fucking great book. so glad for the holiday to consume it fully and in it's entirety in a short period of time, and oddly appropriate for MLK day considering the nature of surveillance the FBI maintained over Dr. King. i didn't get this book expecting to open a political shit storm. i thought it would be a retelling of historical intrigues and for a good portion of it, it's just that, a series of chapters using actual historical stories to illustrate the emergence and breaking of 4000 years of message encryptions and supposedly unbreakable codes.
that however is merely the groundwork for the revelation that it is all material to me personally and to everyone who believes in privacy, or in truth. there is a political issue at the root of cryptography. who has a right to encrypt in a digital information age? 200 years ago to privately share information, all two people needed was legs to move them away from ears and a common language. the government seemed to operate just fine without access to those conversations.
communication now is more complex, and we use computers to communicate, but the government doesn't want citizens to have the right to use strong encryption without giving them an access key, because criminals would have an advantage over their investigative techniques, which in return they promise not to use without a court order. yea right. as the author points out, fingerprints are the most relied upon technique by law enforcement, criminals can simply wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, and as of yet there has been no call from cops to stop the general public from wearing gloves just in case.
this book is over five years old so i'll be doing some follow up reading for sure, but it's a very interesting thing to know the power to be secure from government prying is available and downloadable for free. unless of course they already have the quantum computers needed to decode the PGP and they just aren't telling anyone.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
new books
ballad of the whiskey robber - a true story of bank heists, ice hockey, transylvanian pelt smuggling, moonlighting detectives, and broken hearts.
the code book - the science of secrecy from ancient egypt to quantum cryptography.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
time to evolve
As another election approaches I am in for yet another season of frustration as people prove time and time again that we never learn any lessons. None. Ever. I mean the whole world not just evil consumer driven America. For thousands of years people have basically operated under the same notion that a leader must be elevated and followers will eventually be disenfranchised and a new leader will be elevated.
The selection mechanism may have evolved but the result is the same animal structure. It's time to evolve. We need some deep thinkers. I know philosophy is still a college major. Where is all the radical thought? I'm on a mission to find some new ideas. When I first heard about that Kid Nation show I thought it was a pretty wild idea. Kids have to build a society with no adults and no rules. Boy was that wrong. There were tons of rules and an established societal structure. Not interesting anymore.
I'll post anything cool I may find.
The selection mechanism may have evolved but the result is the same animal structure. It's time to evolve. We need some deep thinkers. I know philosophy is still a college major. Where is all the radical thought? I'm on a mission to find some new ideas. When I first heard about that Kid Nation show I thought it was a pretty wild idea. Kids have to build a society with no adults and no rules. Boy was that wrong. There were tons of rules and an established societal structure. Not interesting anymore.
I'll post anything cool I may find.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
about the title
Since I'm perpetually giving 110% and never finishing anything, and given that I'm prone to sports metaphors, I give you "second overtime." I think I'll mix a little creative writing with my usual irascible commentary.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
from pearly
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? took the money and ran.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? some years i do and some i don't. didn't last year. this year... write more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? no
4. Did anyone close to you die? yes
5. What countries did you visit? none
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? solar panels.
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? june 2nd, money, run, etc.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? promotion
9. What was your biggest failure? couldn't save my sisters house.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? none, but the dog tore her acl.
11. What was the best thing you bought? my new computer rules!!! or the roomba.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? bah.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? many family members bickering over a four year old boy.
14. Where did most of your money go? nowhere yet until the house closes, except for the dog acl surgery. for 4k i expected bionic but it's just a normal leg.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? hd
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? dead even b) thinner or fatter? same c) richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? going to movies, seemed like a good year.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? worrying.
20. How did you spend Christmas? visitig my sister with her kids in prison, surprisingly fun.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007? no
22. What was your favorite TV program? dexter
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? no time for hate although i think i'd be really good at it. i have great concentration.
24. What was the best book you read? willie nelson's bio diesel book.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? little steven's underground garage on sirius.
26. What did you want and get? promoted.
27. What did you want and not get? release date for the chevy volt.
28. What was your favorite film of this year? still catching up.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? probably nothing and 37
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? an example of good justice.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? three websites and warehouse vintage store.
32. What kept you sane? superfood
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? drawing a blank, but i reserve the right to amend this.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? all constitutionality arguments.
35. Who did you miss? bay area people since i really haven't been back.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. small towns can be supremely corrupt.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? some years i do and some i don't. didn't last year. this year... write more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? no
4. Did anyone close to you die? yes
5. What countries did you visit? none
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? solar panels.
7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? june 2nd, money, run, etc.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? promotion
9. What was your biggest failure? couldn't save my sisters house.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? none, but the dog tore her acl.
11. What was the best thing you bought? my new computer rules!!! or the roomba.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? bah.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? many family members bickering over a four year old boy.
14. Where did most of your money go? nowhere yet until the house closes, except for the dog acl surgery. for 4k i expected bionic but it's just a normal leg.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? hd
16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? dead even b) thinner or fatter? same c) richer or poorer? richer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? going to movies, seemed like a good year.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? worrying.
20. How did you spend Christmas? visitig my sister with her kids in prison, surprisingly fun.
21. Did you fall in love in 2007? no
22. What was your favorite TV program? dexter
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? no time for hate although i think i'd be really good at it. i have great concentration.
24. What was the best book you read? willie nelson's bio diesel book.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? little steven's underground garage on sirius.
26. What did you want and get? promoted.
27. What did you want and not get? release date for the chevy volt.
28. What was your favorite film of this year? still catching up.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? probably nothing and 37
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? an example of good justice.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? three websites and warehouse vintage store.
32. What kept you sane? superfood
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? drawing a blank, but i reserve the right to amend this.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? all constitutionality arguments.
35. Who did you miss? bay area people since i really haven't been back.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. small towns can be supremely corrupt.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
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