MyTake
Computing Technology | Public Policy | Privacy and Security
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - Pinning Down Accidents Caused by Cell Phones
Category: Public Policy
The National Safety Council (NSC)
estimates that 25% of all crashes are caused by cell phones.
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that driver
distraction from all sources (including cell phones) contributes to
19 percent of all crashes (2008). Even then, this is not
necessarily the cause of the crash.
Both cannot be true, someone here is wrong. The NSC report is
merely a statistical extrapolation of what might have happened,
heavily based on averages. More real world data to corroborate
their numbers is needed. The NHTSA has the opposite problem. Their
numbers are based on real world reports. These suffer from
reporting errors, often because those involved in a crash might not
report being distracted while driving.
Monday, December 7, 2009 - IPv6 Quirks
Category: Computing Technology
After playing with IPv6 extensively over the weekend, I discovered
a number of oddities about the protocol.
First, autoconfiguration only works with /64 subnets. Anything more
or less, even if the router advertises the prefix, clients will not
add the prefix to its own interface. This seems like it can
problematic as users cannot easily break down these prefixes into
smaller subnets. This could be a key area for using DHCPv6 as a
replacement.
Second, autoconfiguration will not work if the computer is
configured as a router for IP forwarding. This means that
additional work for defining routes needs to be done even if you
only plan on using the default gateway on a network. This can
either be in the form of static routes or a full blown routing
protocol.
Third, 2002::/16 (IPv4 transition addresses) doesn't count as a
real IPv6 address when source address selection occurs. Instead it
is considered a separate scope, similar to an IPv4 address. This
means when websites have both a 2001::/16 IPv6 address and a IPv4
address, the IPv4 address is used by default. If the website has a
2002::/16 IPv6 address and a IPv4 address the 2002::/16 IPv6
address is used to connect. This seems very odd and inconsistent
and can lead to confusion.
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Standing Room only at Town Hall, Angry Groups from Both Right and Left
Category: Public Policy, Law
If Rep. Susan Davis' (D-CA) office can't plan a town hall correctly
I don't know how we expect her to do any better with larger
government programs like health care. The parking lot wasn't large
enough to accommodate over 1,000 citizens, some constituents ended
up walking several blocks into order to park their cars only to get
denied entry. The facility was full with standing room only for
nearly 1,000 concerned citizens.
In her defense the question and answer session was handled rather
well. Every got to put their name "in a hat" and they were randomly
drawn through the Q&A session. Each person had one minute and
thirty seconds to make a statement or ask a question. Susan Davis
would then respond, usually with a shorter answer than the question
given. Also to her credit, even though the event was only scheduled
from 1 to 2 PM she took questions well past 2 until about
2:30.
Some highlights:
To answer the question before it was asked, Rep. Davis stated, "I
just want you to know that, yes, I have read the health bill, it is
over 1,000 pages..." (14:35)
"We rank 45th in infant mortality rates, behind Cuba," said Davis
(18:10) before the crowd uproared.
In response to a question about hate crime legislation (HR 1913)
only protecting certain groups, she stated, "I think that when you
are discriminating against one group, you're really discriminating
against all groups." (34:50) That sounds like an oxymoron to me, if
you discriminate against all groups then its not discrimination is
it? That's just "the way it is."
One person asked, "I know that you are supposed to represent your
constituents and I happened to look at the poll you have on your
website and its says that 'the health care reform should include a
government managed public option,' 85% of respondents said no."
(1:10:05) After an uproar, Davis responded, "I would like to see a
public option...I think you have to stick to your principles."
(1:13:30)
[UPDATE: 09-03-2009]
Rep. Susan Davis' office also provided
handouts with some "facts" about health care. The exact
straight line increase chart called "The Cost of Doing Nothing"
struck me as odd so I did some research. I spent a few hours
looking at the Kaiser Family
Foundation's website trying to find this $1,800 increase every
year through 2023 since that is what the slide cited as the source.
I couldn't find it. I couldn't find any Kaiser Family Foundation
research that projects costs into the future. I could find a figure
close to the $12,500 starting point for 2008, so at least that
checks out. So I called Susan Davis' office and inquired about what
publication I could find this statistic in. After a couple of days
I got a response that mentioned a few sources.
[UPDATE: 09-23-2009]
I got another call from Susan Davis' office specifically
citing a New York Times Economics blog as the source for the
$1,800/year figure. This is sort of true since it suggests $18,000
over ten years starting in 2010, but this is more likely to be
distributed unevenly, less than $1,800 in the early years and more
in the later part of the decade due to inflation. I do not know why
the lower KFF estimates were used except to mislead. When using the
starting point of $12,500, $1,800 is a 14.4% increase, compared to
10% when starting at $18,000.
Analysis of blog post shows that this number it an expert opinion
and not a fact, it has not been peer reviewed and assumes the
current defunding trend for existing government health programs
continues. In fact when considering an
inflation rate on average of 3% this is exactly canceled by 3%
wage increases as stated on the blog. That only leaves a true cost
increase of about 4% per year. Much of this 4% is not due to an
increased cost of care, it is because government programs are
paying out less than in the past and service providers need to
recover those costs. A quick table of costs at a 7% annual growth
rate.
2010 - $18,000
2011 - $19,260
2012 - $20,608
2013 - $22,050
2014 - $23,594
2015 - $25,245
2016 - $27,013
2017 - $28,904
2018 - $30,927
2019 - $33,092
2020 - $35,408
Another government program is NOT a solution based on testimony by
John M. Pickering of Milliman, Inc., to the House Committee on
Ways and Means. Analysis of this testimony is UNBELIEVABLE.
What it says is that in 2007, $1,788 (10.7%) of the total health
care cost for a family of four went to COVERING THE COSTS OF THOSE
ON MEDICAID AND MEDICARE and the uninsured. So because the
government does not pay out market rate for services rendered, its
costs the average family $1,788 every year. If the existing
government programs paid out at market rates, costs for these
families would drop by $1,788. The additional cost for government
programs would likely be spread across the tax base because this is
a zero sum game.
Full Town Hall Audio (MP3)
Monday, July 13, 2009 - What Kind of Website Does $9.5 Million (USD) Get You?
Category: Public Policy, Computing Technology
On July 9th, the Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board announced the
task order awarded to redesign the Recovery.gov website, creating
version 2.0. So what exactly will $9.5 Million (USD) get us?
According to the government's Statement
of Objectives (SOO) for Recovery.gov, here is a brief
breakdown.
Included:
- Hardware for Servers
- Software for Servers
- XML Proxy
- Continuity of Operations (COOP) Site (optional)
- Documentation
- Information Assurance Protections
- Section 508 Compliance
- 24x7 Operations and Maintenance
- Security Maintenance and Patching
- Web Interface and Design (HTML)
- VPN Between Sites
- IDS/Firewall
- Web Based Reports
- Web Content Management System
NOT Included (Government Provided):
- Database Services
- Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)
- Internet Access/Bandwidth
- Facilities
- Storage Area Network (SAN)
- Power/Cooling
- Data Collection
The initial launch is proposed for August 27, 2009. Does anyone
else out there think they can possibly do this for any cheaper than
$9.5 Million? Anyone?!
Friday, April 10, 2009 - FairTax Response from Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Category: Public Policy, Economics, Law
In January, I wrote a letter to my
Representative, Susan Davis, in support of the FairTax and asking her to co-sponsor
H.R.
25. I received her response
today. While I was not expecting her to become a co-sponsor, or
even support the H.R. 25 (FairTax), I am amazed at her
response.
First, she defends the current tax system of
over 70,000 pages and counting. Apparently her most important
concerns are NOT its complexity or even how some of our
presidential appointees are either not smart enough to understand
the current system or are cheating it. First and foremost, she
cites the need to 1) eliminate the marriage penalty and 2) increase
the child tax credit. Yes, because these are the biggest problems
with our tax code?
Secondly, she and her staff have apparently not read H.R. 25 and
are in serious need of education on the FairTax. She claims that
under a national sales tax "the vast majority of the tax burden
would fall on the poor." Normally this statement is true, but NOT
as implemented in H.R. 25. The FairTax calls for a prebate which
means that anyone at the poverty level pays exactly $0, that is
ZERO DOLLARS in federal taxes. This actually ends up being less
taxes than what a person at the poverty level pays today,
considering that the 7.65% payroll tax
rate will be repealed as part of H.R.25.
She also claims that this would "make our goods and services
prohibitively expensive" to sell in other countries. This is just
plain false. The FairTax is charged at the point of sale to the
consumer. Any good shipped overseas would be sold completely free
of US taxes, allowing us to become an exporting powerhouse.
Please contact Susan Davis' office using one of the methods below
and straighten them out about the FairTax:
Congressional
Website
U.S. House of Representatives
1526 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2040
Fax: (202) 225-2948
4305 University Avenue
Suite 515
San Diego, CA 92105
Phone: (619) 280-5353
Fax: (619) 280-5311
[UPDATE 04-13-2009] I also forgot to include the repeal of any
income taxes at the poverty level. That could be another 10% or so
more in taxes under the current system as compared to the FairTax.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - US Treasury: National Debt Hits $11 Million Millions Today
Category: Public Policy
According to the US Treasury, today the national debt hit $11
trillion for the first time in history. That is over $36,000
per person. Or 190 times Bill Gate's net worth, the richest man in
the world. It averages to about $1,500 overspent every single
second since this nation was founded in 1776. You can get
even more details about how this math comes out in real time on my
US National
Debt Counter website. Ever wonder how many "bridges to nowhere"
$11 trillion can buy?
So why the goofy headline of $11 million millions? I don't think
the public really understands how much a trillion of anything is.
Downloaded a trillion songs lately? How long is a trillion seconds?
(about 32,000 years) Now how about a million seconds? 12 days. Much
easier to comprehend. Now take that million and square it. And if
that isn't enough for you, multiply that by 11. That's the national
debt. Its really, really, really big.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - TSA Non-compliant with Congressional Mandate
Category: Public Policy, Law
In response to a Freedom Of
Information Act (FOIA) request for documentation regarding the
Information
(Data) Quality Act, the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) stated that it doesn't even have the required administrative
guidelines on how to implement such a policy. This is in violation
of both the law passed by Congress and Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) mandate.
Many, if not most federal agencies have such a policy publicly
available on their websites, whereas TSA does not have one at all.
And as for the report that is supposed to go to OMB every year?
They haven't created one of those, ever.
Public Law
106-554, Section 515, passed in December of 2000, states that
Executive Branch Agencies shall:
(A) issue guidelines ensuring and maximizing the quality,
objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including
statistical information) disseminated by the agency, by not later
than 1 year after the date of issuance of the guidelines...
(B) establish administrative mechanisms allowing affected persons
to seek and obtain correction of information maintained and
disseminated by the agency that does not comply with the
guidelines...
(C) report periodically to the Director--(i) the number and nature
of complaints received by the agency regarding the accuracy of
information disseminated by the agency; and (ii) how such
complaints were handled by the agency.
As far as I can determine, TSA has never done any of these.
And an interesting note for anyone that has not tried submitting a
FOIA request before, I received a letter postmarked on December 22
letting me know that my email was received on December 15. I
sent the email the night of December 9. First, that means it took
them nearly one week to acknowledge that they received my
email. Note that this did not include processing of any kind
besides giving me a tracking number. Second, this means it took
them an entire week to get the letter from the FOIA office and into
the mail. The entire process, from start to finish, took nearly two
months, just to tell me that they did not actually have any records
for me. I can't imagine how long an actual document would
take to get out of them.
[UPDATE 02-22-2009] OMB
Guidelines require that each agency publish their Information
Quality Guidelines on their website and also a notice in the
Federal Register.
Saturday, January 24, 2009 - New Red Light Cameras in San Diego
Category: Public Policy, Hardware, Privacy
Since November, the city of San Diego has activated 7
red light cameras. The city's website also has descriptions of
which directions are being targeted. Intersections include:
10th Avenue at "A" Street
10th Avenue at "F" Street
Aero Drive at Murphy Canyon Road
Camino Del Rio North at Mission Center Road
Camino De La Reina / Camino Del Rio North at Qualcomm Way
Clairemont Mesa Boulevard at Convoy Street
Cleveland Avenue at Washington Street
Del Mar Heights Road at El Camino Real
Grape Street at North Harbor Drive
Mira Mesa Boulevard at Scranton Road
Mission Bay Drive at Garnet Avenue
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - US Government Digitally Signs .gov TLD
Category: Public Policy, Software, Security
Using my own DNS Check
tool I noticed that the .gov is now signed using DNSSEC. This
means that the government has actually met its schedule on this
one. But there are a few issues:
1. Who actually signs it? NIST? DHS? Some other agency? This is
important for answering #2.
2. How do we validate this key? How do we know this isn't a
hacker's key? The agency that maintains the key should distribute a
hash of the public key so that we know its the real deal.
I'm hoping in the near future all of this information will come
out, but until it does, .gov isn't really any better off than it
was before.
UPDATE [2-18-2009]: Apparently GSA
is responsible for .gov and DNSSEC. It is
still considered in experimental stages and keys may change,
therefore no final key information is available for validation
yet.
UPDATE [3-1-2009]: GSA has posted the .gov public key on their
website.
Monday, January 5, 2009 - Tom Leykis Complaints to the FCC
Category: Public Policy
Computing Technology | Public Policy | Privacy and Security