DISQUS

there is something to the timing of the charge that also changes the nature of fast-food charges to the run of the mill store charges.

it's been explained to me that fast food charges are run first, and sometimes retroactively to the other charges, especially over the weekend when the bank can only verify the sum was in your credit or bank account.

so, there's a dymanic unfolding.

-=T=-

@ Chadmeister,

"That loft apartment looks too sterile and lacks any soul or personality."

This is a possible benefit. In fact, I see few distractions, and the openness offers more space for clear thought, i would think. As far as soul and personality, you would have to add your own subtleties with meditative reminders. that painting could be changed, or the plants re-arranged for reasons you see fit.

the corner couches looks fantastic. if it had two arms i would love one as a throne style chair.

-=T=-

I've seen this. Looks promising, taking aerobics out of tae-bo, adding weights, and mixing in a jenny craig program. The strength behind it appears to be the rotation of the program. Fitness junkies aren't going to feel the benefit until they rotate their routines, which this promotes.

@ randy, thanks for the link to the amazon reviews, they helped me read much more into it than I was able to get on the tube. I really can only give so much credance to anything offered in an infomercial.

-=T=-

@ Carl,

Currently there is a widening gap between his political perspective and mine. I am interested in the directions we are diverging from and towards.

-=T=-

omg, that was F*UCKING BEAUTIFUL!

-=T=-

At my place in the mountains, my neighbors and I depend on each other. Right now they are looking after my place, as I've done when they're away. It's just a simpler way of living. No one really locks the doors either. It's a step back to a less complicated time.

-=T=-

@ Maxo,

"We got in to this problem by over investing money in markets that did not return profits."

Totally agree. When I first got into my 401k, 7 years ago, it took a few years of tracking it to notice I was losing 25 cents for every dollar invested, then another 25 cents for every dollar that made it a year invested. The only person profiting on the process was the traders, the investment managers, trading on bad deals, making their profits, and somehow losing the money in the result. It got so bad that they were projecting loses every quarter, even overprojecting just to buffer the blow.

I said enough is enough, and turned what I had left into real estate in 2003, and I've still doubled my equity, even post crash.

America's problems are that we are being outmarketed by anonymous asian factories that can't be held accountable for their cheap products on one hand, and then (we are) our congress is being lobbied to death to force trade imbalances through their legitimate channels on the other hand.

Here at home our factories are liable for any frivolous lawsuits a laywer can draft, which pumps up our prices, and the domestic lobbying collectives are hell bent on getting their piece of the markets before they exist. In California we are forced by law to spend money on insurances that have a degree of likelihood that they won't ever pay off, and that money gets invested in risky ventures that may or may not be foreign in nature. Sometimes it gets socked under the housing investments, and we saw what happens there.

These built in faults are not being addressed, as people in the positions of power to address them are profitting off of them, and will do so for as long as they can, and then will defend their bilking scheme, as they seem legit in the meantime.

One caught on the news lately; transit authorities, like BART, let banks filter money through their organization as a tax dodge, then they split the savings, to the maximum effect.

another one caught on the news fringe; Splash and Dash is a loophole for foreign oil from poor as hell countries to get into the U.S. and dodge embargos by having an oil tanker almost filled with foreign crude have a percentage (often less than 10%) "splashed" with American crude. Who lets this happen?

Somebody lets it happen, and they are being protected by an infrastructure already in place, and everyone gets a piece.

Something for everyone to look into.

-=T=-

Another important perspective must include the question:

Does Gun Control Reduce Crime?

which must address the issues of practical application of gun control, and it's limitations, and how to regulate gun distribution outside the scope of the legal owner, versus the illegal owner.

-=T=-

that right there's whatchya call a bona-fahd "two dimensional wood fish", what comes inna happy and a sad face.

:), as demonsterated,

and

:(, most prevailient during a bad divorce, or after eating birds of any sort.

(note: they turn acid colors when'eys in molting phase.)

-=T=-

TRAINING THE EYES TO SEE BLINDLY:

kanye west was recently arrested.

http://www.examiner.com/x-964-Los-Angeles-Celebrity-Gossip-Examiner~y2008m11d18-Kanye-West-and-Paparazzi-dont-mix

his take on the ordeal. (it was buried under 2 dozen material ads disguised as "blog posts".)

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=213537-1_0~0-111200800&em3281=&em3161=

two excerpts:

"THAT WAS THE BOGUS PART. THEY PLACED ME IN HANDCUFFS AND DROVE ME TO THE STATION."

"WHO'S WINNING, ME OR THE MEDIA?"

-=T=-

dude, i thought it looked like you! (all green glow and sh*t...lol :)

-=T=-

other news: ATHEIST SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THERE IS NO CHRISTIAN GENE.

-=t=-

"It was a test, Tim. You failed."

There are certain standards I am proud to not meet.

peace,

-=T=-

@ Rob,

Sorry. I am more of an outsider in this than a noob. I defer towards better experience in an effort to expand my appreciation of the field.

peace,

-=T=-

@ Rob,

"In light of this discussion, would it not be advantageous to look for something that prevented software vulnerabilities from be enacted on?"

I think it's a matter of semantics at that point. An open port is a vulnerability, only, in most books, but I can see where it might be looked on as a threat. Throughout my limited education on business law, we were taught to repeatedly to protect ourselves from liabilities. So, I see both vulnerabilities and threats as liabilities. However, to simplify, to secure an open port, I would run a firewall app to secure against an (external) threat from exploiting the (internal) vulnerability.

And, this might lead to another segment of the discussion, a common tangent, OBSCURITY. We can view the actual access, availabilty and public knowledge of the client as an internal vulnerability that bridges to the external threat. Many businesses will identitfy their customer base to make access available, and limit that access to that range alone. Others will want to maintain a less rigid surface for other potential customers to establish relations and, therefore access. Others for reasons of system security cannot grant access to any but a few priviledged members, and even then, there might not be a reason to pirate access.

So, to answer your question, as I understand it, one can do both by maintaining obscurity and neglecting external threats. In extreme cases, it just might not be worth it to turn on your server, and just leave it unplugged.

As I like to see it, I go back the "vulnerability is a threat" model of liabilities. But, that isn't so applicable when you understand that you can correct one vulnerability, but not stop the potentially limitless number of attackers willing to exploit the one vulnerability over and over. In that case, closing the door before stopping the hordes of zombies from coming in might be the best method.

And, yes, I agree that the best thing is to think about the attacker's mindset. Profile him, if you will. Who are they? How/do they see me as a potential victim/will they gain access? What will they do? Remember to include less logical answers when addressing these primary clues to the pool of possible attackers. These clues can lead to exactly where your newest vulnerabilties lie, like bloodhounds.

Thoughts?

-=T=-

I could be wrong, but as it stands, all of California's electoral college votes will be going to the democrats, as it's done for most of my life.

Considering the population of California is over 10% of the population of the whole United States, I really consider this an injustice to the election process.

When in fact nearly half the popular votes in California are going to McCain, they are automatically neglected.

Do I have this wrong, or is this how it is? Is it apporpriate for our modern elections?

-=T=-

To quickly address point 1:

"I.Q. is real, and I.Q. tests are good at testing it."

Granted, but I'd amend it to read "... and GOOD I.Q. tests are good at testing it."

I cannot stress the exploitative aspect of "feel good" tests, such as one can find as the advertising test offerred by MENSA over the past 30 years, amongst others commonly found on the internet, that are extremely adepth at not gauging one's intelligence so much as assessing how much you would like to pay for the recognition of being called a person of high IQ.

Secondly:

"I think far more emphasis should be placed on studying intelligence in order to engineer methods of increasing it. I think increasing intelligence, more than any other measurable human attribute, will help improve the quality of decisions made throughout the world, and that this should be a major focus of modern educational systems."

If people can't overcome their limitations and inabilities, including prejudices or inclinations towards the fantastic, such as innate needs for religion, or other distractions. These are facets of humanity that are inseperable to the whole, and are the obstructions to how constructive our civilization can ultimately be.

Ideally, it would be great to bypass the dirty work of redesigning the basic human format to exclude such limitations by only increasing intelligence, as highly intelligent perspectives would hopefully overcome them outright.

However, we have the same example in the creation of the atom bomb that existed in the relation of Cain to his brother Able, despite the span of thousands of years of intellectual evolution and recorded experience. We will fight, as is human, and more smartly when allowed. We will steal more cunningly when allowed. The themes of the basic sins has not ever restricted someone from committing them, just allowed them to do so with greater intellect when possible, because these are human themes, to one extent or another, and these pitfalls are present in everyone, smart and dumb or inbetween.

-=T=-

@ Shane

"The dude making minimum wage is doing work that is likely worth much less than $6 but the company is forced to pay him more and so in return can afford to employ less workers. The guy is working a job that requires very little real talent or skills and is obviously a job that “a monkey can do”. The job likely has a very high turn over rate meaning constant retraining of new employees. There is very little to no responsibility or accountability. There would be plenty of time to slack off or at least half-ass it. If the employer fires you, you can always find a new minimum wage job and it would cost the employer to scramble to find a replacement."

This whole situation is a red herring. The point of the position of employment being so temporary because of it's low pay creating a high turnover rate makes the job a commodity in a wide pool of personell that know "they better do a good job if they want to keep it." People either get those kind of crazy ideas spending a few months facing the realistic prospect homelessness and starvation, or they don't get those concepts at all.

This is the reason for attrition, and facilitates in part a matriculation into our modern work force. You want a sports car and don't have someone to buy it for you? Well, earn it, or enjoy dreaming about not having it. The same thing goes for bottom feeders, neophytes to our modern economy, beginners, whatever you'd like to call them, when they are lumped in with the general population after highschool graduation. To some, Not Starving is a luxury. To others, not striving is a shame.

As to the rest, it's pretty sound.

Now, in the wake of the threat of an Obama administration, mandated health insurance premiums for employees are now facing a likely increase, and that is where Joe Sixpack is facing a ceiling that will drive a wedge between classes, disabling Joe from leaping from Employee to Employer as he won't be so able to find necessary increased funding for his independant business enterprise that his forebears faced during the Bush II Administration. In addition to that, self employment ventures are facing a huge increase in taxes, which effectivly will shut down many small businesses already on their feet.

-=T=-

probably not impartial, coming from Obama's supporters.

try this:

http://www.jeremiahfilms.com/released/McCain-vs-Obama/mccainobamataxes.jpg

from:

http://www.jeremiahfilms.com/released/McCain-vs-Obama/taxes.html

peace,

-=T=-

@ Daniel,

Just to be clear, are you for, or against, a shift in our government towards socialism?

I, for one, feel that the titanic bureaucracy already in place can't properly manage the money I already voluntarilly give to it's gigantic, gaping maw, and feel it would be a waste to encourage it's nigh-infinite hunger for more, by allowing it to take more per force.

I owe a debt to my society, and I owe a debt to my government, and one way to pay that debt is to slap it's hand when it's in the cookie jar, trying to steal more than our government needs, or more than is healthy for it.

I do not believe the ills of our government can be solved by making it bigger.

Lastly, I do not feel any sort of guilt for having made the money I have, not to the extent that I should be forced to give up more than already given. I'm sure you don't feel guilty either, but, if in the event that your guilt consumes you, don't believe for a moment I'd let your collective guilt force me to submit my children's sustainance, shelter, and comfort to a cancer riddled beast that doesn't respect it's own boundaries, or individual rights in the addictive throes it's now succumming to.

-=T=-

welcome to the 21st century...says he whose computer is circa 1997.

-=T=-

I haven't had much access to the film, but the thing that comes to mind is the question of whether McCain is really refuting whether he is an arab or not. Did McCain say "Yes he is an arab, but we like him anyways."?

I've read by some accounts that his father is listed as an arab on Obama's birth certificate, and that both Barak and Obama are arab names.

In avoiding the technical issues of whether Obama is in fact an arab, even in part, McCain might have been bypassing the ordeal to go on another tangent, with tact, stating that Obama, "whatever he is", is a decent fellow.

thoughts?

-=T=-

I already have a back-up hq in the hills, and further stations deeper towards Yosemite as called for, when necessary.

-=T=-

"For the moment, the best defense against clickjacking attacks is to use Firefox with the NoScript add-on installed. Users running that combination will be safe, said Hansen, against "a very good chunk of the issues, 99.99% at this point.""

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Spam%2C+Malware+and+Vulnerabilities&articleId=9115700&taxonomyId=85&pageNumber=2

-=T=-