TV news was talking about a deal for Snowdon, we give him amnesty if he gives us all the juicy secrets he still has, the ones he hasn't let out yet.
And so how do you do this. All the stuff Snowdon took fits on a thumbdrive, may be two thumbdrives, but still , real small. Fits in a coatpocket without a bulge. And, any computer geek like Snowdon understands about back up of essential data. He must have made a bunch of duplicates and hidden them the best he can. With friends, buried in his back yard, bank safe deposit boxes, with his folks, and somewhere in the cloud. We will never find them.
So, Snowdon gets amnesty back here, and he still has every thing he took from NSA.
Although I cannot imagine what stuff he has left being anything as juicy as the stuff he has released. But then maybe my imagination is weak.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Ammunition shortage caused by consumer demand
Not government hoarding. Despite some staggeringly large ammunition buys from HHS. This from American Rifleman, the NRA magazine. The shortage is real, at least up here the shelves down at Cory's Sport Shop, are empty of all but the most common calibers.
Although HHS has placed some massive buys, these are multi year contracts, and according to American Rifleman, the quantities are about what the agency has bought in past years. The real increase is in the number of American gun owners. Particularly striking is the increase in woman gun owners. The increase in demand is real, and you can see it in the revenues from the federal ammunition tax. That's gone up and up and is showing no sign of slowing down. The number of federal instant background checks has also grown significantly, supporting the ammunition tax data.
Although HHS has placed some massive buys, these are multi year contracts, and according to American Rifleman, the quantities are about what the agency has bought in past years. The real increase is in the number of American gun owners. Particularly striking is the increase in woman gun owners. The increase in demand is real, and you can see it in the revenues from the federal ammunition tax. That's gone up and up and is showing no sign of slowing down. The number of federal instant background checks has also grown significantly, supporting the ammunition tax data.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Thanks goodness for gridlock
According to Fox TV News, this year Congress only passed 51 bills, as opposed to last year when they passed 350 odd.
This is a good thing. Most bills are bad for the country. We don't need another farm bill passing money to corporate farms. We don't need another highway bill to keep road contractors fully employed. We don't need Obamacare. We don't need Dodd Frank or Sarbanes Oxley. We don't need more special favors for special interests. We don't need to extend unemployment benefits from two years to three.
Since the country and the Congress is evenly divided, neither party can push its pet programs thru.
Which is what democracy is all about.
Until one party or the other can muster the votes to control both House and Senate, things will stay as they are. And that's the way it should be.
This is a good thing. Most bills are bad for the country. We don't need another farm bill passing money to corporate farms. We don't need another highway bill to keep road contractors fully employed. We don't need Obamacare. We don't need Dodd Frank or Sarbanes Oxley. We don't need more special favors for special interests. We don't need to extend unemployment benefits from two years to three.
Since the country and the Congress is evenly divided, neither party can push its pet programs thru.
Which is what democracy is all about.
Until one party or the other can muster the votes to control both House and Senate, things will stay as they are. And that's the way it should be.
Cannon gets some decent snow.
We have 6-8 inches down, and it's still falling. Plus we have good low temps forcast for next week so the snowblowing can continue. They ought to have all the trails open by tomorrow. Christmas week ought to be good skiing. We need it up here.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Security Fail
We now have two insecure databases, in which evrybody has an entry. And both of them are wide open to hackers, crackers, and worms like Stuxnet. All thanks to Obamacare for putting our lives on line for anyone to read.
Healthcare.gov is the first problem area. Its security problems have been getting some attention from the newsies. As well it should. It's running on Windows,( everything runs on Windows) and anytime you connect Windows to the public internet, the knowledgeable hacker knows about 50 secret ways to take the Windows machine over completely, load and execute his own code, and force the victim Windows machine to do anything he likes. Such as send all its data back over the internet to the hacker. The only defense is to use the strongest possible encryption and even that isn't fool proof.
The second problem area is "digital medical records". Obamacare is forcing all doctors to put all their patient's medical records on line. Used to be, your medical records were kept in a file folder in a cabinet in the doctor's office. Short of burglary, they were secure. And it would take a very savvy burglar to find them, and a small truck to haul them all away.
Obamacare demands all the medical records be digitized and stored on line for everyone in the hospital to see. This is supposed to be a cost cutting measure. But, on line means hackers can get to it, and they don't need that small truck to haul them away.
Less than scrupulous employers will take a peek at the medical records of any prospective new hire. Should that new hire have an preexisting condition, or treatment for drugs, alcohol, or mental health problems, he can kiss that job goodbye. In practice, this guy will be unemployable. Privacy means the ability to keep bad things in your past secret, to start over, and press on. Now that we have Obamacare and on line medical records, forget about privacy.
Healthcare.gov is the first problem area. Its security problems have been getting some attention from the newsies. As well it should. It's running on Windows,( everything runs on Windows) and anytime you connect Windows to the public internet, the knowledgeable hacker knows about 50 secret ways to take the Windows machine over completely, load and execute his own code, and force the victim Windows machine to do anything he likes. Such as send all its data back over the internet to the hacker. The only defense is to use the strongest possible encryption and even that isn't fool proof.
The second problem area is "digital medical records". Obamacare is forcing all doctors to put all their patient's medical records on line. Used to be, your medical records were kept in a file folder in a cabinet in the doctor's office. Short of burglary, they were secure. And it would take a very savvy burglar to find them, and a small truck to haul them all away.
Obamacare demands all the medical records be digitized and stored on line for everyone in the hospital to see. This is supposed to be a cost cutting measure. But, on line means hackers can get to it, and they don't need that small truck to haul them away.
Less than scrupulous employers will take a peek at the medical records of any prospective new hire. Should that new hire have an preexisting condition, or treatment for drugs, alcohol, or mental health problems, he can kiss that job goodbye. In practice, this guy will be unemployable. Privacy means the ability to keep bad things in your past secret, to start over, and press on. Now that we have Obamacare and on line medical records, forget about privacy.
Minimum wage, a bad idea
Lefties and unions are pushing for $15 minimum wage for flipping burgers at McD's. Right now McD's pays $7 or $8. They think it will raise the living standards of McD's workers. I think it will get them all laid off.
As a society we have a LOT of young, untrained, not very productive people who need a job. Since they aren't very productive, employers cannot afford to pay them much. Double the pay and the employers will say, " I have to pay these guys more than they bring in, I'd be ahead if I laid them off . I can automate, outsource, or reduce service to my customers and make more money." Net result, no jobs for the workers just entering the job market.
There is no requirement for entry level jobs to pay enough to raise a family on. Entry level workers are un married, probably living at home, still in school. After they have been filling an entry level job for a bit, they can get promoted, find a better job, move to boom areas, or something. Flipping burgers is fine for high school students, but you cannot plan on flipping burgers all your life. You gotta make something of yourself.
So, bottom line, boosting minimum wage cuts off entry level jobs, throws people out of work.
That first job is important to anyone's career. The first job will get you a recommendation when you apply for the next job. As a hiring manager I always checked a guy's references. If his last boss said good things about him, he was hired. Very important to have a last boss, and for him to think well of you. Which means we need entry level jobs, to give the new job seekers some experience and some references. Cut off the entry level jobs by hiking the minimum wage and it gets harder and meaner for the vast majority.
As a society we have a LOT of young, untrained, not very productive people who need a job. Since they aren't very productive, employers cannot afford to pay them much. Double the pay and the employers will say, " I have to pay these guys more than they bring in, I'd be ahead if I laid them off . I can automate, outsource, or reduce service to my customers and make more money." Net result, no jobs for the workers just entering the job market.
There is no requirement for entry level jobs to pay enough to raise a family on. Entry level workers are un married, probably living at home, still in school. After they have been filling an entry level job for a bit, they can get promoted, find a better job, move to boom areas, or something. Flipping burgers is fine for high school students, but you cannot plan on flipping burgers all your life. You gotta make something of yourself.
So, bottom line, boosting minimum wage cuts off entry level jobs, throws people out of work.
That first job is important to anyone's career. The first job will get you a recommendation when you apply for the next job. As a hiring manager I always checked a guy's references. If his last boss said good things about him, he was hired. Very important to have a last boss, and for him to think well of you. Which means we need entry level jobs, to give the new job seekers some experience and some references. Cut off the entry level jobs by hiking the minimum wage and it gets harder and meaner for the vast majority.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Conspiracy theories of History
One of them that's been going around since 1941, the Pearl Harbor disaster was caused by treason in the American government. The government knew the Japanese air raid was coming a failed to warn the Pearl Harbor commanders. Roosevelt's numerous enemies have accused him of conspiring to bring the US into WWII by setting up the Pacific fleet.
I don't buy this. Roosevelt wanted to intervene in WWII and was prevented from doing so by a powerful isolationist movement. But, Roosevelt wanted to use the fleet to do the intervention. The idea that he would sacrifice the fleet he looked to do the intervention, merely to silence domestic political opponents is absurd.
Pearl Harbor happened because US commanders thought Pearl was so far away from Japan as to be immune to Japanese action. They just could not imagine getting hit at Pearl. Even though the Royal Navy had pulled off a very similar air strike on the Italians at Taranto just a few months before.
Pearl even ignored a radar warning. The US Army had a working radar station on Hawaii. It picked up the incoming Japanese strike 180 miles out. The Army radar operators telephoned a warning to fleet headquarters but the junior officer of the day ignored it. If fleet HQ had had it's act together, this was enough warning to scramble aircraft and call for battle stations, get the guns manned and the ammunition broken out of locked storage.
Pacific Fleet also ignored a report from a picket destroyer that had detected, depth charged, and sunk a submarine lurking right off Pearl, in a restricted zone, where no submarines had any business being. To ignore both a submarine warning and a radar warning the same morning takes a remarkable degree of stupidity.
I don't buy this. Roosevelt wanted to intervene in WWII and was prevented from doing so by a powerful isolationist movement. But, Roosevelt wanted to use the fleet to do the intervention. The idea that he would sacrifice the fleet he looked to do the intervention, merely to silence domestic political opponents is absurd.
Pearl Harbor happened because US commanders thought Pearl was so far away from Japan as to be immune to Japanese action. They just could not imagine getting hit at Pearl. Even though the Royal Navy had pulled off a very similar air strike on the Italians at Taranto just a few months before.
Pearl even ignored a radar warning. The US Army had a working radar station on Hawaii. It picked up the incoming Japanese strike 180 miles out. The Army radar operators telephoned a warning to fleet headquarters but the junior officer of the day ignored it. If fleet HQ had had it's act together, this was enough warning to scramble aircraft and call for battle stations, get the guns manned and the ammunition broken out of locked storage.
Pacific Fleet also ignored a report from a picket destroyer that had detected, depth charged, and sunk a submarine lurking right off Pearl, in a restricted zone, where no submarines had any business being. To ignore both a submarine warning and a radar warning the same morning takes a remarkable degree of stupidity.
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