Just watch it all the way through.

“Visit the band”:http://www.snowpatrol.com/
I’ll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You’ve been the only thing that’s right
In all I’ve done

And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we’ll make it anywhere
Away from here

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we’ll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can’t raise your voice to say

Slower slower
We don’t have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads

Have heart my dear
We’re bound to be afraid
Even if it’s just for a few days
Making up for all this mess

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

In a nutshell, Facebook made it clear that it cared more about my information than my privacy. Facebook recently released a new “feature” called Beacon, which has gotten widespread criticism from many different groups, most notably “MoveOn.org”:http://moveon.org.

Beacon allows third party sites like OverStock.com, BlockBuster.com, and a growing list of others to send Facebook information about your activity on their site. The idea here is that the next time you rent a movie at Blockbuster, all your Facebook friends can know about it. From an advertising point of view, this is a gold mine. Every time a Facebook user rents a movie on Blockbuster, they get to advertise their service to all of that user’s Facebook friends. From a user point of view it’s horrible.

There are some great quotes on “Dare Obasanjo’s blog”:http://www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/2007/11/27/SomeThoughtsOnTheFacebookBeacon.aspx that summarize the user’s view of Beacon. There are two major problems with Beacon:

1) You can’t opt out.
2) You don’t know if the site you’re on is using Beacon until it’s too late.

After purchasing an item on OverStock.com, most people will close the window, but wait! If you’re not careful, you’ll miss the box in the top right that magically appears and starts transmitting what you just did to Facebook. Where’s that ‘cancel’ or ‘stop’ button you ask? Oh there isn’t one. You are given two options and two options only – either send Facebook the data but don’t let your friends see it or send Facebook the data and let your friends see it. Do you see the common thread? Either way Facebook is going to get your data, and I guarantee that they will be using that information to help build a profile for you to deliver to advertisers.

So you know to watch for it on OverStock.com, but by the time you read this, who knows how many other companies may have already signed up for this without us knowing about it.

*But wait, I don’t use the same email address for Facebook as I do for making purchases online. – _Oh don’t worry, they take care of that for you._* I could use a slew of technical jargon to explain but it’s as simple as this – if you’re signed into Facebook on that computer, these sites will know. Doesn’t matter what email address you use, these sites will know what account is signed into Facebook and will send the data to that account.

Facebook never considered their user’s privacy when they activated this feature. They blindly assumed that everyone would love this and be on board. Maybe they were blinded by the new revenue stream they were opening up with Beacon.

In this day and age, when people are clamoring to the government to restore rights and privacy, are you ready to willing hand it over to Facebook without so much as a thought? Oh and if you think that you should trust Facebook more than the US Government, then read their “privacy policy”:http://www.facebook.com/policy.php:

bq. We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the Facebook service or using the Facebook name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.

One of the best covers I’ve ever heard:

I highly recommend her other music. Listen to samples at “Pandora’s Backstage”:http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/donna+de+lory

Facebook has gone too far this time and I’m done with it.

Things have been stagnant long enough, so it’s time to change things up. I’m finishing up the next version of AmitVaria.com in the next week. The design will be minimal, but I’ll make up for it in funness. Unfortuantely, I don’t have my camcorder yet, so AmitTV will be delayed.

To entertain until then here’s a video to make you smile – as found by Alicson. She’s probably 2nd best to me in finding the cutest/funniest videos online .

That’s what I like to call it. I’m sitting at O’Hare Airport waiting for my flight, and the hunt it is on for an open outlet. It’s like searching for an oasis in the middle of the Sahara. The outlets are hidden behind plants, trash cans, and carts, so you have to know the lay of the land to find a good spot. But watch out for the gadgetaholic; that’s the guy that’s a carries a travel sized surge protector to power his 12 devices. Yeah I see you over there, with your Macbook and iPod headphones. Just put on a black turtleneck, go bald, and get it over with. You’ve blown all your money on those gadgets and couldn’t afford to pay your electricity bill this month, so you’re bumming off the airport.

And what is a threat level ‘Orange’? It’s the nice intercom lady’s mantra – “The current threat level is Orange… The current…”. Should I be wearing a bulletproof vest and camouflage when I go to the airport? Kudos to anyone who can recite the colors and meanings to all the threat levels. You sir have too much time on your hands.

“My old work address in Manhattan (45th and Madison) has 169 stores within 5 miles.” – “Maximum Starbucks density”:http://www.kottke.org/05/01/maximum-starbucks-density

Here’s the deal to all you readers (yes, all 5 of you). If you are kind, warm, and generous enough to get me a kitchen related Christmas present this year, you will be rewarded with an amazing dish made with said kitchen item.

It’s your move.