B. Myrkle discusses growing up in Flint and General Motors.
The Problems With Massively Automated Domestic Spying
Noah, at DefenseTech, tapped Valdis Krebs for his analysis of the problems with the slowly leaked details on the NSAs domestic surveillance efforts. Valdis makes the absolutely correct observation that:
Bruce Schneier has more, as does David Isenberg.
Kristian Knutsen takes a useful look at the issue from a local perspective.
A Day in the Life of US Air Traffic Control
NASA, via Edward Tufte.
The Patent Trolls
Judy Newman takes a very useful look at the numerous and growing problems with our patent system.
How To Increase Broadband Competition
David Isenberg points to some ideas.
TBL on Neutrality of the Net
Tim Berners Lee (Father of the web):
Net Neutrality is an international issue. In some countries it is addressed better than others. (In France, for example, I understand that the layers are separated, and my colleague in Paris attributes getting 24Mb/s net, a phone with free international dialing and digital TV for 30euros/month to the resulting competition.) In the US, there have been threats to the concept, and a wide discussion about what to do. That is why, though I have written and spoken on this many times, I blog about it now.
Twenty-seven years ago, the inventors of the Internet[1] designed an architecture[2] which was simple and general. Any computer could send a packet to any other computer. The network did not look inside packets. It is the cleanness of that design, and the strict independence of the layers, which allowed the Internet to grow and be useful. It allowed the hardware and transmission technology supporting the Internet to evolve through a thousandfold increase in speed, yet still run the same applications. It allowed new Internet applications to be introduced and to evolve independently.
Pull Over Harley, Looks like Honda’s on Your Tail
n fact, police in the United States have been using motorcycles since about 1912 when the nascent Harley-Davidson Co. started outfitting a few departments with them. The cycles turned out to be a godsend for traffic enforcement — they could chase speeders through traffic, and they could get to the scene of an accident far faster than a patrol car. This basic principle still holds true.
For nearly 100 years, Harley has dominated the U.S. market — the company said last year that its motorcycles “are presently in service with some 2,800 law enforcement agencies nationwide.”
Now, however, Honda, the world’s most successful maker of motorcycles, is testing the law enforcement waters here. Honda has the largest share of the U.S. civilian motorcycle market, with 26.9 percent of all new bikes sold in the United States, followed by Harley with 23.7 percent and then a handful of other manufacturers, according to figures for 2004 provided by the Motorcycle Industry Council.
WiFi at Madison’s Airport
Waiting for a flight recently at MSN, I popped open my laptop and, for the first time (for me) ever, a WiFi signal was available. Unfortunately, Madison is years behind other airports in offering wireless internet access. Worse, many flyers now have other types of high speed access, such as Verizon’s EVDO, which means given a choice between paid WiFi access (which Madison’s airport offers – $6.95/day) or a service that can be used in many places, the pool of paying users is likely not all that large. In my case, I fired up my EVDO access and avoided the 6.95 fee.
Albuquerque’s enlightened Sunport, along with many others, offers free WiFi. Madison would do well to simply make it free, perhaps supported by an advertising based splash screen when users logon.
Economic Impacts of Liquid Fuel Mitigation
Roger Bezdek & Robert Wendling:
Our objective was to better elucidate the implications of the mitigation programs, e.g., the time required to save and produce significant quantities of liquid fuel, related costs, and economic, fiscal, and jobs impacts. We studied crash program implementation of all options simultaneously because the results provide an upper limit on what might be accomplished under the best of circumstances. No one knows if and when such a program might be undertaken, so our calculations were based on an unspecified starting date, designated as t0
Lake Geneva Update
THE casual atmosphere and laid-back state of mind are what Mike Moses finds most appealing about Lake Geneva, a popular weekend destination in southeastern Wisconsin, about 80 miles from Chicago.
Sitting in Chuck’s, a popular gathering place in nearby Fontana, Mr. Moses, a Chicago accountant, noticed a $200,000 Lamborghini parked next to a beat-up old Jeep. “The beauty of Lake Geneva is that no one could’ve guessed the driver of the more expensive car,” said Mr. Moses, who bought a two-bedroom 1937 Cape Cod cottage in Lake Geneva two years ago. “Everyone’s wearing jeans and sweatshirts. No one is flashing their wealth.”