You’ll learn more from this infographic than you’d ever imagine.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Comcast puts on great security theater
At the urging of a friend I recently decided to buy my own cable modem
and save the $7 a month Comcast charges me to lease their equipment.
The only complicating factor is having to contact Comcast to
let them know the equipment MAC address and serial number so they can
properly provision it.
And as you may guess, contacting Comcast is like getting a root canal
when all you really needed was a good floss.
I went for the live chat option, hoping that incompetence would seem
less frustrating via IM than phone and knowing that relaying a
15-digit serial number verbally was asking for trouble. I filled in my
details (name, address, account #) and enter the chat room. The agent sends me the usual canned
text about being happy to help and asks for account verification (basically, everything I've already typed in plus the last four digits of the account holder's SSN).
Note: the account is in my wife's name, but I have been added as an
authorized agent at least twice, and remember vividly the last time
when I had called during the MLB playoffs in 2010 to clarify why I couldn't
watch.
Everything seems fine, I'm thanked for the information, they ask what I
need and I tell them I need to set up my own equipment. They leave for a
bit toplay solitaire look up an answer and the agent says that I'm not an
authorized user and they can't discuss the account.
I explain that I can actually tell them the date and time I was (most
recently) authorized to suffer through this indignity. Amazingly, I
got an honest answer about why I keep having to be added to the account.
Comcast has a notes section on each account where they record things
like authorized users. The rep informs me that these notes are
regularly purged if they "get too long" and that this precaution is a
matter of security in an era of identity theft, so this is really for
my own good.
Using simple words, I share my sentiments with the rep, end the chat,
and promptly start a new one posing as my wife. Five minutes later,
we're done.
Thanks for keeping my identity safe, Comcast.
and save the $7 a month Comcast charges me to lease their equipment.
The only complicating factor is having to contact Comcast to
let them know the equipment MAC address and serial number so they can
properly provision it.
And as you may guess, contacting Comcast is like getting a root canal
when all you really needed was a good floss.
I went for the live chat option, hoping that incompetence would seem
less frustrating via IM than phone and knowing that relaying a
15-digit serial number verbally was asking for trouble. I filled in my
details (name, address, account #) and enter the chat room. The agent sends me the usual canned
text about being happy to help and asks for account verification (basically, everything I've already typed in plus the last four digits of the account holder's SSN).
Note: the account is in my wife's name, but I have been added as an
authorized agent at least twice, and remember vividly the last time
when I had called during the MLB playoffs in 2010 to clarify why I couldn't
watch.
Everything seems fine, I'm thanked for the information, they ask what I
need and I tell them I need to set up my own equipment. They leave for a
bit to
authorized user and they can't discuss the account.
I explain that I can actually tell them the date and time I was (most
recently) authorized to suffer through this indignity. Amazingly, I
got an honest answer about why I keep having to be added to the account.
Comcast has a notes section on each account where they record things
like authorized users. The rep informs me that these notes are
regularly purged if they "get too long" and that this precaution is a
matter of security in an era of identity theft, so this is really for
my own good.
Using simple words, I share my sentiments with the rep, end the chat,
and promptly start a new one posing as my wife. Five minutes later,
we're done.
Thanks for keeping my identity safe, Comcast.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Thursday, November 03, 2011
The most amazing presidential election analysis you have ever seen
Seriously. When you combine a talented statistician with a talented writer (in one person) with the talented multimedia crew at the New York Times, you get this unbelievable tool for looking at Republican prospects for the presidency in 2012.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Peel garlic in 10 seconds
Just watch this. Damn.
How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.
How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Five proposals for the 99% of America
A brilliant prescription for tilting class warfare back in favor of the middle class.
1. Pass this constitutional amendment: Corporations are not people
1. Pass this constitutional amendment: Corporations are not people
2. Pass this constitutional amendment: Money is not speech
3. Tax financial transactions
4. Tax all income as ordinary income
5. Declare a moratorium on foreclosures
For more on these proposals, read David Morris' piece in Minnpost.com
Friday, October 21, 2011
When doors open, introspection begins
So I received a job offer of sorts today. It's interesting. Directing a very small advocacy organization committed to a democratic approach to developing renewable energy. The mission is nearly indistinguishable from the place I work now. The work would be a lot different. Less typing and calculating, more talking and persuading. Much more responsibility and pay, much less family time.
I'm nowhere near deciding if it's worthwhile. But it has made me think hard about where I am and what I do, and for how long I should stay.
For starters, where I work now - there's hardly a better place to be if you have family. Flexible hours, great benefits, good pay, wonderful people. And the kind of loyalty to employees that has the upper ranks cutting salaries to save the rest of us. And it's been a mind-opener, a place with enough guidance to hone my edges and enough freedom to make mistakes. I'm still growing after five years on the job. Good for home life and good for career. Hard to beat.
If I knew I'd be happy doing research forever I doubt I'd even consider a change. But it was freshman year of college when I decided to run for student senate that I realized how much it mattered whether or not I could make a difference - that life was not just about maximizing my happiness, but also about improving the world around me. I've always felt the best way to do that is politics.
There's no higher calling than public service, no greater challenge than balancing the very different demands of your constituency with the demands of your own conscience. And making laws has the potential to truly alter the lives of millions for good: Medicare, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care, renewable energy; or ill: massive tax cuts, wars, constraining civil liberties.
This new opportunity would run closer to politics. And it would feel like politics, with more time spent raising money, schmoozing, and running around trying to build coalitions. Some of that seems exciting and challenging; some of it seems really distasteful.
Ultimately, I feel like there will be a tradeoff at some point. To put more energy into a career means less for home, and that should only happen if the potential to do good is significantly higher than my current role and if I'm uniquely suited to it.
Is it? Am I? Good questions.
I'm nowhere near deciding if it's worthwhile. But it has made me think hard about where I am and what I do, and for how long I should stay.
For starters, where I work now - there's hardly a better place to be if you have family. Flexible hours, great benefits, good pay, wonderful people. And the kind of loyalty to employees that has the upper ranks cutting salaries to save the rest of us. And it's been a mind-opener, a place with enough guidance to hone my edges and enough freedom to make mistakes. I'm still growing after five years on the job. Good for home life and good for career. Hard to beat.
If I knew I'd be happy doing research forever I doubt I'd even consider a change. But it was freshman year of college when I decided to run for student senate that I realized how much it mattered whether or not I could make a difference - that life was not just about maximizing my happiness, but also about improving the world around me. I've always felt the best way to do that is politics.
There's no higher calling than public service, no greater challenge than balancing the very different demands of your constituency with the demands of your own conscience. And making laws has the potential to truly alter the lives of millions for good: Medicare, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care, renewable energy; or ill: massive tax cuts, wars, constraining civil liberties.
This new opportunity would run closer to politics. And it would feel like politics, with more time spent raising money, schmoozing, and running around trying to build coalitions. Some of that seems exciting and challenging; some of it seems really distasteful.
Ultimately, I feel like there will be a tradeoff at some point. To put more energy into a career means less for home, and that should only happen if the potential to do good is significantly higher than my current role and if I'm uniquely suited to it.
Is it? Am I? Good questions.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Saved at the last second
You haven't seen much in this digital space, because that's what having two kids does to you. My daughter, M, was born in late May and managing two children (despite having the most wonderful wife in the world) does not leave much time for blogging.
Last night, I almost pulled the plug on this whole thing, figuring it was better to delete it than not, especially since I had to split the blog in two to easily post interesting stories from my phone's Read It Later app to Tumblr. But ifttt to the rescue, allowing me to push all those Tumblr blog posts back here.
So here's what's up. Work has been great, I just hit my 5-year anniversary at my job and am loving it. I finally feel like I know what I'm talking about, and so do a few others in the field. Very cool. I'm hopeful that it means I'm having an impact.
Two kids are great. M is the world's greatest sleeper, almost letting me forget that she's got a bad case of acid reflux just like her brother. She also has to have physical therapy for torticollis, which means I'm seen on the front porch twisting her head in strange ways. Bet the neighbors love that.
If you haven't seen it, read up on the Occupy Wall Street folks. The Tea Party was mostly an astroturf movement of Fox News meant (heck, it's the third entry when I search Google for "astroturf") to cram budget cuts to save millionaires pocketbooks, but this is the real deal. These folks are protesting the absurd and unconscionable class warfare of the rich on the middle class since Jimmy Carter was president. There won't be a middle class if things continue as they are, no amount of cheap crap at Wal-Mart can make up for stagnant incomes.
Last night, I almost pulled the plug on this whole thing, figuring it was better to delete it than not, especially since I had to split the blog in two to easily post interesting stories from my phone's Read It Later app to Tumblr. But ifttt to the rescue, allowing me to push all those Tumblr blog posts back here.
So here's what's up. Work has been great, I just hit my 5-year anniversary at my job and am loving it. I finally feel like I know what I'm talking about, and so do a few others in the field. Very cool. I'm hopeful that it means I'm having an impact.
Two kids are great. M is the world's greatest sleeper, almost letting me forget that she's got a bad case of acid reflux just like her brother. She also has to have physical therapy for torticollis, which means I'm seen on the front porch twisting her head in strange ways. Bet the neighbors love that.
If you haven't seen it, read up on the Occupy Wall Street folks. The Tea Party was mostly an astroturf movement of Fox News meant (heck, it's the third entry when I search Google for "astroturf") to cram budget cuts to save millionaires pocketbooks, but this is the real deal. These folks are protesting the absurd and unconscionable class warfare of the rich on the middle class since Jimmy Carter was president. There won't be a middle class if things continue as they are, no amount of cheap crap at Wal-Mart can make up for stagnant incomes.
So if you aren't mad as hell, you've not been paying attention.
Anyway, I can't promise lots more posts, but you will at least get the good articles from blog #2 right here from now on. And maybe I'll even write once in a while, too.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Op-Ed Columnist: The Bankers and the Revolutionaries
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tumblr/RwbX/~3/JSKKrtyyHMo/11257246554
Op-Ed Columnist: The Bankers and the Revolutionaries
Op-Ed Columnist: The Bankers and the Revolutionaries
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