Sorry for the non-tech diversion today, but my local area has set a new pollen count record of 9,369 particles/m². This is more than 1/3rd higher than the prior record. Read more here.

Antihistamines are flying off the store shelves.

Before I moved here, I thought pollen counts of 200-400 were high, though I never followed the data much.

I’m pretty lucky, no respiratory issues, but with pollen counts this high, I think everyone is impacted. So if you find yourself working with someone miserable in the Southeastern USA, please understand they probably have trouble breathing due to the pollen. It will get worse before it gets better, since this is just the first wave of fairly large pollen. When the smaller pollens get release, then people with allergies will really be impacted.

There is good news. Rain is forecast for the next few days which should help wash it all away. The streets will be running with lime-green fluid.

Unfortunately, I have to do a little yard work today.

Don’t you just love reading about governments making stupid assumptions about people? No? Me neither.

It seems many people may be terrorists by doing things that are

• perfectly legal
• required due to other stupid government laws
• necessary to ensure privacy

Here’s the news article to provide some background on the FBI and DoJ thoughts.

Shmoocon is a security/hacker conference where security people show how to hack and how to protect against hacks for personal and corporate needs. If you know how to hack someone else, then you are better equipped to prevent those same attacks against yourself, your clients, and your company.

At Shmoocon, a presenter showed how to use those convenient RFID payment chips inside Debit and credit cards for fraud

Just because something is easy, doesn’t make it a good idea. Look for the full video link later in the comments.

The Question

If wiretaps and intercepting snail-mail both require a court order in the USA, then why doesn’t listening in on internet communications also require a court order?

If you trust Google maps, I think you’re crazy. Over the years, it has sent me to the wrong place numerous times.

Recently, deliveries to my home have been screwed. The only explanation that I have is because Google invented a new street name and points the correct address to the wrong houses.

A few months ago, I did an interview over at My Linux Rig. It was recently published.

Every year I receive a text message on my cell phone reminding me that my minutes are about to expire. For the last 5+ years, I’ve added $10 worth of minutes every October to keep the plan alive.

Just $10/year for cell phone use?

Life is too short to deal with filing (paper or electronic) very much. We all have better things to do with our time than waste it on excess organization. The goal is to locate a receipt or statement fast enough. Nobody is watching your filing – there is no test later. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I usually need to find a single document every year, no more. Minimal effort for maximum return is the goal.

A few times every week, we all get offers from the local cable company or telecom that has a low-low-low price in a 48pt font. The price is so low that we open the letter and read a little. I’m staring at an offer from AT&T right now, but it could be from the cable company just as easily.

$29/month for U-Verse TV +
HD-Ready DVR Included +
No Equipment to Buy!

Wow! That sounds like a great deal. How can I possibly pass it up? Then I read a little more, you know, the fine print.

For Six Months

So what’s the price after 6 months? Will they say?

This morning I saw an email from a business associate. It contained a link to an article on LinkedIn. That article was actually hosted on mashup. The article was about Social Media Overload; he called it The Sharepocalypse. After reading a fairly long article pointing out all the issues with the different human interactions with the main social media providers, I wanted to add a comment. Oddly, I couldn’t unless I used either a twitter or facebook account to login.