Eeach's Blog

Computer Security Assignment 3 – Spring 2015

Problem 5. (extra credit)* Describe in 1-2 pages your favorite security problem/topic that was not covered in the course, giving sufficient details of how it works, what are the challenges in it, what are the recommendations (if any) to counter them. If there are any vulnerabilities or implemented attacks related to the topic you selected. In March a very interesting exploit was revealed by…

Serpents, Unicorns and The New Design Argument

The Universe is not a single entity but one among a vast number of like universes. Only one world in this multi-verse, Amber, is ‘real’; all others are but an imperfect reflection of the original. A dysfunctional family of omnipotent beings rule over Amber and so, by extension, the entire universe. One such being describes the situation thus: […] Only a prince of Amber may walk among Shadows,…

We Can Forget It For You Retail

What makes a person a person? From moment to moment, year to year people are perceived, both internally and externally, as continuous intelligent entities. As human beings. But human beings change. Over time, new memories accumulate and are assimilated into one’s personality, which in turn is, over time, assimilated into one’s character. The body also changes; wear and tear from daily activities,…

Prometheus and the Creation of the Internet

With his dry cleaning hung over one shoulder, Hermes stares out of the window in a cafe on the Olympian campus. Prometheus walks over with a tray of piping hot ambrosia and sits across from him. Hermes says, “Cronus’ chariot won’t be ready for another day, I bet Zeus is pissed.” Prometheus pulls a flask emblazoned with the head of an eagle shooting lightning from its eyes from his boot and…

Case Versus The Red Queen

Case turned his head to look around the room; a moire of color distorted his vision. The synesthesia kept him from writhing on the floor, but made it difficult to scan the detritus for the proscribed lozenge that would make the pain go away. He assiduously searched the convolutions on hands and knees, feeling every wax-paper cup and broken crack vial with his scabrous fingers incurious as to what…

Violence in Cyberpunk and Post Cyberpunk: The Origins of the Horde in the Works of Stephenson and Butler

Cyberpunk and Post Cyberpunk bring the reader to a gritty and dangerous world in which protagonists, typically relegated to the periphery of society, struggle to cope with the effects of rapid technological change. Unsupported and out on the edge, protagonists are frequently the subjects of or even the perpetrators of violence. Especially in the works of Neal Stephenson and Octavia Butler, this…

Snow Crash – Cyberpunk’s Truest Representation of AI

The plot of Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash follows Hiro Protagonist, last of the free-lance hackers and greatest swordfighter in the world, as he investigates a new drug/computer virus/biological virus called Snow Crash that has incapacitated his friend, former employer, and hacker (computer programmer) Da5id Meier. With help from his ‘pod’ the fifteen-year old Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a…

Can’t Stop the Signal

Internet based piracy is killing the media industries. Every movie, song and video game that is released is available for free online, often before it is available through legitimate channels. Every movie, song or software application downloaded illegally is one less sale made by these industries; this activity is choking the lifeblood from the companies represented by industry trade associations…

Freakonomics – Bringing Economics Out Of The Ivory Tower

Professor of economics at the University of Chicago, Steven D. Levitt and former writer and editor at The New York Times, Stephen J. Dubner, in their book, Freakonomics – A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything redefine the study of economics as a set of tools to analyze the every-day world around us, not just the world of commerce. By analyzing everything from daycare late fees…

So, I wrote this a few years ago (geeze, like 5 maybe?) in response to people sharing a ‘THIS LINK IS A VIRUS! Don’t click it’ message as if this were news. It’s a little ranty, and a little dated (HTML5 makes NoScript ineffective, for example.), but most of the info here is still good.

Any link on FB could be a virus. If you aren’t using Chrome as your web browser with the NotScripts plugin,…

Punch Bug is a game that I categorize as a ‘vigilance game’. That is, a game that requires that players attempt to recognize a particular event or condition and then take appropriate action when required conditions are met. I’m sure there are many games in this category, ‘Open Chest’ and ‘Nose Goes’ are the ones that come directly to mind. But I’m pretty sure Puch Bug is the most well known game…

Fitbit Flex vs Fitbit One

Back in May, I purchased a Fitbit Flex. I’d been eyeing Fitbit for a while and decided the Flex had the features I most wanted. Shortly after my wife purchased a Fitbit One, I immediately became jealous.

The largest part of my decision to get the Flex was it’s primary wear as a wristband. After experiencing my wife’s One I discovered the size difference was mostly insignificant. That a wristband…

I used to be an F-16 crew chief, so my wife sends me news she stumbles on about the USAF and fighter jets in general. Today she sent me this article where the author describes a familiarization flight with the Thunderbirds as they prepare for their upcoming show season.

I got to ride in the back seat of an F-16d once. It was more of an incentive flight than a fam. flight as it was during a TDY to…

First, let me put my view into proper prospective, as it may be skewed and/or different than that of others. I have traveled a lot. I lived in Asia for quite a while; I’ve deployed all over the world. I’ve also been an avid Internet user, with all the negation of physical distance that entails, for more than half of my life. I say all this because, it is my belief that the concept of Time Zones…

There is some interesting research going on in Artificial Intelligence. Specifically the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and morality. This video shows an experiment involving “a simplified version of Isaac Asimov’s fictional First Law of Robotics – a robot must not allow a human being to come to harm”.

The researchers at…

I didn’t follow many cartoons when I was growing up. I was aware of many popular 80s cartoons (He-man, Smurfs, Care Bears, Voltron, GI Joe, etc.) but it wasn’t until the early 90s (X-Men, Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs) that I really understood and followed any particular show.

So while thinking about Michael Bay’s reboot of Transformers I wanted to dispel some of the blurry memories I had…