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Benlog

crypto and public policy

Archive for August, 2004

I’m Sorry Only If You’re Sorry

Posted: Monday, August 23rd, 2004 @ 9:27 pm in General | Comments Off on I’m Sorry Only If You’re Sorry

When backed into a corner and forced to apologize, a less-than-enthusiastic person will often say something like “I’m Sorry Only If You’re Sorry.” You’ve seen these non-apology apologies before. An 8 year-old might say “well, I’m sorry I hit my baby sister only if she’s sorry for calling me names.” You’ve also heard it from […]

The Truth About R Ratings and Common-Senseless Rules

Posted: Monday, August 23rd, 2004 @ 1:35 pm in General | 1 Comment »

Zach Braff, writer, director, and lead actor of Garden State, my new favorite movie, tells us more about R ratings in movies: Just so you all know, your government doesn’t believe a 16 year old should hear the word “fuck” more than twice in a 2 hour period. The second you say “fuck” twice in […]

Ben Adida != Adidas Footwear

Posted: Friday, August 20th, 2004 @ 6:24 pm in General | 2 Comments »

A friend of mine mentioned that he saw an ad when he googled for my name. Further investigation into Google AdWords shows that Adidas, the footwear company, has actually purchased “ben adida” as a search term with Google. Which means that if I want to advertise under my own name, I’d have to pay 8 […]

Garden State

Posted: Sunday, August 8th, 2004 @ 5:49 pm in General | 1 Comment »

Garden State is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. A fantastic story, top-notch acting, and an incredible feeling that Zach Braff is going to be huge, if he isn’t already.

The Boss Speaks; The Data Speak

Posted: Friday, August 6th, 2004 @ 1:16 pm in Policy | Comments Off on The Boss Speaks; The Data Speak

Barely recovered from vacation, Greg points me to two nuggets. First, a fantastic and eloquent op/ed in yesterday’s New York Times written by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen: Our American government has strayed too far from American values. It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting. Second, a […]

The Perception Problem: When Experts and Non-Experts Disagree

Posted: Wednesday, August 4th, 2004 @ 1:27 pm in Security & Crypto | 2 Comments »

CNET reports that voters are not worried about voting machines, but experts are. Some people are using this observation as an excuse to dismiss the worries of security experts. To paraphrase Avi Rubin, it makes about as much sense to ask voters what they think of election machine security as it does to ask patients […]

Integration without Denial

Posted: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004 @ 4:26 pm in General | Comments Off on Integration without Denial

The Guardian makes a solid point about France (Salon syndication of the story, I can’t seem to find it at the Guardian’s site): the French principle of integration through denial of cultural/racial differences is a catastrophe. I’ve always been impressed with the level of cultural and racial integration in the US. America sees variety as […]