Day: June 15, 2008

We interrupt this blog for a moment of self-congratulation…

I was checking google to see if anyone had made any links to a directory on my web server I was considering deleting, and I discovered a link to a lampoon article I wrote on the RIAA back in 2002, RIAA sues makers of black magic markers, from an unlikely source, the prestigious (because they cited me) Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal. Their article Harmonizing fair use and self-help copyright protection of digital music cites my spoof as one of three thorns in the side of the RIAA. Yes, they got the joke, and no, I did not actually read their paper before posting this entry.

Damn, now I have to maintain that link. 🙂

You learn something new every day.

While investigating Bisphenol A and trying to figure out what bottles I owned contained it, I came across an article on the seven resin identification codes (or “recycling codes”) put on the bottom of plastic containers. I had always assumed that if a container had the recycling symbol on the bottom that it was recyclable. As it turns out, that’s not always the case.

Resin code 7, even though it is commonly drawn as a 7 within the chasing-arrows recycling symbol, is never actually recycled and ends up in the landfill. Code 7 means “other plastic”, which means its not one of the typically found 1-6 plastics, or its a combination of plastics.

And even though resin codes 3-6 are recyclable, not all municipalities will recycle them. Check with your local recycling authority to see if they accept products with resin codes 3-6. But even if they do, according to this article, they might not actually do anything productive with it–they might just be putting them in a separate pile until they figure out what to do with them.

The only guaranteed guilt-free plastics you can buy right now are ones with resin codes 1 and 2. So next time you’re in the store and looking at a plastic product, check the bottom. Give preference to products using type 1 and type 2 plastics, and definitely do not buy type 7 plastics.

My debit card uses Verified by Visa, a service where online purchases through member banks ask you for a password to complete the purchase. One problem with this service is they have some lame password restrictions (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, no special characters) so I can’t use my “common” set of passwords with the system, and I don’t use the system often enough, therefore I’m always “forgetting” my password.

So I just did a transaction with a domain registrar in France, failed the password check, reset my password, and then completed the transaction. Two minutes later I got a phone call from Visa wanting to verify that it was in fact me who performed the transaction. It all could have been avoided if they had just posted their password requirements when you go to login. I wish all websites would post password requirements on their login screens.

I don’t think posting password requirements would be that big of a security risk, since if you’re trying to break into the system you probably figured the requirements out through other means (like another account you created on your own, or bozos like me that post the password requirements elsewhere–see above). Almost every single time I have to click the “forgot your password?” link on a login screen I didn’t actually forget it–I just couldn’t figure out which password I had used because I didn’t know their password requirements. It usually goes like this:

“Oh yeah, this is the site that only allows letters and numbers, and you have to have at least two of each. I want these last two minutes of my life back thank you.”

Sometimes they add insult to injury by forcing me to change my password when I click on the “forgot your password” link. When I pick a “new” password I end up discovering my old password when they say, “your new password can not be your old password.”

Grrrr!!!