Monthly Archives: November 2008

Privacy Advocacy Stunts

Posted on November 25, 2008 by ben

Deborah Peel, a well-known patient privacy advocate, and EPIC have joined forces to ask Google some questions about Google Flu Trends. Google is analyzing its search logs to detect flu outbreaks by region, which is super nifty. Peel and EPIC … Continue reading →

Posted in medical, privacy | 1 Comment

Interlab 2008

Posted on November 12, 2008 by ben

I gave a short talk on RDFa at Interlab 2008, a gathering of DOE labs on web technology. Good group, fun interactions, and a panel discussion with Ben Ward and Ryan King from the microformats effort. Good discussion, an agreement … Continue reading →

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European Projections of Prejudice

Posted on November 6, 2008 by ben

I grew up in France, so it’s fascinating to see what’s going on on the other side of the Atlantic now that Obama has been elected and, just as importantly, now that Obama has chosen Rahm Emmanuel as his Chief … Continue reading →

Posted in policy | 1 Comment

Kathie Lee wants to verify her ballot!

Posted on November 5, 2008 by ben

My friend and colleague Arjun apparently watches Kathie Lee on television. He points me to this fantastic clip: Did I hear that right? It is weird, when you show up at the polling place and they stuff your vote in … Continue reading →

Posted in security, voting | Leave a comment

Some More Election-Day Anecdotes

Posted on November 5, 2008 by ben

I’m remembering more after a few hours of sleep. An elderly Russian man brought in his vote by mail envelope. “Dropping off your vote-by-mail envelope, sir?” I ask. “No! I vote here in person!” It took a few rounds to … Continue reading →

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Pride and Shame

Posted on November 5, 2008 by ben

Obama wins solidly, and I am incredibly proud of my country today. More on that in a later post. Meanwhile, I am ashamed of my new State, California. It looks like Prop 8 has passed, against my every expectation. Prop … Continue reading →

Posted in policy | 2 Comments

My Day At the Polls

Posted on November 5, 2008 by ben

I don’t know how Avi Rubin has enough energy to recount his poll-working day. But I’ll try, at least in brief form. Woke up at 4:50am to make it to the poll by 6am. I was the Precinct Inspector, i.e. … Continue reading →

Posted in voting | 6 Comments

The Real Issue with Touch-Screen Voting Machines

Posted on November 3, 2008 by ben

I’ve said this before, but not as explicitly or as eloquently as Avi Rubin recently did: I’m very concerned about the impact a high turnout will have on an already stressed voting system. In Maryland, for example, we use touchscreen … Continue reading →

Posted in voting | 1 Comment