Archive 2018
Fax Machines Arent Magic
I can’t believe my health insurance makes me fax certain forms. What year is this?
Well, anyway… that reminds me of something that happened to me many years ago back when fax machines were more common.
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 8: More soon!
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 7: Retire rich!
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 6: Interlude about 401(k)
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 5: Bonus material: Loan sharks
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 4: Get Out of Debt
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 3: The Destination
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 2: The principles
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 1: The Plan
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreTom's Finance Guide Part 0: Summary
This was a draft. The final version is now available as a pay-what-you-want self-published book called Tom’s Finance Guide: Retire Rich!
read moreCryptographic Hashes
Q: How do cryptographic hashes like MD5 and SHA work?
read moreSafety Third!
A few years ago I saw a group of guys with jackets that all had a patch that said, “Safety Third”.
I thought it was hilarious. I’ve heard the phrase “Safety First” since I can remember and this seemed hilariously contrarian.
read moreHotel Review: Aloft Charlotte
Review:
- Aloft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre
- 210 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202
The Aloft Charlotte Uptown at the EpiCentre is an upscale boutique hotel with helpful staff, beautiful decor, and a unique theme that will surprise and delight the most jaded traveler!
read moreWhy your AI-based monitoring startup will fail
Please don’t call me if you are selling a monitoring project that uses AI to do amazing things.
Since 1991 I have been contacted by sales people from startups that use AI to make their monitoring system awesome.
The first couple times I took their call and set up a demo. I was always disappointed.
Now I just ignore these phone calls and emails.
read moreWhy I Don't Talk To Third Party Recruiters
Here are the four most important reasons:
read moreThis Web Site Uses Cookies
Ok, Europe. We get it. You want every website to tell people if they use cookies.
Here’s the problem. ALL WEBSITES USE COOKIES.
Cookies are how websites allow you to “stay logged in” or have a shopping cart, or just about anything that a website does now a days. Yes, cookies can be used to track what you do, but there are plenty of other ways to do it too.
read moreThe Naming of Talks and Papers
I’m reviewing a LOT of talk proposals, draft papers, draft chapters, etc. I’ve noticed that people’s titles tend to rarely be plainspoken descriptions of the topic.
read moreThe Ends Dont Justify the Means
(This was originally written in response to someone pointing out all the unethical things the GOP did to gerrymander the US to the point where we are no longer a democracy.)
read moreThe Lazy Libertarian
I have no more patience for the “lazy libertarians”.
A lazy libertarian responds to everything with one of 3 messages:
read moreStop Problems When They Are Small
If you don’t stop problems when they’re small, you f— it up in historically catastrophic ways.
read moreMarketing Beats Campaigning
(Originally posted on Facebook, Nov 9, 2016)
read moredocuSign Wastin' My Time
Hell Is Server Hardware Firmware Upgrades
So, I met with a major hardware vendor today to talk about firmware update processes. They have a few different products for managing firmware. The “best in class” that they offer is… a reminder of why enterprise IT is so f—ed up.
read moreCongress, PDFs, and CSVs
The Sunlight Foundation spent years meeting with congresspeople trying to convince them to pass laws to get various government data (fundraising domains, government contracts and spending, etc.) published electronically.
read moreWorst Cut and Paste Error Ever
The worst cut-and-paste error I ever made.
read moreResponse to: Our Security Auditor Is an Idiot
Some thoughts on the SO question about the idiot security consultant that demanded a list of everyone’s plaintext password plus some rather impossible things.
read moreLet Me Answer That Tired Old Driverless Car Question
You: Driveless cars? Oh no! What if the car is in a situation where the only way to avoid running down a baby is to crash into 4 other people? What will it do?
read more30 Years Ago I Became an Activist
(Originally posted to Facebook on October 11, 2017)
Today is the 30th anniversary of the day I became an activist. Today in 1987 I went to the 2nd March On Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights. I drove down with four other students crammed in Joellen’s ludicrously bright orange station wagon. At the time I didn’t consider myself an activist; I wasn’t even calling myself bisexual at the time. I was just going to be supportive.
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