Internet Security

A major security breach at RockYou.com led to a release of all the passwords of the users of the site. An analysis was made of the passwords, and the most common passwords were:
1. 123456 (290731 users!)
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

The list goes on, but the remainder of the list is equally stupid.
My point here is that we need to use more sophisticated passwords, even for minor websites.
Here are some ideas:
1. Choose a strong password for sites you care for the privacy of the information you store. One idea is to take a sentence and turn it into a password. Something like “This little piggy went to market” might become "tlpWENT2m". That nine-character password won't be in anyone's dictionary.
2. Use a different password for all sites – even for the ones where privacy isn’t an issue. If one particular website gets hacked and someone acquires your password, the password won't be valid on another website. To help me remember the passwords, I write them down and put them in a location that only Yumi and I know about. I also use an encrypted page in OneNote (part the the Microsoft Office Suite) on my computer.
3. I use a false email for websites that ask for your email address when they clearly have no need for it. Examples include newspaper and magazine websites and casual game playing websites. Most websites like this accept the email address "a@b.com".
4. Never trust a 3rd party with your important passwords (webmail, banking, medical etc.)

Two Brazilians

Early this morning representatives of the Department of Defense briefed the President Of The United States (POTUS)concerning a tragic overnight event in Iraq.

They told President Obama that two (2)Brazilian soldiers had been killed in combat operations.

To everyone’s surprise, all the color drained from Obama’s face. Visibly shaken, he
then collapsed onto his desk, his head buried in his hands and he seemed to be almost in tears.

He finally seemed able to compose himself, raised his head and asked “Just how many
is a Brazilian?”

This is not at all surprising folks since he obviously has no concept of a Billion or
a Trillion either.

US Debt Clock

Take a peek at this sobering website.
There are a myriad of numbers, most of them red.
Where should we be placing our priorities in terms of legislation? I don't expect anyone to answer, but it's a question we should be thinking about.

Church donation page

This is the link for the churches website to donate money to the welfare system to help get money to Haiti. I do not see a way to specifically ask that our donation go to that specific effort, but I can imagine that with an influx of donations, a good part of it will go to the Haiti earthquake victims. Has anyone heard what the church is currently doing to help with the effort? I am sure they are helping...but since they rarely toot their horn about their efforts or donations, I don't know but would be interested in hearing about their efforts. My prayers are with the people of Haiti. I wish I knew what more I could do.

On the lighter side...

We rarely discuss films or books on our blog.

So, I saw Avatar, The Young Victoria, and Paranormal Activity over the holiday break.

I didn't see Avatar in the new 3-day format although I am tempted to go see it again and

bare wearing the glasses that always annoy me terribly. I thought it was a weaving of a lot of successful film formulas and jumbled themes. No matter though, the story took a back seat to the special effects, spectacular visuals, and the shear entertainment of the action. I really recommend it.

The Young Victoria was the opposite. No action. Boring, beautiful, staid English countryside and a true story that was better history than reading a book! A lot of history info in two hours that I would never bother myself to read. I thought of our Belgian half of the family since Belgian royalty was important to the plot.

Paranormal Activity was fun and scary along the lines of the Blair Witch Project. The victims filmed nearly every thing as they tried to solve their haunting by a demon themselves. It was silly often enough, but it kept me entertained.

I also read the New York Times bestseller The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller. I finally chose to read something in defense of the existence of God. It was interesting on two fronts: the defense of the belief in a God and the defense of Christianity as the single best option among all religions. For me to buy into his general defense, it was necessary that he state plainly and defend his belief that Christianity is superior to other world religions. Inherent in Christianity, true Christianity that has not been watered down, is the underlying notion of a single correct way to heaven, salvation, and progression; Christianity claims that title. Too often that view is kicked aside and it is basic to the very notion of atonement which is the core of Christianity even beyond the notion of resurrection. Never once did the author mention Mormonism or which of all Christian Denomination might be correct, and that was a big hole in his argument. If Christianity is indeed the only true enchilada, then one of those enchilada recipes has to be the best, or the original, or the favored one, the real one. Beyond that, his defense of God didn't work very effectively for me. It wasn't convincing at all.

I also restarted and continued my efforts to read about Mesopotamia. The book is simply entitled 'Mesopotamia' and is a translation from the French. I would prefer to try to read it in the French but have the English and don't want to spend the $ even if I can find it in French.

Mesopotamia is endless fascinating and is the root of western civilization.

Two years ago I read "The Road" and the film is finally out so I'll go see that soon too.

What about you all? What do you recommend?

Conservatives Outnumber Liberals

This has been the case for many, many years I believe.
Which brings up the question: Why don't conservatives win consistently election after election?
There are many theories, but here is mine.
Moderates are mostly apolitical, i.e., they don't care that much about politics, but they will vote when one or the other party makes a clear case for their agenda. Democrats are quite good at that (whether they govern in accordance with that agenda or not is another topic).
When moderates vote with liberals we generally get narrow or solid Democrat victories in national and presidential elections (Clinton, Obama). When moderates vote with conservatives we generally get solid or landslide Republican victories (Reagan, Bush I). When moderates split or don't show up, we get narrow Republican victories (e.g., Bush II vs Gore, Kerry).
In short, it essential for Democrats more than Republicans to convince moderates to side with them. Reagan and Newt Gingrich were able to clearly articulate a positive agenda and they won big. Obama articulated a positive message (although not very detailed) and had a somewhat solid victory, but no landslide. Moderates are a fickle group and they change as easily as the weather, but as it stands now, they appear to be turning away from the Democrat agenda, which is leading many to predict substantial Democrat losses in fall elections.

Champs....A....gain!

I'm still on cloud 9! I wore all my BSU stuff to school today and all the BYU and Utah kids were happy for me but disappointed!

Go Broncos! The defense was phe-nom-enal!

"Twenty Ten" it is then!

See article....let's get this right folks! Happy "Twenty Ten" every one!

Bowl Games Start Tomorrow

Bowl games start tomorrow, so if you haven't signed up, please do so today.
If you haven't received an invitation, let me know an I'll send one out right away.
Also, everyone needs to make their picks or else you won't receive any points in the competition.
Lastly, you are not limited to just making picks, you can left click and grab a pick and move it up and down in accordance with your level of confidence in that pick. It's a way to enhance the number of points you earn.

A Song for Mormons

Usually I don't find Conan O'Brien to be very funny, but this clip was pretty funny.
You'll have to suffer through a commercial to see the clip.

The Obama Doctrine

That's what the Politico is claiming some are saying. The Politico provides a short digest of what Obama said in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, which is being thrown about as the "Obama Doctrine," which is "a notion that foreign policy is a struggle of good and evil, that American exceptionalism has blunted the force of tyranny in the world, and that U.S. military can be a force for good and even harnessed to humanitarian ends." Having read parts of Obama's speech, the preceding quote does indeed seem to be what Obama is saying. He admits there is evil in the world and also states "Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms,” and “The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans." I am not convinced that Obama believes these fine words, because he so often says whatever he thinks will suit the occasion. However, if he does believe these words, I think it means he has grown in office. Although these concepts have always been at the core of conservative thought, I am perfectly happy to let Obama adopt such a doctrine and to let it be named the "Obama Doctrine." Had Bush given the exact same speech, he would have been roundly booed, so I am watching the left to see their reaction.

Government Schools

Just gotta vent....I am sick and tired of government schools that hide behind the phrase, "it's policy", in order to avoid making decisions. I have run into this phrase on three separate occations in the last 2 weeks for ludicrous behavior on the part of teachers and administrators. Individualism is dead in the government schools and it is all about PC and grouping of students. Just bunch them up and push them through...forget about the individual.

Maaco Las Vegas Bowl

I think that Debbie, Lawrence, Nina (his girlfriend), and I are planning to attend the Las Vegas Bowl featuring BYU vs. Oregon State on December 22nd. If anyone would like to go, I thought that before we order our tickets we would ask if anyone else would like to go and we can get a group of seats together. Anyone want to go? Game time is 5:00 PM PST and if you want to fly in, we can pick you up at the airport. If you are driving, stop by and we can all Caravan together. It would be fun to have a bunch of family members together enjoying the game. Let me know ASAP.

2nd Annual Wortham Bowl Pick'em Context

The second annual Wortham College Bowl pick'em competition!
I have set up a "Wortham Bowl Picks" group (Group ID#9647) on Yahoo.
We will compete to see who can have the best record for picking winners of all 27 bowls!
I sent an invitation to all those who participated last year (except for Shawn W., I couldn't find his email address). It is a private group, so let me know if you want to participate and I will send you an invitation that will contain the link and password. The group is not limited to those who post here. Spouses, partners, friends, and children are also welcome. Just let me know where to send the invitation. The bowl schedule will probably be ready Sunday evening, so you can make your picks when the schedule is set. Remember that picking is not the only thing you do. You can also move the rows up and down according to your level of confidence.
Just as a gentle reminder: I WON LAST YEAR!

2010 World Cup Soccer

Actually, I hate soccer. It's about as exciting to watch as polo, or some such sport.
However, I know the rest of the world is soccer crazy. It is even growing in popularity in the US. For you non-Utah people, Real Salt Lake even won the US national championship this year.
However, when it comes to World Cup Soccer, I find myself watching despite my loathing of the sport. Here are the just-released group drawings for next years cup. Some are saying that the USA got a good draw. Beats me. I have no idea, but I do love to cheer for the underdog.

Group A -- South Africa, Mexico, Uruquay, France
Group B -- Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Group C -- England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D -- Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
Group E -- Holland, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
Group F -- Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
Group G -- Brazil, South Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H -- Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland