

While in Uganda last summer I learned a few things. When applied to developing nations, the national parks systems modeled on the USA's system is a leading cause of "Internal Displacement". (That's when someone cannot live in their home anymore but stays in their country. Refugees, OTOH, are in the same situation but go to another country.) Famine and wars are the most newsworthy causes but it turns out national park creation is also a leading cause. I also learned that "poaching" is a problem. When I was there, no one would say they knew anyone who did it but did say that it happens. It is difficult for me to think of it as poaching though. These people live in mud huts and have a warrior/hunting tradition and everyone is very thin. The situation from their perspective reminded me of the European lord or king who claims all of the wild game in the woods while peasants starve. Is it any wonder that game is disappearing from the parks?

Speaking of people unable to support themselves... U.S. employment is still continues to make small gains but not enough.

And we start near where we began. Did you see this Green Bay Press Gannet?! I believe anonymous publishing is a right. I do not believe anyone is obliged to provide it for anyone else. If you want to survive, it is past time for real names in the forums. Let the trolls set up their own forums without your name on them. It is past time for community based content at places like gb.pressgazette.com, howard.pressgazette.com, bellevue.pressgazette.com etc. It is past time to enable paying users to tag content so that it appears in their community. Let people create their own communities. It is past time for paying users to be able to write and post their own letters to the editor. And it's way, way past time for you to allow paying online subsribers to view your paper online add free and to allow only those subscribers to publish in the forums with their real names. Sure, keep publishing the paper online with adds for those who want it for free. I like having local content creators, I'm begging you to do something to ensure we will still have them.

Creativity Crisis?

I'd never heard of the creativity quotient before. Apparently it's declining in the United States.

World Cup Decided By Parasites

"It looks like having some Toxoplasma gondii in the collective brains of your home country makes your team a little bit better at soccer..." Courtesy of Patrick House with Slate.

American Jobs Strategy

In any given work day, I deal with coworkers from Europe and India. Most weeks, I'm working a customer issue somewhere abroad. Today was Argentina. Last week Romania. Most are in the USA. I'm always sorry to see the disruption that happens when jobs are shifted from one market where compensation is higher to one where it's lower. Let's face it, getting laid off sucks even if what used to be the funds for the compensation package that supported your family will now support three somewhere else.

A wise businessman thinks companies should have an America strategy. The guy is an Elder, he makes points worth considering. I recognize some of what he talks about in my experiences.

Union Day?

With some folks south of the Mason-Dixon always pushing to remember the Confederacy and it's ideals, maybe July 3rd should become a Union Day federal holiday. I'm not student of history, but this article discusses two events that maybe just should be remembered.

Hope everyone had a fun, safe and healthy Fourth!

Lost Windows Password?

No problem, I'll give you my secrets if you promise to only use these tools with permission of the computer owner. To do otherwise is morally wrong, not to mention a crime.

Stick an Ophtcrack CD in the drive and turn the computer on. Once it's done crunching, the passwords for all local accounts will probably be on the screen.

For more technical folks, there's my favorite called Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. This one is far more powerful but with that power comes the possibility of accidentally trashing the computer you are trying to access.

I used both of these over the last two days to legally break in to two computers with lost/unknown passwords.

World Cup Team Make-up Chart

Maybe Team USA should look at more hired guns from abroad?

iPhone 4 Miscellany

For all you fan-boys and girls out who gotta have it, please just go and order it. If you need to be a part of the "scene" or can't wait, you can order online for in store pickup.

Here's a cute take on the irrational iPhone exuberance.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the counter-buzz about the problems.

Oh, and thank goodness the folks at FarmVille got their app ready in time for the launch.

Phone Security

Some people have Android based phones and get applications from the Google Market, other folks have iPhones and install their add-on programs from the Apple Store. Turns out some of those cool apps are sending texts or digging through your personal information. Just like on your computer, only install programs from sources you trust.

Life and Money

Someone was reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in the lunchroom today at work. The book is a very simple, clear read but the plan it lays out is empowering. I think I'm going to read it again.

I don't think Dave's radio show in on Green Bay. But the show archives are online. I love it when a person calls in and yells, "I'm debt free!" and then Dave asks them how they did it.

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Space Weather Matters

Between the meteors in the short term forecast and the coming increased solar activity which will cause satellite, power and electronic equipment disruptions the space forecast could be better.

Remember folks, never totally depend on electronics. We need to always have backups for important transactions. That includes paper money. That includes paper maps. That includes pretty much paper backups for everything we now track electronically. I'm not even aware of a gas station with the old style pumps and a bank that will let me withdraw funds without using a computer...

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Baby Names

The article on the impact of names is interesting. I wonder how much is due to the names and how much has to do with the parents who choose the names?

I think the best content on the page is the picture of babies in buckets at the top.

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Europe

Methinks I'll get back to Europe someday. If I do, I'd like to visit the site described in this article.

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

MPG relativity?

Following along the oil theme... I never really thought about miles/gallon taking relative improvement over the previous vehicle as discussed here. The proposed new fleet standards just got a whole lot less valuable in my mind.

Improved efficiency is good but it seems the bang for the buck is in replacing and improving "guzzlers", no?

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Oil Emergency Driving Invention?

Necessity is the mother of invention. Lets home some of these many new ideas out there pan out and get traction so a disaster on this scale never happens again. This one looks pretty darn good in the demo but the skeptic in me wonders if the brown paper under the water isn't hiding a brown tint and, even if it does work, now practically the concept can scale. My thoughts and prayers are with all the folks being hurt by the ongoing disaster.

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Police Academy

The GBPD is taking applications for this year's Citizens' Police Academy. I went to the Animal Control session last year and found it interesting and informative. If learning what and how our police do their jobs interests you and you can spare a few hours a week, check it out!

Personally, I'd ask about where the city stands on recording officers in public spaces. As absurd as it sounds, there seems to be a national effort to find ways to fine/harrass/abuse people who document our protectors at work.

Walking the Amazon

How people get crazy ideas like this I don't know.

It is kinda cool though.

http://danslotd.blogspot.com

Embrace Life

Beautiful, brilliant.

Please be safe and wear your seat belt.

Truth Stranger than Fiction

German Exchange student rescued from muggers in Australia by a group of ninjas. Seriously.

Musical (Administrator) Chairs

The school district is moving a ton of bosses around. I see one thing that looks like a demotion in the list. I wonder if they left anything else out?

FaceBook privacy?

Wall privacy settings? Not so much if you use a computer program to request the info.

Either that, or these guys have just put together one heck of a brilliant prank website!

And here's a nice chart showing how, ahem, simple FaceBook privacy is.

Star Wars Day

The CSMonitor posts some of their favorite lines.

They got most of em but what about "Don't give me the odds, give me the evens!"?

Porn at Work

I'm a big proponent of treating people like grownups. Hire the best candidates you can afford, help them accomplish the goals set out for them and stay the hell out of their way so they can get stuff done. If someone betrays that trust, then you let them go and give someone else a shot at the job.

Implicit and, I would think, obvious is that the boss has to check up on things from time to time.

Someone at the SEC totally dropped the ball on the checking up part. Dozens of folks were surfing porn. One guy even had a bunch of "access denied" errors logged for porn. The article doesn't punch in to job specifics, but you have to wonder if these folks were working instead of... well, doing other things on government time how much of the financial disaster could have been averted.

The worst part is how easy it is to check the internet access logs for abuse.

More Enforcement on Highway 41

Looks like they are going to start cracking down on speeders and tailgaters on highway 41.

Now if only they'd crack down on the people obstructing traffic in the fast lane by doing two MPH faster than the slow lane... Wouldn't that go a long way to cutting down on tailgaters?

Novel Alternative Energy Idea

Cows on treadmills.

Cows get exercise and farmers get electricity. Of course, if it catches on, there will be those who abuse this. Will the energy companies have to start tracking the source of third party electricity sold to them to prevent animal abuse?

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Looks like NWTC has a new program available for those looking for employment.

And don't forget about the Brown County Jobs Center.

Recount!

It's too close not to have a recount. I plan to file the paperwork tomorrow afternoon.It's too close not to have a recount. I plan to file the paperwork tomorrow afternoon.

Press Gazette - Fox 11

Candidate Editorial

Thanks to the Press Gazette for giving us a forum to share our ideas, goals & ideals.

Teachers Cheating

“This is the biggest erasure problem I’ve ever seen,” said Gregory J. Cizek, a testing expert at the University of North Carolina who has studied cheating. “This doesn’t suggest that it was just kids randomly changing their answers, it suggests a pattern of unethical behavior on the part of either kids or educators.”

Clever to analyze the erased and changed answers to check for cheating.

The Election Has Started!

Early voting is open at the clerk's office. If you can't make it on April 6th, please go vote before!

District Six Debate Coverage

The questions and discussion were wide ranging but the issue the reporter chose to cover was fairly representative of how things went. My thanks to those in attendance. I'm happy to report that a majority of the district 6 voters in attendance grabbed Piton yard signs right after!

District Six Debate!

Green Bay City Council district six candidate forum on St. Patty's day at 6:30 p.m. at the Transit Building at 901 University Ave. Enter the far east door nearest the visitor parking which has the driveway nearest the the fire station. Hope to see you there!

WI - 7th Worst for Jobs

"For a dozen states in America, the 2000s have been a bust in terms of employment. They started 2010 with fewer people at work than in 2000, according to revised figures released by the US Department of Labor on Tuesday."

"In the past three years, Wisconsin has lost nearly 150,000 jobs."

Military and Mason Accident

Please take a moment in your thoughts and prayers for the folks who were injured in this accident. Hopefully everyone fully and quickly recovers.

I can't help but wonder if the victims' cars were only sitting waiting for the light to change or if there was cross traffic. I voted for modern roundabouts at this very intersection. No one can say this accident wouldn't have happened at a roundabout but it's a fact that injury accidents-- including ones like this-- are less likely.

Children's Museum News!

Word is getting out! Financing is moving forward on the Children's Museum and the rest of the Watermark project.

Local Campaign Finance Reports

Wow, this local Milwaukee politico stole $7000.00 from their own campaign account and got six months.

I have to say I think it's great that they file reports down there. Half the local candidates here file "exempt" meaning they don't ever get a contribution over $100.00 or spend over $1000.00 on their campaign.

District 6

Press Gannett's District 6 Candidate Article

A few points:

Someone mentioned at the council meeting that even the Brown County Taxpayer Alliance supports the "Zippen Pippen" project. Adding infrastructure at Bay Beach is a part of economic development. The increased attendance at Bay Beach will directly result in more economic activity in Green Bay. Plus, the city depends on the profits from Bay Beach to subsidize the annual budget over half a million dollars a year. The timing is unfortunate given the current economy but this investment will yield benefits for the city decades in to the future. No one likes a recession but people forget that labor and materials are currently less expensive. I'm unsure if this project would even be possible in a booming economy.

The Green Bay Chamber and three full time City of Green Bay employees work very hard to grow business in our area. Both organizations do so with an eye to creating good jobs. The most obvious example for the Chamber is their Advance program. The city was directly involved with bringing the VA clinic, Green Fuels, Enzymatic Therapy, Ace Marine, and others to Green Bay. I work with these folks regularly. It's simply absurd to imply that either organization is not proactive.

By the way, the City of Green Bay already has residency requirements for the vast majority of employees. I believe that if you want to work for the city you should live here too.

Bring Trader Joe's to Green Bay!

Preferably downtown so I can run on the way to and from work!

VOTE!

Best of luck to my friends with primaries. If you prefer a thoughtful, respectful government officials and you live districts five or seven then PLEASE VOTE!

Mandated Electronics Recycling

The Press Gannett points out that the State of WI has passed a law that will mandate electronics recycling. Starting September 1st, no more TVs or computers on the curb for the garbage truck to consume. The pane on the right hand side lists four local recycling centers.

I need to point out that the comments are fantastic. For example, I didn't know Best Buy and Dell have recycling programs.

Mardi Gras Celebration

I love Cajun spices and am really looking forward to the food. I wonder what's in the auction? Sounds like a great time tonight at SS. Peter and Paul Parish. Fun starts at 4pm tonight in the school building behind the church at the corner of University and Baird. Hope we see you there!

Current status on FaceBook: Mardi Gras Celebration is This Saturday, from 4pm until Midnight! Free admission. Come and try your luck at silent auctions, raffles, and other games of chance. Live Jazz music, and delicious food for sale at the Cajun Cafe. All events and activities take place in the SsPP School Building, here at the corner of University and Baird Streets.

The Port, Pollution and Dredging

As always, the devil is in the details but the Army Corps seems to want to bucket dredge which will stir up more toxins. I wonder if the folks doing the cleanup with a suction hose can do this work as well? The infrastructure is there already, no? How would the prices compare?

It seems to me if the county didn't want to pay for Renard Island, then they shouldn't have built it. Now it seems the lowest cost closure option is chosen over and over. They even want the city to take ownership and ongoing maintenance. I believe the port is a benefit to the entire area. I also believe the costs of closure and ongoing maintenance for this island filled with dredgings so that ships can reach the port should be borne by that larger area.

Almost everyone agrees that the island needs to be capped and closed. But the cheapest option is not always the safest and healthiest. PCBs are toxic. They cause cancer and cancer kills people. One would think Brown County would want to step up to protect it's busiest park. One would think the DNR would step up to protect the residents and visitors to our area. One would think... There are concerns and a petition circulating please evaluate the facts for yourself and consider adding your name.

Scientists have been working for years to find, breed or engineer microorganisms that break these things down. It'd be nice if we could simply rid ourselves of the PCBs altogether but the science isn't there yet. We will continue to struggle with this issue until it is.

Click for Cans Championship!

We're almost there. Please go click for the Pack to help get soup for Green Bay shelters!

Thanks to the Press Gannett for the reminder.

Helping Haiti

I lived in California for a few years and once experienced a 4.0 earthquake. Many people don't understand that each number in front of the decimal represents a 10x increase in strength of a quake. In otherwords, the 7.0 that happened in Haiti is 1000 times stronger than that little 4.0 that made a mess by knocking stuff off of shelves. I wonder how many of the earth quake resistant structures required in California would survive a 7.0? Now I imagine the structures in a poor country with basically no building codes and am quite sure that the limited images we are seeing can't do the breadth of devastation justice. Television & radio programs, Facebook walls and rss feeds, emails and texts-- even former presidents-- are all buzzing with how we can help. If you have the ability, every little bit matters when people are dying. Please consider doing what you can.

Foreclosure record in 2009, 2010 could be worse.

The headline says it all.

If you are at risk of losing your home please seek help right now.

The Taxpayers

Everyone in Green Bay has a right to know about the ongoing and possible consequences of a million dollar lawsuit against the city. #4 on this agenda. The meeting is at 5:30 tonight.

Renard Island Update

My goals for Renard Island remain:

* Safest practical closure. I remain hopeful that if clay is provided it will be used to prevent precipitation washing PCBs out of the island.

* Permanent foot and emergency traffic access to the island. (My understanding is that it's too shallow for any rescue boats to get close.)

Ideally past Green Bay Council and Brown County Board members would have had the vision to block a dump next to is among the busiest parks in Brown County. They didn't. Apparently the "we could use it for..." argument won the day. OK, how about we remember that now? Please at least consider leaving the infrastructure in place required to access the island. Without that it can never be used for anything.

The Daily Show

Brian Williams: Why Jon Stewart Is Good For News - In short, I agree. Jon does have an obvious point of view, none the less I agree that his show serves a purpose. I've seen Jon verbally eviscerate people holding diverse points of view. This show picks fun at lazy, misleading, and/or disingenuous reporters and public figures of all persuasions and that's a good thing. Reporters and public figures should worry about someone turning their words in to a joke. It makes reporting better. It makes "talking points" more accurate and honest. I wish there were more shows out there that clarified the news by simply pointing out absurdities. I wish we had coverage like it in North East Wisconsin.

Local Elections...

...are here. Click to learn who is asking you for a job.

Home Builder Expo

Kudos to the builders for the Paul's Pantry and Red Cross support at The Home Expo event in Green Bay. If you are interested in building or remodeling, you might want to check it out Jan 28-31.