Ken Lay's Dead, but Janos Starker Lives

Ken Lay, the former Enron CEO died this morning in Colorado at the age of 64. I felt cheated. His estate is being sued for recovery of ill-gotten gains by the Security and Exchange Commission. There is as of this writing no word from the government about their attempt to recover funds (~$50M) and seize Lay Houston condo. I'd be interested in how former Enron employees are taking it. (Today, NPR interviewed an analyst who remembers principled people leaving Houston Natural Gas when Lay became CEO and wondered why it took so long for everyone else to see what type of person he was under the kindly exterior. Unfortunately I can't find the reference to insert a link.)

On a brighter note, it's cellist Janos Starker's 82nd birthday! In 2004 NPR stated that it took 33 pages to list all his recordings. (I've got only 3 of his recordings, but I've got a few years to pick up more. If you check eBay you will rarely find his recordings at a discount.)

I saw Starker in concert once in the 1970's when I was offered a free ticket. I didn't know who he was, but figured, what the heck, it's free and you never know. Boy did I luck out! (I've said lots of negative things about the guy who gave me the ticket, but always expressed my gratitude for introducing me to Starker's playing.)

Starker has been hailed as one of the 20th century's great cellists. He was known for his "patrician stage presence" (Wikipedia), but to my eyes he was concentrating on his music and was not going to be diverted. Given his usual stern demeanor, pictures of him smiling surprised me.

Gotta Love the Law

Today's Computerworld has an article headlined, "VA efforts to bolster laptop security stymied by lawsuits" which reports that 3 class-action lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the Veterans Administration's loss and subsequent recovery of a laptop with sensitive information on 26.5 million veterans has prevented the VA from altering their laptops. Updating antivirus tools and adding encryption can be considered evidence tampering.

Quoting from the article: Tim McLain, VA General Counsel said, "So until the courts rule on the issue, the VA's plans to implement new security measures on laptops are on hold. "It is a delay, not a moratorium."

One part of my brain is thinking, "OK, this makes sense - don't disturb the evidence" and another part of brain turns from what it was doing and says, "Are you nuts?!"

Well yes I am, but it looks as though I have company. (Unwritten rules require that posts dealing with the law quote Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist): ""If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, "the law is an ass, a idiot." )