12.14.2013

Sunlight Kills Vampires


One year later and the victims of Sandy Hook still in our hearts… Lots of surprising things happened over the past year politically and legislatively; we discovered, for example, that right-wingers and left-wingers alike want #privacy. But what about the tonz ’o‘ gunz being used to hurt people? Some very knowledgeable and educated folks who taught me a lot about security are totally opposed to gun control, and this piece is written for them in particular because, after all, why preach to the choir?
How can we address the memory of those killed at Sandy Hook, and the countless other victims of heartbreaking and meaningless gun violence?
Well how about treating guns the way we treat other dangerous machines? How about looking into requiring insurance or at least encouraging insurance-related regulations in order to promote more responsible possession of consumer firearms? How about biometric locks for consumer firearms? Then the only person who could operate a particular firearm would be the person(s) to whom it is registered, who ostensibly passed some sort of safety competency test (and anyone who can hack the lock...). Yes, I know, 3D printed guns and the like. Whatever, baby steps people. The US military requires background checks when issuing certain types of arms to members of its ranks, why not the rest of us? It's not about disarming the people, but rather about teaching us all to be more responsible gun owners; same goes for nation-states, IMHO. The Due Process Clause of the Unites States Constitution would continue to protect an individual’s right to bear arms.
The other suggestion of the day has to do with privacy; perhaps the attorney general of the state where such heinous massacres take place could have the option to release the results of the toxicology screen of the perpetrator to the public. It's just an educated guess, but I bet some of these malfeasors were all on the same prescription drugs. 
So… the gun lobby and pharma lobby would never let above happen? All the more reason to push for publicly financed elections. We are losing our democracy to a precious few who never have to walk among the rest of us and who pay others to do dirty work they are too afraid to do themselves. It's time to force them out into the light of day. Remember: sunlight kills vampires. 

10.08.2013

Furlough Food Recipe

Polenta is easy to make, inexpensive and comes packaged dry. It has common characteristics with grits and is very versatile. My favorite restaurant polenta dish is from Wolfgang Puck American Grille in the Borgata in Atlantic City, and I just recently decided to try preparing a polenta dish myself. This dish started with a box of Colavita Polenta, but feel free to use your favorite brand.

You will need:
1 Box Polenta Cornmeal
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 jar sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro, fresh or dried.

Boil some water. The ratio for preparing polenta is 2:1, water to polenta. I used two cups of water to prepare 1 cup of polenta.
Pour water into a saucepan, when the water reaches a boil, pour in the polenta. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste, and use a whisk to smooth it all out. From the time you pour in the polenta, it will be less than five minutes for the polenta to be cooked. Turn off the flame.

Add your extra ingredients. Mine are mushrooms and parmesan, but you should pick what you like. I added a quarter cup of sliced button mushrooms (from a jar) and a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese. Blend these ingredients and then pour the mixture into a baking dish. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Now you have the basic component of your meal. You can keep this in your fridge for at least a week, so make this on a Sunday and then use as needed throughout the week.

The last steps:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a half inch slice of polenta from the baking dish and bake for 5-6 minutes. This will remove some of the moisture from the polenta slice. Remove from oven, brush on some olive oil and fry or grill for about three minutes. Sprinkle on some cilantro. Enjoy! Makes a great side dish to soup, especially if paired with guacamole.


7.04.2013

Happy Birthday America

Ah, privacy. Everybody wants more for themselves, perhaps at the cost of the privacy of others. What a conundrum.
Using Facebook Graph Search I ran a search for "Persons who work at NSA" and got back over one-thousand search results. Interesting, in and of itself since this would imply that even potentially  sensitive information faces its eventual demise at the hands of crowdsourcing and self reporting. The photos have been retouched to observe privacy.





What will we, collectively, do with all of that information? Learn the Bill of Rights, I hope. Here are the results for a graph search for "People who work at NSA who like the US Constitution."


As you can see, only one person of the "more than 1000 people" fit this criteria. A friend reminded me yesterday that the greatest battle Americans have ever fought is with ourselves. I wholeheartedly agree.
So, on this, the 237th birthday of my native and most beloved country, I want to wish the USA a happy birthday. To those in other lands who hate us because we are a vibrant, free and diverse culture: stuff it. To those who protect us, often in silence: Thank you! Please read the Constitution, it's awesome.

3.23.2013

To Endorse or Not To Endorse

Well, this tweet got my attention this morning:

And brought to mind some potential pitfalls with regard to privilege: When the endorsee has no publicly available content on the subject for which they are being endorsed, the first question that usually pops into my head is, "How do they know this about the individual being endorsed?" That inquiry makes me a bit nervous, especially if I imagine a scenario involving a member of a licensed profession, under scrutiny for some alleged act of malpractice. As a plaintiff's advocate or on behalf of the defendant, contacting all the people who clicked that "endorse" button might make the short list of people from whom some statement might be sought.
When there is publicly available content such as a treatise or a published note on the part of the endorsee, stated scenario seems like much less of an issue, and thus reinforces the old adage of "Publish or Perish."
My tip for staying out of trouble? Endorse for attributes for which information is publicly available, i.e. public speaking or subject matter pertaining to publicly accessible skills such as litigation or the subject matter of a recent treatise.
Also, kudos to the writer of "101." It treats the subject matter at a very basic level and this may give us a clue as to where many LinkedIn users are right now with regard to this feature.

2.03.2013

Untitled 13

Fortune's Thorns, again
grass oak lemon  | breathe outside
#ForAll Dearest Lost