http://albatross.org/ ]]> en-us 2011-08-29T11:13:37-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002356.html Okay, maybe it hasn't, quite, yet, but it's getting there. At least here in Minnesota. The State Fair has begun, and that's always the harbinger of the end. The weather last night was downright chilly, and this morning when I stepped outside to take the Boy's photograph on the first day of his Junior year it was pretty cool in more than one sense of the word. Our friends from Staten Island arrived weekend before last for a short visit. We had a good time, I wish they could have stayed longer, but they had a complete flightmare on the... Personal Albatross 2011-08-29T11:13:37-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002355.html Argh. I hate it when I don't blog for so long that my website looks all wonky because the latest entries drop off the bottom. It's been a busy, eventful summer, let's see if I can sum up. I'm working on my final paper for college. I was chagrined when my advisor sent me a "sample proposal" and the person who wrote it proposed writing a ten page paper. I've been writing 25 page papers. Still, even those papers have been a bit short to encompass what I'm trying to say within those 25 pages, so I suppose it's just... Personal Albatross 2011-07-21T10:33:36-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002354.html As a teenager being forced to attend Catholic catechism classes, I learned early that I was an atheist. I knew I didn’t believe in Catholicism, but I knew that life as a contrarian to Catholicism was insufficient as well. I had to decide what I believed, not just what I did not believe. The first thing I did was pose a mind-experiment. “If there are different faiths, and some are closer to the truth than others, then the faiths that are closest to the truth would tend to have more successful followers, since their prayers would be answered more often... Personal Albatross 2011-06-02T11:24:00-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002353.html The following began with a fellow proclaiming that if HE had been a sperm donor, and somebody appeared at his door claiming to be his offspring, he would tell them to get lost and slam the door: That person at your door could be the organ donor who saves your life. And just because you didn't thoroughly think through, and now deny, the moral implications of what you were doing with that plastic jar does not free you from those implications. For most of us abandoned by our progenitors a couple of decades have passed before we can search for... Adoption Albatross 2011-05-20T12:44:21-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002352.html Yet another example of procrastinating when I ought to be working on my Penultimate College Paper. This comment, in reply to cartoonist Ted Rall in response to his observation that he is being blackballed by even liberal publications for criticizing President Obama:... Politics Albatross 2011-05-18T19:54:45-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002351.html While racism is one reason that Obama's legitimacy is opposed, it is far from the only reason. The actual reason is the confluence of tribalism and authoritarianism. The people opposing his presidency do not recognize him as emerging from their "authoritarian tribe". Some do not recognize him, indeed, because of his race. Others simply because he is a Democrat and they associate authoritarians with Republicans. Those not blinded by partisanship recognize Democrats and one-time Democrats (such as Obama's protege Joe Lieberman) as an authoritarian and part of "their" tribe. Others reject him because of class - he does not emerge... Politics Albatross 2011-05-07T16:04:18-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002350.html Okay, a FUN captured comment. Nico reminded me of this story about 'Doctor Who' from last October, and when I dug it back up I remembered my comment. Since most of my captured comments are dreary political screeds, I thought it might be entertaining to grab something lighter The story is that the Doctor Who writers may wish to simply IGNORE the "12 regenerations" limit (as they have ALREADY ignored the depiction in a Tom Baker episode of several prior incarnations of The Doctor before William Hartnell's original) since the current Matt Smith incarnation is #11. I was disappointed in... Albatross 2011-04-24T22:44:13-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002349.html Once again, a captured comment. Skip if you're tired of my hysterical, breathless prose. For the global ruling class, nations are impediments to their corporations. These people have no national or regional loyalty - they fly where the entertainment is, they invest where the taxes are lowest, they employ where the labor is cheapest and quietest, and they store their money in the most secret places, without regard to nationality. For these people, nations are meaningless, but money is real. So what is the biggest deregulation possible? What is the biggest tax break possible? The collapse of the United States.... Politics Albatross 2011-04-20T12:31:03-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002348.html Our tax system is a friggin' joke. Nobody can tell what you ACTUALLY owe, not even the professionals. The best an average guy like me can do is hire a half-way decent accountant, pay whatever I'm told to pay, and then pay the fines and penalties when the audit comes through. And there's no guarantee that any of the numbers represent what I'm "supposed to pay" because nobody really knows that. Despite "doing everything right" as far as taxes go - because honestly the tax code and the IRS scare the you-know-what outta me - I've failed a sales tax... Politics Albatross 2011-04-15T11:25:18-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002347.html Man, I hate 'Undercover Boss' even more than I thought I would. As with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," it reinforces the authoritarian mythos. Regular people are helpless, and must be rescued by the powerful. 'Undercover Boss' also reiterates the Jesus myth, in which the CEO descends from on high, and returns to heaven, bestowing blessings upon his followers. Neither address the systemic issues they seek to alleviate with gifts and benefits. EH:HE people get a new house, UB people get vacations and stuff. Nobody asks why it is that hardworking people live in poverty, or why the most important volunteers... Politics Albatross 2011-03-28T12:52:18-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002346.html Another captured comment along many of the same themes as usual, this one to a good article by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship.... Politics Albatross 2011-03-25T12:15:33-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002342.html Today's post is another political rant posted as a comment. Feel free to skip, as it's nothing I haven't said before. I've found that it's necessary to say the same thing over and over again in order to encourage the message to sink in. ----- It’s important to recognize that the forces feeding Scott Walker and Fox News are INTERNATIONAL forces, who care NOTHING about America. While Murdoch and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal are obviously foreigners, even the native Koch brothers evidently prioritize their corporate well-being over any interest in the Common Good of America. That’s because these people... Politics Albatross 2011-03-02T17:00:48-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002340.html Really, Star Tribune? The largest political rally in forty years, between 70,000 and 100,000 people, takes place next door in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday and your paper has nothing more current about the events than notes from last Wednesday? The Associated Press covered it, you could run their story. Or you could assign a reporter to watch live streaming video from a number of sources. But instead... nothing. A couple of overview pages in the back of the A section. Do you wonder why your subscriptions are declining? It's not the Internet - the Internet could help you - it's... Politics Albatross 2011-02-27T10:43:25-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002339.html ANOTHER infosec post? Yeah. Reading a Schneier post regarding the "crisis in the infosec industry" I was struck by how much of the discussion was about the individual actors, and not much was about the setting in which these actors performed. Not my best post ever, I'm weary and it's late, but the point is, information security is only as strong as the laws we enforce. ------ Another contributing component to this mess is the fact that authoritarianism in America is waxing very strong right now. What we call "Republicans" or "Conservatives" are actually radical authoritarians trying to impose contemporary... Work Albatross 2011-02-25T23:08:21-06:00 http://albatross.org/journal/archives/002338.html Wow, look, I'm actually blogging about something to do with my profession! This was a response to some folks complaining about how FRUSTRATING the information security field is. With about 20% REAL unemployment in the United States, I think these folks should STFU and just get back to work, but beyond THAT little gripe is this salutary moment of perspective... Here's the thing to be aware of about the information security industry: we are on the sharpest bleeding edge of business. I don't mean that in an OH WOW AREN'T WE COOL sort of way, but in a "What the... Work Albatross 2011-02-24T11:51:58-06:00