Tail Recursive

This has nothing to do with anything, but I just thought I would share:

One of my absolute favorite columns published on the web is Salon’s Ask the Pilot, written by Patrick Smith. The author is a professional airline pilot, and he answers reader mail about flying and the airline industry. I find the column to be a fascinating read. The airline industry is fairly opaque to the typical flying customer: we get caught in delays, and we don’t know why; we are told we can’t use our electronics, and we don’t know why (or don’t buy the explanation); we encounter many things that strike us as odd, and we just don’t understand. Flying is a complicated business for so many reasons (some good, some bad), and Mr. Smith’s column gives a well written glimpse into this business through the eyes of at least one insider. If you fly at all and have ever wondered why some crazy thing is the way it is, have a look at his column.

Oh… and he also posts links to really cool pictures of planes. Vrooooooooooom!

OK… I admit, I should be working right now, but I ran across this web comic and nearly blew tea out my nose. I think it will appeal to those of you who read my none-too-frequent posts.

I don’t usually put up posts pointing to other blogs… after all, the original posting is already out there. Also, this is just a personal blog anyway… meant to be read by friends and family. Still, I read Bruce Schneier’s blog on security issues pretty much daily, and a recent post shows why. He is one of a very few people talking any sense about terrorism (or encryption, or computer security, etc.) and about our response to it.

We have been panicking ever since 2001. In a lot of ways, I feel we’re the bull in an old-style bullfight… with the terrorists as the picadors. They taunt us with an attack, a planned attack, or even just a feint; and we charge immediately and without thinking things through. Millions of dollars are thrown away, we are inconvenienced in our daily lives, and—more critically to my mind—the busies in Washington use our panic as a lever to foist things on us that 10 years ago would have been unthinkable.

Meanwhile, there are a precious few voices out there trying to get people to think. So, if you don’t already, read what Bruce Schneier writes. We need to start thinking about what we’re doing… before the bad guys are awarded both ears and the tail.

[Edit: This is an old posting, and I haven't gotten a single legitimate comment posted to it. I have, however, received hundreds of spam comments to this particular post for some reason, so I'm closing comments on it.]