The Register - Sarong it's right: Coining it in Thailand without a visa -
Hmmm I would have thought it was all ladyboys, kickboxing and beer but apparently "The Hangover II" misled me.
Wired - The Feds Are Now Using ‘Stingrays’ in Planes to Spy on Our Phone Calls -
according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal indicating that the government has been using Cessna planes outfitted with special phone surveillance equipment to track suspects. But the surveillance system is designed to pick up the phone signals of anyone within range. The range of the equipment is currently unknown, but it means that data on potentially tens of thousands of phones could be collected during a single flight.I wondered why that Cessna always seems to be following me. I just assumed I had a stalker who was into old, short fat, hairy, retarded, white guys. After all we are quite the catch.
I know I am a lazy bum. Only two articles but everything is so bleh.
Books
Andrew Grant - Run -
Based on the description I had had hopes for this book:
Marc Bowman, a highly successful computer consultant and software designer, walks into his job at a major tech company one morning only to find himself fired on the spot, stonewalled by his boss, and ushered out of the building. Then things get worse: An explosive argument drives his wife away and a robbery threatens to yank a million-dollar idea—and his whole future—out from under him. In a matter of hours, Marc has gone from having it all to being sucker-punched by fate. But it’s only Monday, and before the week is over, he’ll be stalked, ambushed, wiretapped, arrested, duped, double- and triple-crossed—until he can’t tell enemies from allies.
Suddenly, the only thing standing between him and the wrath of everyone from the FBI to Homeland Security to his desperate ex-bosses is a flash drive full of data that might just be the holy grail of high-tech secrets—and a holy terror in the wrong hands. Now, as the gloves come off and the guns come out, turning back is hopeless and giving up is madness. The only person left for Marc to trust is himself. And the only thing left to do is keep running—or end up a dead man walking.
Unfortunately they didn't pan out. I don't want to give too much away but this book fails on a few levels. First, the main character is thoroughly unlikable. I mean he starts off OK, but within 20 pages you know he is just a pretentious douche. Not only that but as you get into later revelations about how he has treated his wife and friends you kind of end up hoping he will get his ass kicked. Second, for being a supposed data analytics genius he has to be literally clubbed over the head with some revelations. At some points I literally wanted to scream, "He's the bad guy you doofus". The guys on the other side are no better consistently misinterpreting events, in ways that feel utterly contrived. Extremely frustrating reading. Finally, there isn't even really a story here. At any point in time this entire problem could have disappeared. This McGuffin is two usb flash drives that the main character had in his pocket when he left work. The recognized the fact almost instantly and send his wife to get them back. When he refuses do they a) contact a lawyer and have him issue a cease and desist letter, b) contact the sherriff and report the theft, or c) have the mafia send a super creepy hitman after him.
All in all just a bad book. I wouldn't even recommend it for airplane reading.
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