I thought USB Cufflinks were a joke, but during a visit to Pasadena this winter, I found a Lego USB stick.  I thought that was pretty cool and would have made the purchase if not for the $39.99 price tag for 256KB.

Yes, srsly.

But Cufflinks.  Hmmm.   2GB each for a black tie evening of 4 GB.  My inner geek says, “Cool!” but I’m left wondering if I’m truly swayed by coolness, or after a longer pondering would file it in the “just because they can do it” category.

When, exactly, would USB cufflinks be a lifesaver?  Can you think of a situation during which one would be expected socially to wear cufflinks when easy access to several Gigs of data might be required?  And seriously, someone else wouldn’t have one on a key chain somewhere?  Even those little USBs fit nicely into an inner jacket pocket to maintain the smooth trouser look.

Fashion and function merging once again.  Because if you lose a snazzy cufflink, you’ll always have a data backup on the other arm.

Simple task - a job application requires the abstract of my PhD dissertation.  So I find the file, double click, and … ERROR.

Huh?

(Yes, I hear you cry!  I knew where the files were!)

You see, about 5 years ago I spent a couple days pulling stuff off boxes of floppies before the data puddled into magnetic goo.  Surrounded by mostly 3 1/2’s and many 5 1/4’s (and several disk backup tapes), I found my dissertation and with mixed memories (yes, the terror does fade with time), I tried to open the files.

Back then, Microsoft presented me with a different, although more frightening message when I attempted to open the files.  Something about not being able to read the old Word file format at all (Yikes!).

Had the ghost returned?

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The folks at ReclaimPrivacy created a simple little tool that scans your Facebook privacy settings and gives you a nice summary.  It highlights where you are sharing information with the world, and points you to where you should reassess your settings.

Mashable’s review article with a sample view.

The Tool at ReclaimPrivacy.

Yes, some tech savvy folks have said, “Well, searching through all the settings really isn’t that hard.”  But with most folks NOT being savvy, and NOT really understanding what info is so public, this is a nice tool for everyone.

Really folks, I’m not usually someone who posts rabid tirades against companies.  Well, I did work very hard to debug the 1969 bug (and several subsequent bugs) for BitDefender, who did not appreciate the publicity despite my best intentions.

But my forays into these arenas are the exception.

However, this whole Facebook Privacy Issue really has me going (see previous posts Eroding Privacy, Info are now Connections and your friends are sharing your info).

I found another privacy issue with Facebook I’ve not seen addressed elsewhere about the information it saves, but I’m guessing on a hack to address it.  The We Save Information Forever issue.

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I got a check from the Department of Defense that represents Your Tax Dollars At Work.  You paid for me to recommend where some of that defense money goes.  I tried my best, and I hope you’re happy with my performance.

Whatever your opinions or political leanings, I think we all agree that the effects of war on our warriors and their families is tremendous.  And we hear stories how returning soldiers and veterans don’t receive the best possible care.

Let me tell you about some of the medical research being funded.  Real research and development projects aimed directly at the most significant medical problems.  A huge new challenge is dealing with IEDs - Improvised Explosive Devices - causing blast injuries.  Those who survive often suffer lost limbs, traumatic brain injury, PTSD.

I’d like to tell you about where the money is going, and how the government decides to spend it.

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This short post has 2.5 parts.

1) Concise summary history of eroding Facebook privacy, and

2) another privacy thing you need to do that’s OUTSIDE your account and your own privacy settings.  And…

2.5) YOU have to keep checking when Facebook secretly adds new apps to your account.

Bet you didn’t know about the last two.  Let me address them in somewhat reverse order.

This, and my previous post - Rant about Facebook’s New Strong-Arm Anti-Privacy Upgrade, are part rant but mostly instructions to help you protect your privacy.

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I love tripping across relatively harmless bugs.  Amazing how the same types of bugs keep showing up over and over and how we don’t test our code enough before releasing it.

Weather.com has a new radar feature called TruPoint.  Rather than showing radar images from T-30 minutes to the present, this feature predicts future weather patterns of radar images.  T+30 minutes.  Kinda neat if it can actually show the magical storms that materialize out of nowhere just when the traditional radar implies blue skies for as far as the eye can see.

So if a prediction program is T+x, and x is negative, are we going forward or backward in time?

Anyway, I mucked around with the feature and got it to hang.  (Not on purpose.)

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