The life and times of a history nerd in a tech geek's world

Trying to read 30 books by the end of 2013. It’s a slow start but maybe, just maybe, I’ll do it. Read about the first five here.

The latest book I’ve finished is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. I read it once before back in 2007 or 2008 and didn’t quite get what all the fuss was about but knew I’d give it a second chance someday. I figured now was a better time than any what with the movie coming out and Stephen Colbert running his cOlbert book club.  One of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, also makes frequent reference to Gatsby in his works and has cited the book as one of his greatest writing inspirations – I thought I must be missing something.

This time around I did enjoy the book a lot more than I had the first time, but I still didn’t love it. Here’s the breakdown:

The Good: Maybe it’s just one of those books that takes a couple read throughs to really understand, maybe it’s the fact that I’m 28 and Nick Carraway, the book’s narrator is 29-30 which made it easier for me to relate to, maybe it’s that everyone (particularly in SF) is obsessed with the post-prohibition era, or maybe I just like American literature more now than I did before, who knows. It only took me a few hours to read and this time I didn’t find my mind wandering away as it did the last time I read it. I wasn’t able to cling to any of the characters but appreciated the solid prose, especially at the beginning and ending, and the overall message. Carraway tells us about Jay Gatsby in an honest and interesting way through his first-hand impressions. We see him as a neighbor, then as the subject of gossip and rumor, a friend, and finally as a young unknown man who leaves home to make a name for himself. Gatsby is the all-American dream that everyone wants to cling to when he’s at his height. But the moment that the truth of his modest upbringing comes forth and he dies at the hands of a jealous husband, no one wants to associate themselves with him. No one wants to admit that the American dream has died or that it built itself up by whatever means it took to get to the top. Carraway lets us know that he never really liked Gatsby, but he felt bad for him. He takes it upon himself to honor Gatsby when he dies and feels ashamed when “friends” would rather be off at a picnic in Greenwich than showing up at his funeral. It is sad but predictable.

The Not-so-good

It’s just not all that exciting. As soon as we get semi-familiar with Daisy and Gatsby, they’re gone. Carraway is a mostly useless narrator. He injects his opinion from time to time but mostly he’s just there to add a little truth to the rumors surrounding Gatsby’s existence. When he breaks things off with Jordan Baker and decides to move back to the Mid-West, all I could think was “meh”. It bothered me that Carraway was able to describe certain events in great detail, such as Myrtle Wilson’s death, despite not being at the scene. There was plenty of beautiful prose in the book, but it was mostly inserted in chunks towards the beginning and end. The rest fell between scene after scene of drinks in the garden and Gatsby uttering “old sport” for the thousandth time. Perhaps what bothers me most about this book is all the love and attention it gets. I’ll admit, it’s a good book. However, there are much better books set around the same time period that make many similar points about society and the American dream. I would take Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence over Gatsby any day of the week.

Making my way back in, one post at a time.

I had ventured back to my dear, neglected blog, pondering what on earth to write about, when I noticed how many pending spam comments were awaiting me. It wasn’t the typical 5-10, or even 25. No, it was 175! 175 spam comments! How much viagra can one 28 year old female really need? Apparently a lot.

Anyways, all this talk of spam got me thinking (no, not about Monty Python you sillys) about my Data Privacy Law class. Tonight we happened to briefly discuss spam and what’s allowed, what’s not allowed, all that good stuff, which I found quite interesting, especially given my hatred of spammers and telemarketers (let’s stick it to ‘em my good chap!). Since I’ve been all out of ideas for what to blog about, I figured I’d go with what has swallowed my entire life – law school. Tonight I’ll begin w/ Data Privacy and later I’ll continue with a snippet from all the other classes I’ve taken so far and a bit of info about the startup I interned with this summer. It should be good fun (please note I’ve been watching a lot of Downton Abbey so my speech may sound rather over the top, even more so than usual), especially if any law students, or prospective law students, happen my way. Please note that Data Privacy is an upper level course – I will go down to first year courses after this.

With data privacy, I feel the best way to approach it is to consider: (1) the contexts in which we may find ourselves questioning our rights; (2) the applicable laws surrounding it; (3) what we hope to gain, or a remedy we hope to achieve, through using the law; and (4) how US perspectives stack up against our European counterparts. I will try to throw in a bit about misconceptions and some on point examples where I can. Please note, this may get a bit long but I’m gonna try super hard to keep it brief(ish). I haven’t really referenced sources because a lot of it comes from class notes and reading material, plus it’s late and I’m lazy. But if you have questions, please let me know and I’ll point you to where I got the info.

Also, mandatory disclaimer: I am only a 2nd year law student so you should not rely on any of this as legit legal advice/information and I will not be held accountable if you do. Okay, no more of that, let’s get to it.

Here are some scenarios where you may encounter a need for data privacy protection:

• When answering government surveys, including the Census
• When your home is searched by government agents – will a police officer disclose personal information to the government? To my neighbors? To the press?
• When you sign up for a web service, like for a web app e-mail service. What if the government suspects I’ve committed a crime? Will the service provider disclose my information? Could it be used against me in court?
• When you happen to be a celebrity and the paparazzi comes after you
• When you use social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
• When your company plans to open up a European subsidiary
• When you want to tell someone about your boss’ unlawful action and get wrongfully terminated
• When your employer monitors your work and personal e-mail for quality control purposes

Laws

One thing to consider is the U.S. Constitution, and maybe your state’s constitution too. One thing that you might not know (at least I didn’t before), is that the Constitution doesn’t actually guarantee any sort of privacy right. The 4th Amendment provides protection for unreasonable searches and seizures from state actors, but doesn’t say that we’re entitled to be safe from all searches and seizures. Please note that some states (including California, I believe) say that this applies to non-state actors as well. The Supreme Court has also interpreted that there is an implied fundamental right to privacy, but it is not absolute. Certain Justices *cough* Scalia *cough* reject this notion of a fundamental right because it doesn’t appear in the text – let’s just ignore him, shall we (thanks Obama!)?

Statutory law is essential to data privacy law. Although it certainly doesn’t cover everything, it does offer specific types of protection in some (albeit narrow) circumstances. The Wire Tap Act and the Stored Communications Act protect against people either intercepting or storing your information. Please note that these acts actually contain pretty broad exceptions that seem to be relatively easy to circumvent. For example, if the FBI suspects that you’re part of some criminal activity, it won’t take much for them to get your Internet Service Provider to disclose not only your personal information, but also the contents of your e-mails and beyond. So, if you think that your e-mail provider of choice would never do something to hurt you or give your info away, please be warned that they are legally required to disclose your information when applicable.

There are statutes to cover various areas, including spam for commercial use, and statutes for health care providers, celebrities, whistle-blowers, and specific ones for financial information, to name a few. If you work in a specific industry, chances are that there’s a statute that pertains to you.

The Common Law is where we can look for all sorts of protection, although it varies by state and may only get us so far (remember that statutes are where most of the action really is). First, we’ve got good old fashioned property law. We think we own this information, right? Chances are that the answer is actually no. No one can own facts. Your e-mail address, physical address, name, phone number? You do not own that information. Therefore, you can’t file a claim against an individual or entity because they “stole” your personal info. In fact, my professor points out in an article, that many social media companies actually have a stronger property claim to the information in our posts than we do. Although you might have some chance of claiming that your 140 character tweet was so eloquently stated as to garner copyright protection, the facts within that same tweet do not belong to you. If you tweet, “I’m headed to the Page tonight. Gotta love me some Bushmills, dudes,” that information is not your own. Instead, Twitter, or whatever other agency, could claim that this information is protected by trade secret law. That is, it is so valuable to their economic performance/business, that no one else can use this information. So, if someone starts a rival to Twitter tomorrow, they can’t start targeting me with local Lower Haight bars and Northern Irish whiskey based on that one tweet.   If I wanted to sell that information myself, I could not because it is deemed to be factual (and also I probably signed away that right when I signed up). Another property tort you could try would be trespass, but it probably won’t get you very far.

Tort law provides some assurances. If you’re up against a governmental agency, you might be able to argue a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim for a civil rights violation. Generally, government officials may not be held liable for civil claims as long as they are acting in their official capacity. Torts like this were created to grant individuals some relief and to prevent against abuse. This would come in to play if, for example, a police officer searched your home (with a warrant) then disclosed to other nongovernmental officials some of your intimate details that a reasonable person would find offensive. So maybe revealing that you like Michael Bolton might not be that big a deal, but revealing that you have a giant stack of foot fetish porn by your bed might be.

Tort law also includes the torts of privacy, which include (1) intrusion upon seclusion; (2) appropriation of private facts; (3) public disclosure of private facts; and (4) false light. These are all pretty boring but are highly relevant in this area. If someone is using your name or image to sell something without your consent, you’ve probably got yourself an appropriation of private facts claim.

Contract law is another biggie. If you’re able, you can use this to give yourself stronger protection. However, most of the time it’s companies or service providers who set the terms. Unfortunately, a lot of these will encourage you to waive your rights. Pay attention to the Terms of Service of the next service you sign up for. Chances are, you’ll find that the provider is asking you (or forcing as I see it) to give up at least some of your expectation of privacy.

Remedies

What do we want from all this? It can be hard to say in some instances and really goes to the question of “what is privacy?” In some cases, we don’t want to be fired or misrepresented. In others, we don’t want our company’s secrets, or personal financial information, to be freely given away. Other times, we don’t want certain information to be used against us as evidence in court. However, often it’s hard to say what we really want. If Google monitors my information in order to better target me for advertisement purposes, what harm is really done? Now I know that Google won’t *do* anything with that info. They won’t tell all my contacts where I’m going to lunch with so and so, they won’t tell everyone how many times I call my boyfriend a certain pet name, nor reveal some intimate secret to my parents (don’t worry, there isn’t a secret like that, so shhh). Instead, they’ll use it to “improve my ad experience.” Now I sort of appreciate it because I’d rather get ads about my preferred dog food or favorite L.L.Bean slipper shoes instead of diet supplements or engagement rings *cough*Facebook*cough*. However, at first I found it intrusive. How dare they access my e-mail? Even using non-human algorithms! But what harm was really done? Was my sense of self somehow damaged? My reputation? My right to enjoy everything I “get” from using personal e-mail? It’s hard to say. Generally, laws related to data privacy grant injunctions or money damages, and sometimes criminal penalties. But do those remedies really fix the harm? Not all of the above mentioned laws may be used in data privacy settings because of this seemingly lacking harm.

U.S. vs. Europe

Just to quickly mention it, Europe approaches data privacy very differently from the US. Despite what 1984 would have us believe, Europe is pretty stringent compared to us. Rather than having piecemeal statutes and common law approaches, which target individual areas of data privacy, Europe leans more to broad and over-encompassing regulation. The default rule is that companies, individuals, or the government can’t process data unless there is a specific statutory exception. Europeans may more easily complain that their “right of personality” has been harmed by a privacy invasion, while Americans are told that they didn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the same setting. We can waive our rights while it is much harder for Europeans to do so. As a result, the United States is much more amenable to tech companies that take advantage of our personal information. How would many startups survive if they had to search for legal exceptions to accessing our personal data? This also makes doing transnational business trickier because the European Union has had trouble accepting U.S. standards for protection. Now, American companies are encouraged to adopt certain standards and follow specific guidelines if they hope to engage in transnational transactions or establish foreign subsidiaries that will allow for the transfer of personal data (including employee, not just customer, information). The FTC is to step in and enforce these provisions, although it has gained criticism for often failing to do so.

I could continue on about the differences between German, EU, and US data privacy law, but will stop, for everyone’s sake. The main point is, don’t take your personal data privacy for granted; simply because it seems “safe” does not mean that it is yours for the keeping.

Oh – I realize I didn’t really talk about spam in the end, but maybe I’ll address it another day. If you’re really interested right now, go check out the Can-SPAM act, which sets out the elements for a claim. You’ll find that many spammers, including those fondly mentioned (ahem, *worst*) spammers who left me 175 comments, would not satisfy those elements (meaning they are guilty as the eff for spam violations as long as blog comments are included in the Act). Part of the reason I didn’t include it just yet is because we covered it super quickly and I’d like to be able to address it more fully so if anyone does want to make a claim, you’ll know whether you’ve got what it takes to put something together. You can also look for statutes that target your specific industry (as mentioned above) to see what protection you might have.

Next time in the law school series: Civil Procedure I ( I promise they will be more exciting after that)

Despite some frustrations and some ups and downs here and there, 2011 was overall an exciting year. I’m pretty sure I’ll look back at this one when I’m older and go “aww yeah, 2011 was the year of awesome.” I have a feeling 2012 is going to be pretty challenging, but I’m looking forward to it and am ready to face it head on.

January started off right with the Crunchies after party at the Exploratorium; there’s nothing quite like unleashing a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings, hopped up on vodka red bull, into a building filled with gadgets, sounds, and all sorts of hands-on exhibits. The other C and I also made it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time and hung out with some grad school friends who visited from TX and Denmark.

February kept things moving with a three week visit from my Northern Irish cousin and one of her good friends. We played tourist, danced the night away at DNA Lounge, gambled our way through Reno, and sat in awe for a three hour long Elton John concert. A friend from high school who I hadn’t seen in forever also visited, which made February the official month for catching up.

In March I ventured over to the UK to visit parents and friends. I also made it to Northern Ireland for my Grandmother’s surprise 80th birthday. Although I was convinced that she had figured us all out, she was completely shocked to see everyone who had driven down or flown over for her birthday.

April was dedicated to wine tasting and Disneyland. I didn’t think it was possible, but the group I went with managed to ride almost every single ride in both Disneyland and California Great Adventure (or whatever it’s called).  Needless to say, I was exhausted and extremely cranky by the end of the day (but it was magical and well worth it).

May was one of the most fun months ever (like omg for srs!). First I went to New Orleans for Jazz Fest, which consisted of a pub crawl from one end of town to the banks of the Mississippi, fried alligator, beignets, and flippin’ sweet music. I later made it to Houston to visit my good friend Sara who was working there as a teacher. I also made it a bit further south to visit some family I hadn’t seen in a while. AND! I met the other C’s parents in Kingwood. Once the great NOLA/TX journey was done, it was time for more wine tasting with the other C’s siblings and a whirlwind apartment search. Somehow the other C and I managed to snag a wonderful apartment right next to Alamo Square.

In June I went to Nova Scotia with my grandmother (the one who just turned 80) to visit her older sister who lived in a nursing home up there. It was a strenuous, but rewarding trip.

July was the month for learning how to become a “hacker.” I took a beginner Java course at UC Berkeley and learned all about loopy things and some other quirky stuff from a professor who showed up with Doc from Back to the Future’s hair and a repertoire of puns related to coffee and Indonesia. The other C and I also celebrated our first anniversary by spending some time on the road and hiking.

August was for relaxing in Colorado and then launching into my first semester of law school at UC Hastings.

In September I thought I’d figured it all out and didn’t find law school all that difficult. Well, it was a lot of work but I didn’t quite understand what all the fuss. Then…

October hit and I understood.

November was for taking take home exams, doing most things at home, and being incredibly grateful for having a caring boyfriend who always knows how to make the anxiety go away. Thanksgiving was the highlight of the month. We hosted it at our place and C’s parents, brother and boyf came over for Apples to Apples, good food, and a whole lot of silliness.

December, or at least the first half, can be defined as ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Exams are terrifying. It doesn’t really matter if you’ve studied for days on end and have read every case and most of the supplement if you get test anxiety. I managed to come out only moderately scathed, partied hard, and was happy to have made some awesome and smart new friends. After collapsing in a heap for several days and playing the new Zelda game, I flew to Cleveland for Christmas, then to Colorado, which is where I am now!

I didn’t make it to any new states or countries in 2011 – in fact, I barely left SF – which is a let down from my yearly goal. However, I got to know my city better and fell even more in love with California than I was before. Will I make it to any new places in 2012? Not too likely. But with some weddings coming up, it looks like 2012 will be even more of a reunion year than 2011 was. And perhaps I can make it somewhere sweet over spring break, like Vancouver or Arizona.

Moms and technologically

I am STILL alive! Procrastinatory Friday may have extended for several months but I’m back baby. What type of procrastination have I been doing lately? The kind that involves learning about the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Torts, and Contracts, that’s what! Oh, and throw in some Legal Writing and Research.

I’ll get to the law school stuff some day, but let’s do an update on Moms first. These aren’t the best silly mom things, but they’re still pretty silly.

The first is from an email I got from my mom a few days ago after I sent her this video:

Many of the cat videos referenced in the video are probably familiar to you, but it seems that they were new to my mom. This is what she had to say:

That was funny. The cat walking on its hind legs at the start certainly draws you in. Loved the cat swinging on the fan. They’re so silly.

If that wasn’t enough, here’s a little snippet from my friend Lisa. Apparently her mom sent her an email early one morning and started it off with:

“Hope I didn’t wake you.”

Ohhhhh moms, you continue to delight. Keep up the good work!

Please be warned, despite the title, this post might not be quite so happy.

Did you know that all it takes is a mere 20+ hours of traveling, delays, waiting, and a night spent near JFK airport to earn an upgrade to business class? If you’re lucky, you might even be switched from an airline that doesn’t support WiFi on many flights (such as Continental), to one that does (such as Delta). So here I am, sitting in my comfy seat with a blanket, my feet propped up, a lovely, aerial view of American farmland, rivers, and highways to my left, my laptop neatly placed in front of me, and all the frustrations of the previous day nearly forgotten.

The past 10 days have included moments of frustration, joy, exhaustion, sadness, and relief. It began with a red-eye flight from SFO < EWR, a morning spent in a dated airport hotel, and a reunion with my 80 year-old, Northern Irish grandmother outside customs in Terminal C. The purpose of our meeting in this way, was to accompany each other upwards to Nova Scotia to visit my great aunt and her sister. Aunt Sally lives in a nursing home and suffers from Alzheimers and the loneliness that comes with long-departed relatives and friends, as well as the long distance from her native home.

For my grandmother, who we can refer to as "Granny," this was a necessary and much longed-for trip. She feared that if she did not go when she did, that her sister may no longer recognize her or that she (Granny) may not be fit to handle the cross-Atlantic flight. For me, it was an opportunity to meet my great aunt for the second time and to spend time with Granny when she most needed it.

In a few days, once I've had the chance to upload all my photos, I'll chronicle our adventure in fuller detail. For now, I just need a place to enter some of the many thoughts and emotions that came with it all.

Nova Scotia was hardly the place I remembered it being from the sole journey I had made about 15 years earlier. Instead of finding hearty seafood meals and charming mom and pop shops, we drove through run-down towns and ate microwaved "baked" potatoes. Granny remarked on the absence of shops she remembered and the bizarre drop in population. However, the landscape, with its many rivers, hilltops, and inlets, remained unchanged.

We spent our days between our country road motel, neighboring towns, and Aunt Sally's nursing home, Grace Haven. On our first visit, Aunt Sally instantly recognized Granny but had trouble making conversation and resorted to frequently discussing the blue sky and nice green grass. Each day she returned more and more to her old self - making jokes, laughing, informing us of where old friends once had lived, and commenting on how it was high strawberry season. Her mobility levels appeared to coincide with her mental capacity for remembrance and recognition. The more she chatted, the less she complained of her sore legs.

Granny's mood also fluctuated with Aunt Sally's behavior, as to be expected. Watching the two sisters reconnect as Granny told her sister stories of when they were children and as Aunt Sally poked fun at Granny for spilling ice cream down her top, was incredibly moving. Realizing that Aunt Sally had slipped back into confusion when she asked when we would take her home, was heartbreaking. As a mostly silent onlooker, I wanted to be able to take this woman I barely knew, yet with whom I share so much, into my arms and tell her that someday we would come to take her home for good.

I am still unsure whether Aunt Sally truly understood who I was. She knew me as someone she could trust, but whether she saw me as a relative I suppose I'll never know. The important thing was that she always knew and smiled at her sister. I imagine she's forgotten by now that we were ever over to spend time with her, but I'd like to think that she feels a bit happier and doesn't feel quite so alone.

It is easy to adopt a sense of relaxation when promptly prepared meals and endless servings of tea are brought to my small table, 10,000 feet above the ground. Today's situation sharply contrasts with yesterday's feeling of being stranded at the Halifax airport, and then at JFK, the abrupt goodbye shared between Granny and myself, and the sadness of knowing that neither of us will probably ever see Aunt Sally again.

Only 2 1/2 hours to go until I reach San Francisco. I just need to be home.