32,000 records stolen from LexisNexis – This settles it. It really is a sign from God. Or, perhaps, from California… “ The only reason the public is aware of these incidents is because of a California law that requires companies to disclose them, said Jim Dempsey.” I wonder how much of this has been happening for years, and we’re only just now hearing about it…
Author Archives: Danny Silverman
*rubs eyes*
When did it start getting freakishly sunny at 8am?
Harvard Business School un-admits students who hacked web site to see if they were accepted – Except the “hacking” was something along the lines of typing in a URL with their own ID number and seeing if an acceptance letter or rejection notice pops up. There was no foul play, the data was out there and insecure, and their peeking did not change anything or in any way affect their application. Look, getting into college and grad school causes a lot of stress. The temptation to “peek” at information that is out there to see, your own information, is simple human nature. I don’t think I agree with Harvard on this one, I think they are just covering for their own embarrasment that their system was so insecure and the admissions process just became ever-so-slightly more transparent. As it should be.
Possibilities
For the last few days I’ve been stressing out about the future. It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks that in a few months Brandeis will vomit me and 800 other unprepared students out into the real world, in all of its glory, and we’ll have to start frantically swimming out way out of the goop and half-digested food we’re floating in.
I’m going about this all wrong. A couple years ago I was so darn positive. It’s almost painful in the way really sugary candy is on your teeth to read some of my old blog entries extolling the virtue of a new day, divining bliss from a new selection in the dining halls, enthusing ecstatically about the latest class I was taking.
Its funny because I know exactly where the tipping point is, and where it all started to, “go bad,” so to speak. Its junior year, when I got off my meds and the Justice went off its rocker, and we had a couple weeks worth of “racist incident” that just threw everything into disarray. It was then that everything that was starting to slowly change really spun up. Grades went down, I failed my first class, I got really confused about my place in the world and the point of student government. I started questioning everything I was doing.
The Supreme Court picks through the rubble of its Ten Commandments jurisprudence – “They are not venerating the historical secular influence of the commandments, whatever the lawyers inside the courthouse may say. They just really like God.“
Dunkin’ Donuts tries to grow up from its manufacturing roots, but still has ass-ugly stores – Also, their donuts and bagels taste terrible. I don’t drink coffee.
Sobriety Tests Are Becoming Part of the School Day – “District officials said they grew concerned after hearing of rampant student drinking. Teenagers were caught drinking on school trips to Costa Rica and Italy.” I’m sorry, but doesn’t that just say it all? Only in New York…
For my next web site, I want to play with TextPattern – Maybe if I was designing Student Union again. 😉
On October 14, 2003, Student Union President Josh Brandfon sent the Justice a letter to the editor about their election coverage the week before:
When our Secretary formally communicated his disappointment with your staff in the days following the printing of the last paper, he received a response from one of your editors that read in part, “Tell Danny Silverman to shut the fu*k up.” I hope that your editorial board shows a little more professional tact when interacting with their readers, and that you are more responsive to the rest of our community when they express concerns.
He advised that they take a look at how they, as an organization, behaves towards the community:
You, as editors, are entrusted to a position of power without accountability, and in this case, have clearly abused it by attempting to unjustly destroy the reputation of another student. While I appreciate your efforts to report the news, it is my sincere hope that you are able to maintain a higher level of journalistic integrity when doing so.
The next week, the Justice published the now-infamous article calling Dusty Baker a “word that rhymes with Tigger,” and then bungled the resulting PR disaster. The downfall of that paper was already in progress. A couple weeks ago the Justice finally got a new editor-in-chief. Maybe, hopefully, they’ll now be able to begin down the road to recovery.
Ah, the memories.
A profile of John Gilmore, the millionaire who is not allowed to travel because he refuses to present a government-issued ID – A good backgrounder on the person, the conflict, and the privacy culture. And he pays for everything in cash.
How to Save Medicare? Die Sooner – They’re right, but Americans won’t stand for it at this point.
The official end of mono: skiing at Pats Peak!
On Tuesday I went with Adam, Dave, Amy, Tzalli, Audrey, and Saara to Pats Peak in southern New Hampshire. I hadn’t been skiing in a while and wanted to see how much I remember of it. We left early in the morning and Adam and I came back in the evening, the rest of ’em stayed for the night and skiied some more the next day. We got what Jeremy tells me is a great deal — $54 for a full day of skiing including rentals. My skis and I did not get along, but that was only a problem the few times I fell out of them, which did not happen until after lunch.
Amy went off to ski school to be humiliated by five year olds (poor Amy!) while the rest of us took a few runs. Ski runs are classified in difficulty with a color and shape. I guess color because its memorable and shape in case you’re color blind. Dunno. Anyway, at Pats Peak (and I think most places) green circle was easiest, followed by blue square (“intermediate”), followed by black diamond (“expert”) which for some reason here was a purple diamond, followed by double black diamond (“deadly,” or something to that effect). We started with green circle.
It was boring.
It quickly became apparent that:
- I’m not a bad skiier, at least compared to the competition
- Pats Peak’s trails are kinda wimpy.
After a bit of hesitation I took on a black diamond, and by the second run I felt completely comfortable. The double blacks were another story. The one Adam and I went on was a simple trail with a bunch of jumps, a few of which I was silly enough to go over, one of which I was going fast enough that I actually jumped over, and promptly fell down the other side and flat on my face. And it took a good ten minute to get my boots back into the stupid ski bindings. Did I mention how my skis and I fought? The other double black we looked at was a 70 degree vertical drop consisting of lumpy ice covered by a light layer of very powerdery powder. We saw some employees (instructors?) take that one on, but didn’t see them finish, as we were down the mountain and going up a lift and they were still nowhere in sight.
The best trail of the day came about as a fluke. I noticed that one of the greens went all the way around and looked to be the longest trail. Adam and I, having done the rest of ’em several times and getting a bit bored, decided to give it a shot. It was pretty easy, but then Adam discovered a small trail, unmarked, leading off into the woods. Because we’re daring, or perhaps stupid, we followed it. And followed it. And followed it. Between trees, in a stream bed, around curves and past branches, and we ended up out behind some houses, a bit off the mountain. We had to hike back up, in ski boots. It was a blast. The second time we did it it was a bit less exciting and we made an early exit, to avoid leaving the moutain again. But it was pretty cool.
At the end of the day Adam and I drove back and then had dinner with Kelli. It was a fun experience, and I want to go skiing again. And again! And again! Hey, if I keep this up, I might finally have something to put on my birthday wish list! 😉
BofA accidentally exposes 1.2 million customer records – Some unencrypted backup tapes went missing. This follows PayMaxx, ChoicePoint, and the recent T-Mobile break-ins. Its almost like someone is trying to send a message… Is that you God? 😉
PayMaxx security lapse could have revealed as many as 100,000 records – Salaries, SSNs, addresses, etc. Fabulous. Did I mention how I’m now buying almost everything with cash?
The ice wall adventure – These folks set up some piping and some fancy sprayer heads in Fairbanks, Alaska when it started getting cold so that they could have a bit of fun. Well, now their creation is over 150 feet high. Start reading. Keep reading. Give yourself half an hour or so. The stoies are hilarious.
Why groupware is a bad idea – The question developers (apparently) need to ask themselves is, “how will this software get my uses laid?” Thus, Hula was born!
This week’s New Yorker has a piece by Anthony Lane trying to determine what the amorphous EU really is and what it is supposed to be regulating. After examining some of the new laws and regulations recently passed, it concludes with:
The history of European civilization has been rife with attrition and dispute, but the age of conflict is over. Americans do not want to tour a landscape littered with exhausted sex toys. They do not want to bandage the broken heads of circus performers. They want to walk the streets without fear of yogurt; they want to consume bananas of enormous and unenbarrassed girth; above all, they want to sit and watch contented pigs toss a Frisbee from sty to sty. Is that really too much to ask?
No, not really. So keep it up, EU! And quit your whining, UK!