Protecting Your Privacy On-Line.
It’s the time of the year college seniors are preparing for full-time careers and high-school students are considering part-time summer jobs. But before they market themselves, students need to be aware that potential employers have access to their profiles on popular online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Let’s say some of the information on these personal sites is not exactly “G” rated.
Often, people make the mistake of posting information about their drinking and gambling adventures, as well as their sexual exploits on these voyeuristic venues. Consider, too, that many of their friends also can post unsavory pictures and comments on their friend’s Web site as well. Remember what happened to the mayor of Arlington, Ore., who posted racy pictures of herself on MySpace? Carmen Kontur-Gronquist was removed from office.
As an experiment to show how easy it is to find personal information posted on these social networks, I created a Facebook account using a fictitious name and birth date and began browsing for any connections to people who live in Edmond.
I discovered the Web site of a 25-year-old Edmond woman, and from her Facebook profile I quickly learned where she went to high school and college and where she works now. I learned she is an avid OU football fan, she watches “Desperate Housewives” and thinks Conan O’Brien is funny. She is Catholic and was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and is getting married in May. I know the name of her fiance, where he works and their wedding date. I was able to do all of this is less than 30 minutes. Is anyone scared yet?
My advice to young people getting ready for the job market is to only post information on these sites that you would let your mother and father read. But parents can be disengaged or not even know how to turn on a computer; employers doing background checks often know how and where to look for a peek at your private life.
So before you go job hunting it might be a good idea to police your Facebook or MySpace for anything you don’t want made public.
Here are several links to help your privacy as well as the privacy of your children.
Is your Facebook Your Permanent Record?
Do you know what your child is posting on MySpace?
Social Networking Etiquette and Safety.
Is your child on Facebook Permalink?
What parents should know about their child’s Facebook Wall?
Should concealed weapons be allowed on campus.
Ten states, including Oklahoma, currently are considering legislation that would permit people to have guns on college campuses.Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge recently said House Bill 2513 would allow 21-year-olds with concealed-carry permits to take weapons onto college campuses.
Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, the author of the measure, said the mass shootings at colleges in Illinois and Virginia prompted his decision to file the bill. But concerned higher education officials have told the speaker they question what would happen if a student who received a bad grade from a professor might be allowed to have a concealed weapon in the classroom.
Give us your opinion on this topic. Follow this link to our opinion poll on concealed weapons on college campuses.
In Colorado, applications for concealed-weapon permits have increased. In 2007, 9,880 people sought permits, compared with 6,649 people in 2006 and 6,670 people in 2005, according to the County Sheriffs of Colorado.
With any crisis, there always seems to be a pendulum reaction. We go from one extreme to another in hope of finding an answer. Sometimes we tend to make the problem the solution. In this case, the proposed solution for guns in the hands of the wrong person at school is putting more guns on campus.
I believe in the right to bear arms, but beefing up campus security and leaving the guns to those in authority seems a better route to take for now. Imagine what could happen if someone decides to use a gun because they were sexually harassed, hazed or told to turn their music down. Campus violence is a complex problem and there is no one-size-fits-all blueprint to resolve it.
Here are some interesting links on the question of allowing conealed carry on campuses.
Students for Concealed Carry On Campus
From Newsweek: More Guns On Campus.
Another Opinion: Concealed carry could have ended VT shooting.
NPR: Arizona Weighs Allowing Concealed Guns on Campus
Get ready for allergy season
The Oklahoman’s Jeff Eaymond wrote about netti pots. You can find his story at this link.
Follow this link for information on netti pots from the Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin.
Here’s an instructional video on netti pot use from the Mayo Clinic.
Here is one of many links to purchase a netti pot.
Gas prices
Ever wonder why gas prices are measured in 9/10ths of a gallon? Follow this link.
Here’s a list of the federal and the states fuel tax.
Here are some tips on saving fuel.
Find the cheapest gas prices in Edmond by following this link.
Global warming?
Soldiers from Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, put the finishing touches on a snowman Dec. 29 at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E, Afghanistan, after a foot of snow fell on the base over the previous 36 hours. Photo by Staff Sgt. Bradley Rhen, USA
