Misc. Ramblings

Arthur C. Clarke once said; "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Indeed, to the uninitiated, whose understanding of science many times ranks just below abysmal, almost all technology seems like magic.

This has consequences. Consequences that appear in the strangest places. For example, Wired has an article about the theft of autos that can't be stolen. Or, at least autos that car and insurance companies say can't be stolen.

The problem goes something like this. Some car manufacturers use so called smart ignition keys. That is, keys that include various types of electronic chips that are intended to make it impossible for anyone without the key to start your car. Of course, anyone who knows anything about electronics knows that any system devised by man can be worked around. Sometimes the work arounds are so complicated that most people won't bother with it. But sometimes there are ways that turn out to be very simple. In either case the system can fail.

But to the insurance industry, if they are told the system is foolproof, even if there is concrete evidence to the contrary, then if an auto is "stolen", it is because the owner is perpetuating a fraud. To the insurance people, there is no other explanation because, they believe, the technology is foolproof.

However, as the article clearly illustrates, the key itself is only one part of a larger system. This system includes not only the electronic hardware in the key and the receiver in the auto, but also the service department at the dealership, the locksmith down the road, and human nature itself.

The bottom line is, there is no magic to this. If any part of the system fails, the entire system fails. No system is perfect. Hence, all systems will fail. Sometimes in ways not anticipated.

Aloha!

Most private businesses do their best to hide their problems. It seems like an unwritten rule that no matter what may be going wrong with your business, never, ever, admit it to anyone. To do so it seen as giving an advantage to your competition.

Although this tactic of secrecy may work in the short term, if you don't solve your problem, denying that it exists makes it harder to fix and, in the long term, employees and customers eventually see the problem anyway.

Yet, many business continue to follow a toxic path of denial. So much so that when one deviates from that path and actually is open with its customers, it makes the headlines. Such a case seems to be a web hosting company called Dreamhost. The company has a blog and in it is this remarkable post that lays out what may have recently gone wrong in the data center that is home to its servers.

It is a fascinating look at what happens when it all goes wrong. How one problem cascades, causing multiple points of failure. Working in the dark, figuratively and actually. Trying to diagnose a problem that may be an interaction between more that one system.

The thing about is, I probably would never had heard of this company if it hadn't come clean and aired its dirty laundry. Having done that, if I ever decide to switch from pair.com to another host (instead of hosting my own servers), I will certainly look into what they have to offer because I appreciate their honesty and openess.

Aloha!

On Tuesday, I talked about how not understanding technology can lead to a world view that is not tightly connected to reality.

Perhaps another example is this Wired article on passports that the US will begin issuing in October. The passports use embedded radio frequency ID (RFID) chips as one of several ways to make them more secure. However a US State Department official is quoted as saying the department knows the chips can be cloned but that doesn't matter as long as the official examing the passport actually compares the hard copy to the data in the RFID.

This, of course, seems to presuppose that the entire security system, including all the employees who are part of it, will always work as it was designed. But as we have seen in my Tuesday's post, this is not a valid assumption.

I'm not going to go tin-foil hat and all on this because the article seems to indicate that other security features are included in the passport. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine a situation in which the official viewing the passport will, because of his or her lack of understanding of the technology, rely on the RFID data exclusively.

Should this happen when the person standing before the official is a terrorist, well, let's just say bad things could happen.

Aloha!

Sorry, no post today.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

An Ohio court case (State v. Elmore, Case no. 2004-0041) has a novel basis for an appeal. Among other things, the appeal says the jurors were not allowed to take a smoke break during their three hour long deliberations. Hence, according to the argument, the jurors felt rushed and therefore predisposed them towards a quick decision.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal,

Prosecutor Robert Becker, who tried the case, said he believes the verdict and sentence will stand despite the smoking angle and other elements of the appeal.

"I don't think I've ever heard of this one. It's relatively novel," he said.

Joshua Dressler, a law professor at Ohio State University, likewise gave Elmore's appellate team credit for creativity.

+ + + = = = + + +

In other legal news, some folks in New Mexico are up in arms regarding a custody/adoption case in which the biological father of an adoptee is protesting that parental rights should return to him. The Albuquerque Tribune is reporting that:

According to the opinion, it was not sufficiently proven that Huddleston had abandoned the child after the birth and that his consent was required before the mother proceeded with the adoption.

The appellate court also ruled that Huddleston's actions, or lack of them, before the baby's birth don't prove that he caused the parent-child relationship to disintegrate.

Aloha!

Actually, this post has nothing to do with the speech Steve Jobs gave yesterday. But I thought the banner was a half-way amusing reforming of what Apple is doing. Sort of like these inspirational posters based on the original Star Trek. No, they aren't laugh out loud funny. No, they aren't even amusing like Apple. But if you have a few minutes, you may find something that you like. Or not. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

From Hawaii 5-0 to Magnum PI to Lost, Hawaii's beautiful scenery has acted as a backdrop to various entertainment shows. But, as far as I know, Atari's new "Test Drive Unlimited" [warning: Flash and popups required] is the first online multi-player game set entirely on Oahu. Versions for Xbox 360, Playstation 2, PSP, and Windows are due out over the next two months.

I'm not much of gamer, but if you are into virtual car racing, this might be to a game to, uh, test drive. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

No post.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

I switched over to the Golf channel yesterday to check on the progress of Hawaii's other teenage golfing phenom. Her name is Kimberly Kim (sometimes referred to as Kim Kim). She's age 14 and born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island. At the time I tuned in, she was four strokes back and I figured, oh well, she was the youngest to have made it to the finals of the U.S. Women's Amateur golf tournament and that, in itself, was an accomplishment. I thought, maybe next year, and turned the channel. Little did I know that not only would she make up the difference, but she would pull ahead and be the youngest person to ever win the tournament! Congratulations to Kimberly. You can read more about her win here.

The other come back kid yesterday was Kaneohe's own Dean Wilson. Okay, at age 36 he's no kid any more. But when I checked in on his progress, he was tied for seventh place. Little did I know he would storm back to be tied for first and win it in a playoff! According to the newspaper, he is the first Hawaii born golfer to win a tour event on the mainland (others have won the Hawaiian Open but, apparently, none have gone on to the mainland US and won).

Aloha!

Obviously, living here in Hawaii I'm kind of partial to the place. So when Doc Searls pointed to his nephew being a Marine serving here I followed the link. From there, I went to one of the nephew's photo sets and saw the photo of a helicopter taken from above while in flight. The photo is copyrighted so I can't show it here but you can follow this link. It is a unique perspective and I think a pretty cool shot. His nephew has a few more, including some night shots on the flight line with Kaneohe town in the background. Check it out if you have a few minutes. YMMV.

In response, we have added another security camera, this one scanning the entire backyard, including the window in question. It is now hooked up to my multi-media PC where any movement is recorded to the hard drive.

In this day, where illegal drug use seems to be so wide spread, it is difficult not to be affected. Our neighbors on either side and across the street from us have all been broken in to over the last two years. The thing of it is, is that thieves used to be concerned with only taking things. Now, they try to steal your personal identity so that they can make even more money - either by selling it to brokers or by using it themselves to buy stuff that they can later sell.

It may have become so easy to steal a person's identity for, what would seem at first, strange reasons.  First, on one hand, the victim is not financially responsible once having notified the proper authorities (the financial institutions and the police, etc.).  So, on this front, there is no reason for people to complain to their legislatures/police to demand action. On the other hand, these same institutions do little if anything themselves to track down and prosecute the thieves. It seems that the cost is considered part of doing business and they essentially write it off.

How do I know this? Well, look at the laws, if any, in your state regarding identity theft. Only recently has it begun to sink in that this is a very serious and growing problem. But even when it gets to the front of the line, it is not taken seriously by many legislatures and yes, even some judges. Hence, why should credit card companies spend time and money on tracking down these people?

That said, once you are the victim of such a crime, you may never be made whole again. You may have to monitor your credit until the day you die (and your family will need to continue to do so after your passing). There aren't too many crimes like this and those that are similar are, I think, treated much more seriously. Pray your identity is never stolen. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

I'm sorry there haven't been very many posts lately. I like doing this but things have been very busy at home and at work.

At home, we decided to replace the alarm system we had with another company's offering. We hope it will be more reliable and resistant to tampering. In addition, we had a welder add steel bars to the windows that appear most vulnerable, because of their locations, to someone trying to break in. All of that took much time to decide on who to hire to do the work and then to be around while they did it.

Although no system is perfect, we felt a layered approach would deter your average burglar. Now that everything is completed, we can sleep much better knowing we've done as much as we can.

At work, we are getting ready for the Legislature's opening early next year. Yes, its four months in the future but there is much to do. First, and foremost, there is the budget. Without a budget to implement the policy decisions, everything comes to a halt. Next is proposed legislation. Broadly speaking, there are three types of proposed legislative bills, those that add new laws to the books, those that amend existing laws, and those that delete existing laws. We may have some of each and all require through review and coordination. And finally, there are internal reports and Legislative reports that have to be finalized so that they can be distributed prior to the opening of the next session.

Perhaps it is a false hope, but I hope that things will eventually settle down and I will have the time to post more often. But, as I said, this may be a false hope. Sigh. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

I've talked before how easy it can be to use supposedly anonymous search data to find out who actually made the search. This is in relation to government requests/requirements that search engines such as Google must turn over such anonymous data to the government. The allegation was that the search data was anonymous and no one could or would be identified.

In this article, it appears that an AOL researcher released three months worth of AOL subscriber search queries for academic research purposes. This amounted to 20 million searches from more than 650,000 AOL customers. Although numbers were substituted for customer's names, it is always possible to use the search terms to link back to the names of the people who made the searches, which was exactly what was done.

Although the release was an intentional one, intended for academic purposes, it is clear that many people do not understand the ease in which search engine data can be misused. Be clear, I am not saying no research can or should be done. However, everyone must understand and take appropriate action to keep private information, private.

Aloha!

It is said that no government program is simple. That is, anytime you involve government you end up with a complex program that tries to meet the needs of all. However, by doing so, sometimes it seems it meets the needs of none.

The latest local story is the commission that is working on designing the Hawaii commemorative state quarter of the national program that will, over time, mint a distinctive coin for each of the 50 states.

However, given some of the comments of people who have been viewing some of the proposed drawings (sorry, I can't find an online source of the designs released yesterday), this is not going to be an easy decision. One example - a couple of the designs feature a likeness of King Kamehameha. Some people are saying that King Kamehameha should not be on the coin because it might be disrespectful to some Hawaiians.

I make no comment whether it would or wouldn't. But is it any wonder why government tends to produce what it does based on the lowest common denominator rather than the best (however best is defined)?

Aloha!

Is Hawaii's visitor industry pricing itself out of the market? I keep reading reports about how hotel profits are up (due in part to higher room rates, while at the same time owners seem to be telling employees there just isn't enough money for a raise this year, or next, or the next) but I wonder if we aren't beginning to see some customer push back.

I mentioned earlier about the decrease in visitors from Japan (who, on average, spend more per day than most other groups). To be fair, visitors from the mainland seem to have more than made up the difference and we may be on track for a record or near record year in visitor counts.

But another large source of income are the conventions. And although I'm sure our convention center folks have been doing as much as they can to bring in more business, I'm beginning to see anecdotal evidence that some opportunities are being lost because the cost of coming and staying here is too high.

Recently the American Bar Association held their annual convention in Waikiki. However, there was some talk that the number of attendees was down relative to past conventions. Whether it was I don't know. But I also hear of another legal connected convention that has decided not to come here because of the cost.

Now, if those in the legal professions can't seem to justify the cost of coming here, how is it that we think Joe and Jane Average will either?

I'm no prophet so who knows what the future will bring but it seems to me that hotel owners/managers need to carefully examine their prices before revenues begin to really go down due to lack of customers.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

So I attended the Hawaii 2050 conference this past weekend. There is a lot to think about but I have very limited time to say much about the conference.

One of the things they did was to create four alternative futures. The 500 attendees were then divided up into four groups to discuss the alternative they were assigned. Mine envisioned:

The end of cheap and abundant energy, sea-level rise, global economic collapse, and pandemics has resulted in local self-sufficiency--based on strictly-enforced indigenous-based and traditional values, and the "small is beautiful" ideas of E. F. Schumacher.

The scenario covers a full page with very small type but certain logical consequences flow from alternate future. First among these is the collapse of governance, transportation, and higher education. This would be a very dark future, indeed.

Part of all scenarios was a skit in which a debate for governor was run. There were two parties but you had to be a member of a business to be part of the party and to vote. One party was headed by someone from Japan who ran a keiretsu-like high tech virtual reality game corporation and the other by something called "Aloha Nuclear and Water."

I thought the second party's names was hilarious and include a scan of a bumper sticker (one wonders if there would be cars in this future) they handed out below.

If I have time, I'll say more some other day but I gotta' go.

Aloha!

I was watching the national news yesterday and saw an emphasis on what may be the "first hurricane of the season".

Perhaps this is just another indication that the national news is East Coast and European centric because over here in the Pacific, there have already been at least three hurricanes this season.

In fact, a very powerful category 5 super typhoon is even now heading for Wake Island. Last week Friday, then hurricane Ioke (strong storms east of the International Date Line are called hurricanes but are called typhoons when they cross the dateline) set an informal record for lowest sea level pressure ever recorded in the central Pacific. All the inhabitants of Wake Island were airlifted to Honolulu aboard two C-17 military transports.

Furthermore, there is another hurricane currently off the coast of Mexico.

No, the point is not to scare everyone away from the Pacific, or Hawaii specifically, since very rarely do hurricanes hit here (maybe once very 10 years or so). The point is the national news tends to turn a blind eye to the Pacific side of the North American continent.

Aloha!

I found a new source of images for my PC's wallpaper. Check out the Wikipedia's Featured Pictures page for links to all kinds of images. Especially useful is the page with images formated just for wallpapers (although there aren't as many images there).

When I was much younger, our parents instituted a "No TV Day." That is, once a week, the TV was turned off and not turned on again until 24-hours later. The effects of this was many fold. It helped us with, among other things, to enjoy reading, playing board games, going outside to enjoy nature, and visiting with our neighbors and relatives. On balance, I think that was a GoodThing(tm).

This week, an eight-year-old girl began what she is calling "No Screen Day." Hannah Skaggs, a Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii student began a campaign to get other students to turn off not only their TVs, but anything that uses a screen (computers, game consoles, etc.). In its place, Skaggs urges youngsters to go outside and play, or read, or anything except sitting in front of a screen.

Her goal was to get 200 to 300 of her fellow students to go along with the idea. But due to her taking this seriously, she pursued grants and therefore has funding to get the word out to others and to even offer prizes for participating. Hannah's mother estimates that as many as 1,500 students have joined her and that, perhaps, next year, the effort will spread to other states.

I think it is great idea and am pleased that it is spreading. Perhaps you may want to institute such a no screen day in our home.

Aloha!