RFID and Privacy

Brendan Walker, a 37-year-old software engineer in Canton, Ohio, is one of a growing number of computer and technology experts who are becoming anxious about possible abuses of the technology. Mr. Walker fears that thieves will be able to eavesdrop on the radio transmission and buy gas at his expense. He also figures that he himself could walk past the pump and accidentally pay for somebody else's gas, though the card companies say he would have to get within two inches of the scanner to accomplish that feat.

RFID: Legitimate fear or fear-mongering? by ZDNet's Mitch Ratcliffe -- A Wall Street Journal article details the exploits of RFID-defeating privacy advocates and a few snake-oil solutions.

No More (Sammy & Sasha Nelson)

You can embed video with YouTube like this. Oh, and these are two VERY talented 14 year olds, btw.

The Honda Video

Here's the Honda Video we saw in class as an enclosure. You can take your own videos in .MOV format and do the same thing with them.

Bishop Museum Star Party

This is a podcast from Bishop Museum's "Mad About Science" night, held on March 11, 2006. The moon was almost full, and it was cloudy on and off, but we still got pretty good views of the moon and Saturn.

The B**b Fairy

This is a very cute song by Deirdre Flint, but don't listen if you are easily offended. After hearing this song on Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, I went out and bought her album, The Shuffleboard Queens on iTunes.

The Procrastinator's Creed

• 1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.
• 2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.
• 3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
• 4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.
• 5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.
• 6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.
• 7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesmally small, is not exactly zero.
• 8. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.
• 9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.
• 10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.
• 11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.
• 12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.
• 13. I will never put off until tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.
• 14. I will become a member of the ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (the Procrastinator's Society) if they ever get it organized.