I saw the video on the news the other night of these guys who’s boat sank and one was able to film the entire episode with his helmet cam.  It was truly scary stuff for any boater, but for me, having been through the same ordeal, it was utterly terrifying.

Many of you may have heard the story, perhaps told glibly after a few too many beers.  The truth is, that’s generally the only way I can tell it.

On August 14, 2005 at 1:00 pm in the afternoon in 2-3 foot seas off Sakonnet Point in Rhode Island, while fishing for tuna in my boat, I turned to see a monster wave that had appeared out of no where.  The boat filled with water when the wave broke over the stern and in about 60 seconds, my companion Jacob Kasper and myself were in the water.  No distress call, and suddenly our safety gear, all of it was now under water.  You can read the full story, as well as  a long thread about the incident at Reel-Time.com .

What you don’t get from the video is the sense of dread right after the boat sinks, that feeling that happens when you realize this one, cold, hard fact: at this moment of time, no one knows you are in trouble and no one is coming to help.  You’re on your own.

In the coming weeks after the event, I realized how backwards most boaters are on safety gear.  Yes, perhaps they have it all, but can they really get it if they need it?  If you’ve got a 35′ sportfisherman, the last place you want to go is up to the anchor compartment to get your crash bag as the boat sinks.

Here are some tips that every boater should use to be prepared should things go horribly wrong:

• Have the right safety gear, and have it accessible from the cockpit.
• Remember that the number of flares you’re required is a minimum.  That number is low.  Carry more…both handhelds and rounds for your gun.
• Before the boat leaves the dock, give everyone the airline safety speech:
• The life jackets are here…
• The flare kit is here…
• The radio is here.  On top of it are written instructions about how to contact the Coast Guard…
• Anything else someone might need to know about your boat in the case of emergency.
• Carry a handheld, waterproof radio on your body, and attached by a lanyard.  This may be the single most important piece of gear besides your life preserver.
• Make sure you have a life preserver close by.  I usually sit on a seat cushion type so I know right where mine is at all times.

My congratulations go out to both the boaters who were fished out, as well as the captain and crew of the Patience who rescued them.

A couple of other things to consider:

• Have you taken a Power Squadron boating course?  If not, you ought to.  I consider it a requirement for stepping behind the helm, and have always encouraged my crew to take it.
• Sobering thought: do you realize how few boaters actively monitor channel 16, the distress channel?  Do you?
• How would you pull a disabled boater out of the water?  This is a huge problem, and many of us have never, ever considered it.  Especially on big boats…

Be safe out there…

We live at a critical juncture in history.

Technology has reached a point where it is not only tool which we use to control the world around us, it is now potentially becoming a way for the world to control us.

Yes, I sound like I should be wearing a tinfoil hat as I write this.  But the truth is that right now, in Massachusetts we have the state police actively scanning the cars on our highways for wants, warrants, parking tickets, everything, automatically, without probable cause.

The computerized scanners, known as Automatic License Plate Recognition devices, instantly check for police alerts, warrants, traffic violations and parking tickets, which cops say could be an invaluable tool in thwarting crime. (Boston Herald – 7/21/2011 – as linked above)

When I posted this to Facebook the other day, I had three separate friends report that they had either been stopped by the police based on this information, or had friends who had been.

Indeed, it’s a wonderful technology for the police, but unfortunately the potential for abuse is simply too great.  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has already taken the first step over the line, by attempting to create a database of where and when every license plate has been seen by a scanner, regardless of whether that plate was the subject of a warrant or not.

Civil libertarians are raising the alarm over the state’s plans to create a Big Brother database that could map drivers’ whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour. (Boston Herald – 7/21/2011 – as linked above)

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Last month a Newton man was denied a drivers license when the state ran his license through Federal Government facial recognition software and he was identified, incorrectly, as someone else.

And apparently, he has company. Last year, the facial recognition system picked out more than 1,000 cases that resulted in State Police investigations, officials say. And some of those people are guilty of nothing more than looking like someone else. Not all go through the long process that Gass says he endured, but each must visit the Registry with proof of their identity. (Boston Globe article 7/17/2011 as linked above)

That’s just the start.  In September, police forces across the country, MA included, will begin to use handheld facial recognition systems.

The rollout has raised concerns among some privacy advocates about the potential for misuse. A fundamental question is whether or not using the device in certain ways would constitute a “search” that requires a warrant. Courts haven’t decided the issue.

It is generally legal for anyone with a camera, including the police, to take pictures of people freely passing through a public space. (One exception: Some courts have limited video surveillance of political protests, saying it violates demonstrators’ First Amendment rights.) (Wall Street Journal – 7/13/2011 as linked above).

Current versions require them to snap a pic from within 5 feet, but we can expect that envelope to increase.  Will they begin actively scanning faces for potential malefactors?  What is to keep them from scanning everyone entering a large sports event such as the Super Bowl?

Lump in the privacy concerns that are created by Google and Facebook storing as much information as they can possibly grab via tracking cookies, etc, and it’s beginning to look like a guy (or gal) can’t get a break.

As has so often been the case in the last decade, the argument for these services comes down to combating potential terrorism.  Think about the arguments that were made for the Patriot Act – that it was a necessary for fighting terrorism.  However, in practice, it has primarily been used as a tool in drug and organized crime prosecutions.

The truth, to me, is that these tools are simply to easy to abuse.  We cannot allow our government and police to use them against us.

Choose now…do you want an America with the freedom your parents had, or do you want to live in a police state where literally everything you do is watched and recorded.  Because that is exactly what these systems do, and I fear that unchecked, this ends up like so many bad sci fi movies…

It’s been a long time since I posted.  I’ve been wrapped up in endless development cycles, dealing with real world stuff and generally had way too much going on to have the time to deposit any gems of wisdom on you.  Of course, that presupposes that at this point, I do.  Which I do not…

I’m not making any promises now, but I will certainly try to post more soon.  For now, that evergreen post maker, a list:

• We’re moving to an Agile development process.  It’s painful.  Really painful.
• The stripers and blues are in, but I haven’t had time to fish.
• I did a really cool secret project recently that I’ll never tell you about.  Just look on me in awe.
• I’m rocking a really cool 64 bit 8 meg i7 lapworkstation now.  I think it has more processing power than any of my webservers.
• Sad to see Gil Scott Heron pass – check out some of his tunes, and also read his bio.
• 51st birthday – my friends once again show me how utterly cool they are, and throw me a really cool party. Gerhard, Kim, Mike, Caroline – you guys are the best!

Hey, maybe I DO HAVE SOMETHING!

Oh, and GO BRUINS!

This piece is in honor of the most under appreciated among us, the assholes.

You know of whom I speak, perhaps it’s that boss that relishes dumping a 3 day project on you at 2pm on Friday, ruining your weekend, maybe it’s that brother in law who reformatted the disk on your computer losing all your file, or perhaps its that neighbor who keeps slipping into your now denuded garage to borrow tools which somehow never find their way back..  For the lucky among us, it may even be a spouse.

Think about it, if it were not for the assholes among us, how would we ever truly appreciate the truly good?

• Could we really savor our moments of triumph if they weren’t standing behind us telling us that our zipper was down?
• What would we talk about endlessly if it weren’t for their antics?  Let’s face it, our good friends are honestly boring by comparison.
• How much fun would it be if our plans all came off without a hitch?  Without the assholes, who would be there to trip you up once in a while, there by making the achievement of your eventual goal that much sweeter?
• Where would we be if we were allowed to become so full of ourselves as we basked in the glow of our unimpeded march towards perfection.

Could we truly savor sweet, had we never tasted bitter? Would we appreciate light so much, had we never seen dark?

Indeed, I think we need to embrace those assholes among us, to reward them for that great service they provide.  So the next time one walks up to you, as they walk up, open your heart, throw wide your arms, then kick them in the nuts.  Just so they will feel your joy in the same manner in which you experience theirs…