Ideas ⁽¹³⁾

I don't know exactly how long - at least eight years now - but I have been a hater of voice mail for quite a while. Here's the breakdown of ways that exist to reach me, in decreasing order of efficiency for you: If you…

Today in Stupid Extensions of Biometric Authentication: this item from Sophos. Brainprints will apparently be the new fingerprints. Here is what the press (and from the looks of it, half the security industry) seems unable or unwilling to get: you cannot change your biometrics. You…

When the FBI or some other government agency comes a-calling at any custodian of your private information, from Google or Yahoo! to the local public library, they bring something called a National Security Letter (NSL).  This not only serves as a warrant for the information…

Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky filed a delightful brief with the Supreme Court on March 27 in defense of "traditional marriage" or "natural marriage" or whatever dog-whistle the bigots are using this week to identify the sentiment, "I get to marry whoever I want but I think your love is…

In a new book, Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression, Hector A. Garcia explores the similarities between the ideas of God in the Abrahamic religions, and the mechanisms primate communities in general use to establish a social dominance hierarchy. It should come as…