Sunday, August 30, 2015

Sex in America. We don't educate our children. We rarely discuss sex in groups larger than two. Yet we're astonished when we find evidence that others actually seem to seek it out.
Relevant writes:
The Ashley Madison hack will have a serious effect on churches. According to Ed Stetzer, as many as 400 pastors, deacons, elders and church staff members may resign this Sunday after their names surfaced on the list of users revealed in the Ashley Madison hack.
In a post on his Christianity Today blog, The Exchange, Stetzer said the number is based on “conversations with leaders from several denominations in the U.S. and Canada,” adding, “To be honest, the number of pastors and church leaders on Ashley Madison is much lower than the number of those looking to have an affair.”
Read more on Relevant.
I have no idea whether Stetzer’s guestimate is correct, as I did not wade through the data dump looking for names or “gotchas.” But given that the church has not been immune to scandals or improper behavior, it wouldn’t totally surprise me, either.
So why am I posting this? Well, because I hadn’t thought about this possible fall-out from the breach and data dump.




Many new “features” are “on by default.” This does not seem to be one of them. (I wonder who gets BCC copies of that email?)
Kavita Iyer reports:
A new privacy feature in Windows 10 sends a weekly “activity update” to parents carrying all the details of children’s internet browsing and computer history. More importantly the information is sent to the parents in an unsolicited email.
The new operating system, which was rolled out last month as a free upgrade for users of Windows XP, 7 and 8/8.1, has raised concern over the new ‘activity reports‘ feature. This allows parents to get ‘weekly reports’ of absolutely everything their children are looking at online, even if the kids browse anonymously or try to clear it.
Read more on TechWorm. Although some parents may welcome this free snooping service, it’s a pretty awful feature if you believe that children are entitled to some privacy.
The feature is “on” by default, but you can turn it off.
[From the article:
The feature, which is automatically switched on, allows parents to create child accounts with controls and restrictions put on them. [If you don't create a “child account” would any of this happen? Bob]




One would think this was obvious. (I'm often surprised to find not everyone agrees) I only report it here because of the Colorado connection.
Remember when Prime Healthcare and Shasta Regional Medical Center were fined by federal and state agencies for breaching patient privacy? They had willfully disclosed patient details to the media after the media had reported the patient’s complaint about them.
At the time, I noted that just because a patient discloses information, that does not give the covered entity the right to then disclose additional information – however much they may wish to defend their reputation in the media. I had previously expressed concerns about this in 2010 after another entity responded publicly to a patient’s complaint.
The same principle and restrictions apply to lawyers whose clients may complain about them publicly. Debra Cassens Weiss reports that one lawyer is paying the price for violating that prohibition:
A lawyer accused of disclosing confidential information from his clients in response to their Internet criticism has been suspended for 18 months.
Lawyer James Underhill will have to show rehabilitation before returning to law practice, according to the order by Colorado’s presiding disciplinary judge. The Legal Profession Blog notes the suspension.
According to the order, Underhill disclosed confidential information in response to clients’ Internet complaints about his fees or services in two instances.
In the first, Underhill responded to complaints on two websites by former clients, a husband and wife, “with Internet postings that publicly shamed the couple by disclosing highly sensitive and confidential information gleaned from attorney-client discussions,” the order says.
Read more on ABA Journal.




A look at the “gig economy.”
Leaked Documents Show Uber’s Cost Structure, Best-Performing Cities
FOXBusiness.com has obtained leaked documents that Uber is using to persuade investors to participate in its Uber China financing. The global ride-sharing company is close to finalizing a round of at least $1 billion that would value Uber China at more than $7 billion, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
FOXBusiness.com has also learned that the company is telling potential investors that Uber China will be spun off as a separate business that could IPO before Uber.
The documents show that Uber’s “net present value,” a projection of cash flows, is $4.9 billion in Shanghai, $2.2 billion in Guangzhou and $1.8 billion in Shenzhen.




Proof you can find useful information on Google.
… we've launched some improvements to weather forecasts and Public Alerts in Google Search to track storms during this year's U.S. hurricane season. Now, when you search the web for information about particular storms or tornadoes, you may see:
  • A map showing your location in relation to the oncoming storm
  • Visualizations of its forecasted track, wind severity and arrival time, courtesy of NOAA
  • Concise instructions for preparing and staying safe, customized for the estimated intensity of the storm and its arrival time relative to your location, from FEMA and ready.gov




Have we become a nation of supermarket tabloids? Is this truly newsworthy or simply “content” so someone can sell ads?
These colleges have the hottest men and women in America, according to Tinder




There might be something useful here.
Practical Ed Tech Handbook




Dilbert shows what happens when management adopts a “buzzword.”


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