Monday

Our unusual weather pattern continues.  There's was another frost overnight, maybe even a little heavier than Saturday night.  They say that it will be 80+ here tomorrow.  Say, what?

One of the sidebars from Tiger's win yesterday was a small kerfuffle on his "drop" after he put his drive in the water on the 14th hole.  For golf enthusiasts, the dust-up following Tiger's drop at The Master's last month was one of the more-debated items of the tournament.  In that case, he was given a two-stroke penalty, after the fact, and many wondered whether he should have been DQ'd (dis-qualified).  Since he didn't win that tournament, the import of that situation has mostly evaporated.

Yesterday, the facts were less controversial, and while there are a couple of short stories recounting the drop, most of those do so just because there was that problem at The Master's.  And because TV commentator Johnny Miller took the opportunity on-air to suggest that Tiger had taken a favorable interpretation on where his drop should be taken.  But the on-course reporter was quit to chime in that the drop was handled appropriately, and that Tiger's competitor , the caddy's and the rule's official in the group had all agreed on the drop.

(Even with a good recovery shot following the drop, Tiger took a double-bogey, so it's hard to argue that he took much advantage of anything.)

I have to admit that, as I was watching this little drama take place, the first thought I had was, "I wonder if some viewer is going to call in a rules violation on this?"  When Miller jumped in with his opinion, I expected a bigger controversy.  I supposed that the course-reporter's immediate come-back against that theory helped dissipate anything, but the situation underscores this new reality that viewers are now part of the game.

Another story getting air-time this AM is some hanky-panky at Bloomberg News whereby some Bloomberg reporters seem to have gained access to the Bloomberg financial data terminals in researching stories.  Bloomberg is known as a financial research system that advisors use for information to determine client strategies.  For their news reporters to hack into that information is a serious breach of internal confidentiality.  I watch Bloomberg TV after 0800 CST and I'll be curious what the company line on this story is today.  CNBC Squawk Box has been having a lot of fun with it today.

Then you have the IRS story on the direct targeting of conservative groups last year.  Personally, I think the IRS does a lot of that stuff.  If not for political purposes, just to make taxpayers lives a little less comfortable.

Here's a Top Ten list of privacy invasions that happen to us everyday.  I'm sure that the lawyers have the right disclaimers to exempt anyone from legal exposure, but that doesn't make it right.

1.  Hy Vee gas discount card.  This is building a buying-pattern on every user.
2.  Internet "cookies".  And we just accept the feature as a surfing requirement.
3.  Toll road wireless devices.  Talk about mapping your travel patterns!
4.  Google Earth and similar services.  No topless sunbathing in that fenced yard!
5.  Kohl's (and similar) store credit cards.  See item #1 above.
6.  Credit reports have been around a long time.  They're more inclusive today.
7.  Public security cameras. At ATM's, street lights, above any cash register.

8.  Cable or satellite TV usage-monitoring programs.  Like they don't know what you watched last night!

9.  Credit card data.  Has anyone ever read those multi-page, fine-printed disclosures they always send you?

10.  Medical records.  Once you're in the system, who can't get access?

Obviously, with electronic records becoming the standard, in all aspects of daily life, its hard for a cynic not to believe that every electronic record is subject to compromise and abuse.  There's not only the hacker exposure, but you have the bureaucracies and the commercial organizations all trying to improve the reliability of information at their disposal.  Why wouldn't they want to make it more relevant?  With NCIS technology, you're never below radar.  Unfortunately, each of our "blips" is a signature that becomes clearer and clearer with each advancement.  I'd really like to be off-the-grid.

A belated Happy Mother's day to all.

Good luck for a good week.

BCOT