First Blog

Facebook problems are nothing compare to the impending revelations about cloud computing, whereby the server owners (e.g. Microsoft, Google) are seriously mining  corporate and personal information.  Uploading to the cloud is considered to be private and even privacy conscious users override their concerns.  It is not! Payment of a storage fee does not guarantee privacy. Perhaps you use a cloud with your cell phone.  It may contain passwords, banking information, and personal data.  It has been mined.   When the story breaks, it will be really, really big.  And one other thing, data never dies.  You may erase it, but archival copies remain.

Is sugar addictive?   Since it was cultivated in the Americas a couple of centuries ago, it has become a staple throughout the world.   People love it.  While sugar effects are so benign and the craving is so universal, it has not been determined to be addictive or not.   (See, the wonderful book, 1493 , by Charles C. Mann.) A good case can be made for addiction, but the chemistry is subtle.   Well, sugar does add calories, and our wonderful legislatures wish to do something about apparent consequent obesity.   For most legislatures, doing something must involve money in some way, giving it out or taking it in.   The latter is preferred. The solution this new year in Philadelphia is a sugar tax on sugary soft drinks at the rate of 1.5 cents per ounce**.   For example, the tax on a 42-ounce big gulp will be 63 cents, and for a gallon of sweetened tea, it will be $1.92.     Alcohol is excluded, as are orange, tomato and apple juices – the healthy stuff I guess.   Fans of energy dr

Social Media . One item of note today is the great preponderance of cell phones, blogs, twitters, and Facebook.  There are a dozen or more others, as you know.  The question I pose here is why? The Worldwide Data.   All numbers given are estimates, as there is no clear methodology for such data collection ('cept maybe cell phones) as there is for medical conditions, educational information, voters, religions, and the like.  Cell phones: There are  an estimated 5,980,000,000 mobile accounts worldwide, greater than the world population. Mobile accounts out number land lines 5:1. India and China account for at least 30% of this business.  Blogs: There are more than 160,000,000 blogs and 75% of that number are blog readers.  Some estimates are vastly higher. Twitter: There are at least 500,000,000 accounts, with more than 170,000,000 tweeting daily. The average visit time is more than 11 minutes.  People tweet, organizations tweet, religions tweet, even governments tweet. Facebo