Book Rant #15: Free College

I realize that in the US, college is very rarely free. But the military academies are - you pay off your tuition debt by agreeing to serve in the appropriate service for at least four years after your graduation. Now, sure, not everyone would know this. But, if your character lives in Annapolis and has a dad who works as a professor there, I'm figuring this would be fairly common knowledge. Especially if you dad is pressuring you to attend. My parents offered me a car if I went anywhere where my tuition was free - one way or another. (I did not. I know. What was I thinking?)

Scarlet Boa

So, in preparation for NaNoWriMo, I thought I'd break out my writing skills that have lain dormant as I experience the dreaded computer=work loathing. So, I heard tell of the Scarlet Boa competition which required 500 words (my first attempt was 1500, oh, the irony). This year's theme is a paranormal encounter which seemed a reachable genre for me. (In comparison to a Regency historical, which I enjoy reading but am nowhere close to ready to write one.)
The entries have now been posted. Check it out.

Crafty and Linky Notes

I am knitting, but a combo of tired, and a sore shoulder has me going slow. The shoulder does not hurt when I knit, but it does hurt if I carry the knitting around on that shoulder.
Football season starts soon! Tomorrow in fact! Through the Football Along, I have a fantasy team again and I got some good players, so we'll see how it goes.
My Knit 1 Tea 2 Swap-ee doesn't know it, but I had to buy a lot of tea, and it's all her fault. I was at [tea place] getting some stuff for her, and a little for me while I was there when they told me I was mere ounces away from a discount. And like the sale junkie that I am, I said, oh sure, I'll take more of that. Good thing I'm holding off a bit on the yarn shopping.
I'm not the only one puzzled by Amazon reviews.
And my swap-ee for Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap, is offering up three handmade items, a sort of Craft it Forward deal.

Gonna Hold It

I was over at the Chaliceblog reading about Senator Craig, and I think there are some interesting points in both CC's post and the comments. However, the one thing I came away with is that should I be in Minnesota (and possibly elsewhere as well), I will try not to use public restrooms. Let's put to the side the discussion of is Mr. Craig gay, and if so does that make his political policies hypocritical, or call into question his morality. If tapping your foot and brushing your hand into the neighboring stall gets you arrested for lewd conduct, think of the trouble I could get in. I am not faulting the officer, as far as I am aware, was working well within the law. I am just astounded that such behavior, which I would classify as creepy but was unaware could be considered illegal, could lead to jail or - depending on the charge and the jurisdiction - having to register as a sex offender.
Don't get me wrong, I think people should be able to use public bathrooms without other people sticking their hands in their stalls. Interestingly, I find the term "invasion of privacy" - which was dropped, much more appropriate, but I recognize I am approaching this from a terminology standpoint rather than a legal standpoint.

I Was There

Okay, most of us who have a work provided emails and/or internet access got some sort of boilerplate notification that your company reserves the right to monitor your activities, blah, blah, blah. I go back and forth on this. Yes, I understand that if I use my work account to download kiddie porn or set up an illegal gambling site that the company is potentially at legal risk (I imagine) and also subject to embarrassment for allowing such behavior to occur. And that, even if I don't get caught, they are paying for this stuff so I can work, not so I can shop.
But, on the other hand, where does my right to privacy start (or end)? Because one could argue that they hired me to do job, and as long as I do my job, everything else is my business. It is not the same as if I use my company phone to rack up long-distance, they have already paid for my email account and internet access, my usage does not affect their bottom line. My quality of work does.
But, anyhoo, with the use of GPS to assist drivers and RFID tags to track merchandise, and GPS in phones, the possibilities for monitoring are even greater. Having worked in a call center, I am familiar with the idea of my day being very specifically monitored - number of calls, length of calls, amount of time not on a call, and so on. So perhaps my righteous indignation is worn down.
A construction worker was caught when his company issued phone (with GPS tracker) was compared to his time sheet. It turns out he left early, 83 times (over five months). Now, in the suit, he argued that he had never been made aware that he could be tracked, and apparently his state does not require it, although one story mentioned the the phone booklet did mention that even if you turned off the feature, some information would still be available. And you know, once or twice or even once a month, while not great, is one thing. But eighty three times?
Apparently, it was pointed out that he did often show up early, so I don't know if part of it was that he was giving himself unsanctioned flex time. The thing is, as much as it sucks, you kind of can't do that. And he also had time cards that were stamped with hours that were not what he worked. Since the articles I read did not indicate that he had cleared this with someone, I assume falsifying the time cards was probably enough cause for firing, the GPS data was how they proved the falsification.