Google Map with Traffic and Construction Info  [tech news]

Posted on Fri May 06 2005  | 0 comments

It's not quite the same as having traffic information along your driving directions route, but it's close: this site will show you a Google map of any city with surrounding area traffic snarls and construction information. Neat!

Safer Computing, part II  [soapbox, tech news]

Posted on Mon Apr 18 2005  | 0 comments

I recently stumbled across a page on Tricia Santos' website that nicely summarizes what needs to be done to safeguard your computer. Oh, and you really should think about that hardware firewall...

Safer Computing, part I  [soapbox, tech news]

Posted on Thu Mar 03 2005  | 0 comments

We hear about it all the time. Viruses, worms, and trojans, oh my! Spyware, hackers, phishers, spammers... the list goes on.

The fact is, all of these and more exist. They're real problems, and they affect us each time we connect to the Internet. All these roadblocks to computing bliss have one thing in common: they prey on our ignorance. The best defense against them is knowledge, and understanding the inner workings of the Internet, and your computer.

Unfortunately, we don't all have the interest and/or time to educate ourselves properly. Most of us want to treat our computers like an appliance. We want to plug it in and have it "just work". Computers aren't appliances, though. They're complicated general purpose machines, and if we're not careful, our computers can be used for purposes we didn't wish for or intend.

What follows are some simple, specific tools and practices that, if used, will make us all safer computer users.

Read More...

Manage your online accounts  [soapbox, tech news]

Posted on Mon Jan 31 2005  | 0 comments

A couple of months ago, something snapped. I finally got tired enough of having to remember all of my online account passwords to actually do something about it.

Every day, it seemed, I had another username and password combination to memorize. Banking, email, this website, the New York Times online... The trend wasn't slowing down, either. I seemed to click the 'forgot your password?' link by default, pure reflexive action, doomed to wait while my ill-rememberd password was forwarded to my email account.

As I saw it, these were my options:

1. use the same username and password absolutely everywhere.
2. write my usernames and passwords down on a small index card and put it in my wallet.
3. get a better memory.

Choice #1 was right out, for the obvious reason that it is a really bad idea.

Choice #2 seemed more intelligent, but still a lot of work: I imagined having to schlep my wallet out of my pocket several times a day, pull out a tattered index card, and try to read my handwriting. What if my wallet got wet? How could I waterproof the index card, but still retain the ability to add new information to it? What if I didn't have a pen or pencil handy? What if my wallet was stolen? The more I thought about this option, the less I liked it.

Choice #3 seemed hopeless. After toying with the idea of purchasing MegaMemory tapes off a late-night infomercial, and considering buying a lifetime supply of Gingko Biloba extract, I started to wonder how other people were solving this problem. Turns out, there is (what I consider) an elegant solution to this problem: Store your passwords electronically.

I found a Microsoft Windows program that stores your sensitive account information in an encrypted database file on your computer. Whenever you access the database file, the program asks you for the master password, which unlocks all of the entries in the database. Now, I only need to remember one password and the computer remembers the rest for me!

As an added bonus, this program can generate secure, random passwords for you. This is a nice feature: since you no longer need to remember your individual account passwords, why not make them really hard to remember, and therefore, hard to guess? This program can actually improve the overall security of your account passwords. And, since the database file containing your sensitive information is encrypted, you can rest safe knowing that it is useless to anyone who does not have your master password.

The program is called PasswordSafe, and you can download the latest version from here. Versions for non-Microsoft operating systems are available, also.

The final step in eliminating the need to remember any passwords ever again, it to make it so you can retrieve your PasswordSafe database file from anywhere you happen to be. I chose to make this file available online. There are many ways of doing so, but perhaps the easiest is to periodically email yourself the encrypted database file as an attachment. Alternately, you could carry the file with you in a USB memory key, or even a simple floppy disk.

Group calendar entries on the main page  [website]

Posted on Wed Oct 06 2004  | 0 comments

It is now possible to have your group calendar entries appear on the main page. (Click on the Ministries link above to see the list of groups.) If you are a group administrator, and want to make this change, simply click the link at the bottom of the group administration page. Note: this will copy *all* of your group's future calendar entries to the main page, not just some. If you'd rather not have the main page cluttered with all of your group's calendar entries, but would like to make a few calendar items widely known from time to time, please work with a staff member to create a main page news item that links to your information as that need arises.

See the Harvest Moon tonight  [astronomy]

Posted on Tue Sep 28 2004  | 0 comments

Be sure to check out the bright, full Harvest Moon tonight (the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox)! For more fascinating moon facts, check out Science@NASA.

www.electoral-vote.com  

Posted on Tue Sep 21 2004  | 0 comments

If you haven't seen it, this site has a graphical prediction of the presidential race by electoral college votes, based on the latest polls. Fascinating.

papersplease.org: should we be able to travel anonymously within our own country?  [soapbox]

Posted on Fri Aug 20 2004  | 0 comments

John Gilmore, who founded the site papersplease.org, asks some interesting questions, and fights for them in court. Is demanding ID before allowing American citizens to travel legal?

Make your own biodiesel!  [soapbox, tech news]

Posted on Fri Jul 23 2004  | 3 comments

I ran into this the other day:
http://www.biodieselsolutions.com/products.asp

For only $3000 you can be up and transestherifying your own biodiesel
from industrial waste oils! Cost per gallon (assuming free waste
vegetable or animal fat oils) is $.70, plus an hour's worth of time,
per 40 gallon batch.

This is intriguing to me because this setup makes it actually feasible
to get a group of people together and take yourselves out of the game
of using petroleum fuels. Imagine that! The benefits of biodiesel are
astounding. The only real down-side I can determine so far would be
that your vehicle's exhaust would smell a bit like french fries (or
whatever kind of oil you used initially).

Read More...

Well, I feel safer...  [soapbox]

Posted on Wed Jun 30 2004  | 0 comments

Our Dept. of Homeland Security continues its efforts to get us to spy on each other. Are we heading in the right direction here?