Ok, you have flats outside the nuke plant. You happen to drive by it on the way to work everyday in your beat up old car that you can barely afford to keep on the road. You have to buy the used tires at the tire store because frankly that is all you can afford.

Well, there is an incident at the plant.

The police comb through their records and an algorithm is applied to the tea leaves.

Well, you that have had a run of bad tires are also a member of a book club that reads 'alternative literature'. You buy what are deemed 'subversive' books online. You had an altercation at the school with a teacher over their treatment of your child. You have a PPO on you from an ex-spouse who did it to get leverage in your divorce years ago. You have had squabbles with your neighbor where the police have been involved. You give to Democratic causes. You were detained at a sit in in college. You have written several letters to the editor critical of nuclear power. You have paid a few bills late recently.

The algorithm identifies you as a suspect.

Who are you going to confront to question why you are being identified as a suspect? Now the onus is on you to 'prove beyond a reasonable doubt' that you were not involved in what happened.

IF you get out of it before it's too late, you have the mark of being a suspect now on your record which will be called up more frequently for purely coincidental things.

Such algorithms don't take into account coincidence. Everything spewed out is viewed as 'fact' by those that round you up. The program says you are guilty.

Ain't freedom grand...

Fear a surveillance state now?

Recently we had the misfortune of being booked on a flight out of DTW to IAH where the connection had a 30 minute gap. It's not even worth calling it a 'layover'.

Well, the flight from DTW got off late and arrived late. Yes we were among the ones standing early. Yes we were among the ones trying desperately to get off the plane. We came in at the last gate in terminal A and had to get to terminal C in less than 25 minutes. (More signs would be a great idea in Terminal A) Through the ground shuttle who waited until he was over filled to leave and stopped at terminal B even though no one was getting off. We made it, just barely. The last of the passengers were walking on the plane. Had the process taken 5 more minutes and we would have been staying a LONG time in IAH due to the scheduling of flights to our destination.

Why do the airlines assume that you can get from one end of the airport to the other in less than a half hour? (The trip was booked on their website) Dallas has been the worst for that.

Since the flight out of IAH was a 'code shared' flight, I'd assume that if we weren't there, they'd close up and cruise without us.

Which brings up a question: When do planes wait for passengers? When they are first class? How is it determined when they wait and when they don't?

I've waited in San Francisco for 'late passengers' and had flights were people were left behind and the plane left on time.

Anyway, Northwest DOES board by rows. It happened on all 5 flights recently.

But where are the Bush family scions taking their profits?

Wasn't the Bush family one that profited handsomely from the S&L disaster?

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

And $99 a year for 'standard' membership and be able to write 'free' apps for it?

$299 for 'enterprise' membership and be able to write enterprise apps?

There is a 'free' membership. Does that include the ability to distribute your apps via the 'App Store'?

Did I read correctly yesterday that the iphone gets them 'free' but the itouch requires a charge for 'accounting'? Why do that to the itouch users? I found it interesting that Apple charges for the latest update for the itouch. Gouging or silly?

This opens up a whole new can-o-worms and a lot of profit potential on Apple's part. Will their attempts at milking developers work to help development or kill it.