Category: Thoughts

Joe’s IT Rules

Post author By Joe White
Post date November 12, 2018

Do not call numbers that that appear in pop-ups warning your computer is infected/compromised/&c. It is a scam.
Do not believe web pages that say your computer is infected/compromised/slow and to download X now to fix. It is a scam.
Do not accept calls from Apple Support/Windows Support/Microsoft/IRS. It is a scam.
Do not call the first support number you find in a search. It is an ad.
Do not believe emails that say they have your password or phone number and video of you misbehaving, or that there is a bomb. It is a scam.
Do not believe emails that require you to enter your username and password to see an attachment. It is a scam.
Do not believe emails that say your account has been suspended. It is most likely a scam.
Do not click on Unsubscribe in a email in another language or advertising Viagra or from an outfit with whom you’ve never dealt. It will only get you on more spam lists.
Do not install Flash Player. It is a huge security risk
Do not install programs or extensions or add-ons from outside your platform’s official source unless you have a Very Good Reason and you know exactly what it does and trust the source you are clicking with all of your life’s information.
Do not trust sites that are missing the lock icon in the address bar.
Do not share anything in an email or chat that you wouldn’t want to see in the news or shared with your family, friends, and coworkers.
Do not repost something you haven’t verified. When you share a lie, you are the liar.
Do have a unique, strong password for every site.
Do use a password manager (Keychain, LastPass, Dashlane).
Do apply updates.
Do wait for the .1 release to do upgrades.
Do ask if you are unsure.

Will update from time to time.

Only Big Government Can Save Us from Big Storms, Says the New York Times. Ummm … Really?

Post author By Joe White
Post date October 30, 2012

Maybe it’s true that “disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of ‘big government,'” But we should probably take that job away and let people who know what they’re doing handle the heavy lifting. [From Only Big Government Can Save Us from Big Storms, Says the New York Times. Ummm … Really?]

Thoughts

School Nurses and Econ 101, by Bryan Caplan

Post author By Joe White
Post date April 11, 2011

Most people flip out when economists suggest relaxing government regulation of medical quality. How dare we point out the trade-offs between price, quality, and access? But Robin notes an amazing example we’ve all known about since kindergarten: the school nurse.

Most states have special laws allowing school nurses to directly manage students as patients. True, school nurses can’t do everything docs can, but nurses who offered these same services to passersby at a shopping mall, without direct doc supervision, would violate medical licensing laws. Apparently, we like the comfort of knowing that medical help is onsite at school, but know that an onsite doctor would be very expensive, and so compromise with school nurses.

Pedagogical gold this pure goes straight into my labor econ lectures. Textbook authors and principles teachers, take note.

[From School Nurses and Econ 101, by Bryan Caplan]

Thoughts

The Giffords Shooting, The Instant Politicization of Everything, & Why Americans Increasingly Hate Dems & Reps

Post author By Joe White
Post date January 10, 2011
1 Comment on The Giffords Shooting, The Instant Politicization of Everything, & Why Americans Increasingly Hate Dems & Reps

From Nick Gillespie:

Readers of this site know I’m no Sarah Palin fan, but to accuse her of complicity in the murderous spree of a clearly insane person is one of the main reasons that partisan political parties are losing market share. I had myself tweeted that blaming Palin for Jared Loughner’s mass killing would be like blaming J.D. Salinger for Mark David Chapman shooting John Lennon (and as Jesse Walker pointed out, in Chapman’s case, at least we could be sure Chapman had read Salinger). Given Loughner’s fixation on grammar and the supposed lack of literacy evinced by most Americans, maybe William Safire and S.I. Hayakawa should be held responsible. [From The Giffords Shooting, The Instant Politicization of Everything, & Why Americans Increasingly Hate Dems & Reps]

Thoughts

Less Power=Less Maddening Actions

Post author By Joe White
Post date August 18, 2009

The Problem With Politics:

The way to avoid the maddening convulsions of politics isn’t to change them, or rise above them, or move past them, or transform them, or whatever the trendy term of art is on any given day. It’s to avoid them—and reduce their power to hold sway over how we live. And the more decisions about our lives and welfare we put in the hands of politicians, the harder that will be to do.