Is there ever a right amount of rain? I keep hearing that this year is going to be a bad fire season because of all the rain (possibly worse than last year when we got barely any rain). Apparantly with lots of rain, the brush grows thicker, so when it dries out like it does every year, there is now more brush to burn. But they also complain about bad fire seasons when we get little rain. You'd think that with less water there would be less brush, but I guess it's just drier. Whatever. I don't buy it at all. Is there a right amount of rain that will give us a "better" fire season? or are they going to complain every year that it is going to be a bad fire season.
I thought of this as I saw two brush fires recently. The first was on Father's Day on my way home from my parents house. There was a fire off to the side of the 57 freeway near the 10 freeway. Then today on my way to my niece Katie's dance recital, there was another fire on the side of the 57 freeway this time in Diamond Bar. They should just make it extremely illegal and really start cracking down on people who throw cigarette's out the window especially in fire prone areas. Have you ever seen someone pulled over and fined the $1000 for littering for throwing their cigarette out the window?
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Credit Card Liability Questions
I wrote this for my summer law class, but I feel strongly about it, so I'm also posting it here:
I wonder if the CardSystems/MasterCard case will shed light into this issue of liability as it's exposed. "The data security breach, possibly the largest to date, happened because intruders were able to exploit software security vulnerabilities to install a rogue program on the network of CardSystems Solutions"[1]
I am expecting to see some interesting fall out: (my predictions)
1. CardSystems Solutions will be held liable for not fixing software vulnerabilities or otherwise exercising care to protect customer data. This is a given similar to the TJ Hooper case.
2. Since none of the banks are going to do anything about the known compromised accounts except watch them for fraud and only intercede after fraud happens, I would expect there to be some action against the banks for failing to notify customers that their accounts were compromised. I'll have to do some more research to see if there is any legal precedent for this.
3. Ultimately, except with American Express the merchants are the ones who are going to suffer with the fraud related chargebacks. American express has stated that "American Express would bear the financial burden, assuming the merchant has followed all standard card acceptance procedures."[1] Does American Express's decision set another precedent that the other card companes will have to follow? or will there be another legal battle between the merchants and the card companies over the fraud related chargebacks.
4. Assuming 1, 2 and 3 happen, All the fingers are still pointing back to CardSystems Solutions. And there will be serious ramifications for that company.
While we don't know all the details yet, it seems like a clear cut liability case as CardSystems could have kept their systems patched, or better used technology such as Firewalls, IDS, and other security software (I am not doubting that there were some of these in place).
[1] http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5754661.html
I wonder if the CardSystems/MasterCard case will shed light into this issue of liability as it's exposed. "The data security breach, possibly the largest to date, happened because intruders were able to exploit software security vulnerabilities to install a rogue program on the network of CardSystems Solutions"[1]
I am expecting to see some interesting fall out: (my predictions)
1. CardSystems Solutions will be held liable for not fixing software vulnerabilities or otherwise exercising care to protect customer data. This is a given similar to the TJ Hooper case.
2. Since none of the banks are going to do anything about the known compromised accounts except watch them for fraud and only intercede after fraud happens, I would expect there to be some action against the banks for failing to notify customers that their accounts were compromised. I'll have to do some more research to see if there is any legal precedent for this.
3. Ultimately, except with American Express the merchants are the ones who are going to suffer with the fraud related chargebacks. American express has stated that "American Express would bear the financial burden, assuming the merchant has followed all standard card acceptance procedures."[1] Does American Express's decision set another precedent that the other card companes will have to follow? or will there be another legal battle between the merchants and the card companies over the fraud related chargebacks.
4. Assuming 1, 2 and 3 happen, All the fingers are still pointing back to CardSystems Solutions. And there will be serious ramifications for that company.
While we don't know all the details yet, it seems like a clear cut liability case as CardSystems could have kept their systems patched, or better used technology such as Firewalls, IDS, and other security software (I am not doubting that there were some of these in place).
[1] http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5754661.html
Sunday, June 12, 2005
New Web Page Template
We're finally getting around to updating our webpage. We've put together a new template that you can check out at http://www.benlovesmanda.com/new. Let me know what you think. This one will be much easier to update than the previous one which will make it easier for us to keep up to date. Hopefully we'll find time in the next few weeks to complete the new website and replace the old one.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Weekend Fun, School Starts
I just enjoyed a nice weekend with lots of xbox game playing and a trip to Disneyland Sunday evening. I decided to re-sign up for my xbox live online gaming account that I cancelled back in March because I hadn't used it in 2 months. I also spent the first weekend playing several hours of halo2 online since New Years.
It's nice to finally get back into some of that fun, and I hope it lasts, but for the next 7 weeks, I'm going to be a busy boy studying for the next class in my masters program. A law class on cyberlaw. It's the first law class I've ever taken, and it looks to be quite a challenge. There is going to be tons and tons of reading and doing case studies. Also 3 major papers and a written "take home" final all in 7 weeks. Everything including our our online discussion has to be propery cited. An opinion given without proper documented support as well as synthesis of the citation is a negative contribution to the discussion and counts as negative participation points. I hope I survive - I guess Torrey should have prepared me for some of this. In fact the early discussion from today reminds me very much of Torrey.
I'm taking a break during the middle of my class for a little while because it's our Anniversary and Amanda's birthday. We're going to Vegas for 4 days from June 27-30, and staying at the beautiful Venetian hotel. Who knows, maybe I'll win some cash while I'm there too. :) I just hope it doesn't set me back too far in my class to miss those days.
It's nice to finally get back into some of that fun, and I hope it lasts, but for the next 7 weeks, I'm going to be a busy boy studying for the next class in my masters program. A law class on cyberlaw. It's the first law class I've ever taken, and it looks to be quite a challenge. There is going to be tons and tons of reading and doing case studies. Also 3 major papers and a written "take home" final all in 7 weeks. Everything including our our online discussion has to be propery cited. An opinion given without proper documented support as well as synthesis of the citation is a negative contribution to the discussion and counts as negative participation points. I hope I survive - I guess Torrey should have prepared me for some of this. In fact the early discussion from today reminds me very much of Torrey.
I'm taking a break during the middle of my class for a little while because it's our Anniversary and Amanda's birthday. We're going to Vegas for 4 days from June 27-30, and staying at the beautiful Venetian hotel. Who knows, maybe I'll win some cash while I'm there too. :) I just hope it doesn't set me back too far in my class to miss those days.
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