Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.– Sun Tzu Additional Reading: Strategy vs. Tactics: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter?
Unroll.me
Unroll.me – is an interesting service that helps automate unsubscribing from mailing lists, but what caught my eye is their approach to describing data practices with a service that is clearly beneficial but comes at the cost of providing access to an individual’s or organization’s most sensitive data. Unroll.me’s How we use data page specifically addresses the following topics that every organization should strive to transparently share:
How we keep your data safe
What kind of data we collect
How we use your data
Who we share information with
Our commitment to transparency
Camden-Glassboro Light Rail Line
The Glassboro-Camden Line (GCL) is a proposed 18 mile passenger rail line between Glassboro and Camden in southern New Jersey being studied by the DRPA and PATCO.
According to the GCL site, “As of October 2017, the GCL team is pleased to announce that we are working to complete the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Project. We anticipate a draft EIS to be available for public review in the spring of 2018, with final approvals expected in the fall of 2018. The EIS will analyze the potential effects of the Preferred Alternative selected during the Alternatives Analysis phase on the human and built environments. The main goals of the analysis are to identify potential positive and negative impacts to both the natural and built environments, to all potential users, impact of construction on the community, and any additional effects to the area over time that would be created by the construction and operation of the light rail system. Once the GCL team has had the chance to interpret the findings, we anticipate hosting public information sessions in the winter and summer of 2018 to solicit input from the public before the finalizing the EIS.”
FY 2018 TIP Project Details: DB# T302: Camden-Glassboro Light Rail Line
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
Serving the Greater Philadelphia region for more than 50 years, DVRPC convenes the widest array of partners across a nine-county, two state region to increase mobility choices, protect and preserve natural resources, and create healthy communities that foster greater opportunities for all. City, county and state representatives work together to address key issues, including transportation, land use, environmental protection, economic development, and equity.
DVRPC was formed by an Interstate Compact through legislation passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1965, as reenacted and amended in 1967, and by the New Jersey Legislature in a series of conforming acts passed between 1966 and 1974.
A good link to understand current progress and funding for various construction projects supporting the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) in the Delaware Valley: DVRPC TIP Viewer
Users and Security
Research from Dartmouth College Computer Science regarding users and security:
In real world domains, from healthcare to power to finance, we deploy computer systems intended to streamline and improve the activities of human agents in the corresponding non-cyber worlds. However, talking to actual users (instead of just computer security experts) reveals endemic circumvention of the computer-embedded rules. Good-intentioned users, trying to get their jobs done, systematically work around security and other controls embedded in their IT systems.
Source: Mismorphism: a Semiotic Model of Computer Security Circumvention by Sean W. Smith, Ross Koppel, Jim Blythe, Vijay Kothari