Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Automated Barratry. Interesting post here:  A site had a file named INFMapPacks123FULL-MAN.zip.  Some sort of bot was running at the ESA, and it picked out "Pac" and "MAN" from that filename.  They fired off a letter to the ISP, and requested under pain of death that they remove PacMan from their servers. Clearly, in this case, even an ESA employee would not have sent the letter.  It's obvious that the filename has nothing to do with, well, anything.  Here's the thing -- in a fully automated fashion, they've made a legal threat against another organization. This is the socio-legal equivalent of junk mail.  Can I just write filtering software that goes and looks for any usage of the word "Soletta" on the internet, and automatically writes and mails threatening letters?  I can request damages.  I think the ESA should be liable for damages.  If they're not going to even take the time to verify that their accusations are true, they should be paying costs, in this case.  Threats of legal action that are unsubstantiated by the truth are a serious problem.  Most states have laws on the books that prohibit barratry, which is the term for repetition of frivolous/unsubstantiated suits.  Lawyers guilty of barratry are subject to some fairly severe penalties.  Issuing legal threats based on keywords searches is automated barratry. 1:47:42 PM    comment []

The Pencil Box Transgression. My friend and her nine year old daughter ran afould of the TSA this morning.  Well, they didn't really "run afoul", but the TSA dorkbots did manage to make a nine year old upset and cry.  Well done, men!  Since they look so much like terrorists (34 year old New York designer-wearing Filipino mom + cute daughter in tow), the TSA decided to rifle through all of their stuff.  Yeah, I love random searches.  They're mathematically stupid. Uneducated hands pawed through a little girls belongings, pulling everything out, dirty fingernails cramming things back in, all her neat little folds and preparation for her big trip messed up.  A Hello Kitty pencil box full of colors was knocked aside and fell on the concrete floor, contents everywhere.  Our security heros laughed as an upset little girl held back her tears and picked up her pencils and markers, while they watched.  Her mother couldn't do much, as the TSA were busy making sure that whatever private things she might have had in her bag no longer retained that private status.  And as we all know, criticizing the TSA is probably the stupidest thing you can possibly do in an airport, if you actually want to get where you're going.  I want to see the testing that proves that these people do an effective job.  If we're going to make children cry and suffer the indignities they visit upon people, there better be a damn good reason, and somebody better be doing some research proving it. Sooner or later a nine year old is going to punch one of these idiots.  It almost happened today. 1:39:38 PM    comment []

I Demand That You Be Interesting. If this Universe does truly exist for my sole enjoyment, then I regret to inform you that you're fucking up.  At this point in time I am bored.  So get busy.  If I am the entity at the center, that means you're not, and you have a job to do.  My current grade for your progress: D.  That's right, D.  That D is going to follow you, too.  It'll be on your record.  I put it there. I Demand That You Be Interesting. 12:22:16 PM    comment []

What They Really Want. Wired has an article on RFID tags.  These are basically little radio tags that allow product handlers (manufacturers, distributors, retailers) to identify particular packages and track them.  They're arguing to the Fatherland Security Department that these little tags are the best things since sliced bread for stopping soup-can oriented terrorism, which we all know is endemic.  What they really want is a government subsidy.  They want the commercial benefits of RFID tags (optimized inventory and so forth), but they don't want to pay for the little buggers, or for the R+D.  Under the guise of "terrorism", they figure they'll get the government to pay for it.  After all, that head of lettuce could be dangerous.  You don't know where it's been. 12:02:57 PM    comment []