- My Name is Tom, or Errant. I write about geeky things, politics, and life in general and politic. My current day job is in computer security but I have been known to program in my spare time.
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Recent Posts
Tag Archives: opinion
Assange: Conspiracy or coincidence
Today various news agencies are reporting that Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, is wanted in connection to rape allegations. Coincidence? Well, maybe. People have been pretty quick to come up with various conspiracy theories; the ones I’m seeing in my usual … Continue reading
I am my Web Host
As I blogged about a few days ago I’ve fallen out with my web host. This tends to happen every few years; the standard of “cheap but reliable” hosting has taken a dive. Especially in the area of customer service … Continue reading
Bank Simple actually personalise their email
I am very impressed with Bank Simple (a neat project I came across via HN). Banking startups are an interesting (and hard) area so, in the spirit of “why not”, I left them my email a few months back. As a … Continue reading
That Piracy thing again (debunking the arguments)
So piracy is back in the news this week with the US government’s proposed “Joint Strategic Plan to combat intellectual property theft“. Cue the typical hand waving and ranting from both sides of the orchard. I always hate times like this … Continue reading
Why I think “Draw Mohammed Day” is a bad idea
Draw Mohammed day is this silly idea someone came up with in an attempt to show unity against extremists who threaten death to those who, well, draw Mohammed. (for background; Muslims often find it offensive when people draw Mohammed because … Continue reading
We all be hatin on Facebook, right?
This anti-Facebook diatribe currently kicking around the interwebs is starting to get a bit tedious. The irony is that in barely any time at all it will probably be forgotten (and everyone will be jumping onto a new train of hate). Which … Continue reading
The problem with Oauth/OpenID
There is an underlying problem with Oauth and OpenID – and it has nothing to do with the idea itself. The specs for both projects are impressive (marred by a few flaws I admit) and most implementations sound. The problem … Continue reading
Harriton High, the shape of things to come?
One of the commonest and strongest arguments against the idea of deep packet inspection by ISP’s is that it is a system with wide potential for abuse. This criticism is often acknowledged and then met with wide assurances of proper controls and … Continue reading
Election Debate
I actually approve of the idea of a TV election debate – unfortunately they’ve turned it into more of a well vetted policy discussion. Not so good (put them all on News Night! ). But who did well tonight? Well … Continue reading
The trouble with Meritocracys
A Hacker News post tonight reminded me about Meritocracy; which I’ve always found to be a wonderful theory (it’s a great form of governance). Unfortunately the few times I tried to be part of a such a community they crashed … Continue reading