26 Miles

Protecting Your Users Data With a Privacy Wall

// February 23rd, 2007 // No Comments » // Security & Privacy, Technology

Brad Greenlee has a good article in his blog about the data security architecture he designed and that’s used by Wesabe to protect the company’s sensitive data.

In essence, they abstract the connection between a user and their sensitive data by using a cryptographic hash rather than a foreign key. The result is that should the data fall into the wrong hands, the data is readable but not traceable back to its owner. So in a bank for example, the bad guys would know that somebody has $500k in their account and somebody else has $500, but they wouldn’t know which one is me (well, anyone who knows me would, but…).

The design does have a few drawbacks, which he addresses, and additional measures would be required for very-high security applications (like a bank maybe). But it’s good to see smart people putting some good thought into designing simple, effective security into application and database architectures (which I’ve always felt was the most-overlooked and easiest-to-exploit of the generally accepted data security threats), and protecting users data from what is arguably it’s biggest threat – internal compromise.

Go Green, Get Rich?

// February 23rd, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Life

After suppressing my initial revulsion at the thought of a Monty Burns-esque captain-of-industry sitting in his expansive study next to a warm fire in his Gothic armchair, sipping Brandy and scheming about how to get rich off of so-called “Green” business opportunities, I realized maybe it was me who was looking at it all wrong.

CNN Money and Business 2.0 magazine have an article espousing a few choice ways we can all make the environment a little better, and get stinking rich in the process. More specifically, they’re profiling a handful of companies who are making some effort at addressing specific global environmental issues, such as oil dependency or global warming.

While many make individual efforts to do what they can to be less consumptive or at least recycle their aluminum cans, few identify themselves with the organized environmental movement, which is often portrayed by the press as a radicalized fringe who chain themselves to trees or vandalize popular symbols of environmental injustice.

But as the world’s leading consumers and polluters, we in the US must take a good look at what makes us tick as a culture when choosing the path that may lead us towards a brighter, greener future for our kids and grandkids. The organized environmental movement should refocus it’s effort on fostering, funding, and marketing business ideas that make the “Green” solution what I’ll call the “brain-dead” choice. The green-solution must be cheaper, must work as well as or better, must last longer, and be at least as easy to get as the “Brown” alternatives are in the market.

The environmental movement has to be brought to the center politically. It must take an active role in championing ideas, businesses, and people who strive to change the economic model to favor “Green” ideas. My own shock at seeing “green” and “get rich” in the same sentence is symptomatic of a popular conception that the two are irreconcilable. For “Green” to succeed, this has to change.

Home For Sale

// February 15th, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Life

Let’s for a moment set aside the emotion and cost of the exercise to which we so readily dedicated ourselves these past 18 months. Forget the emotional roller coaster we tread weekly. Ignore the misunderstandings, endless waiting, driving all over town looking for just the right paint chip, and staying up pondering the cascade of “what-ifs”.

In these last three months since we’ve moved-in, our attention has been drawn from the vast ocean of activity that is the home-building process down to our favorite 3-footer, with his Mom’s brown eyes and killer smile. Only now do we see clearly what the fog of homebuilding obscured from us — our little guy should spend his last two preschool years with his Mom, and not in the care of a stranger — so we’re selling our house.

When we decided to build this monster we committed my wife returning to work this year, and putting our 3-year-old in a full time preschool/day care. We rationalized it in every way you might expect — he’s a sociable guy, he’d love it; it’d help his speech development; he’d benefit from the extra stimulation and preparation for kindergarten. The list goes on. But now the time to make those decisions is at our feet, and we can’t do it. This time in his life is unique and will only happen once. He’ll only be little for a bit longer and we want he and Mom to reap all the simple pleasures of this special time.

We’re hoping lightening will strike twice and we can again sell quickly and move on before the end of summer. We’ll have to see what unfolds. Wish us luck!

Patenting Life

// February 15th, 2007 // 4 Comments » // Business & Politics, Security & Privacy

Michael Crichton has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times discussing what has become among the most egregious abuse of the underfunded US Patent Office and their penchant for rubber stamping most patent applications that come across their desk, regardless of the true originality, merit, or social value of the claim.

Companies now hold gene patents for the genes that compose common diseases, such as Hepatitis. This stifles research as scientists who would otherwise devote energy to researching cures are dissuaded by the sometimes huge licensing fees that must be paid to the owners of the patent to conduct their research.

People die because of this, as Crichton points out. He cites proposed legislation to nullify prior gene patents and prevent the future patenting of genes but the only reference I could find to a similarly titled piece of legislation died in Congress 3 years ago. If anyone can find evidence that the legislation is on the docket for the current Congressional session, please comment and provide a citation.

Star Trek Web Analytics

// February 15th, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Online Marketing

I can barely stop laughing long enough to write this post.

It was only a matter of time before somebody put some real effort to analyzing what has become a widely accepted pop culture premise among Trekkies that red-shirted crew members stood little chance of surviving a beam-down with Kirk.

Finally, we have some solid Star Trek Web Analytics that supports it.