Why worry?

Concerned over taking your laptop to China?

National security agencies are warning businesses and federal officials that laptops and e-mail devices taken to the Beijing Olympics are likely to be penetrated by Chinese agents aiming to steal secrets or plant bugs to infiltrate U.S. computer networks.

Chinese government and industry use electronic espionage to "easily access official and personal computers," says one recent report by the Overseas Security Advisory Council, a federally chartered panel comprising security experts from corporations and the State, Commerce and Treasury departments. - USA Today

Hey, go ahead and take it!  I’m sure the friendly folks at U.S. Customs will be glad to find any problems for you when you bring it back.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 22:46:38 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Duplicity, thy name is McCain

Larry Kudlow, shaking his head over John McCain’s inconsistency:

Sen. John McCain delivered a nearly pluperfect supply-side tax-cut plan yesterday, one that is worthy of conservative support, and frankly a real eye-opener showing just how good he can be...

But then he goes on NBC’s Today Show this morning and gets the whole energy story wrong.

Hey Larry, it’s easy!  As soon as he faced the numbers, McCain embarked on a desperate effort to gain the support of the Republican base.  That means saying what the base wants to hear, whether he believes it or not.

But when he gets away from prepared remarks and into  less-structured situations the real McCain comes out– a John McCain who sounds very much like a Democrat.

McCain isn’t conservative, he’s just trying to play one long enough to get elected.

We went through this with Bush I and II.  Won’t be fooled again.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 21:41:08 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Good advice for all

“Remember, boys and girls, just like anything else on your body, the snark centers of your brain need regular exercise. Otherwise, you run the risk of sounding just as boneheaded as your intended target!

Don’t let this happen to you!” - Warren, in a comment at Daily Pundit

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 17:53:09 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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A new fancy radio - without HD

This expensive
4-column x 14¼" ad appeared on Monday’s Technology page (B6) of the Wall Street Journal:

Porsche Design
Audio
P’9121

Table Top Stereo System with Dock for iPod / XM Ready / AM-FM-Shortwave / RDS [Radio Data System]

Oh, and it’s $600.



So where’s the HD?
Nowhere.


Which should be particularly disconcerting to the HD crowd as this status-symbol-grade unit parses RDS information transmissions and comes factory-equipped to receive XM satellite broadcasts (not to mention including the now-obligatory iPod dock).  (The European version, BTW, is fully DAB-capable.)

Looks like another vote of no-confidence for HD.


Earlier HD posts:

Posted by: Old Grouch in Radio at 19:17:10 GMT | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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When “temporarily” means “four months and counting”

Sighted today:

Dear Atlantic.com visitors,

We regret that as of January 22, 2008, when we eliminated the subscriber-registration requirement from the Web site, we became temporarily unable to register new forum users. In the near future we plan to implement an upgraded forum, open to all...

Appears The Atlantic doesn’t see interactivity as a particularly high priority.

Posted by: Old Grouch in The Press at 15:19:36 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Random Linkage - Saturday, June 7, 2008

Bringing the War Back Home Department:

Fire The Engineers Department:

I have no problem with a computer on the process control subnet reporting information to a computer on the business subnet.

I have a BIG problem with a computer on the business subnet being able to modify and corrupt data in a computer on the process control subnet.
 - “Ungrounded Lightning,” commenting at Slashdot

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 16:00:02 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Meryl has a kitten...

...(as I’ve mentioned before).

Meryl also has a laptop.

Posted by: Old Grouch in Linkage at 23:25:31 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Class and no class

No class:

Cameron [Holt] is a Make-a-Wish child, and Make-a-Wish is sponsored by radio station WZPL 99.5 FM.  In that context, Cameron was invited to visit the track May 21; he was asked to participate in a pit crew competition and be the guest of the WZPL team, including disc jockey Dave Smiley and other radio hotshots.

But when Cameron and his parents and sister Candace, 11, showed up at the WZPL area, Dave Smiley and the others in his crew were drinking,” said Trish [Sieger, Cameron’s mom].  She saw Smirnoff bottles and indifference.  The time? About 11:30 a.m., says Trish.

“I walked up and introduced Cameron.  They never put it (alcohol) down so we just stood there.”

“We were not expecting fireworks,” she explained.  “But when a sick child is involved, you would think they would make an effort.”

Although eventually the Smiley team offered to take Cameron to meet the drivers, the little boy had his heart set on participating in the competition. That never happened.

“They just walked off and left us,” said Trish, speaking of Smiley and Co.

Fortunately, somebody with real class showed up, and took things in hand.

Ruth Holladay has the story.

Posted by: Old Grouch in Radio at 22:16:45 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Variation on a meme

They told me that if George W. Bush were re-elected police in Washington would stop ordinary citizens on the street, and arrest any who didn’t “have ‘legitimate reason’ to be there.”

Via: IP (meme, too!)

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 17:15:20 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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Clipfile: June 4, 2008

“If more government control and less civil liberties mean increased safety, why aren’t our prisons the safest places in the country?”
- Marko Kloos

Via: Tam, who proclaims the underlying.incident a case of “dumb so dense it bends light.”

Posted by: Old Grouch in Clipfile at 02:02:03 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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