Muck @ blog.glen-martin.com

401Ks and other registered plans are not always the best retirement savings vehicles

glen martin — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:12:00 GMT

For those with long retirement horizons, or with large mortgages or other itemized deductables, a 401K may not always be a good idea.

Data theft is criminal - loss should be as well

glen martin — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:08:00 GMT

Here's a thought - make loss of media containing personal data of customers or citizens a criminal offense. Especially if the data are unencrypted.

Taxes and capital improvements

glen martin — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 15:15:00 GMT

Tax policy as a lever to encourage automation needs a rethink for cases in which automation doesn't substantially increase the revenue base to be taxed.

Is the budget for Shriver's public appearances a legitimate state expense?

glen martin — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 21:12:00 GMT

Should the public cover the expense of keeping the families of elected officials in the limelight?

Data Theft: It's the victim's fault, right?

glen martin — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:36:00 GMT

A new bill before the US Senate aims at the theft (or sometimes loss) of personal information.It would rewrite computer crime laws to create new penalties. Bzzt! Instead, make violators advertise their data losses and procedural lapses.

VOIP, 911, and Crown Grants

glen martin — Fri, 20 May 2005 22:22:00 GMT

There has been some hand-wringing over VOIP telephony and the ability to call emergency services ("911"), with Vonage frequntly cast in the role of villian in this melodrama.The issue seems to boil down to a couple of points for me:First po

Inspires confidence in regulators, doesn't it?

glen martin — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 08:00:00 GMT

A hit man knocks off 5 people over a couple of years, getting paid $10K per pop. On the last of the hits, he's caught, and the DA grants him complete immunity from prosecution for all 5 hits for a guilty plea on one count of accepti

Media consolidation doesn't have to be bad

glen martin — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 19:45:00 GMT

A lot of folks have been moaning about media consolidation. My own take is a little more ambivalent.I first started thinking about this during the Atlanta Olympics coverage, when a small bomb that (to my recollection) didn't actually kill anyone none

In war. are there terrorists?

glen martin — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:06:00 GMT

Interesting report of an Italian case in which terrorism charges were dropped because the alleged acts existed within a context of war. The men were accused of recruiting suicide bombers etc to go to Iraq, seemingly after hostilities had broken out i

Are there two sides to every story?

glen martin — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 17:52:00 GMT

I heard an interview with psychologist Drew Weston about the way we process discussion and debate, which I found fascinating. He was commenting on journalists presenting "both sides" "as if the midpoint of two biased views is somehow r

Ironic ads by Google

glen martin — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 17:09:00 GMT

Google needs to start a new service: Ironic Ads by Google.We've all seen the ads Google placed on both its search results and content pages in the web. When I visit some web pages that have a deal with Google, keyword searches against the page conten

Sportsmanship

glen martin — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 13:11:00 GMT

Where did the notion of sportsmanship go?I've heard this thought a bunch over the past few days, the speakers complaining of some recent American pro-sports shenanigans. A basketball game turned into a brawl, with at least one player climbing into th

Objectionable content

glen martin — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 18:18:00 GMT

There's been a flurry of commentary in mailing lists this morning on proposed US legislation that would make technological means to skip TV commercials illegal. But skipping objectionable content like gory or explicit scenes would be ok. Wired publ

Escape planning

glen martin — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 17:58:00 GMT

I don't know what to say about this one, but I thought it was hilarious. For those suffering PTES (Post Traumatic Election Syndrome), here's a great 60's idea revisited.

Criminalize acts, not means

glen martin — Wed, 13 Oct 2004 18:56:00 GMT

I number of years ago I saw a bumper sticker that read "Register Mongols, not crossbows". The point being, if crossbows are illegal, only the Mongols will have crossbows.Fast forward.Today I read that the U.S. Justice Department seems to be

Circle of hell?

glen martin — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 00:29:00 GMT

I heard a media report yesterday of a pair of comments by the 2 top candidates for US president. Bush reportedly said: "The work is a better place for having Hussein in a cell. My opponent thinks he should still be in power." Reportedly, what K

Terrorists hate US freedom?

glen martin — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 02:21:00 GMT

I don't believe it. Haven't believed it even once, despite the rhetorical political drivel one hears the press regurgitate.If ever we lack indication that terrorists think more broadly, or wonder whether it might in fact be American foreign policy th

Privacy - not!

glen martin — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:22:00 GMT

Thanks to WebMink for blogging about this very clear caution about privacy and triangulation. [caution: starts on loading, complete with audio]

Uncivil Union

glen martin — Sun, 15 Feb 2004 02:19:00 GMT

Sometimes situations are too political to have a solution. For those who have been more lucky than me and missed hearing incessantly about this saga, the Mass. Supreme Court ruled that the State had no ability to restrict marriage to one man and one

Quote of the week

glen martin — Mon, 15 Sep 2003 05:10:00 GMT

Responding to Bush's request to add certain terrorism-related crimes to the list of those for which the death penalty is available, Deborah Pearlstein of Lawyers Committee for Human Rights said "When you're dealing with an enemy that has made suici