That sounds nice, and all, but I call bullshit. First, if they were contractually obligated to keep their raw data secret, they could simply say so, instead of just stonewalling FOI requests. Feel free to post copies of the contracts and prove your assertion. Second, if they had the evidence -- the raw data -- that would shut the mouths of "deniers" once and for all, they'd release it in a heartbeat for the very reason you cite that they don't.

The bottom line is that the fact that we still don't have the raw data sets WEEKS after this story broke is damning. Either they don't have it, or they know that it doesn't show what they SAY it shows and are simply trying to avoid exposure, or they are cooking the books (some more?) to support their theories before releasing it. There's absolutely no excuse to not just simply but EVERYTHING on the table at this point, and let EVERYONE, professionals and "amateurs" alike, have at it.

MonkeyGTD gets me through.Obviously, it's a GTD-based app, but that boils down to simple lists. What made this particular app appealing to me was that it handled hierarchical projects (lists) very well. It doesn't support deadlines very well, but that's not part of the GTD methodology. There are other TiddlyWiki-based project management apps, some of which integrate a calendar, if that's important to you. There are separate "areas" for work, personal, etc. parts of your life. When I'm at work, I just keep the "work" realm selected. When I get home, I can switch it off, and turn the others on. It's just a single HTML file, if that suits you, but there are a couple methods to host it. You can set one up at TiddlySpot, or do what I do, and set it up on a local web server with a TiddlyWiki plugin for saving. There's also a wonderfully-helpful mailing list supporting GTD-based Tiddly apps, where hacks are discussed to customize the file to your needs.

There are 442 comments on this article at the time I write this, and no one has written the word, "Bilski." All I want to know is whether that case could impact this one. Is it possible that this case could finally force the courts to say that it's not possible to patent software at all?

That's a good question. The followup that occurs to me is: if law enforcement is so bored or desperate for a win that they have to stoop to hanging a guy (who actually, really is just guilty of an accident which he took care of), then will they stop if they don't find deleted, incriminating files? Will they then rely solely on their logs, which they will claim to a jury proves everything? And then claim that the fact that they couldn't find ANY deleted files is proof that he's hiding his illegal activities in such a nefarious way that their "cybercrime experts" can't even trace it?

What this speaks -- loudly and clearly -- to me is that the national tapping of any and all communication lines is complete. And, when things are slow and the FBI can't find a terrorist cell or -power group to take down, they troll their logs, and look to hang someone that no one would defend.

I'm sure that both the EFF and the ACLU will jump in here any minute now...

It just makes the case for using cryptography in everything you do online. I don't know how far it goes though. It may be that they finally laid off Zimmerman because they have enough horsepower to break anything that bubbles up to the surface as potentially interesting.

The only way to get different outfits in the game is to buy them. Nearly everyone but myself seems to do this. I guess they weren't making enough with that approach. Maybe you should need to rent your clothes?

I've bought into the game a little, and came to realize some things. The bottom line is that you would spend A LOT more money on this game than just buying one off the shelf in order to make it fun. It's not a situation where spending $20 is the end of it. The really nice stuff (like bandages and wrenches) can make you really hard to beat, but you'll be spending $50 A MONTH keeping up with that if you play regularly. I get the feeling that the people who are "the best" at the game are kids with rich parents who let them have access to a credit card.

Disclaimer: I left the game quite quite awhile ago when they "rebalanced" the classes. I tried it a little while when the "rebalanced" the "rebalance," and that's when I realized that they had already shifted the pricing structure to the point that I didn't care to invest any more. Looks like I don't need to check back in any more. Whatev! Just less jerks to have to deal with. I can get my annoyance on with BF2 or 2142 just as well, but I've earned all the gear in 2142. (I don't think I'll ever get the last 2 weapons in BF2.)

I don't know what planet you hail from, stranger, but I hope you have nice weather there.

Seriously. Saying that remote-admin capabilities on Windows are "at least" as good as they are for Linux is ridiculous, even if done in a joking way, because jokes work only if they have some basis in reality.

Came here to say this.

Government -- local, state, and federal -- have poured what I can only assume are billions of dollars, at this point, of bungled aid into the reconstruction of this area. Now, we're going to hold the government liable for the problem in the first place, opening the door for all sorts of civil litigation that will get rounded up as class action lawsuits, which will do 2 things. First, it will still leave people scratching their heads on how to get some money to rebuild. Secondly, it's time for all literally hundreds lawyers to get theirs.

Do what you're told. Look for another job.

http://www.clipperz.com/

Clipperz is both a service, and a downloadable webapp you can run on your own server. It's the closest thing I've found that approximates the features of 1Pass (for Macs) on Linux. Now I just need to get a data plan for my phone.

Wow. Like the government needs Google to know any of this. Unless you were mis-modded (and should have been marked funny), I've got some news: The government not only knows every place you've been on the internet, they also know the content of all your email and chats. And don't think that SSL will fool them. Your only hope of obfuscating what you're doing on the internet is STRONG encryption. Rest assured that there's nothing interesting about my life from a law-enforcement perspective, but it still bothers me. Of all of my computer-savvy friends, I know maybe 2 that would be able to successfully communicate with me with public-key encryption.

When I finally found the page that talked about web history, it said I needed to install the Google Toolbar. Yeah, no. I read the disclaimers about what they're allowed to do with the stuff it finds on my computer.

Lowes. I can't stand the light they give off, so I only use them on the outside garage fixtures that our neighborhood covenant requires that I leave on all night. (They're on a light-sensing switch.) Despite the promises, they manage to only last about a year or two. While this is dreadfully short of their supposed life, it's a lot longer than the couple of months that conventials were lasting in the same fixtures, which is why I switched. I guess external applications don't count.

Yes. What strikes me most about this situation is that -- no matter how bad the fall -- the average corporate officer will find another company willing to take them on in another, privileged position. My ex-boss -- a "sociopath" if ever there was one -- knew this and even commented on it. It was his singular goal in life to make it into "the club," because, once you're in, you're in for life. If one company doesn't work out, you've got the "street cred" to just go somewhere else.

Sadly, I think he was SO good at being a sociopath (he consistently worked ungodly hours and got enormous work done) that I think the executives would have to be outright brain dead to promote him. At the end of the day, I think he became a "loser" in the middle-management role. Of course, I could be wrong; he's still there, and he still may break into the upper ranks.

There are some good insights in the article, but something about it seems off. It could use some work to tighten it up. OTOH, I just don't care any more. I've moved on from HugeCo life, and things are much more explicit and visceral in a startup. If you don't produce, you're gone. There's not much call for introspective philosophy for me now.