Richard’s Ramblings

I tend to be paranoid about security. My Linksys wireless router is set to use 128-bit encryption, rather than the less secure 64-bit standard. All computers at home are behind dual firewalls, except for those few that exist within the DMZ. I usually give out our post office box address instead of our physical home [...]

I was in a meeting recently in which one of the participants referred to China and Mexico as Third World countries because of their economic status. Since my recollection of the definition of the numbered worlds reflected an established politically democratic system as the leading criteria, I needed clarification.
According to the open Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia, [...]

Several thousand years ago, the center of the civilized world was Sumer, a fertile land developed with sophisticated irrigation systems and the home of the world’s earliest form of writing, cuneiform. Later, this same area cultured a complex legal system known as the Code of Hummurabi upon which many legal systems and beliefs are still [...]

An imaginary conversation between America and the rest of the world about free soda refills…