The intent of the REAL ID Act is to establish minimum standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards—including security features within the cards, and verification of an applicant’s source documents.  Stated benefits include reducing identity fraud, safeguarding personal identification information, making it easier for states to verify identity and more difficult to create fraudulent identification.

This 2005 Act has been fraught with challenges, as 46 out of 56 states and territories have not yet complied by issuing new IDs.  The date for compliance has been extended a few times, with a current deadline of May 10, 2011.  It’s hard to believe it’s possible for states to meet that date under any circumstances.

Add the cost element to the logistical challenges of meeting the requirements of the Act, and the task becomes even more unrealistic.  The U. S. government has the very real challenge of passing a bill to fund our government operations from March 4 through the September 30 end of the fiscal year.  Whether the finalized bill will include funding for implementation of REAL ID has yet to be determined, though an amendment proposed by Congressman David Price of North Carolina specifically aims to prohibit funds from being used toward the implementation of the REAL ID Act.

Stay tuned to this space for more details as they become available.

I recently attended the Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Agent Forum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I brought my friend Flat Savvy along as well, affording him the amazing opportunity to be an Honorary Accredited Space Agent for the week. Check out the video below to learn all about our experiences.

Do you have a heightened awareness that you need to protect your personal and business data when you are on the road?

If you do, then consider the following to secure your data when preparing for a trip:

• Store your files on your company servers, not on your laptop.
• If you must take files with you on your hard drive, consider encryption which offers a high level of protection.
• Before leaving for travel, particularly outside the U.S., take a look at your Temp files and My Documents, and purge any unneeded files.
• Work via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) if at all possible.
• If you must work while on an airplane, be aware that your laptop screen may be visible and readable not only by the person seated next to you, but also by people behind you and even across the aisle.
• Don’t let your mobile devices out of your sight.
• Avoid actions that would draw attention to your equipment.
• Consider carrying your laptop in a non-descript bag.
• Label your equipment within the guidelines allowed by your company. Labels may deter theft as removing them is extra work for any thief.

As important as safeguarding your data is, maintaining your personal security while traveling is far more important.

In that regard we are very fortunate today to have access to advice from people who work in the hottest spots on the globe—the men and women of the U.S. Department of State.

Below is the link for their webpage entitled Personal Security—At Home, On the Street, While Traveling.

http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/rpt/19773.htm

This page is a marvelously comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts on topics such as:

• Personal security while traveling
• Personal security in hotels
• Carjacking
• Security do’s for children
• Residential security

Whether you are traveling within the United States or elsewhere around the world, be sure this link is on your list of “must have” references for you and your family.

Until next time, may your travels be enjoyable, uneventful, and above all else, safe.

Whether you have kids or not, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the snow after a blizzard has passed.  I think snow tubing is an under-utilized good time.  Most ski resorts offer tubing, making it easy to enjoy the same slopes without having to painfully learn a skill.  Pretty much anywhere that gets snow has a snow tubing park in its vicinity, and a quick Google search will show the one nearest you.

Sledding.  Honestly, don’t think I need to talk this one up, but remind yourself it’s not just kids that enjoy this.  Get a few friends together, find a decent hill, maybe build a small jump, grab a cheap saucer and let the good times roll.

My final suggestion may take some creative thought on your part, but the benefit here is no need to leave your front yard. I say creative though because we need think outside of the “snowman” box.  Living in the city of Chicago I don’t even have a yard, but I could see building some kind of “snowman” next to the sidewalk being a great time. Here are a few suggestions:  snow reindeer, snow kids, snow Christmas tree, snow Chihuahua with a sweater on it, etc.  I could honestly keep going, but I think you get what I’m saying.

After Snowmageddon passes over, I’ll let you know if I take any of my own suggestions.  Maybe an urban Chicago igloo.