U.S. law enforcements want carriers to store people's text messages

If you’ve ever seen a law enforcement officer recite the Miranda rights, you’ll immediately realize that the best way to stay out of trouble (initially) is to just keep your mouth shut. That said, keeping your mouth shut probably won’t be enough, because in the digital age what you ‘say’ has been extended to the text messages, emails, and other means of electronic messaging.

Over 2 trillion SMS messages were sent in 2011 in the U.S. — about 6 billion messages a day. Currently, carriers aren’t required to record and store what people are texting to each other, but that might change soon as law enforcements have been lobbying to convince the U.S. Congress to amend a privacy act which will require the carriers to do so.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 plays a huge role in governing what law enforcement may or may not do with people’s data transmitted via electronics. However, the ECPA is considered by many as ‘outdated’ and in need of revisions. Since text messaging has become a normal method of communication amongst many people, law enforcements are seeking more ways of accessing those private data.

As aforementioned, police (among others) wants cellular carriers to store people’s text messages for retrieval in case they’re warranted for an investigation. If you think that a point on your driving record lasts too long, then how about the text messages you send being stored for two years by carriers—this is exactly what some of the largest U.S. police forces want.

Major U.S. carriers like AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint all have different message storage policies, which range from no messages stored to messages being kept for several months or years.

People seeking to have their privacy preserved in the digital age are being met with local authorities seeking to monitor what is going on in cyber space. There has to be a balance between the two, but for now both parties are vying to have the law on their side.

peer a collaborative coloring book..

check out peer, a coloring book compiled by renee of wolfie and the sneak blog. it's a brilliant collaboration of 25 artists; lisa congdon, will bryant, julia rothman, shannon rankin, kate bingaman-burt, justin richel, kelly lynn jones, camilla engman and wow the list goes on! it's a limited 150 edition, so get on it. you can purchase it here. it's a great piece to add to your coffee table and let your guests find their inner child and get cracking. how fun! p.s. check out the flickr stream here to see the book.

simon peplow..

i love the work of simon peplow and it's not just because he writes 'toodlepip' at the end of his emails. or because his bio on his blog says he:

lives within a delicately constructed vortex. he spends the majority ofhis days downloading information from a tiny cabin situated inside the corpus callosum region of his noggin. characters are a fundamental partof his work, described by some as whimsical, cute and sinister in equalmeasures. he just wishes they were his friends.

however that's just part of it, his bold, colorful drawings of men w/ beards, birds in shoes, and overall groovy pictures make me very happy. w/ sayings like 'let's levitate", "happiness runs in a circular motion" and "increase the peace" are things a girl needs to hear when typhoons, earthquakes and wars are wreaking havoc on this world of ours. looking at simon's work induces delightful feelings. his images are like vitamin d from the sun's rays whilst sitting in the park w/ all your bff's around and it's saturday and you feel like you never have to work again. ahhhh, TGIF my friends! add some sunshine to your home and purchase one of simon's prints from his shop stufferings.

Sometimes..

This drawing by Julia Sonmi Heglund absolutely speaks to me right now as I find myslef in the dead of February in Boston. See more of her rad illustrations here.

GIVEAWAY Ned Oldham's Let's Go Out Tonight..

Kevin Earl Taylor just finished the art work for Ned Oldham's (Palace, Anomoanon, Oldham Brothers, etc…) 7" Let's Go Out Tonight from Gold Robot Records. The artwork is gorgoeus and the blue vinyl looks good enough to eat. This would make any vinyl enthusiast pretty happy. The record itself has been getting some good reviews....and I personally love it. Kevin has been sweet enough to offer a reader one of his copies to share. Don't want to gamble? You can buy your's right here. Kevin also tells me, that "all you digital purists, it comes with a download code so you can stick it on your machines."

Leave a comment and we'll choose a winner at random Monday morning. Not bad for a humpday.

Intermountain Moms Contest CLOSED

Having a young child with a medical issue sure puts your life into a tail spin sometimes.

When looking for a new {larger} house, our #1 priority was the proximity to a hospital.
Probably not the first thing you think of, right?

With Miles’s severe food allergies, there was a time that we were in the ER once a month. When seconds count we need to be as close as possible. We even turned down some houses because they were just so far away.

Our new house? Is perfect. Literally right around the corner from one of the newest Intermountain hospitals. Thankfully, in the year we’ve lived in our new home we have only visited their ER  4 times. Every time is better than the last and I am blown away with their service and kind staff.

Intermountain Health Care is constantly growing and evolving. I was so excited when they announced their new Intermountain Moms facebook page. And even MORE excited when I learn there is a REAL LIFE Nurse that is available to answer health related questions. It’s such a fantastic place to connect with other moms and other parents, and I’ve already learned SO much from their page.

Some quick facts about the Intermountain Moms page:

-  All mothers can ask a real nurse (Nurse Dani) questions about their pregnancy or children. She often answers with a video.

- The page has a lot of information and videos that act as support for new mothers. Most videos are OBCYN’s and Pediatricians answering FAQ’s.

- The page has a community of mothers that share stories and experiences. The fans are very active, engaged, and quick to help each other.

Are you ready for the best part????

They are graciously hosting an AMAZING giveaway for a $300 gift certificate to Babinski’s Baby just for checking them out.

Babinski’s Baby a charming children’s boutique in Salt Lake City.

 $300 to spend on whatever you need for your children, or to give as a gift to someone expecting their very own bundle of joy!!!

****THIS GIVEAAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED AND FOR INTERMOUNTAIN MOMS FOR SPONSORING***

To enter:

-Simply “like” Intermountain Mom’s on facebook and leave a comment to tell me you did.

Because I’m feeling EXTRA nice (and excited about this giveaway) you can earn one extra entry by tweeting : “I want to win a $300 gift certificate to @babinskis thanks to Intermountain Moms and @ryles http://bit.ly/rZwa3r” (or something similar.. Be creative!!!) (no extra points for creativity…Just makes me smile!)

Come back and leave a comment that you tweeted

And one extra entry by posting on your FB wall about the giveaway and coming

 back to leave another comment.

You now have 3 ways to win this AMAZING prize!!!

Contest will be closed on November 21st. Winner will be announced the 22nd!!!!!!
GOOOD LUCK!!!

***The spoils for this giveaway were provided by Intermountain Mom’s. As always that thought and opinions are completely MINE! ***

Reader LOVE Lizzy Janssen..

Lizzy Janssen's email arrived in my inbox with her colorful water colored collages and adorable products. Everybody needs a gem t-shirt! Check out her etsy shop, that was just newly updated. Horses, colors and crystals galore. My favorite!