“ON the Internet, things get old fast. One prime candidate for the digital dustbin, it seems, is the current approach to protecting privacy on the Internet.

It is an artifact of the 1990s, intended as a light-touch policy to nurture innovation in an emerging industry. And its central concept is “notice and choice,” in which Web sites post notices of their privacy policies and users can then make choices about sites they frequent and the levels of privacy they prefer.

But policy and privacy experts agree that the relentless rise of Internet data harvesting has overrun the old approach of using lengthy written notices to safeguard privacy.”

Read more at the NYTimes

What a great figure skating performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics by Kim Yu-Na. If you missed it, check out YouTube or NBC’s website. Here is her short program.

Cold.

Gold.

This year’s skating competitions have been excellent. The performances by singles and pairs have been great to watch. It really shows the complexity and hard work that goes into their training. Congratulations to all winners, and everyone that made it to the Olympics. That is no small feat.

That’s the question I find myself asking.

I have a 1992 Honda Prelude SI- nice, I know- but, it isn’t in running condition. For starters, it’s been sitting in a garage for the past two years with all fluids still in the system. This is what I’ve done so far:

• Replace battery
• Replace positive cable terminal to battery
• Flush and fill coolant
• Changed the oil and oil filter
• Added a fuel system cleaner to the tank (1/2 full)

Here are additional things that I need, and want, to do.

Need

• Replace 1 stripped wheel stud in rear
• Replace 1 tire
• Replace alternator
• Replace AC system or compressor
• Check/Replace head gasket
• Replace exhaust system
• Replace fuel filter

Want

• Replace wheels
• Fix dented driver’s side door
• Find and install center console

For the stripped wheel stud, I know the procedure involved, but I’ve never done it before. And, I’ll be doing everything out of my garage. It’s probably the easiest item on the list of things to do, even when it includes taking off the brake calipers and drum cover.

Replace 1 tire… I take it back. This is the easiest thing to do. I just haven’t done it yet because… well, you saw Want item number 1. I’m still considering it.

The current alternator does not produce enough juice to charge my new battery. It actually drained it before I noticed the alternator wasn’t working. My problem, here, is trying to figure out if it is indeed the alternator or bad wiring.

For the AC system, I have no clue where to start. I honestly believe there is a leak somewhere, I just don’t know how to find it.

Replacing the head gasket after two years of the car just sitting seems like a good idea. This goes the same for the fuel filter, but I’m holding off on that until after I burn what’s left of the old fuel.

The exhaust system has to go. It is terrible. There has to be a leak somewhere because the exhaust fumes are overwhelming when the car is on and parked.

The Wants list is purely cosmetic. I’ll get by without them, but would like to eventually get to it down the line- if I decide to keep the car. I’ve got to figure out what the total cost will be to complete the Needs list. The value of the car, as it stands right now, is probably in the range of $800 – $1200. Blue Book value is $1600. I can get it up to that value, or more. I just need to handle the repairs, first.

But again, how much is that going to cost me? Would it be better to sell the car? Fix it and keep it? Or fix it and then sell it?

“Many of Todd McCann’s students suffer from a chronic disease.

Call it CRS: Can’t Remember Squat.

Now they have no excuse.

Mr. McCann, an English instructor at Bay College, in Michigan, is deploying students’ own favorite technology to burn away the memory fog. He blasts his classes text-message reminders using Broadtexter, a free software program used by bands to create mobile fan clubs. Rather than texting tour dates, he keeps the phones in students’ pockets buzzing with regular reminders like ‘Paper 4 is due tomorrow.’”

Read more at The Chronicle

I, too, was on the fence with this but it is another tool that some students will find beneficial, especially, if they are prone to forgetting things. In today’s hectic life of multitasking, having this option could save you from a lot of stress.

…except that now you’ll know the deadline is tomorrow.