Author: Administrator
Social Security is doing fine
One of the discussions I have with friends that most seems to confuse them is when I say that Social Security is in great shape. They take it as an article of faith that Social Security is doomed. Now while I've long argued that Social Security will end up means tested this isn't because the system doesn't work or is running out of money, it's rather my own belief in how politics will play out in the country. But regardless Social Security is doing fine now and into the foreseeable future. Salon recently had a reasonably simple article that explains why things really are fine and provides links to more in depth information for those who care.
11/8/2011 – General and Special Election – Seattle, King County, Washington
I can't say any of the candidates really got me all that terribly excited, it was mostly an exercise of picking who I hated least. As for the initiatives the only one that I think is really super critical is City of Seattle Proposition No. 1 which is the school tax levy. Initiative 1183 really annoys the hell out of me and I hate CostCo for putting it out there (I especially like the tax loopholes they put in for themselves and the bans they put against their smaller competitors) but as I explain below our dear government has passed a lovely bill that I think is worse than 1183 so now I have to vote for 1183.
Initiative Measure No. 1125 - No
Initiative Measure No. 1163 - No
Initiative Measure No. 1183 - Yes
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8205 - Approved
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8206 - Rejected
County Directory of Elections - Mark Greene
Port of Seattle - Commissioner Position No. 2 - Gael Tarleton
Port of Seattle - Commissioner Position No. 5 - Dean Willard
City of Seattle - Council Position No. 1 - Bobby Forch
City of Seattle - Council Position No. 3 - Brad Meacham
City of Seattle - Council Position No. 5 - Dale L. Pusey
City of Seattle - Council Position No. 7 - Tim Burgess
City of Seattle - Council Position No. 9 - Sally J. Clark
City of Seattle Proposition No. 1 - Levy, Yes
Seattle Transportation Benefit District - Proposition No. 1 - Yes
Seattle School District No. 1 - Director District No. 1 - Sharon Peaslee
Seattle School District No. 1 - Director District No. 2 - Kate Martin
Seattle School District No. 1 - Director District No. 3 - Harium Martin-Morris
Seattle School District No. 1 - Director District No. 4 - Marty McLaren
Note: For brevity's sake I'm omitting any uncontested races.
Continue reading 11/8/2011 – General and Special Election – Seattle, King County, WashingtonAverage, percentiles and measuring service performance
Some examples of how Wall Street steals money
Distributed Storage Reading List
My technical wanderings of late at Microsoft have taken me into the realm of massively distributed storage. Of course, I've been here before but this time I need to bring some other folks along. So I was asked to put together suggested readings to help people come up to speed. I thought the list might be of general interest so I'm posting it here.
What do you think? Is this a good list? A bad one? What would you suggest?
Continue reading Distributed Storage Reading ListHow do I securely wipe my hard drive?
References
[1] . Overwriting Hard Drive Data: The Great Wiping Controversy. 2008. URL http://www.vidarholen.net/~vidar/overwriting_hard_drive_data.pdf.
[2] . Reliably Erasing Data From Flash-Based Solid State Drives. 2011. URL http://www.usenix.org/events/fast11/tech/full_papers/Wei.pdf.
[3] . Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory. 1996. URL http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html.
Books I recommend on personal finance
8/16/2011 – Official Primary and Special Election – Seattle, King County, Washington
Finally, a short ballot! But still, an important one. Please, if you do nothing else, please vote REJECTED on Seattle Referendum 1. Let's do whatever we can to stop the insane tunneling project.
King County Proposition No. 1 - Veterans and Human Services Levy - Approved
Count of Appeals, Division No. 1, District No. 1, Judge Position No. 2 - Michael Spearman
City of Seattle Council Position No. 1 - Michael Taylor-Judd
City of Seattle Council Position No. 9 - Dian Ferguson
City of Seattle Referendum 1 - REJECTED
Seattle School District No. 1 Direction District No. 3 - John Dunn
Inhuman Bondage – A Book Review
Inhuman Bondage - The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World by Dr. David Brion Davis is a summary of Dr. David's research into slavery in the "New World" (i.e. the Americas). Although wonderfully written the subject matter makes it a hard read.While I have no illusions about the barbarity of humanity reading the details is still a hard task. But a worthwhile one. What I give below is but the thinest summary of some of the key points made in the book. The book itself is incredibly rich with endless detail and anecdote to make the history come alive. I heartily recommend the book.
Continue reading Inhuman Bondage – A Book Review