It seems everyone in the family can have a Small car. At least you have additional storage space in the garage!!

No thanks. I already have two!

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!

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 this is a phishing site it will

#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!

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).

*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.

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!

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!