I see that many comments have done a good job pointing out the paranoid mindset of the questions in this post. It's true, if you're absolutely worried about hiding your data from the FBI, CIA, and NSA, you are either doing something so illegal that I don't want to help, or you are delusional and paranoid. However, reading between the lines, I think you've just seen too much FUD about security. If you really just want security that's "good enough" then you can get it by following some of the simple best practices. Here's some things that have been found to help in most environments:

1) Passwords are pretty good. Use a different password (fairly long, somewhat complex) on each different site and use a password manager (put that on a non-networked system if you're concerned), instead of trying to memorize dozens of different passwords.
2) Separate important and unimportant systems - if you have an online banking account, don't access it from the same machine you surf the web for "warez" on.
3) Use virtualization technology to "sandbox" dangerous activities. If you're researching viruses or malware, or browsing unusual web sites, do that in a virtual machine with snapshots. Destroy the virtual machine or restore to a "known good" configuration frequently.
4) Turn on firewalls, run anti-virus, and use registry/configuration cleaners frequently. If you're blocking any inbound connections to your network, you're safer. If all files you download are scanned, you're safer. If you regularly scan for known exploits and malware, and remove infections or destroy the system, you're safer.
5) Use encryption for sensitive information. Full disk encryption on your traveling laptop would be a great start. Use disk or file based encryption on sensitive documents, and ALWAYS use SSL when transmitting over open networks (that means ssh instead of telnet, FTPS instead of FTP, etc.). Encrypt backups as well as primary data.
6) Keep your systems reasonably up to date and follow recommendations from your software vendors about best security practices.

I'm sure there's a thousand other tips that would help, but you're not paying me, so this is where I'll stop.

Given your requirements of spending an hour a day for the year and learning over that time, I suggest checking out Learn Python the Hard Way. I reviewed it briefly after being pointed that way in a previous slashdot article (about teaching kids programming), and it has basic lessons, strung together over time into more and more complicated exercises. They have a Ruby, C, SQL, and other tidbits available as well, if Python doesn't seem like your kind of thing.

Cheers,
Andrew

I really like the integrity question. I have asked it in several interviews, and it always makes people squirm. I ask it because it was asked of me, and it made me squirm. Part of an interview to me is trying to gauge how the candidate responds to stress, being put on the spot, or a unique challenge. I think the integrity questions can often do that!

For those "little boxes" that you know won't be fully utilized or need extreme resources, I suggest getting a couple of decently sized servers, running some virtualization platform (vmware, xen, windows (lol), and using virtual machines.

Oh man. I hope that was three small or partial amputations!

Given the amount of ethanol I have asked my liver to clean out of my bloodstream since I turned 21, I think my liver is my savior part!

Because they just copied another script and actually have no idea how that first line works?

I think we're basically on the same page. I guess my feeling is that it's nice to have some external triggers for memory, rather than relying on my recollections (which seem to get dimmer with every passing year).

There may also be some differences for the type of lecture. If I'm in a "marketing" type of meeting, I wind up taking very few notes compared to a "technical" type of meeting.

Time for simple math lesson. I'll use the numbers from http://www.usdebtclock.org/ - I haven't checked if they're legit or not, but they seem "reasonable" - If nearly $16 trillion in debt is reasonable.

Approximate national debt: $15,653,000,000,000
Approximate current population: 310,000,000
50% of current population: 155,000,000
$1 per person: $155,000,000/year
Years to repay debt at that rate: $15,653,000,000,000/$155,000,000/year = 100,987 years
Somebody check my math, but I don't think this "debt crisis" is going to be solved by taxing the poor folks.

Of course, if we could get $100 per person from broke people, we could pay it back in just over a thousand years.

I will also try not to sound like a smartass, but you were doing it wrong. Effective note taking doesn't mean transcribing what the lecturer or presenter is saying, it means noting the key points and tidbits of information that are interesting to you and will remind you of the rest of the material when you review it later.

Do you think it's possible to layer the wacom style interface on top of the touch sensitivity of the iPad? I'd love to be able to write notes with a stylus, and have the device ignore my hand resting on the touch sensitive panel. Then all you would need is a little checkbox to turn on/off the skin touch recognition. Any brainy types out there know if this is possible?

I suggest you look into local charter schools. I was lucky that some like-minded parents started one that fit my wishes for my children and encourages participation by parents that helps all children.

I suppose it would be too much to ask you to quote some kind of source for this specific of an assertion?

Here's a link to a government average salary index: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/COLA/AWI.html

Here's a link to a teacher web site with a list of starting and average salaries: http://www.teacherportal.com/teacher-salaries-by-state

What would you count as "far higher?" Several states have lower average teacher wages than the national, most have higher, the top paid states are about 50% more - of course, those seem to me to be states that have more expensive living costs. In 16 states the average salary is somewhat lower, by up to ~15%.

What I'm curious about it whether or not these salary numbers are annualized, as in, do the teachers actually receive $60 per year, or do they receive $50 for the school year of 10 months, and then the extra two months were added on.

I am on the board of a local charter school, and I don't begrudge our teachers the "time off" over the summer. When they've had an incredibly busy year of managing 20-25 students per class for 8 hours a day plus prep and grading time, I don't think they're working much less than anyone else.

How does hanging a rat by its tail simulate microgravity?

Nosferatu? is that you?