How Small will US Automobiles get?
The Smart Car is becoming very popular – in accordance with others like the Honda Fit.
It seems everyone in the family can have a Small car. At least you have additional storage space in the garage!!
BOGO on Eyes
No thanks. I already have two!
Sex is a verb not a noun
“Why do we fill a form out by filling it in?” — ‘English is a crazy language’, Richard Lederrer
I was at the doctor’s office. This was not my first time in a doctor’s office; but a first time at this doctor. So I was handed a clipboard with a stack of “questionaires” to complete. I have no objection to filling out these forms. It helps to pass the time you spend waiting to be seen (I have no interest in any of the magazines they typically stock in a doctor’s waiting room).
There were a few things about these forms, though, that – although not atypical – caused me to pause:
First, why is it that the area provided for address has a very short space for City and a much longer space for State? It has been a standard for years to use two-letter abbreviations for the state. Yet, there is never enough space for my long street address because the state has hogged most of the width of the page!!
And there are spaces that left me wondering what I should enter. Like sex. I was tempted to simply write, “I approve”. But then I realized this is not an opinon poll. This is pertinent information about me. So I wrote, “OFTEN”.
Then there was a field named Race. I assumed EVERYONE who entered this office would answer this the same way I did! Why ask a question when you already know the answer? But, for the sake of thorough consistency I entered my race: Human
I was struck by a realization of the irony behind the whole process of completing this form. My handwritten responses will be transcribed (and my penmanship is very poor) by the medical assistant there and entered into a computer application. With our obsession with technology gadgets (everyone is on their Blackberry talking or texting all day long) why can’t I simply bring the doctor a CD or thumbdrive that contains my medical history?
And, there is a much bigger question that ’seriously’ bothers me. Once I got to meet with the doctor, my very first meeting where I expected him to carefully review my medical background, he made no comment about the answers I provided on the form; which he had in front of him!! I guess for Race I should have written 5K dash!
Fight Phishing – The Perfect Plan
I have devised a simple approach to the ever-growing problem of Internet Phishing.
Having worked on the Internet since its birth, I have been keenly aware of this problem; watching it grow in a non-linear fashion in recent years. There are numerous technology solutions; some quite complex and annoying. But this is really not a technology problem. It is a human problem.
We need help, as human beings, in managing our Internet experience.
I have a solution. I ask you to bear with me – understand how this works – and indulge me in giving it a try. Together, we may just revolutionize the safety of the Internet!
Whenever you log into a site, get in to the habit of FIRST entering an incorrect password.
“That sounds ludicrous!”, I hear you shouting. Well think about it this way.
Suppose I am logging into my mortgage bank. This is a site I go to barely twice a year. The big banks are also prime targets for Phishing.
The victim of a successful phishing attempt will provide a valid username and associated password – believing she is logging into the bank site – to the criminal. And what’s more disturbing, the victim is completely unaware it even happened!
With my plan to fight Phishing this changes.
If I have correctly arrived at my bank’s site, it will:
a. recognize my erroneous entry
b. prompt me to try again
On that second attempt I will successful access my account
If this is a phishing site it will
a. gladly accept my first entry – pretending to log me into my bank site – having STOLEN my username and the password I provided. This is because, as a phony site, it does not know my password and cannot detect that my entry was invalid.
b. The phisher has NOT SUCCESSFULLY stolen my login information
c. I am instantly alerted to the fact that something is wrong
#Revenge on the bad guys
What’s more noteworthy is that I have provided the phisher useless infromation. He will sell the set of username/passwords collected and, over time, be recognized as a bad source when a large number of them are incorrect.
I think it is a perfect plan! If we all make the committment to inconvenience ourselves just a little there might be a day that phishing is extinct!
No Wonder the Plants Don’t Grow!
I think this photo, taken on the UCF campus, says it all.
It is downright spooky
I was in Winter Park during the fall.
Halloween Photo-Irony
In the United States you can see decorations in preparation for Halloween. When I spotted this decoration (a pumpkin, skillfully placed over the light on one of the pillars that marks the driveway entrance), almost ‘labeled’ by the address, the irony struck me immediately.
Do you see what I see? Maybe I am just too much of a geek (I have The Knack) and truely believe “The glass was overdesigned” (see my earlier post: Engineer).
In Training…
Today I visited the local Goodwill outlet that was just built in Oviedo. I think the Goodwill organization is magnificent and I am very happy to give them my money. Shopping in those places is like an unpretentious pawn shop.
The wonderful lady at the checkout was wearing a badge that read, “Employee in training”. It brought a funny idea to mind. I wonder how people would react if I walked through the store wearing a badge that read Shoplifter in Training ?
This is not a blog post
“If it quacks like a duck…”
Although this is one of several posts on a blog, this is not a blog post.
I received an interesting piece of [junk] mail the other day. It was from AT&T and an obvious attempt to convince me buy more services. 
We all have received these letters with an attached check. Well, it is quite obvious it is not real check. But a common marketing technique to make you feel like you are getting money (which is really in the form of a ‘discount’ when you buy*)in its aggressive marketing had been sending promotional mail with what appeared to be a check. We all have received them. We realized it was a ‘marketing ploy’. Apparently, not eveyone.
So, I can understand that, in an effort to protect [the naive?], a law was passed that mandates it be clearly identified as not a real check.
So when I saw this I was immediately struck by the irony. It is actually comical that they continue to print what looks like a check, with the text to disclaim that it is not a check. How silly is that?
*I have trouble perceiving this as money in my pocket. It nothing more than an artificial discount on the cost of a service I was not interested in purchasing in the first place! But that discussion is a subject for a future post.
I know where you live
I was cleaning up all the trash in the neighborhood that seems to blow right down to the wooded area in front of my house*. 
Along with the usual beer cans and used condoms [parents, you really need to be aware of what your college student is doing while away from home] I uncovered this piece of discarded mail.
Armed with this name, address and account number a [not so] skilled identity thief could start opening accounts in this person’s name; stealing goods and further damaging her credit.
It only takes one search on Google to reveal a Facebook page full of personal details.
Heed this warning. Be more careful with your personal information. Purchase a shredder and use it (But do not let your trash be compromised by outdoor creatures who will leave that stuff strewn all over the neighborhood).
Honestly, I was angry and frustrated when I began writing this and had planned to post a close-up of the letter; which has a complete name, address and account number. But as I was editing this post God reminded me that would be wrong. Praise Jesus for his influence on my life!
*It is frustrating and infuriating how these residents (primarily the college students who are renting; 6 and 8 to a house) will gladly put the trash at the curb but refuse to take any responsibility for it after that. Trash bags sitting on the curb are desirable targets for stray cats and the wild animals that live in the nature preserve next door.
You get what you pay for?
I was in the Post Office, here in Orlando, the other day. I needed to send a package to New Jersey. I must admit the staff in the Post Office is *very* friendly. Actually, they are quite ‘chatty’. So, overall it is not an unpleasant experience to visit the Post Office (unlike a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles!).
After announcing the price for shipping the package, the clerk asked, “Would you like delivery notification or insurance?”. I was stunned. If I need to pay ADDITIONAL MONEY for a guarantee it was delivered or that it will not be damaged, then WHAT AM I PAYING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE?
The US Postal Service is notorious for this, though.
In an attempt to be an educated consumer I once asked about ‘Express Delivery’. The advertisements spout, “Guaranteed 2 Day Delivery” or “Guaranteed Overnight Delivery”. That is wonderful. I asked what happens if it is late. The clerk simply gave me a blank stare. Then proceeded to explain that there is no consequence if the package does not arrive as ‘guaranteed’. Well, to me that is no GUARANTEE!
Other carriers (whom I need not name) provide a definitive restituion if they do not meet the promised delivery schedule. That is a guarantee!
