An interesting side-effect of web-based mail: non-repudiation

The thing about web-based mail is that you can't mess with the data. If you run you're own mail server, you can mess with the data. This is actually a very good reason to use webmail, even if you have the skill and desire to run your own webserver. Indeed, if you get in the habit of sending signed messages, it's even better.

Of course, privacy is very good reason to NOT use webmail.

There is an elegant solution that allows one to have both: encrypted web mail. FireGPG is a wonderful little plugin that modifies the gmail interface so that you can sign, encrypt, or sign & encrypt outgoing email.

The only drawback is that your recipient has to know how to deal with such messages, which is a nontrivial problem. (even with nice tools like GnuPG, FireGPG it's a tough row to hoe. PKI (public key infrastructure) is difficult for people because not only does it require the installation of special software, but it absolutely requires that they have some bits with them (their private key) and remember a password (to unlock the private key). There can be no "I forgot my password" function in the system (at least, AFAICT).


P.S. Solving the PKI adoption problem is bound to be more social than technical. However, one could go a long way by a) pre-installing PKI tools in operating systems and web interfaces, b) offering hosted private keys (very safe if password is strong), and c) reducing the number of passwords people have to remember to 1 and making sure that they never forget it (which really helps achieve b), too).

Movie: Into the Wild

Into the Wild: A story about extreme pain, extreme action, hard-won wisdom, and one tiny, fatal mistake. It's a warning to parents about the pain they may cause their children; it's a catharsis to children who suffer but don't know why. One must see through the railing against society to see the inner core; yes, society is sick (aptly shown with the "waiting list to paddle down the river" thing), but that wasn't at the heart of Chris's pain. He needed to learn for himself about Truth, and first he had to throw everything away. And when he found Truth, he died.

Ain't life grand?

Don't put packing blankets in the dryer

I have some nice packing blankets I picked up from Costco which I have been using to protect my car when I put stuff in it and also to go over my couch. I made the mistake of washing them today. Well, that wasn't the problem. It was the drying part. Now they have burn holes!

Warning to everyone who likes packing blankets: wash them all you want, but do NOT machine dry!