http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/blog/startups/articles/20130420/23340522780/patents-as-weapons-how-1-800-contacts-is-using-patent-system-to-kill-innovative-startup.shtml#c533 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:28:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/startups/articles/20130420/23340522780/patents-as-weapons-how-1-800-contacts-is-using-patent-system-to-kill-innovative-startup.shtml#c533
EyeBuyDirect makes their glasses in the US, has a reasonable return policy if you simply dislike what you chose, have a great return policy if the workmanship is defective, have a FANTASTIC accidental breakage replacement policy ($7.95, flat!), and have native-American-English speaking customer service. Yes, EyeBuyDirect is more expensive than Zenni, but their pricing is WELL below retail and their products are well-made.

(I have no financial interest or relation to EyeBuyDirect, I'm simply a very pleased customer. Almost two years ago I paid them ~$130 for specs that I priced at $600+ at multiple retail places. These, of course, I accidentally broke 4 days after receipt. EyeBuyDirect replaced them for $7.95! I'm also a fan of the $6.95 prescription sunglasses I bought from them, too!)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/17563321412/tsas-true-focus-isnt-safety-its-self-preservation.shtml#c115 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 06:39:48 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/17563321412/tsas-true-focus-isnt-safety-its-self-preservation.shtml#c115 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/12374321409/mysterious-indiana-jones-journal-arrived-uchicago-after-usps-tried-to-be-helpful-with-lost-package.shtml#c287 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 06:31:42 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/12374321409/mysterious-indiana-jones-journal-arrived-uchicago-after-usps-tried-to-be-helpful-with-lost-package.shtml#c287 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/00420021399/ip-diplomat-sob-story-its-hard-to-push-us-agenda-when-world-listens-to-reason.shtml#c334 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 06:22:33 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/00420021399/ip-diplomat-sob-story-its-hard-to-push-us-agenda-when-world-listens-to-reason.shtml#c334 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/04242321402/child-with-brittle-bone-disease-detained-tsa-hour.shtml#c564 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:55:30 PST http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121217/04242321402/child-with-brittle-bone-disease-detained-tsa-hour.shtml#c564
I'm surprised no one else brought this up sooner than you did. I'm also surprised that yours is the ONLY reference to this concept, throughout the entire comments section, as I write this.

The most common false positive on the TSA's explosives test is GLYCERIN. You know, a prime ingredient in many common soaps and lotions?

Believe it or not, because one of the things the TSA tests for is nitroglycerin, freaking HAND LOTION tests positive for explosives so often that the screeners actually SAY, "It's probably just hand lotion."

But still ..... Test positive, and you've TESTED POSITIVE. Period.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20121101/03265320901/eff-reminds-us-that-open-wifi-isnt-bad-thing-should-actually-be-encouraged.shtml#c541 Sat, 3 Nov 2012 17:25:22 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20121101/03265320901/eff-reminds-us-that-open-wifi-isnt-bad-thing-should-actually-be-encouraged.shtml#c541 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121101/17533020912/why-do-so-many-people-rely-facebook-communications-given-its-arbitrary-removal-process.shtml#c354 Sat, 3 Nov 2012 16:32:55 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121101/17533020912/why-do-so-many-people-rely-facebook-communications-given-its-arbitrary-removal-process.shtml#c354 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121024/16171220812/can-you-take-fact-checking-too-far.shtml#c304 Sat, 3 Nov 2012 16:15:34 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121024/16171220812/can-you-take-fact-checking-too-far.shtml#c304 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/06551320868/anti-pornography-guy-politicizes-10-year-old-girls-murder.shtml#c1114 Thu, 1 Nov 2012 13:59:50 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/06551320868/anti-pornography-guy-politicizes-10-year-old-girls-murder.shtml#c1114
While this person might not be well-adjusted to his society (hell, he might need therapy or medication, we don't know), he's taking seriously-inconvenient steps to adjust his environment to protect (and possibly promote) his own mental health. Good for him.

I have to tell you, "Oh, so it's some sort of mental disorder" is SERIOUSLY harsh and more than a little antagonistic. It's also dismissive and passive-agressively confrontational ... The implication is "Your thoughts don't matter because you're broken." You quite effectively invalidated someone you don't even know.

I see later you post another apology that comes across as MUCH more sincere than this one does, and I am glad for that. The second post, the one that seems sincere, is what motivated me to make this post ... Because, if the second apology IS sincere, you might just care that what you said above was truly (and unecessarily) mean.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/06551320868/anti-pornography-guy-politicizes-10-year-old-girls-murder.shtml#c1102 Thu, 1 Nov 2012 13:48:48 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/06551320868/anti-pornography-guy-politicizes-10-year-old-girls-murder.shtml#c1102
The use of the phrase "Child-on-child sexual crimes." This phrase connotes 7 year olds sexually assaulting 5 year olds. Of COURSE such a thing was "once unheard of" ... Because such a thing is much more rare than people like Trueman would have us believe.

The (relative) rarity of actual child-on-child sexual abuse is not something I can find a citation on, but think of it this way: We know that sexual abuse (including but not limited to rape) is a power trip expressed through sexual aggression. If a pre-pubescent (i.e. a child) needs/wants to exercise power, isn't that child much more likely to set something on fire, hurt an animal, or beat up another child? The power-tripping pre-pubescent isn't likely to sexually abuse another child unless acting out sexual abuse from personal experience simply because sexual activity isn't in the child's frame of reference yet (unless through experienced abuse).

In other words, until puberty begins, the physical machinations of sex or sexual abuse aren't likely to occur to the person needing to exercise power if the person hasn't already been sexually vicimtized in some way.

So, the word "child" in Trueman's quotes makes me twitch. There's a huge difference between a pre-pubescent child and a pubescent or post-pubescent adolescent, yet people keep using the word child to describe legal juveniles. 7 year olds playing doctor, 13 year olds making out, and an 8 year old sexually abusing a 5 year old are completely.different.universes. of situation.

Child-on-child SEX (which I can only interpret as involving adolescents) is static or down, as is child-on-child (again, I can only interpret this as involving at least one adolescent) sexual ABUSE. This, while we're talking more openly abt sex and sexual abuse, mainstreaming pr0n more each day, and generally thoroughly saturating our culture with adult references and conflicting messages abt the appropriateness of all of it.

We must be doing SOMETHING right.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/12064820877/hollywood-still-resisting-idea-that-cheaper-better-films-is-way-to-beat-tv.shtml#c1132 Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:34:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121029/12064820877/hollywood-still-resisting-idea-that-cheaper-better-films-is-way-to-beat-tv.shtml#c1132 http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20121009/01444620656/cisco-motorola-netgear-team-up-to-expose-wifi-patent-bully.shtml#c408 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:43:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20121009/01444620656/cisco-motorola-netgear-team-up-to-expose-wifi-patent-bully.shtml#c408
https://www.google.com/search?q=google&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&pq=google&cp=11&gs_id=1q&xhr=t&q=define+egregious&pf=p&sclient=tablet-gws&client=safari&tbo=d&oq=define:+egr&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=bb695c63d480a1f1&bpcl=35243188&biw=1024&bih=644]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121009/17431520668/judge-calls-copyright-trolls-bluff.shtml#c948 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:00:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121009/17431520668/judge-calls-copyright-trolls-bluff.shtml#c948 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1238 Sun, 1 Jul 2012 11:36:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1238
It's even more nauseating to watch it happen in middle/upper management than it is to watch it in the trenches. It's not ALWAYS present, but it IS present often enough to never be able to forget it's alive and well. The most egregious part is that the required acknowledgement must be from a visible (i.e. alpha) male, not just A male, and not just a higher-ranking male.

The damned if you do or don't on drawing attention to these incidents (and therefore increasing personal and group investment by transmuting the invisible to the anecdotal, read: personal) is that, if the woman or A woman draws attention to specific incidents, she is accused of one, some, or all of the following:

Whining, attention-seeking, credit-stealing, politics-playing, diversity-trumping, drama-creating, playing the victim, crying about outdated stereotypes, man-hating, shameless self-promotion, imagining grievances, making excuses for why she/women aren't moving up, relying on gender for advancement, divisiveness, not being a team player .... I could go on.

This is because, I believe, pointing out specific instances (of disregard requiring male approval prior to consideration) occasioned by unconscious gender bias threatens the egalitarian mindset of most of the individual's in the IT industry. They honestly can't see or acknowledge it happening in front of their eyes because it directly contradicts their view that the ideal is reality. The cognitive dissonance is so complete, and so immediate, that their minds edit it out, simply ignoring the occurrence, leading to ad hominem attack as a defense mechanism when specific occurrences are pointed out and named for what they are.

What is to be done, other than continuing to point out and question specific instances, knowing what the inevitable backlash will be? I don't know. But I do understand why, after the first few attempts, many women stop trying. They perform a cost-benefit analysis and determine that on a personal level, silence is better for them than the repercussions of speaking out.

It's a terrible choice to have to make, cutting your own throat for the greater good, and women in IT make that choice daily. Not all women every day, but some woman every day.

Yes, this is anecdotal and personal reasoning, but it IS supported by the writings and conversations of women in IT, freely available if they are asked or if sought online.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1214 Sun, 1 Jul 2012 09:45:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1214
My life hasn't been perfect, and neither has that of any white male I've ever known. I/we don't have the individual ability to exercise our whiteness or maleness to our advantage. Therefore, there is no such thing as white- or male-privilege, and I am personally insulted and outraged to be considered a bogeyman. Because of my personal indignation prompted by the internalization of this concept and the resulting guilt said internalization causes, I will violently cling to our legal code, insisting it is an accurate reflection of the daily reality of our society rather than a goal towards which we are still working. Because I am a literal, action-oriented person who must justify my own situation based SOLELY upon my own merits and actions, I will never bring myself to consider that something intangible, invisible, silent, amorphous, and psychological could be at play, providing me with intangible, invisible, and silent advantages. If I did consider such a thing, I would have to question my own merits and actions, and that would be altogether too uncomfortable a thing to do willingly, because there is no benefit to me for doing so.

Imagine each of them writing something like this, right now, after all of the, unprovoked vitriol, personal attacks, resentment, and anger they've displayed. Makes more sense, doesn't it?

I personally think the issue is micro vs. macro -- Discussing "society" is extremely difficult to do without subconsciously noting our individual place within it and therefore internalizing anything said about those segments of which we are a part.

When, by personality, you're a literal person who gives more credence to hands-on, in-your-face prima facie ev than anything else, separating yourself from such a discussion can be difficult if not impossible. Hell, I've fallen victim to it myself. The key is to recognize what you're doing and TRY TO STOP, because, if you can't, you can't be anything close to objective. The conversation quickly devolves, and the time and effort involved are wasted because the parties now are more set in their position due to anger, indignation, and frustration -- The investment now cannot be wasted.

What's the answer? Besides patiently and without the micro-involvement continuing to try to illuminate others, in the methods they demand before they will consider, I don't know. Anecdota is powerful to the human psyche, because it becomes a part of you (i.e. personal) in addition to being literal, hands-on, in-your-face ev. Helping someone move past that is tooth-pulling difficult, especially with sympathy for it being there at all (for me, anyway).

I'm open to suggestion while continuing to try to discuss these issues and brainstorm solutions to them with anyone willing to do so. I hope you continue to do so, too, Claire.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1072 Sat, 30 Jun 2012 22:14:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c1072
Says the poster who didn't reply to what he quoted, is calling other people names, and doesn't appear to know the difference between "your" and the contracted form of "you are."

Brilliance personified.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c968 Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:40:10 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c968 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c964 Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:34:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/14475019539/bias-tech-media-lists-that-perpetuate-stereotypes.shtml#c964

]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20120529/03062619097/insanity-apple-rejects-podcatching-app-because-it-has-flattr-integration.shtml#c824 Fri, 1 Jun 2012 20:29:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20120529/03062619097/insanity-apple-rejects-podcatching-app-because-it-has-flattr-integration.shtml#c824
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/ieconomy/acclaimed-apple-critic-made-details]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120522/04163519014/broadband-crisis-does-us-need-regulation-to-force-meaningful-competition.shtml#c1252 Fri, 25 May 2012 11:59:12 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120522/04163519014/broadband-crisis-does-us-need-regulation-to-force-meaningful-competition.shtml#c1252
Dude, I've never seen a better example that illustrates the concept that anecdotal ev is not ev.

An up-to 1.5 mbit is the best offered in my area for under $50/month -- And I live less than five miles from the center of the fourth largest city in the US.

People who live less than 25 miles from me can't even get what I have without being charged substandially more.

So yes, there's a problem.]]>