Posted November 16th, 2009 Two friends of mine have finally decided to get blogging. Yes, I know that blogging seems passé to some of you out there, but it still has it purpose.
First up – Tuesdaynight’s very own Josh Nanberg has launched his eponymous blog. Josh is one of the few people I know who can
- breakdown political messaging techniques in to something I can understand
- cook a four course meal in a 1 course kitchen
- reference deeply obscure music lyrics
all at the same time.
Next up – my friend and mentor, Rob Ciampa has decided to divert his seemingly boundless energies into a bit of blogging. Besides having an encyclopedic knowledge French wine, a photographic memory for menus, and a typical Boston potty-mouth, Rob is one of the best corporate marketers and channel managers I have ever met.
Admittedly neither blog has much content but I know these guys, and I know what’s to come. You’ll want to know it to.
Posted April 6th, 2009 My wife and I just got back from a long weekend trip with friends. We’ve been to the greater Playa del Carmen area of Mexico a bunch of times. We figured that this would be an easy trip. And for the most part it was.
Hotel Basico, as always, was awesome. The rooftop bar and pool is great. The food is amazing. I’m not sure how they do it, but the fried fish nuggets are amazing.
Playa, sadly, is slowly being turned into a more rustic Cancun. It became noticeable last time we went and this time it was all too obvious. More stumbling drunk idiots and more chain stores. This is not a good trend.
For a change of pace, we headed down to Tulum to check things out there. Overall, we liked the area. There is, however, a fundamental problem with area’s value proposition. Most of the hotels are on the water and are rustic. We had some very serene moments just watching the waves roll in. But that being said, the price per night for one of these hotels seems to average about $170. That just is too high a shower whose pressure resembles a Windex bottle and a room that lacks A/C. At $100 or less, the value prop works, but I just have a hard time paying for what I know to be a glorified back packer flophouse. (And in case you think I am being a snob, I have spent many a night in low budget hotels around the world and loved them. Much love to Archie’s House.) Continue reading "Our travel luck has run out"...
Posted February 3rd, 2009 Here is a short piece on how a researcher, Chris Paget, bought a $250 RFID reader on eBay and used it to clone ePassports while driving 30 miles an hour near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. I fully recognize that this demonstration doesn’t represent a method for fabricating complete paper-in-hand cloned passports. Cloning is just the first step, but it is a big step. More importantly, it is a step that the State department has is somewhere between impossible and unlikely. The following is a passage from the privacy impact assessment (PIA) of TDIS – the Travel Document Issuance System:
The Department of State has taken extensive measures to prevent a third-party from reading or accessing the information on the chip without the passport holder’s knowledge. This includes safeguards against such nefarious acts as “skimming” data from the chip, “eavesdropping” on communications between the chip and reader, “tracking” passport holders, and “cloning” the passport chip in order to facilitate identity theft crimes. These safeguards are described in detail on the Department of State website.
Apparently those safeguards aren’t very strong.
I invite you to read the State Department’s FAQ on e-Passports. Notice the incredibly defensive tone in the opening of the answer to the question, “Will someone be able to read or access the information on the chip without my knowledge (also known as skimming or eavesdropping)?” Also notice the tacit acknowledgment that passport RFID chips can be cloned.
Mr. Paget intends on driving around DC this weekend to see what he can clone, and with a macbre sense of humor, I look forward to reading his results. Continue reading "I’ll keep my paper passport, thanks"...
Posted February 16th, 2008 I’m headed to India in a few hours, off to meet up with everyone in our Pune office. I have to say, I am really looking forward to this trip. I’ve never been to India before and there’s nothing like a two week trip to serve as a very limited crash course. One added bonus on this trip, I’m lucky enough to tag along on our company retreat. Two days on the beach in Dapoli… sounds like fun. Pictures at 11.
Posted September 25th, 2007 Question: What is business traveler’s slavish devotion to hotel and airline point systems?
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