26 Miles

Kids New Targets For Identity Theft

// January 31st, 2006 // No Comments » // Security & Privacy

Thieves are increasingly exploiting the identities of children to gain fraudlent loans and credit cards, according to a blog article by Daniel Solove.

Solove writes:

“My guess as to why kids are increasingly targeted is because in many cases, it would take a lot longer for the identity theft to be discovered. Many people learn that they are an identity theft victim when they seek to obtain a loan or credit card — something kids don’t often do. And parents often don’t think that they need to be checking their children’s credit reports, but perhaps they should be.”

Insulating kids from everyday ugliness is difficult enough. I guess we can now add “regularly checking their credit report for signs of identity theft” to the list…

Read more at Concurring Opinions.

The New Boom?

// January 27th, 2006 // No Comments » // Business & Politics, Technology

Chris Anderson of Wired.com has an article arguing there is a new tech boom underway — based on a solid footing absent during the bubble.

He cites a healthier economics at play in Silicon Valley today, including:

1. The onging rapid adoption of new technology, despite the bust.
2. The massive infrastructure investment of the dotcom era is still bearing fruit.
3. As a result, startups can grow more organically, and with less venture capital funding.

From the article:

“It’s hard to know what ‘normal’ prosperity looks like in Silicon Valley. This is, after all, the land of boom and bust – it’s been alternating between greed and grief ever since the gold rush. But if there is such a thing as a healthy boom, we’re living it now.”

It’s an interesting assessment and one I hope is on the mark.

Read more at Wired.com.

IT Still Growing Fast, Paying Well

// January 27th, 2006 // No Comments » // Business & Politics, Technology

There’s no shortage of news predicting the slow demise of IT as a wellspring of opportunity in the coming years. That’s why this article on CNN.com took me back a bit, as it ran so counter to the counsel of my peers and the vibe of many industry trade journals.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5 of the top 10 fastest growing, highest paying jobs in the next 8 years are in IT. I’m presuming the study is limited to the U.S. labor market, given the source.

Assuming you choose to believe it, it seems like a ray of light for those techies who sensed their once lucrative dot-com-esque salaries were soon to be a thing of the past.

Read more at CNN.com.

How To Do What You Love

// January 24th, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Life

I can’t say I’m among those who “do what they love”. I can imagine doing other things, few which pay well or can be accomplished without absurd sacrifice, precision timing, or dumb luck — so I don’t seriously consider them. Not now anyway.

Until I was 8, career planning meant deciding whether I should play quarterback or free safety for the Dallas Cowboys. Quarterbacks got all the glory, but my blinding speed and the simple thrill of intercepting passes drew me to the backfield. In either case, a star was going on my helmet in a few short years.

Around age 8 my dreams shifted skyward. Becoming an jet fighter pilot in the Air Force was my new destiny. Thereafter I thought of little else. My spare time was consumed with books on military planes — my favorite, the ominously titled “Aircraft of World War III” (ISBN 0861241053). I lived for trips to the Army/Navy store, aircraft museums, air shows, and the militaria catalogs I sent off for.

Around age 14 I switched directions from the Air Force to the Marines, in part to carry on the long family bloodline of Jarheads. The Naval Academy exceeded the reach of my GPA. Thankfully, Aggieland greeted me with open arms.

In college I changed majors 7 times, finally departing with a degree in Sociology — the preeminent pathway to untold riches. Graduate work in Urban Planning and even short stints in both English and Educational Administration rounded out my long and fruitless search for career nirvana. Somewhere in those six odd years the fighter pilot dreams faded as well.

Ultimately eight weeks of intensive Oracle database training landed me my first technology job. I’ve never looked back. But often I look ahead wondering if my life’s work will take me other places.

Paul Graham’s essay “How To Do What You Love” sparked a retracing of the path that’s led me here.

I always felt like I should know what I want to do, even in high school. It seemed so critical to have “a direction” (or so they said). The childhood certainty I once had has long since vanished. Even still, inexplicably, today I have more faith than ever that the “thing I love to do” will find me, or I it, sooner than later.

Read more at How To Do What You Love.

Alito Hearings Expose…Nothing

// January 17th, 2006 // No Comments » // Business & Politics

In case you missed the mind-bending Supreme Court Nomination play-by-play of Judge Samuel Alito on the three dozen odd 24 hour cable news networks, what you missed was truly the most disheartening display not so much of partisan ideology (which it also was), but of a mangled confirmation process.

Never before did the reputation of Congress as a body of old, white men engaged in a daily ritual of lengthy, incoherent monologues ring more true than during these hearings. I tuned into National Public Radio one afternoon when leaving work to listen in. I believe it was Joe Biden who was speaking when I tuned in. Presuming a pointed, if highly partisan, question was forthcoming, I didn’t change the station. I listened to Biden’s diatribe for what seemed like an eternity. I was nearly home from my 30-minute commute before an actual question was posed to Judge Alito. Judge Alito was about 5 seconds into his answer before the Senator interrupted him and continued to speak for several more minutes before allowing Alito to continue.

I thought this behavior might be an exception, until I saw The Daily Show with John Stewart that evening, which dedicated an entire bit to comparing how long different senators held the floor before asking an actual question. I forget the winner/loser but the examples given stretched from 4 to over 9 minutes of “I’m on TV so I’m going to show the folks back home what a tough interrogator I am” scenarios.

I tuned in again several times during the hearings. In each case I tired of listening to Senators endless jawing and tuned elsewhere. Searching the web for a balanced review of his qualifications and positions is clearly a better solution that tuning into the caricature formerly known as television news. History shows that little is gained from these hearings anyway, aside from the Bork and Thomas hearings. Perhaps I expect too much, or perhaps the introduction of excessive media spin into the mix prevent a genuine dialogue from taking place, and that is a loss for all of us.

It was political theater, and little more. I say, if theater is what they’re after, then let’s spice it up. I’m sure in a group that size somebody can carry a tune. There must be some great voices in the Senate. Maybe we could get a McCain-Leiberman-Schumer version of the Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” or a nice Tom Jones classic by John Kerry. Maybe a dramatic reading from Hamlet by Senator Byrd or a scene from The Godfather with Frank Lautenberg. Or better yet, a celebrity boxing match between Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter. Enough with the polite banter, lets see some life in there!

HA HA! Let’s see you yield the rest of your time now!