This is our Valentine’s Day 2008! Alex got me he big bunch of flowers (which he rarely does). He knows I like daisies. The boys each made me a card. Aidan’s, on the left, has a little “pocket” message. Leiham’s, on the right, has a cut out heart and a message under a heart door. Then there are the 3 cards I got for each of my guys. I wrote a long sappy letter for Alex. Alex said to get the guys “good chocolate, not Valentine chocolate”…I couldn’t get to Wilbur’s, so I got them big Hershey bars. (I figured if they don’t like them, they can make Smores.)

Finland school shooting linked to YouTube

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/181053213/index.html

So, what kind of crappy inflamatory headline is that? Apparently, he planned the act and posted it as a warning on Youtube.

So, CCN is saying that if he had written out the warning on, say, lined school paper…then their headline would read “School shooting linked to Mead Paper Supply” ??

Not that I’ve ever had much trust in popular media, but I am seriously starting to doubt their ability to report on ANYthing without putting some type of slant on it.

Disclaimer: I have an unhealthy interest in reading complex case studies that might put others to sleep.

You may NOT wish to follow the link below to read “Identity Fraud Trends and Patterns: Building a Data-Based Foundation for Proactive Enforcement,” October 2007.

http://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ecii/publications/media/cimip_id_theft_study_oct_22_noon.pdf

For those who do not follow the link, who fell asleep reading the study, or who would rather read a summary, here are the things I felt were important to note:

In about 20% of the cases, the offenders used the Internet in some manner (take totals from page 49)

If you read further into the study, this is ANY use of the itnernet - this doesn’t indicate that the theft was of information provided over the itnernet - this number includes use of information obtained elsewhere in an application or purchase made online.

So, for those of you who are afraid to bank or shop online because of identity theft, you need to realize that more identity theft happens offline than online.

This percentage is on par with the percentage which occurred through a family member, which was actually quite rare.

You are far more likely to have your information stolen through a business (50%) or your employer (30%).

Employee insiders were the offenders in one-third of the 517 cases

This goes back to the old analogy we used to use when online shopping was new. You give your credit card to the waitress, (who makes minimum wage or less). She takes it to the back room to complete the transaction. Who knows what happens when it is out of your view? How is this more trustworthy than online shopping?

In about a fifth of the cases, the employee worked in the financial services industry

1 out of 5 cases are someone who works at a bank…the very place we MOST trust with our money, and the people who have ALL the data and forms to take out a credit card in our name. Great!

The top 3 most prevalent types of cases involved Fraudulent Use of Account Numbers, Fraudulent Access Device Applications, Stolen Bank Issued Cards

Protect your bank account and credit cards first.

The case analysis indicates that the offenders could be separated into two groups: those who engaged in identity theft practices as isolated events as opportunities presented themselves and those who actively pursue identity theft

The take-away here is to make sure your personal data doesn’t “present an opportunity”, when that is under your control. i.e. When you have temporary workers in your home, or when you are on vacation, do not leave important data such as SSN, account numbers, and drivers licenses where others can find them. If you are a business owner, temporary workers should be employed in areas which do not involve access to identity information.

And the top two take-away items:

Check your mail. Be observant about missing bills/statements, and bills from things you did not apply for.

Check your credit report. Report credit inquiries and accounts you did not open.

Spam says > My response
10 new uses for olive oil > I bet it works great for frying up SPAM.
apolitical inhumane > …and annoying
Can you imagine that you are healthy? > I’ll imagine me healthy. You imagine you doing something other than spamming.
capitalist velour > Sounds like the next Bond girl.
cuss telecommunications > I’d rather curse email marketing.
Dive Into The Elite Singles Scene > Thanks, I’m happy with the Exclusive Married Scene
Double your sales with 100 free sales leads > You need to go back to school for math. First of all, that’s only doubling sales if we assume that (a)I only had 100 customers to begin with and (b)100% of the free sales leads become customers. Highly unlikely that either of those would be true, don’t you think?
Do you want Xanax?> No, but I might need some if this keeps up…
Get Rewarded for Your Time - Business Study > I have a way to get rewarded for my time. It’s called a REAL JOB.
He’s also a real writer, not a hobbyist who chose to lift a pen. (Sender Name = Cervantes)> Ok, there wasn’t a link in this one that tried to sell anything or lead anywhere suspicious. This just verifies my suspicions that someone (spies, spammers, someone) uses spam as a form of underground communication. Now they’re arguing about writers.
Indicate Interest. > No. I have no interest.
Inserts t into a. > Doesn’t work that way. You need to get out more.
Just launched new web site for proven self-investors > If you can proved you given money to someone for a work-at-home scheme before, and you still aren’t a millionaire, we’d like you to give us some money, too!
nick inhibited (Sender=Band-aid) > That’s cute.
We could help you find the right gym for you > Great, because it’s so hard to figure out which one is closest to my house or least expensive. Those two phone calls really killed me last time.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the question “how do I replace one icon with another on a user’s workspace” (or some variation of that question) posted on the Lotus Notes forums.  Well, here’s code I’ve used successfully. I’ve used versions of this to send a button via email, and I’ve also embedded a button in the about doc of a database that was being replaced, and set that database’s launch properties to launch the about document.

 @Prompt([OK]; “Attention …”; “You will now be prompted to remove an obsolete icon from your workspace. Please choose YES when prompted.”);
REM “Go to workspace”;
@PostedCommand([WindowWorkspace]);
REM “Select the database”;
@PostedCommand([AddDatabase]; “oldservername/here” : “oldfilename” );
REM ” Remove the icon”;
@PostedCommand([EditClear]);
REM “Add new database”;
@PostedCommand([AddDatabase]; “newservername/here” : “newfilename” );
REM “(optional) Sending confirmation message”;
@MailSend( “yourname/here” ; “”:”" ; “Database migration confirmation” ; “” ; “I migrated database x” ;[PriorityNormal])

The ongoing series where I attempt to inject some fun into the really boring job of reviewing user spam.

Subject	Response
A lawyer that will fight for you	and the question is: What do you need to fight spammers?
Because it Works	and the question is: Why do they keep sending out spam?
Can you help me with this	Yes. Here’s what you should do: get a job application, fill it out, show up for the interview, show up for work. It’s much steadier pay.
Can You Sing Better Than Sanjaya?	This one just cracked me up because, IMO, the problem with Sanjaya isn’t so much his singing as his image. There are lots of better singers, for sure. But the thing that makes me cringe every week, and wish we could vote for who we’d like to see leave, is how dorky and skinny he is.
Correct this if its wrong	It’s wrong. All of it. Especially the email address in the “SendTo” field.
Establishing GOOD Cred. Has Never Been Easier	Obviously the Cred. you’re talking about is not credibility
Even if you had problems in the past we could help you with shopping	Hmm. Never had a problem with shopping…
Fly withUs	Sender: Claims Center Speaks for itself.

Over at Joyful Woman, the most recent post is “Take off Your Sandals” (http://joyfulwoman.blogspot.com/2007/04/take-off-your-shoes.html), in which Ginger reminisces on the Oriental tradition of removing shoes, as well as Biblical accounts where people are acked to remove their shoes “because the ground you are standing on is Holy Ground”. She asks if we are out of touch with holiness perhaps because we don’t have any way of signifying that we are entering a holy place.

I think that’s a very significant thought. Yes, many cultures have a tradition you follow to enter a holy place: removing shoes, washing hands, wearing head coverings, etc. If I recall correctly (this is off the top of my head), the ancient Jewish traditions held that only certain people could come into the courtyard of the holy place, certain others into the worship area, priests into a curtained area, but only God was in the “Holy of Holies” (center). Women, children, and the sick were not allowed beyond the courtyard. Some would see this as prejudicial, and I would agree. But if only certain people are allowed to do a thing, it certainly makes it more desirable to others. (two words: “drinking age”). I can imagine that those who were allowed in where aware how special a privilege this was, and that those who weren’t allowed in begged them “tell us what they said, Daddy”. (How many people who do not attend church today ask what the sermon was about?) Removing your shoes and washing before entering was required, and this too would have added to the mystique - the place was so special, you didn’t want to get it dirty.

When I was growing up, you washed up, did your hair nice, and wore your best clothes to go to church. It may seem like the opposite of taking off your shoes, but it really wasn’t. It was our way of showing respect for the church. But I can see that the symbolism is diluted. Making sure you are “cleaned up” before attending church isn’t the same as the “ablutions” the Jews and early Christians practiced. When they “washed before church”, it was a metaphorical way of cleaning not only their skin, but their hearts and minds, preparing them for God to enter. At some point, we moved to a “come as you are” church attendance. It was argued that we didn’t want to alienate anyone who didn’t have nice/clean clothes - we wanted to accept everyone, just like Jesus. I agree with that premise whole-heartedly, but I am seeing where this again is watering down the spiritualism of entering the church.

Nowadays, all we have to do is “show up”, and even that is being made easier and easier. We don’t have to travel a long distance, wear special clothes, become members, get invited, be clean, or do any special “observances” to get in. There are now church services on almost any day of the week, and there are churches in strip malls, and in people’s homes. There are even churches on TV or the internet that you can attend any time you want, and you can even pause the service if you are interrupted! And our church “sanctuary” is just as often used as an auditorium or cafeteria - (I’ve even know of churches that double as gymnasiums) - in an effort to save costs, and sometimes with the argument that getting people from the community comfortable entering the building is a first step to bringing them to Christ.

This is all great for “spreading the Word”. But, it also makes it very easy to “catch the sermon” or “attend worship”, but not quite “enter the Holy Place”. And if you aren’t having an encounter with God, you’re missing the point. Church is not just a school for Bible theory, or an event for “fellowship with other believers”. Yes, that’s a very good part of the package, but it’s also missing the most important part of the package: God. I believe that even in an evangelical church with a very active service, it is possible to not be aware of how special the experience is. Obviously, if you ask people to wash their feet, or require black-tie attire, cover their heads, or something along those lines, you alienate a lot of people. (Although I will note that this is still working for Amish, Mennonites, and Jews, among others.) So, how can we bring that back, without sacrificing the openness? What can we have people do at the beginning of a service (and I believe it needs to be a physical act), that most reasonable people will be willing and able to do, that will have enough symbolism to trigger that “this is something special” alert in their brains?

What things have made you realize you were entering some place special? (It doesn’t have to be a “this is church” feeling; anything that made you realize the place you were entering was different from every other building.)

A little bit of everything today…

I love to read. I love to save money. What could be better than free books? Well, free books that you don’t have to leave your desk to get, of course! If you haven’t already checked out Project Gutenberg, the first producer of free electronic books, here is a sampler from just one of the free texts:

From: How to Get on in the World: A Ladder to Practical Success by Major A.R. Calhoon:

• If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing earnestly. If it is to be done well at all it must be done with purpose and devotion.
• No matter the prospects and promises of overwork, it is a species of suicide to continue it at the expense of health.
• The last lesson of culture is to believe in difficulties which are invisible to ourselves.

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A great reminder for those of us who design websites, software, databases, etc:

http://www.sensible.com/chapter.html
When we’re creating sites, we act as though people are going to pore over each page, reading our finely crafted text, figuring out how we’ve organized things, and weighing their options before deciding which link to click. What they actually do most of the time (if we’re lucky) is glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they’re looking for. There are usually large parts of the page that they don’t even look at.We’re thinking "great literature" (or at least "product brochure"), while the user’s reality is much closer to "billboard going by at 60 miles an hour."

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From the department of the bleeding obvious:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11532&feedId=online-news_rss20
Rich people’s brains are less stimulated by small cash rewards than poor people’s brains

I lose my respect for science when it investigates things we already know and understand. But I’ll save that rant for another time, perhaps.

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I hope you enjoyed these clips. If you’re looking for something meatier, here’s what’s in the slow cooker:

1. There have been several news articles lately about the cimes of 10 year olds. Being the mother of a 9 and 11 year old, these certainly caught my eye. I’ve got a lot to say about this, and some people probably won’t agree, so stay tuned.
2. Thinking of getting a website for your small business? I’ll give you a few of the options you’ll face, and offer some advice on how to make your choices.
3. Yet another “in response to spam”.
4. I begin a series of “SNTT” articles. For those of you who aren’t Lotus Notes Developers, or who are but have been asleep at the wheel, SNTT stands for “Show and Tell Thursday”, and it’s an initiative in the Lotus Notes community to share the code we find useful, or the projects we’re working on. I’m going to be offering a ”button tool” every Thursday from my secret stash.
5. Adventures from the other side of the programming fence: I’ll be spending my Good Friday vacation time looking at non-Notes databases for two of Alex’s clients. I’ll let you know what I’ve gotten myself into, and what I would do if I could re-write these into Lotus Notes.

Stay tuned!

I was reading an article today about a politician whose decision to run for office was, in some ways, a result of the death of his teenage son.  (I won’t mention the politician because I honestly don’t know if I do/do not support him.) This event made him decide to really do something with his life while he had time.

 Then, when I got home, I was thinking that I really ought to write something tonight, only I didn’t have any ideas. But I had already decided that when I am stuck for ideas I would go to my quote journals. (Short explanation: I was an English major who felt she ought to be able to spout quotes, but couldn’t memorize them, so I journaled them.) Well, the first quote in the first journal fit right in with the article mentioned above:

If I had only a short time to live, I would immediately contact all the people I had ever really loved and make sure they knew I had really loved them. Then I would play all the records that meant most to me,and I would sing all my favorite songs. And, oh! I would dance. I would dance all night.

I would look at my blue skies and feel my warm sunshine. I would tell the moon and stars how lovely and beautiful they are. I would say “Goodbye” to all the little things I own, my clothes, my books, and my “stuff”. then I would thank God for the great gift of life, and die in His arms.
- from a college girl’s journal

I remember when I copied this, about the time I graduated high school, I thought it was absolutely perfect and exactly what I would do. I still love it, but if I knew I wouldn’t be around long, there are so many things I would take care of! I feel like I already listen to my music and appreciate nature, and that the people I love know that I love them. But what I’d need to do is make sure everyone would be able to get along without me. (Wasn’t there a movie with Julia Roberts about a dying woman replacing herself? Anyway…) So, can I write a revised version? Something a little more practical?

If I had only a short time to live, I would immediately balance my checkbook and show my husband our bill-paying plan and where the insurance papers are and how to keep everything organized for tax time. I would teach my youngest son to do laundry, and my oldest son to take care of the cat litter and bathrooms. I would show them all my master grocery list, and my Christmas card and gift lists, and make them promise to keep up with things.  I would tell my boys what they really need to look for in a future wife, and to find a job they really love even if it doesn’t pay well because they’ll be happier - as long as they live within their means.

Then I would read them all my favorite books and Bible verses and songs and tell them what they meant to me. I would throw away all the clothes I didn’t really like and wear t-shirts and jeans and Keds all the time, even if I still had to go to work, because I know they wouldn’t fire me if they knew I was dying. And if I didn’t have to go to work, I hope I would have enough money to go see places I’d never seen before, like the Grand Canyon, (and if I had lots of money, I’d go to the space station.)

Then I would spend my last night on the beach in my husbands arms looking up at the stars and holding my children’s hands. Looking at those stars and the sea, I would tell them all that God’s creation is so vast and complex that we can’t hope to understand it all, but that the one thing I know is that God has promised we’ll be together again. I would tell them to stick together, because whatever happens family has each other, and to do something nice every day, and to always be thankful for everything. I would kiss them and hug them alot, and I bet they wouldn’t even complain even though they are boys. … Then I would ask them to leave so that they wouldn’t have to be there when the hearse I ordered came to collect me.

I haven’t been too good about writing the last few days, so instead I direct you to the latest pictures in the family section of this site…Snow Geese!

Oh, and Happy Birthday Mom!