Kurt's Thoughts

Wow.  This activated neurons that hadn’t been used in my head for years.

This is Fidelity Investment’s password policy for the past decade:

• Password Standards
  Use 6 to 12 letters and/or numbers
  Do not use one entire piece of personally identifiable information such as your Social Security number, telephone number, or date of birth. Instead, alter or disguise it (e_g., Jane212Smith)
  Do not use more than 5 instances of a single number or letter, or easily recognized sequences (e.g. 12345 or 11111)
  Do not use symbols, punctuation marks, or spaces (e.g., #,@, /, *, -.)

It’s 2013.  You’re a major financial institution.  Get off your IBM mainframe or AS/400-authenticated garbage and get a real authentication system, okay?  It’s embarrassing.  No, really.  While the rest of the planet’s web services – including free email systems Outlook.com & Gmail – are presenting multi-factor authentication with the usage of passphrases containing hundreds of characters, you can’t even get basic passwords right?

Let’s review, shall we?

1. No passwords larger than 12 characters.
   [MOUTH AGAPE]
2. No non-alphanumeric characters.  Non-alphanumeric characters are arguably one of the best defenses against brute force account hacking.
3. No server-side authentication.  Fidelity.com doesn’t authenticate itself to you with known information about you & your account to demonstrate that it really is Fidelity.com you’re logging into, and not a man-in-the-middle.
4. No two-factor authentication.  Not even a cellphone solution like Phone Factor. 
5. No authorized workstation activation. (a from of two-factor authentication)  There are no personal PCs that you can bless with special cookies to access your account.  Basically, anyone can log into your account from any PC in the world.  Nice.

Yes, I get that you have an account lockout policy.  Fine.  But so does everyone else & that doesn’t stop them from implementing complex passwords.  I seriously expected this to be fixed a long time ago.  Y’all make Morgan Stanley look downright MODERN despite their ridiculous flash-only interface.

Sigh.

Not surprisingly, this table could also be attributed to most Internet comments.

“I love Apple.  I LOVE APPLE.”

– Senator Claire McCaskill (D) Missouri in a Congressional Hearing with Apple CEO Tim Cook on the $44B in taxes they avoided

You gotta kidding me.

Yup.  Congressional pandering to Apple has gotten so disgusting that now even Jon Stewart is calling them out.

Full article & video here:

• Tax Men – Apple
  Senators laud Apple CEO Tim Cook for his amazing products and outside-the-box interpretation of the American corporate tax code. 
  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-22-2013/tax-men—apple

These stupid things make me cry every damned time. 

I suppose deep down it’d be really, really, really nice to have the balls to do something like this.  But I’ll see how Matt himself feels about his ‘line of work’ now that he’s got a little one.  Because the day I had my son, was the day everything changed – work, fun, energy, interests/hobbies, worries, focus…

Here’s the one from June of last year.  I only saw it 4 hours ago.  The fact that I missed it completely tells me maybe I need to expand my circle of interests or something.

I hope Matt Harding manages to continue doing what makes him happy.  With all the videos he took during this 5 min montage, the last clip is the simplest & one that opened up the waterworks for me.

Good job, Matt.

Someone named IamNorris posted a map comparison showing where “Whole Foods” are located versus “Walmarts”, with the implication of this being a determination as to “where the rich people live, versus where the poor people live”.

Something that dawned on me was, “Where’s the middle ground?  Where’s the middle class?”  And so I started thinking… where does our family shop?  I think I’ve got the solution:  “Trader Joes”

Locations of Whole Foods in Los Angeles:
Big surprise, they’re all located in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Westwood/Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice.

Locations of Walmarts in Los Angeles:
Again, not surprisingly you see them located in Norwalk, La Mirada, Hawaiian Gardens, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, & Paramount.

Location of Trader Joes in Los Angeles:
Again LOTS of Culver City Rancho Park, West Hollywood, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Silverlake, Mid-Wilshire, Manhattan Beach.

Have you ever had a piece of equipment that you bought “just in case” an discovered how incredibly useful it is after the fact?  It’s like a 6th man on the bench that suddenly steps up.  That’s what the Energizer All-in-One is like.  It’s the Jeremy Lin of home accessories. 

At its most basic, the Energizer All-in-One is a single body luggable battery with 3 uses.  It can:

• Jumpstart your car when the battery goes dead with its jumper cables
• Inflate tires & other items with its air compressor
• Provides 12V AC power for either a conventional US power socket or dual car accessories
• Provide directional light using a bendable LED white flashlight at its top

I bought this on a lark during a Black Friday thinking that it’d be convenient.  It’s usually $120 but it was going for 60% off so I said, what the heck.  Boy, am I glad I did.  This thing is so convenient it’s crazy.  Here’s why:

• I’ve left my lights on or drained my battery 5-6 times accidentally by having items plugged into the car adapter or leaving my lights on.  This has jumpstarted the car in under 5 minutes every time.
• I’ve had to inflate my tires or my son’s basketball/soccer ball numerous times and simply pulling this out was dirt simple.  No need to find a power source for the compressor:  The unit IS A POWER SOURCE.
• I’ve had to jump my car in the pitch black.  The arcable/bendable LED flashlight at the top is exactly what you need to illuminate the area around your car battery to hook the jumper cables to it late at night.
• The AC adapter port provides power to charge my laptop an addition 10hrs plus.  I have no idea how much juice is in this thing because it’s never run out of power on me.

There’s two catches:

1. The instructions say that you must recharge the unit after every use or you’ll diminish the life of the battery.  I bring my unit indoors and plug it into the wall immediately after using it.  I’ve read some negative reviews about the unit on Amazon – the primary complaints revolved around the unit not being able to retain a charge, and I highly suspect these folks used it, then left it for a while with a diminished charge & that goes against the instructions which clearly states that the unit needs to be fully recharged after every use.
2. To recharge the unit you need to plug it into a wall socket… and there’s no cable to do that.  ANY lightweight TWO-pronged AC extension power cable will work & I didn’t need heavy duty cabling.  I used a thin power extension cable I typically use for Christmas tree lighting.  It would be nice to be able to charge the unit via the car adapter while the car is running but I guess I understand that there may be safety hazards associated with that.

Ultimately, this has saved me a ton of money on AutoClub calls.  Maybe I’m absent-minded and a little abnormal but I used to have to call AAA to jumpstart my car at home all the time (6-7 times a year) because I’d drain the battery due to my forgetfulness around plugged in peripherals on the AC adapter or leaving my lights on or simply not using the car and letting the alarm system drain the car battery.

…but now I don’t need to.  The Energizer All-in-One has saved my bacon more times than I can imagine and did it QUICKLY if I was scrambling to work.  If I could write a Yelp review for this little unit I would.  But I can’t so this is my review.  Most useful piece of equipment I’ve owned in years.  5-stars!

• AMAZON: Energizer 84020 12V All-In-One Jump-Start System with Built-In Air Compressor and Power Inverter ($125)
  http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-84020-All-In-One-Jump-Start-Compressor/dp/B0030B2N10/
• AMAZON: C2G/Cables to Go 03115 18 AWG Outlet Saver Power Extension Cord (NEMA 5-15R to NEMA 5-15P), Black (6 feet/1.82 Meters) ($5)
  http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-Outlet-Extension-Meters/dp/B0002J1KS0/

(Photos taken from M. Johnson/webrat55 on Amazon)

Every so often a product comes a long that makes my mouth hang open, thinking, “OMG – that’s EXACTLY what I need.”

AquaNotes was exactly that product.  It’s a waterproof notepad that allows you to jot down ideas or reminders you have while in the shower.

The notepad isn’t actually made of paper.  It’s a white rubber/plastic material that you’d swear has the exact consistency of paper.  It allows for writing on by pencil, pen, and basically any writing utensil.

The top of each sheet is perforated so that you can rip the note off of the pad to take with you to work or wherever you need to go.  It doesn’t get “moldy” or “retain water”.  It just hangs on the shower wall using two suction cups, along with a 3rd suction cup that holds a pencil.  (Both included)

And it’ costs $7.  $7 to never ever forget a thought you had in the shower.  I bought a stack of them & I bought one for everyone in my family as a stocking stuffer.

OMG, TAKE MY MONEY, AMAZON.

• Aqua Notes – Waterproof Notepad ($7, Amazon Prime)
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003W09LTQ/r

The 7th Annual Sake & Food Tasting Event is scheduled for Friday, July 26, 2013 Samuel Oschin Endeavour Pavilion at the California Science Center.  More details to follow. Stay tuned at LTSC.org

Yesterday, my Mitsubishi Diamond Projection TV (WS65718) wouldn’t turn on.  Nothing happened when I hit the power button.  I punched the “System Reset” button using paperclip.  No dice.  I guess it was bound to happen considering the set is over 10 years old (purchased in 2002) and really, despite being left on for days sometimes, never had a failure until now.

Off to Bing I go for a solution.  Unfortunately, the only advice I got that seemed of value was this:

Unfortunately there is only two things the end user can do. First, unplug the set from the wall for 5-10 min. This forces the micro-processor to reboot. After plugging the TV back in and it still does not start up, then a technician will have to be called in. You can go to http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com to contact them and/or find the nearest technician.

I indeed tried this, and failed.  I ended up having to find a repair shop to do a house call and evaluate my TV’s reparability.  After all, the unit is massive and isn’t the kind of thing you throw into the back of the car.

HELLO?  UM… DO YOU REPAIR BIG SCREEN TVs?
If you live on the Westside of Los Angeles (Santa Monica/Mar Vista/West Los Angeles/Westwood/Century City/Beverly Hills/Brentwood) the only shop I found that did repairs on Mitsubishi TVs was a place called “Precision Sound Service” – and they were recommended by the original store that I purchased the big screen from over a decade ago.  And yes, they did house calls.

Today, Diego stopped by and took a look at the unit for a service charge of $89.  He popped the front & the back and grimaced.  He said he’d have to take out the entire projection & electronics assembly and take it back to the shop to replace 1 of the larger modules & possibly one other.  Estimated price:  $350.

I swallowed but ultimately, who am I kidding?  If he gets it fixed – and fixed well, it’s more than worth $350 being that a new TV would be $5000 in the range I’m thinking of.  Besides, this unit was in the $10,000 range & state of the art back when I got it.  (At a deep discount, mind you) so I think $350 is a fair investment for 10 years+ of usage.

So the massive assembly left with him.  And the TV is pretty much just an empty hull.  We’ll see how good these guys are.

To be continued…

————————–
References:

• http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/support/troubleshooting
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070920234853AAcVQFc
• http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/4jnuz-mitsubishi-diamond-series-hdtv-1080-won-t-turn.html
• http://www.tvrepairsantamonica.com/

I love that my son head bops to this tune.  Here’s something to listen to while you listen to “Windows Weekly” or read through Ed Bott or Mary Jo Foley’s blog because hey:  35,000,000 hits can’t be wrong.

It’s a little grainy because it was taken a bit ago at night with a low end camera phone but given recent events with Oracle & their questionable security patching attempts, I thought some folks might find this LA driver’s vanity plate humorous.  No, I didn’t know who the driver was.

And while we’re at it, there was also this one, spotted in Northern California:

Wow.  That was some announcement the other day.  Some of the best tweets I read from the Sony Playstation 4 event:

• “THE PLAYSTATION 4 SAGA ENTERS IT’S 903RD DAY”
  https://twitter.com/DrPizza/status/304394768757174272
• “I’m concerned.  Should we organize a concert for them or something?”
  http://www.twitter.com/alexandrapullin/status/304395576643043330
• “The PS4 reveal is hopefully coming to a close #LetMyPeopleGo”
  http://www.twitter.com/ericbangeman/status/304395806683828224
• “If I was a cynical person, I’d ask if the PS4 version of the nexwt great game in the Call of Duty sseries will still be based on DX9”
  http://www.twitter.com/willsmith/status/304394790143946752
• “People at the PS4 event are literally dying of old age.”
  http://www.twitter.com/DrPizza/status/304394772708204545
• “Conspiracy: The PS4 hardware is invisible.”
  http://www.twitter.com/clubdirthill/status/304394505522659331
• “There’s a “post show” for those who survive.”
  http://www.twitter.com/WithinRafael/status/304394299125166080
• “I’ve seen companies events with tweet choirs that were more interesting.”
  http://www.twitter.com/harlemS/status/304393002544160770
• “The PS4 press conference is a DoS attack against Xbox Next.  Everyone will still be at the sony event when MS shows off its console.”
  http://www.twitter.com/DrPizza/status/304392615518932992
• “Kinda like a filibuster”
  http://www.twitter.com/TheRomit/status/304392803302133761
• “Once again, following a live event on twitter is more fun than the event itself. #ps4”
  http://www.twitter.com/TheRomit/status/304392069420552192
• “I hope someone from Xbox land is taking notes.  For example, “remember to make sure the press conference ends.””
  http://www.twitter.com/BrandonLive/status/304390862014672897
• “A whole new Gran Turismo game could have been developed during this presentation.”
  http://www.twitter.com/DrPizza/status/304389721050722305
• “PS4 Conference: The Deathmarch”
  http://www.twitter.com/alex/status/304389265431883776
• “PS4 will launch as soon as this event is over, which is to say 10 months from now.”
  http://www.twitter.com/Gartenberg/status/304389168220471296
• “So in the “Post-PC” revolution, SONY’s PS4 becomes more PC than ever.  Fascinating.”
  http://www.twitter.com/jperlow/status/304388857082826752
• “So the Burger King social media team is running the Sony event?”
  http://www.twitter.com/edbott/status/304388338637488128
• “This feels like college all over again, the paid presenter is not speaking english.”
  http://www.twitter.com/bdsams/status/304387061933281281
• “This demo is fake as hell.”
  http://www.twitter.com/clubdirthill/status/304386401691111427
• “So, I’m confused are you trying to sell me a console or convince me to move to France?”
  http://www.twitter.com/harlemS/status/304381859704487937

SCORE #1
This is based on the following question:

Q: Please think about your overall satisfaction … Considering everything you know or have heard about the company, its products, its service, and support organization, would you say you are:
4 = Very Satisfied (VS)
3 = Somewhat Satisfied (SS)
2 = Somewhat Dissatisfied (SD)
1 = Very Dissatisfied (VD)

CALCULATION:
Score = (% of Very Satisfied) – (% of Somewhat Dissatisfied + % of Very Dissatisfied) + 100
(Range = 0-200, 200 being highest)

EXAMPLE:
Scores based on the following responses for all participants would be:

• 4, 4, 3, 3, 3 –> 40% VS, 60% SS –> NSAT = (40) – (0+0) + 100 = 140
• 4, 3, 3, 3 –> 25% VS, 75% SS –> NSAT = (25) – (0+0) + 100 = 125
• 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 –> 17% VS, 83% SS –> NSAT = (17) + (0+0) + 100= 117
• 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 –> 100% SS –> NSAT = (0) – (0+0) + 100 = 100
• 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 1 > 17% VS, 50% SS, 17% SD, 17% VD –> (17) – (17+17) + 100 = 83

METRIC:
Our required value for score #1: 171
(In other words, even if all ratings are “Somewhat Satisfied”, the score would be 100, far below 171.)

—————————————————————————————-

SCORE #2
This is based on the average of 6 specific questions, multiplied by 10.  All questions are rated from 1-9, 9 being highest.

1. Understands my organization’s strategic priorities* (*)
2. Presents my organization with innovative technology solutions that can maximize our ROI (*)
3. Documents my expectations for a successful working relationship (Conditions of Satisfaction)* (*)
4. Holds executive business reviews (meetings with my organization) that include the right people, communicate progress on priorities, and are a valuable use of our time (*)
5. Has a joint plan with my organization that addresses our technological needs and overall business goals (*)
6. Collaborates with partners to deliver value to my organization (*)

CALCULATION:
Score = (Sum of all ratings)/6 x 100

EXAMPLE:

1. Invests time = 7
2. Works together = 7
3. Engages right resources = 8
4. Seeks feedback = 8
5. Takes action = 7
6. Provides information = 7

Score #2 = (7+7+8+8+7+7)/6 x 100= 73

METRIC:
Our required value for Score #2:  82
(Again, even if all scores are “8”, the total score is an 80, which is below the required score of 82.)

Just in case I never posted this:  Do you remember that scene in Mallrats where William can’t see the “sailboat” in the stereoscopic picture?  Did you ever wonder what the hell was in that picture?

Well, here it is.  A capture of the screen from the movie.  And yes, amazingly the stereoscopic picture works perfectly in the below snapshot:

Here’s the funny part:  There’s no sailboat.  I won’t tell you what’s in there but there’s no boat to be found, albeit there are 3D objects in the picture to be seen.

For the cynics reading this, this isn’t preachy… it’s actually an amazing & emotional short film & it’s only a 1:30 long.

UPDATE 2/23/13:
Just realized how sloppily this post was written and so I cleaned it up, added some additional photos and corrected the mistake about the wording on my 5 year service award.

————————————

ORIGINAL POST:
Take a look at this.  Below is a snapshot of the web site where Microsoft employees can purchase replacement Service Awards – the awards given to us for being employed for 5, 10, and 15 years.  (You can see there’s a space for folks that have been around for 20.  Haven’t made it quite there yet.  Crossing fingers!)

BACK STORY:
I’ve been with Microsoft for 17 years running.  Back in 2000 when I was given my 5 year Service Award, they didn’t give away fancy shmancy Kryptonite-ish crystals like those you see below.  We got a brushed aluminum desk clock about 3”x3”x1” that read:

“5 YEARS WITH MICROSOFT!”

No, it’s written exactly like that… with 2 exclamation points. (Correction: I guess I remembered the award incorrectly because it did in fact have only 1 exclamation point in this photo)  Anyway, it was so… umm… ‘unique’ that that clock became sort of a target of humor.  One person told me it looked like a hood ornament when I got it.

At 10 years, it got classy.  The photo below is of the plaque that commemorates the famous 10 shares of stock that all employees were granted back then.  (I don’t know if they still do this)  I’m actually very proud of this plaque and was pretty giddy when I got it.  Only the people I revered the most at Microsoft had one of these.

Nowadays, we get these beautiful crystal service awards as you see above.  But if you look really carefully, you can see the costs associated with each below the photos.

Yup.  $419.00 for the 15 year award.  That’s a $150 difference from the cost of the 10 year award which sells for $269.00.  Color me stunned! 

…kinda makes you wonder what the 20 year award is like,‘eh? 

If you’re a UCLA football fan, you should remember Kai Forbath, arguably the best kicker in UCLA history, up there with the likes of John Lee.

According to Wikipedia, take a look at his career in the NFL to date:

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After being projected as the second-best kicker in the 2011 NFL Draft, Forbath was not selected. However, on August 2, 2011, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a rookie free agent, and was subsequently placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.^[3][4] He was waived on April 16, 2012.^[5]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed Forbath off waivers on April 17, 2012. During preseason, Forbath made five out of five field goal attempts, including a successful 55-yard kick.^[6]

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins signed Forbath on October 9, 2012, replacing Billy Cundiff.^[7][8][9] Forbath made his NFL and Redskins debut in an impressive fashion, knocking through a 50-yarder as his first career NFL field goal in the home game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 14, 2012.^[10] He was also a perfect five of five on extra points, as the Redskins defeated the Vikings 38–26. His performance was essential in the Redskins’ victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, where he recorded 48 and 49-yard field goals and then a game-winning 34-yard field goal in overtime.^[11]

On December 23, 2012, Forbath set the NFL record for consecutive field goals to begin a career with 17 in a row, beating Garrett Hartley, who previously held the record at 16.^[12][13] The ball was sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.^[14]

Question:  How stupid do you think Dallas must feel?

As a relatively frequent traveler with a computer bag, I laughed at this until I realized how often I put my PC down.  Bitlocker-encrypted or not, if I were to lose my laptop… whoaaaanelly.  My only saving grace would be that I use the cloud for the frequent backup of my data but damn is this easy.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a good part of the holiday catching up on the movies & TV that… well… you wish you had the time & energy for during the rest of the year.  This season, I got the chance to hunker down on my DVD collection, Netflix, and Xbox Live Video and start viewing away.  Yay! 

Here’s what I’ve hit up so far:

• Indie Game: The Movie
  ‘Indie Game: The Movie’ is the Sundance Award Winning Feature documentary about Video Game Designers. Indie Game: The Movie is the first feature documentary film about making video games. It looks specifically at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realize their lifelong dreams of sharing their visions with the world. After two years of painstaking work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes await the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy-the adventures of a skinless boy in search of his girlfriend, who is made of bandages. At PAX, a major video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, four-years-in-the-making FEZ. Jonathan Blow considers beginning a new game after creating Braid, one of the highest-rated games of all time. Four developers, three games, and one ultimate goal- to express oneself through a video game. Indie Game: The Movie is about the creative process and putting yourself out there through your work. It’s a journey many filmmakers, creators, artists, entrepreneurs – many people, can relate to in the digital era.

• Jiro Dreams of Sushi
  Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world and as a loving yet complicated father.

• Trek Nation
  The documentary “Trek Nation” explores “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision and its impact on viewers’ lives through the eyes of his son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, Jr., who is on a quest to know his father whom he lost at age 17.

• The Captains
  Since first soaring onto television screens in the 1960s, Star Trek has become one of the most beloved franchises of all time. Now, the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, travels around the globe to interview the elite group of actors (Chris Pine, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula) who have portrayed the role of Starship Captain, giving fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the pop culture phenomenon as well as the men and women who made it so.

• Holy Rollers: The True Story Of Card Counting Christians
  Holy Rollers follows the rise of arguably the largest and most well-funded blackjack team in America-made up entirely of churchgoing Christians. While they succeed in taking millions from casinos, how will they manage to find a place for faith and God in the arena of high stakes gambling?

• Breaking Vegas
  Do you dream about beating the odds? Then check out this fascinating documentary focusing on a group of six M.I.T. students who used their impressive math skills to win millions from Las Vegas’ gambling palaces. Through interviews with the card-counting collegians, security experts, and casino executives, you’ll learn how the young men pulled off the daring feat–and how they were eventually caught. Based on the best-selling book “Bringing Down the House.” 75 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; bonus programs.

• Dogs Decoded
  Dogs have been domesticated for longer than any other animal on the planet and humans have developed a unique relationship with these furry friends. We treat our pets like a part of the family and feel that they can understand us in a way other animals can’t. Now new research is revealing what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. Humans in turn respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs so closely related to fearsome wild wolves behave so differently? It’s all in the genes. DOGS DECODED investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs-with big implications for the evolution of human culture as well. In Siberia the mystery of dogs’ domestication is being repeated-in foxes. A fifty-year-old breeding program is creating an entirely new kind of creature a tame fox with some surprising similarities to Man’s Best Friend. THE DOGS DECODED reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs.

• 2016: Obama’s America
  Immersed in exotic locales across four continents, best selling author Dinesh D’Souza races against time to find answers to Obama’s past and reveal where America will be in 2016. During this journey he discovers how Hope and Change became radically misunderstood, and identifies new flashpoints for hot wars in mankind’s greatest struggle. The journey moves quickly over the arc of the old colonial empires, into America’s empire of liberty, and we see the unfolding realignment of nations and the shape of the global future.

• We Are Legion: The Story of the Hackitivists
  We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical “hacktivist” collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores the historical roots of early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous’ raucous and unruly beginnings in the online forum 4Chan. Through interviews with current members, members recently returned from prison, others currently facing trial, writers, activists and major players in various “raids,” WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists traces the collective’s evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.

• Beyond the Myth
  ”Unfairly known as violent killers, Pit Bulls have suffered from the stigma of negative media coverage that has lead to city-wide bans across the country. This breed-specific legislation has torn pets away from families, and killed thousands of innocent dogs across the country. Stripping away the preconceptions to show the loving companions they can be, Beyond the Myth is an important, must see film for all dog lovers.”

• Shelter Dogs
  Each year, almost 5 million dogs end up in animal shelters – but not every dog is safe to place with a family. What if a shelter dog shows aggression, or is a known biter – should he be adopted out? For two years filmmaker Cynthia Wade was given unprecedented access to Rondout Valley Kennels and its controversial owner Sue Sternberg, and the result is an award-winning film about ethics in a morally ambiguous world.

• Get A Life!
  Based on William Shatner’s hugely popular book (in response to his infamous “Saturday Night Live” skit), this hourlong documentary looks at the mystery, longevity and cultural phenomena of “Star Trek” and its obsessed fans known as “Trekkers.”

• Dealing Dogs
  Each year, 42,000 dogs are sold to veterinary schools and research labs by Class B dealers, who are required by federal law to buy the animals from pounds, shelters and small breeders and to treat them humanely. However, many Class B dealers violate the law. DEALING DOGS exposes the abuses that took place at one of America’s most notorious Class B dealers – Martin Creek Kennel in Arkansas.

• Patriocracy
  Patriocracy, a voice of reason in the age of polarization. Patriocracy is a non-partisan examination of Washington dysfunction. Alan Simpson, Bob Schieffer, Eleanor Clift, Pat Buchanan, Senator Mark Warner and Senator Kent Conrad are just a few of the notable Washington personalities who offer their valuable perspectives. Patriocracy drills down and illustrates the forces that drive a wedge into the middle ground of America and the solutions required to move forward.

• Homecoming
  The word orphan is troubling to most of us. It’s one of those words that instantly evokes visions of dastardly headmasters and wicked headmistresses. We imagine scenes of defenseless children grappling indelible scars of loneliness and abandonment, molding them into unfortunate victims of fate and neglect. These are fair preconceptions that are not without basis in the American experience. But there is another side to the story… Homecoming unfolds as a conversation between 15 men and women who grew up in four American orphanages. Their stories echo the experience of thousands of men and women, throughout the country, and around the world. In these intimate, moving and sometimes hilarious stories, the incredible resilience of humankind shines through in vivid relief. Ultimately what remains is a picture of the remarkable strength of those who found a family in the most unlikely of places.