Ramblings

It’s Time to Encrypt EMail, IM, and Voice

November 1, 2013 0 Comments

Two things lead to the creation of this entry 1) various companies and the Federal Government are both collecting and storing my personal data, 2) I recently purchased a new Galaxy S4 and was alarmed at how much information the phone was spewing into the digital aether. Google+ was extremely concerning as it was syncing my contacts, locations visited, email, photos, IMs, and a ton of other stuff back to Google. The damn thing figured out where I lived on its own by simply calculating where my phone spent most…
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Ramblings

Android: International Travel with Wifi Only

October 12, 2013 0 Comments

I’m about to head off for some international travel to the “land down under” (Australia) and I want to make sure I don’t get pummeled with a huge phone bill upon my return. Why would I have a huge bill? Well, the Galaxy S4 (and any smartphone for that matter) all use quite a bit of data. Even when you aren’t actively using the phone, there is a lot of chatter taking place in the background such as software updates, “phoning home”, cloud-syncs, weather applications, stock widgets, pushes, pulls, email,…
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Ramblings

Do We Now Live In a Police State?

April 27, 2013 0 Comments

police state

Holy crap! I don’t live in Boston, but when I woke up the next day and watched the Boston Bomber manhunt on re-released video footage, I would have guessed I was watching a video feed from the streets of Iraq. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The firepower and the military grade equipment deployed in civilized Bostonian neighborhoods was reminiscent of a war zone. There where perhaps 20 armor-plated Humvee’s, armor plated command posts, armor plated sniper turrets, hundreds of police officers, ATF agents, FBI agents, local police, SWAT, grenades ……
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Legislation, Politics, Ramblings, Regulations

New Colorado Gun Laws Will Not Reduce Gun Crime

March 5, 2013 0 Comments

Tragedy surrounds each and every one of us. It’s just the sucky part of life we all face. Some of us were dealt a bad hand, others were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and still others may have been the victim of a violent crime. While nothing can be done about the first two scenarios, some believe they can pass laws preventing the latter from occurring. The new gun laws drafted by democrats in Colorado are trying to do just that; legislate crime from happening. The problem…
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Legislation, Ramblings, Regulations

Is the DOW a Good Measure of Stock Market Health?

February 27, 2013 0 Comments

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DOW) is nothing more than an index of carefully picked stocks whose relevancy as to how well the stock market and economy are doing is misleading. Perhaps decades ago, it was a useful tool since it was comprised of the major industrial companies within the United States such as steel companies and auto manufacturers, (hence DOW Jones “Industrial” Average), but that isn’t the case anymore. Within the United States, there are roughly 5,000 companies traded on the stock exchanges. However, the DOW is composed of…
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Economy, Ramblings

Violent Crime in United States Down Sharply – 1992 Through 2010

January 9, 2013 0 Comments

Despite all the negative attention the mainstream media gives to isolated acts of violence, the facts clearly show violent crime in the United States is down sharply between the years 1992 and 2010. In fact, it’s remarkable. So remarkable, it’s hard to believe no agency, person, or organization wants to claim credit for such a heroic superman feat. Perhaps that’s because no one knows why violent crime is on the decline, but it’s unmistakable that something amazing has happened. And when I say decline, I’m not talking about a highly…
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Economy, Media Bias, Ramblings

Fiscal Cliff Deal is a Joke. The Bill Solves Nothing.

January 2, 2013 0 Comments

fiscal cliff

After months of hype and hysteria, we are no better off with this new deal than we were before. In fact, we’re worse off for numerous reasons. The first being, there are only $40 billion in cuts, but $330 billion in new spending. That’s a net increase in borrowing of $290 billion. I thought we were supposed to cut spending, not increase it? Second, there is a 2.5% tax increase on everyone earning an income greater than $50K a year. This is the payroll tax increase that helps contribute to…
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Economy, Legislation, Ramblings, Taxes