Decisions

I am a bit torn. I’m looking to get myself a new camera and each time I start to research it, I go through a cycle of options. Then, in the end, I choose to do nothing. Here are my options:

• Get a Canon XSI - it’s the new low-end dSLR from Canon. There’s a lot of rave reviews on this camera and some are calling it best in class. I have heard that it suffers from under-exposure much like the XTI did though and that bothers me.
• Get a Nikon D60 - comparable to the Canon, I’ve seen some good deals on this camera. The features are a bit lacking and I’m not convinced to spend the $800+ that it would require.
• Get a Nikon D80 - the options are there but the cost is higher. I might be better off getting the D60 and paying the extra for a better lens though.
• Get a Canon XTI - I might be able to get a rather good deal on an Canon XTI with the image stabilization lens but again, this camera is known to under expose and I’m concerned about this.
• Go Film - The other option that I’ve been seriously contemplating. I’ll be traveling overseas on the coming month and I know that I can get a high quality film camera overseas for not a lot of money. It may be worth my while because there’s no real substitute for film. I’ve developed my own black-and-white before and it wouldn’t be too costly for me to do it now.

So, I’m back at the starting point. I still haven’t made a decision and I don’t know if I’m ready to make one yet. I hate being indecisive but I want to make the right choice.

What do you think? What cameras have you used? What are your preferences?

Your Health… Online

How comfortable are you with your Personal Health Information (PHI) available online? How comfortable are you with it being in a Google Database? Well, you should probably start thinking about it because Google has put together a tool that should help you keep track of your Personal Health Information.

Does this make you upset? Does it worry you?

Don’t worry, your HMO most likely already has a tool like this available to you. Some health insurance providers go so far as require you to fill out entries on their system or have to pay a deductible for insurance.

Struck a chord yet? Making you sweat? Are you wondering “with all of these people trying to hack into systems, should I be worried?” or “is Google covered by existing privacy laws?” (The New York Times seems to think they aren’t and I agree with them).

The reality is that companies are interested in getting your information online because they are going to make money with of it.  They’ve invested a lot of money into building these databases and they’re going to want a return on that money.

In this case, Google is clearly going to mine this data. They clearly say:

“Google will use aggregate data to publish trend statistics and associations. For example, Google might publish trend data similar to what is published in Google Trends. None of this data can be used to personally identify an individual.”

What does that mean?  It means that Google is going to use your information to provide trends and statistics.  Are they going to use your data to provide targeted advertising?  They already do this with google mail (gmail) and your web searches.  Companies don’t provide a service unless they intend to make money from the service in some way.  It’s called business.

So, what is the use of putting your health information online? I have no idea. In the case of a severe health emergency, you aren’t going to be able to log into Google to pull your records. .

I believe this will cause more problems than it solves. I believe that it opens you to a risk of exposure of your personal information. I also believe that it will lead people to misdiagnose issues without the guidance of a professional (I can already here people saying “why do I need to go to a doctor when I know that I have this and I can treat it with that.”).

You be the judge of what you should do. Just keep in mind the risks that you take on when you put your information online. Also, please, read over the Privacy Policy and caveats listed there before you act.

UPDATE: WebWare has a very good article talking about the implications of storing your medical records online.  I suggest you read it before you start agrigating your health information online.

Ad Block for your browser

Advertisements are how websites make money. Must like network TV, clicks are counted and money is paid. I’m not against this business model - it works and keeps content available to everyone.

What I DO NOT like are the advertisements that sonically announce to me that I won a free iPhone or iPod or laptop or whatever the hot good of the day is. It’s even worse when 2 of them show up on one site at the same time and they’re out of sync in their announcement. These ads are not only annoying, they are intrusive. I don’t think I’m alone in this dislike of these disruptive blubbering blurbs. They rank up there with the “pop-under” advertisement.

Being that I’m a self-described OS Agnostic, I often have to deal with different browsers on different computer platforms. It’s not always easy to have Firefox available to you for your internet browsing needs. Recently, I was using an Apple with Safari installed and I had to suffer through pop-under and “you won a free iPhone” ads that were just distracting. That’s when I stumbled on “Safari AdBlock.”

http://safariadblock.sourceforge.net/

So, I’ve installed and we’ll see how it goes. I’ll provide updates as I test it out.

A Starting Point

Each blog has to have a starting point and this is mine.  Not a lot going on here at the moment and there’s not a lot planned for the future.  

This is what I do have planned though:

• Possibly interesting computer news
• Possibly interesting photography stuff
• Possibly amusing anecdotes
• Possibly insightful comments on politics
• Possibly interesting historical facts

Intrigued? I knew you would be.  Stay tuned.  Bored?  Well, that’s part of life.