Category: Random

I used to think that unions were bureaucratic organizations which mainly existed to get in people’s way. The closed shop seemed particularly dubious in that all employees were required to pay union dues, effectively imposing a tax on working. My thinking has changed to some degree. While unions are deeply imperfect, they do have a…

Blogging is still fairly new, and it will continue to evolve. Anything we say about it today has to be tentative. That aside, I think it’s quite interesting how many people start blogs. I would not have guessed that so many people felt that they wanted to say something to the world. Blogging makes it…

Reasonably often, when you ask a question on a mailing list or newsgroup, nobody answers. Only a few people take the time to answer questions, and often nobody will bother. However, if you make an incorrect assertion, many people will take the time to correct you. Of course it does depend on the forum. In…

There are various theories that the plays attributed to Shakespeare were actually written by somebody else, such as the Earl of Oxford. I think one of the stronger arguments against this claim is the considerable lack of great literature, or great art in general, produced by members of the aristocracy. I don’t believe that great…

Most e-mail is sent across the net unencrypted. People who run local e-mail clients generally use unencrypted SMTP to send their e-mail and use unencrypted POP to retrieve their e-mail. People who use web-based e-mail have an encrypted session to their provider, but the e-mail is sent from their provider to the provider of their…