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Comment Re:Trending political procedures... (Score 1) 314

by zuvembi (#44842891) Attached to: NYC Is Tracking RFID Toll Collection Tags All Over the City

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm already paying sales tax, gas tax, property tax and other taxes to pay for roads. Personally I'm fine with that. Nothing wrong with using taxes to maintain infrastructure.

I'm more worried about what other uses the data is being used for. I find the idea of faceless individuals continually knowing everywhere I'm going sort of creepy and worrying from a civil liberty standpoint.

Of course the obvious solution is to put your EZPass in a Faraday cage of some sort when you're not using it for tolling. Or ride a bike, which is healthier for you and less amenable to tolling or tracking.

Comment Re:Work it into the commute. (Score 4, Insightful) 635

by zuvembi (#43173813) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How Do You Stay Fit At Work?

Yup - I have a similar story. Was at 277 - dropped down to 177. Now I'm a little above 200 - but I've been reasonably stable for years.

Before you can say "I can't do it!", keep in mind you probably can if you wan't to. Here are some common objections I

  • Do it every day - start at one day a week - maybe go up to three - or even five if you can manage it
  • I'll be sweaty and stinky! I personally have a shower at work - but even without, if you are clean in the morning and change from biking clothes to work clothes while dabbing on some deoderant, a little clean sweat is not very fragrant.
  • It's too far! So don't do it all the way. I know plenty of people who will drive part of the way, then hop on their bike and do the rest. That way you can tailor the ride to your time, fitness, etc. I even know some people who drive to work one way - bike back, then bike to work the next morning - then drive home.

If you don't want to do it, just say so - there's no sin in that. But don't come up with bogus reasons why it's a terrible thing you can't do and noone else should.

Feed More Flight Than Fancy? (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
Scientists have turned a textbook example of sexual selection on its head and shown that females may be more astute at choosing a mate than previously thought. New research shows that differences in the lengths of the long tail feathers possessed by male barn swallows are an example of natural selection, not sexual selection.

Feed What's the cost of a data breach? (com.com)

From feed by cnetfeed
Blog: An insurance company has come up with a calculator that lets companies to estimate their financial risk from data theft.The calculator...
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - IRS to go after eBay sellers

Submitted by
prostoalex
prostoalex writes: "Fed up with numerous violations of tax law by individuals and businesses selling goods on eBay, Amazon Marketplace, uBid.com, etc., IRS is pushing Congress to make online marketplaces responsible for reporting the sales information to the tax man, in order to prevent under-reporting of the income. eBay's "own statistics suggest that there are 1.3 million people around the world who make their primary or secondary source of income through eBay, with just over 700,000 in the United States", News.com.com.com says."

Feed Lorne Michaels Wishes NBC Would Put More Of SNL On YouTube (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
Just as Viacom employee Jon Stewart appears to believe his bosses are making a mistake in taking Viacom content off of YouTube, it looks like NBC employee and Saturday Night Live creator and producer, Lorne Michaels can't understand NBC's position on YouTube (found via GoogleWatch). The interview of Michaels is especially interesting, because it was a Saturday Night Live clip of the infamous "Lazy Sunday" music video that is often credited with putting YouTube on the map. At the same time, however, almost everyone admitted that it did wonders in revitalizing SNL's reputation (as well as boosting Andy Samberg's reputation to new heights). Yet, NBC's lawyers shot it down, limiting the benefit to SNL. It appears that Michaels understands that, and says he wishes they could put more of the show on YouTube: "YouTube has been great for us." He also understands the promotional aspect of YouTube: "I think it's simple for me. If the work is good, I want the most number of people to see it -- period. Anything that leads to that would be my objective." As for NBC's new deal with News Corp to distribute videos: "I think it should be clear, I don't quite understand what NBC is doing with Fox." Apparently, the lawyers and decision makers at these entertainment companies never bothered to talk to those who actually understand what the audience wants. When your decisions are driven less by pleasing your audience and more out of some kind of fear of changing business models, you know your strategy is doomed.
Politics

US Government IT Security 'Outstandingly Mediocre' 86

Posted by Zonk from the c-minus-for-the-lose dept.
mrneutron2004 writes wrote with a link to an article on The Register, discussing an annual IT security report card handed out to the federal government. The results this year were mixed. The good news is that they graded higher than last year. The bad news? They still just rate a C-". Individual departments did better than others, but overall the results were quite poor. "Although overall security procedures improved the Department of Defense (DoD) recorded a failing F grade. Meanwhile the Department of Veterans Affairs - whose loss of laptops containing veterans' confidential data triggered a huge security breach - failed to submit a report. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, another agency that has trouble keeping track of its PCs, flunked."
Education

Should Schools Block Sites Like Wikipedia? 545

Posted by Cliff from the concerned-about-its-accuracy dept.
Londovir asks: "Recently, our school board made the decision to block Wikipedia from our school district's WAN system. This was a complete block — there aren't even provisions in place for teachers or administrators to input a password to bypass the restriction. The reason given was that Wikipedia (being user created and edited) did not represent a credible or reliable source of information for schools. Should we block sites such as Wikipedia because students may be exposed to misinformation, or should we encourage sites such as Wikipedia as an outlet for students to investigate and determine the validity of the information?"
The Internet

New Law Lets Data Centers Hide Power Usage 208

Posted by Zonk from the users-and-abusers dept.
1sockchuck writes "Just days after Google announced that it may build a huge data center in the state, Oklahoma's governor has signed a bill into law that will effectively exempt the largest customers of municipal power companies from public disclosure of how much power they are using. Officials of the state's power industry say the measure is not a 'Google Law' but was sought 'on behalf of large-volume electric users that might be considering a move to Oklahoma.' Others acknowledge that data center operators were among those seeking the law, apparently arguing that the details of their enormous power usage are a trade secret. Google recently acquired 800 acres in Pryor, Oklahoma for possible development as a data center, and is reportedly seeking up to 15 megawatts of power for the facility."

Feed NSA Spy Documents Stay Sealed (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
A federal judge rejects a bid by Wired News and other media outlets to unseal whistle-blower papers in a lawsuit over surveillance of Americans. In 27B Stroke 6.


Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Homebrewed Industrial Process Monitor?

Submitted by pionzypher
pionzypher writes: I work at a glass plant for a major beer company. My job for the most part entails monitoring the furnaces that melt the glass. I have been working on a project on the side, collecting data from various sources and compiling it into an easily used form for the higher ups. I've finished two of our three furnaces, but one remains. This furnace uses technology from the early nineties. There is no networking, the hardware is completely closed and unavailable for any screen scraping.

Two of the items I'm looking to monitor (and would appear to be the easiest starting point) are two valves for a gas and oxygen line which will provide data on a portion of our energy usage. I was thinking of a microcontroller board or something similar tied in to monitor the positions of the valves. I'm unsure where to begin though.

What books, microcontroller boards or alternatives would you recommend for someone new to this? Do's and Don't's?

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