What Would Jimmy Do?

You’ve probably noticed that a disagreement between Apple and the FBI has been getting a lot of press lately. The issue is way too complicated for me to solve here, but it is important for all of us and the issues involved are going to get more muddled as time goes on.

The simplified version of the issue is that an iPhone recovered by the FBI during a terrorist incident is “locked” and the FBI (or anyone else) can’t access the data on the phone without the proper code to unlock it. The “code” in question here is a four digit number — doesn’t sound too difficult. Just try all possible combinations until you hit it. Well, it turns out that for security reasons, the phone is designed to only allow ten (10) tries to enter the correct code. If a wrong code is entered 10 times, the phone erases all its data.
So… the FBI is asking Apple to write software to disable this “feature.” Apple, of course, is claiming that to do so would (potentially) compromise the data on everyone’s iPhones.

If Apple does create such a tool that enables government or law enforcement agencies to bypass a product’s security features, the potential for it falling into the hands of cybercriminals and hostile governments is probably pretty high. If such a tool existed, foreign intelligence agencies and criminal organizations would pay enormous sums of money for access to such a “master key.” The “thing” the FBI is asking Apple to create isn’t a “thing” at all — it’s digital data. It’s not something that can be locked in a box and put away.

One thing that makes the problem here so murky, is that it involves legal, policy and technical issues.
The FBI is choosing to use something called the All Writs Act of 1789 (rather than legislative action via Congress) to justify the expansion of its authority over Apple.
Until this FBI/Apple argument started making the news I had never heard of the All Writs Act. Turns out the All Writs Act (AWA) is a United States federal statute which authorizes the United States federal courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” The act in its original form was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
The application of the All Writs Act requires the fulfillment of four conditions:
• The absence of alternative remedies (there is no other statute or rule that applies)
• An independent basis for jurisdiction — the act authorizes writs in aid of jurisdiction, but does not in itself create any federal subject-matter jurisdiction (it applies to a third party with some connection to the case)
• Necessary or appropriate in aid of jurisdiction — the writ must be necessary or appropriate to the particular case (it is justifiable by extraordinary circumstances)
• Usages and principles of law — the statue requires courts to issue writs “agreeable to the usages and principles of law” (compliance doesn’t create an “unreasonable burden”)

Part of Apple’s argument seems to be that if the FBI wants new powers to break security of our digital technologies, let it demand a law from Congress. If such a law is passed, it can be submitted to the courts to ensure it’s constitutional.

As I said earlier, this is way too complicated for me to solve and I continue to follow the news in an attempt to understand both sides… as of right now, I’m probably more on Apple’s side. From what I know about the situation, I think it would be very difficult to keep the information (necessarily) in a digital form bottled up. My opinion may change as both sides reveal more information.

As more and more of our lives are lived online, the Internet, computer power, social networks, etc. have pretty much laid our actions, beliefs and relationships permanently open to inspection by way of their digital traces. Personal anonymity is dead or dying. What little privacy Apple’s security provides is possibly being taken away. When Earl Warren was on the Supreme Court, he said, “The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” He probably didn’t realize how right he was at the time.
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Last evening I was watching the Super Tuesday election results. I noticed that a few times I found myself saying, “Wow.” I got to thinking about that word — you don’t necessarily hear it a lot, but when you do, you know that whatever caused the expression to be spoken had gotten the undivided attention of whoever uttered it. I’ve heard that if you make something or say something that elicits the “wow” response, you’ve done or said something special.
From what I can tell, wow is a 16th century Scottish interjection — a natural expression of amazement.

Funny how a little word can express so much. Sometimes we use the word wow when we see something of beauty, or when we see something terrible, or when we see something we don’t understand, or miraculous — we use it for differently all the time… But when we use it, one thing’s for sure — whatever made us say it, has captured our undivided attention.
Next time you say wow, stop and think about why you said it — whether it was mundane or miraculous, I’ll bet it was amazing….
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It takes the Earth about 365.242189 days (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds) to go around the sun one time. The calendar we use has only 365 days, so if we didn’t add an extra day about every 4 years, we would “lose” almost six hours every year. So someone (Julius Caesar was the first about 46 B.C.) introduced the leap year – adding an extra day to the year. Of course Julius Caesar used the Julian calendar and he decided that any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year. His concept wasn’t all that bad, but his math was a little off. Today, using the Gregorian calendar, there’s a leap year every year that is divisible by four, except for years that are both divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. That rule was added to make up for the fact that an extra day every four years was too much of a correction…. but we don’t skip leap days too often — the last time a leap day was skipped was February of 1900. The next time will be February of 2100. I’m not sure of the significance of this, but leap years are the only years when January 1st and December 31st fall on different days of the week — every other year they’ve on the same day.

Anyhow, approximately every four years we get an extra day. It’s added at the end of February — I suppose because February got short changed with the current calendar, having normally only 28 days.
Anthony, Texas and Anthony, New Mexico have proclaimed themselves the Leap Year Capitals of the World. They hold a leap year festival every leap year that includes a huge birthday party for everyone born on February 29th — they require an ID as proof of birth….

So we wind up with an extra day — if you’re on a fixed salary, you work for free. And if you’re inclined to break the law, try not to be sentenced to a year in jail this year — in the eyes of the law, a year has 12 months, not 365 days. So… unlucky criminals serving time in a leap year spend an extra night in the slammer. I guess it’s good news that you have an extra day to do your taxes in 2016.

But I’m still of the opinion that the 29th should be a free day. Why should you have to work an extra day in February? Leap day should just be a day that doesn’t count. This should be a phantom day — anything you say or do doesn’t count. I figure we all deserve at least one day every four years or so just for ourselves. And of course if you’re one of those that are always complaining that you need more time — here it is, a whole extra day!
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A couple of days ago I wrote about how Legos had changed over the years and how I sort of missed the old ones. I realize that life and all the things around us are pretty much in a constant state of change, but some of the changes —in my mind — just aren’t necessarily for the better.

Some of the things I miss besides Lego sets with no special pieces…
Real volume knobs on devices — they gave you really fine control, not like the digital buttons on most things today.
Drive-in movies — I thought it was pretty cool on a summer night to go to the movies and not have to get out of your car, except for maybe popcorn. And if you thought ahead, you brought the popcorn with you….
Blue jeans becoming worn or tattered from wear — not off the rack and “pre-worn” for you at an exorbitant price.
Wooden crates that used to hold soda bottles — they looked cool and kept the bottles from rattling and you could use them to stand on and all sorts of things…
Another thing I miss is records. I know they were big, easily scratched , you had to take care of them, and they did wear out over time but I enjoyed the jacket covers and the little blurbs written on them about the musicians or music on the album. I realize getting music online is more convenient and faster, maybe even cheaper — but I do miss records…
I also miss the test patterns on the TV early in the morning and late at night, A&W root beer stands, swings made out of old tires, playing outdoor games in the summer until 10 pm, gas stations where they actually pumped the gas for you, cartoons at the movies before the main attraction started and drug stores that had soda fountains…

Something I really miss is living in a corruption free society — I realize there never was such a thing, but compared to today, it seemed corruption free. But as they say, today is a gift of God, and that’s why we call it the present. And the past is never where you think you left it anyhow….
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Emily has been building with Legos almost her entire life. I’m continuously impressed by how adept she is at building things — and following directions. Almost everything she’s built using Legos has been “scripted” for her. Her Lego projects are built from Lego “kits” that have unique “bricks” molded in special shapes to produce a pretty terrific looking finished product. Most of Emily’s projects have been fairy princess castles and little houses, with an occasional car thrown in. She builds them by very meticulously following the directions provided by Lego.

A couple of weeks ago, she spent a few nights with us and one of the activities that occupied her was building with her mom’s old Legos. These were just a bunch of “bricks” in various sizes and colors. No directions. No pictures. Just bricks. At first Emily was a bit frustrated and didn’t know what to build, but very soon her imagination took off and she made some really cool stuff. It was fun to watch her figure out how make what she was thinking of. She asked that a couple of things she came up with not be taken apart, but left for her next visit.

This all got me to thinking… it seems that the imagination and creativity needed to “make” something from today’s Legos leaves much to be desired. The pre-formed pieces included in todays sets don’t allow children to think for themselves and really make something from their own imagination.

So what happened? Somewhere between when our kids played with Legos and the time our grandchildren started playing with them, the Lego company decided that kids (and adults) needed more than just their imagination — they needed directions.

I suppose this change is a marketing strategy, but I suspect that the company decided that the challenge of building something from scratch is hard. But I think by making Lego set “kits” it not only decreases creativity in the use of Legos, but across other activities as well.

I understand that the world is changing — I guess Legos must, too. But I hate to see the lives of kids today become even more structured. I agree with Albert Einstein when he said, “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
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This is another busy February holiday… not only is it George Washington’s real birthday, it’s also National Margarita Day and Be Humble Day. It should be obvious why on February 22nd every year we honor not only George Washington but also pay tribute to and honor the margarita — and — it’s easy to celebrate the two. Be Humble Day on the other hand…

We all know people that are self-centered and need to be reminded that it’s not all about you! So, if you know someone that always talks about themselves and their accomplishments and never bothers to ask about what’s going on in your life, today is the day to remind them that it’s Be Humble Day. Maybe, for just this one day, they can manage to be humble.

Humbleness is a good trait to have — it’s a fact that some people are smarter, better educated, more traveled and even nicer looking than others. But that doesn’t make it right to gloat….
So today is a good day for us all to remember to have respect for others and show some humility.

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” But I rather like, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” C. S. Lewis came up with that one, and was probably thinking of Be Humble Day at the time…..
So let’s all be humble and have a margarita — in honor of George.
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Today is Do a Grouch a Favor Day. We all know someone who is almost always grouchy and grumpy. It seems to be some people’s nature to just be grouchy. There have been a lot of famous people (both real and fictional) that fall into the grouch category.

Ebenezer Scrooge was a penny-pinching, Christmas-hating curmudgeon
Archie Bunker was about as grouchy and grumpy as you can get
I’d say that the cartoon character Maxine would qualify as a grouch
The Grinch — anyone that steals Christmas is certainly a grouch
Grumpy (of the Seven Dwarfs) is a grouch — maybe with people like Dopy, Sneezy, etc. around, he had good reason
Andy Rooney got paid to be a curmudgeon and tell us what was wrong with the world
And then there was the most famous grouch of them all — Oscar the Grouch

Grouches are eccentric, pessimistic, argumentative people. Being as grouchy and miserable as they possibly can be seen to be is a grouch’s main mission in life. A true grouch will never admit to being happy no matter what.

I think Do a Grouch a Favor Day is an excellent holiday. Grouches have a tough life. Of course, like everyone, we only see one side of a grouch — we usually never hear their side of the story. Maybe that grouchy person that you know is playing the hand he was dealt pretty well. Who knows what your favorite grouch might become with just a little kindness? So try to do him or her a favor today — or — at the very least raise a glass to that person.
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Well, here it is that most romantic day again — Valentine’s Day. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago when talking about Groundhog Day, there’s a limited amount of “new” things to write about a holiday that is celebrated every year.

Most of us think about flowers, chocolate, jewelry, or cards as Valentine’s Day “traditions.” But did you know that gloves were once a very important part of Valentine’s Day? A token of love in the 19th century was a paper hand, which was a symbol of courtship. Tiny paper gloves were also popular. Real gloves were a favorite valentine gift, especially in the British Isles. Gloves were often given with a verse that went like this:

If that from Glove, you take the letter G
Then Glove is Love and that I send to thee

It became a tradition that if a man gave a woman one glove on Valentine’s Day and she wore it in public on Easter Sunday, it meant she returned his love.
Seems kind of sappy, but I guess it’s a little more romantic than texting….
Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday — he would have been 207 years old. Everyone knows he was one of the better Presidents — he was often referred to as “Honest Abe.” The story is that George Washington said, “I cannot tell a lie.” Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, — it fits in with the cherry tree story nicely. But Abraham Lincoln actually did say that he couldn’t tell a lie.

Abe was the first President not born in one of the original colonies. He never slept in the Lincoln bedroom in the White House. He argued a case in front of the United States Supreme Court — and lost. Abe was a licensed bartender, the only President to hold a patent and is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service the day he was shot — on Good Friday.
So Happy Birthday, Abe — we could use more like you…..
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Today, February 11, is a much celebrated day. It’s National Make a Friend Day, National Peppermint Patty Day — and — Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Since these three important holidays always fall on the same date, I have to choose one to celebrate every year — they’re all too important to “share.”

This year, it’s Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. We’ve all heard the expression, “don’t cry over spilled milk” — it’s been around seems like forever. According to my extensive research, the first historical reference of the phrase occurred in 1659. No one really knows where and when it actually originated but it likely comes from European folklore. According to several old tales, fairies were very fond of milk and would drink up any spills left behind.

But regardless of the origin, it means don’t worry or stress over little things. So today is a day to think positive and try to find something good in everything that happens. Actually, that’s a good attitude to have regardless of what day it is. Enjoy life to it’s fullest and face each day with an optimistic attitude and a smile on your face.
Don’t worry — be happy!!
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