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- December 16, 2016
- Dylann Roof Found Guilty
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Living a scant 100 miles from beautiful downtown Charleston, South Carolina I have been immersed in the trial of Dylann Roof perpetrator of what appears as one of the most henious crimes ever committed by a kid in my lifetime ... however accurate that may be at multiple levels.
Appearances are typically never reality.
This kid was found guilty on all counts stemming from the shooting deaths of nine congregants of a church in Charleston during Bible study after they most graciously welcomed him ...
This self avowed white supremacist and poster child for all that's wrong with white America is on the precipice of a verdict after the holidays which will determine if he faces life in prison or lethal injection.
He has caused his parents to suffer as well as those families whose members he took on that awful day as they placed their Christian love and humanity before their very lives and I mourn for those victims of his barbarity who are innocent yet made to suffer the consequences of his actions nonetheless.
So in this end stage of a saga which has been playing itself out in the local news media ad nauseum — as is their wretched custom I can only hope that young Mr Roof is like me and simply wants it all to be over.
My personal opinions regarding the proper punishment are no secret to those who know my position on murder and the death penalty. However, that irony of the perp and the victim, the situational tragedy of the senseless killing, along with the pain which continues for everyone he touched or is close to him remains.
I'll be glad when I can let as much of this go as I may ... never fully, but perhaps it won't be thrust into my existence each and every day in the near future.
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- December 15, 2016
- Bill of Rights Day
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Today is Bill of Rights Day, established in 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to mark the 150th anniversary of it's ratification.
Here in South Carolina, our legislature passed the Second Amendment Education Act to mark the inclusion of the right to bear arms by citizens — that one right of the citizen protecting all others.
Nowadays we have unqualified individuals in government who think they may toy with the Bill of Rights in any manner they please. These individuals believe that we are stupid and that those misrepresentations they present supporting their positions are substantiated facts when they are merely the subjective babble of a sector who would disarm all of us to impose their will completely upon us.
Well, I pack several weapons and will be hard pressed to give them up in any fashion to some democrat or progressive who thinks they have the stones to take them from me.
I am a student of my rights and decline those idiotic rantings and misrepresentations to sway or scare me a single iota. Simply isn't happening. I am a citizen of the United States of America. I won't be rounded up and taken to some old walmart facility converted to a prison for dissenters and I sure as heck won't be surrendering my arms because others decline to defend themselves.
My advice to these namby pamby panty waist human beings who would stand idly by and be killed by the criminal element is "get real good at head shots from 300 feet". It worked for me.
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- December 14, 2016
- Working on Components
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I got a wild hair and decided to start writing custom components for the blog. The first one turned out pretty good. I call it the "holiday randomizer" and it cycles various graphics at the top of the left column based on the time of year.
Yesterday I only had 5 pictures in the rotation. Today I spruced up the code a little and added another dozen for 17.
The next phase of the project involves the date logic so that the blog knows which holidays are immediately pending. This way I can simply add graphics to the corresponding folder for the holiday and have the blog customized for the time of the season.
I'm also thinking about database support but that remains somewhat remote at this juncture. The flat file approach seems to be working nicely but the streamlining a database would provide is also appealing.
I have a "this day in history" app I wrote way back when — around the first iteration of the blog some 10 years ago. I nabbed a copy of it and have started thinking about the rewrite I envision. I still have the database so I can port the existing data items.
The new web server configuration broke my contact forms. It seems that my use of some of the new internals forced a "localhost" originating IP for everyone who used them. I found this to be quite unsatisfactory in my mind and wrote a nice workaround. It's in place on all three forms.
I do like to know from where this wonderful hate mail originates when I get down and dirty on some sensitive topic. Some of the you really like to go off on me from time to time and I swear it's a hoot.
So, aside from the little remaining low level work I will be writing a few nice components and likely a few more custom hobby apps as well. It helps to occupy the time away from work which is really where I'd prefer to be.
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- December 13, 2016
- The Barrage of Holiday Spam
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I've noticed a distinct increase in the amount of spam I'm gettting of late. There is always, of course, the porno crap hitting me from charter, pavlov media, time warner, and the rest of all those diffuse and relentless regular spam outlets.
But there is also the vetted spam suitable for polite company hitting select mailboxes I utilize with all their offers outside the perverse world of f-buddies and so forth these other mainstream bottom feeders push because their ISPs don't really give a rip regarding the character of their service.
Anyway, I keep wondering if those purveyors of this holiday spam have any idea of just how disposble their hard work is by those of us who simply banish it to the electronic trash bin without so much as a look or second thought.
Conversely, I also wonder just what the audience is for this junk and who would be so ignorant as to both take it seriously or (heaven forbid) even click on a link contained therein.
Suffice it to say that my contempt for these holiday spammers ... though not nearly as venomous or vehement as the pavolov media / roadrunner / charter anus customers with their clickbait porn — remains nonetheless.
I'm simply left thinking that the bulk of these so-called "marketing geniuses" are just as low as the rest of the clods spamming the world. Were I the classifying kind I'd likely say they are amoebic comparatively speaking.
Adios Amoebas !
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- December 12, 2016
- "Smart" toys may have you under surveillence
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Fresh from the "Bah Humbug" file, there are a couple of internet connected toys being outed for surreptitious data collection of conversations with children to the companies without their parent's permission.
It seems a watchdog coalition has filed complaints with various regulation entities alleging privacy violations by Genesis Toys and Nuance Communications regarding those mechnanisms by which children have allegedly been both "spyed upon" and from which "data has been accumulated".
My Friend Cayla and Intelligence Robot
The Genesis Toys "My Friend Cayla" doll and the i-Que "Intelligence Robot" ask a few prelimnary questions all appearing innocent enough like demographics and such. These toys come with a smartphone app which allegedly has been transmitting this data back to the company (in the name of product improvement, no less) but the consumer doesn't appear to be as stupid as the companies apparently believe.
This storage is said to be on Nuance servers ... and sources indicate that it may be stored on Google servers as well. Parents are concerned regarding the scope of recording and transmittal of these interactions with their children.
These antics have resulted in the toys being pulled from retail shelves by some outlets and there is pending litagation both here and across the pond.
My only observaion regarding these shenanigans is this is only the beginning.
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- December 11, 2016
- Uber Ride Sharing and Me
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I think that Uber ride sharing is fine and dandy for those who are so inclined. However, this will never be me I am afraid. My reasons are several and begin primarily with the riff raff they sometimes hire.
Sure, the riff raff opportunistic bottom feeders are to be encountered everywhere these days with the economy being what it is and those difficulties associated with making a living coming into play.
HOWEVER when you want to be a part of the lifestyles of other people you REALLY should have some manner of vetting process apparently absent in the mix.
This alone disqualifies Uber from ever being something I might utilize.
What are the alternatives ?
Walking. I live 4 miles from work and I would sooner walk in the cold rain than ride with an Uber driver unknown to me.
Public Transportation. The bus comes within 300 feet of my house several times an hour during the day. I could opt for that but it too is a lesser entity in those possibilities I might entertain.
Taxis. These, perhaps but the notion entails finding a driver who is not a crook and has adequate change for the drive. I'm afraid that Blue Ribbion is already disqualified for that reason. Crook ass driver stuck in my memory.
Beyond this, a seat in a car pool would be suitable provided that the people are amenable and that the ride doesn't abruptly become unpleasant. My past experiences with car pooling were in my child hood and remain vastly unsatisfactory. Those few in my adult life remain acceptable as I remember.
So there you have it.
I think that I will never see
An Uber driver to transport me
Because their stories leave me aghast
And I'd be one to kick their ass
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- December 10, 2016
- POS Hacking on the Rise
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Cybersecurity people are warning that point of sale hacking is on the rise. This adds risk to your shopping and the exploits harvesting payment account numbers and PINs will become increasingly prevalent.
They are pointing out the existence of serious vulnerablilities in the point of sale systems throughtout the country which could lead to bigger and more wide spread security breaches from the holiday shopping season well into next year.
Now then, the first thing I can think of is traversing the public domain. I believe more closed systems are in order to keep the data away from those out there prowling around looking for an easy mark.
These compromised networks upon which some business relies need to be a source of consequences for those stores who would take your card and store that data in areas which are easily accessible to malware payloads and other cyber nasties.
If they can't get to it they can't steal it. There needs to be more encryption and more vetting of those people handling the data. A person can compromise a well thought out network with a single access of some internet file or removable medium such as flash drives.
Retailers taking your financials need to think more and be more vigilant. It has been my experience that Point of Sale and Web Systems are often the same system. Kind of hard to isolate POS when it's your web front end as well.
Consequences for getting hacked should be more than the customer's — the stores should be fined and outed and closed or AT LEAST made subject to so much forensic investigation that they think twice about placing a slack POS interface at the people's disposal. I hate stupid computer people. Retail seems to have an over abundance of them.
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- December 9, 2016
- John Glenn RIP
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When I was four years old John Glenn was introduced as an astronaut in the fledgling NASA ... leaving me pretty much oblivious.
John Herschel Glenn Jr.
July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016
American aviator, engineer, astronaut
United States Senator from Ohio
Slowly over time I learned of who he was and what he was about and came to know the hero of science and technology he had become without fully grasping those risks of the era.
He was the first American to orbit the Earth in a capsule named Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962 which was a Mercury-Atlas 6 mission and circled the planet three times over the course of 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds flight time. At that moment he became the third American and fifth human being in space.
John Glenn was a US Senator from Ohio serving for 25 years and chaired the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
He returned to NASA as a payload specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission on October 29, 1998 at age 77, becoming the oldest person to go into space.
This man, who had "the right stuff" passed yesterday in Columbus, Ohio at age 95. Thus we have lost an icon of whom I have known and respected my entire life.
Rest in peace.
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- December 9, 2016
- Greg Lake RIP
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Gregory Stuart Lake
November 10, 1947 - December 7, 2016
Musician, singer, songwriter, producer
King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Asia, et al
Rest in peaceI believe in Father Christmas
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winter's light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire
They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'Till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in father Christmas
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes
'Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise
I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell
The Christmas we get we deserve
Written by Greg Lake, Peter John Sinfield, Serge Prokofieff
Copyright © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Music Sales Corporation
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- December 8, 2016
- Anonymity Is Conditional
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I am so surprised when these people on social media apparently think they're totally anonymous when they've made no attempt to secure that status for themselves.
When you are using snapchat or any of the other myriad social media platforms there for your disposal you should always remember:
Caveat Emptor: let the buyer beware.
There are logs with which to contend that may be associated with your access credentials and correlated to both previous log ins as well as cross platform forensic information available to the law which may well decide that you may be interpolated and triangulated via those mechanisms by which you choose to access most any site in the world.
Now there may be exceptions in the darknet and peer to peer configurations such as tor (which I block from my networks) but there are even holes in those modalities as evidenced by your need to start from somewhere and end at that same place.
So as appeared in the local news hereabouts; when you're a school teacher (Collin County, Texas or anywhere else for that matter) thinking you're going to indulge illegal carnal relations with a 16 year old mouthy boy child student of yours ... THINK TWICE.
You are stupid to indulge the priorites of a teenager of the male persuasion ignorant of those inherent motivations which will be your downfall.
High school Harrys in particular have to tell all they know and will brag until you're outed then feign the "high road" and ... well, you can pretty much guess the rest of the braggadoio laden story.
Yet another story of wasted youth hitting up on an even younger idiot.
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- December 7, 2016
- It's a sad day
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Today is Pearl Harbor Day, and another anniversary of my dad being interred at his church in Salley, SC. Yesterday a childhood friend was interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Salley. We're coming up on the first anniversary of the passing of my stepfather and his interment at Fort Jackson National Cemetery just down the road from the house in which he lived.
While I remain somewhat on the sullen side I'm trying to continue my understanding of the circle of life and consider my spiritual beliefs. I sometimes lose my patience anymore and go off on a rant with little provocation these days. I'm hoping my attitude and my ability to adjust to the continuing loss finally materializes before too much longer.
So if you have a moment during your prayers I hope you'll put in a good word for me. I certainly could use it.
Thanks.
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- December 6, 2016
- The Shuffle Defense against Exploits
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I've been reading about a new software development scheme called "shuffling" whereby the code is continually rearranged repeatedly.
The obvious results include code blocks which cannot be anticipated by the Return Oriented Programming frequently used by hackers trying to breach defenses.
Now I can see the benefit of this unpredictable presentation where calling subroutines becomes a matter of random hit and miss with the majority of results being misses.
There is another technique (called address space layout randomization ASLR) whereby memory becomes rearranged during program launch which has also proved effective.
So the shuffler takes the ASLR randomization and mixes the code every fraction of a second and anything beyond that teensie time slice is obsolete from an exploit perspective.
The shuffler also randomizes itself in the process keeping the hacker out of it as well.
Of course there are bugs and crash issues to resolve and the not ready for prime time technology remains an up and coming star in the realm of exploit prevention.
My personal thoughts revolve around performance issues on top of everything else and there likely will be less of a propensity for VM cohabitation with a lot of shuffling going on from a resource availability point of view.
I just love it when a good plan materializes even if it's not quite "there".
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- December 5, 2016
- Matters of Conscience
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Yesterday Mom became ill with intractable right lower quadrant pain ... in the absence of those things which normally cause this type of pain like her appendix and gallbladder. She gave me a call and there was nothing to consider. I told her as soon as I dressed I would depart and I made haste to her house and subsequently to the emergency room.
After a very lengthy stay in a crowded ER she received her first pain shot along with the nausea medication and it provided relief quickly as it was delivered intravenously.
Prior to our departure from the ER almost 8 hours after our arrival she was given another dose of pain medication, had a CAT scan with contrast — then was sent home with instructions and prescriptions.
Now the moral of the story involves behaviors in matters of conscience. My siblings want to project concern as long as it's under their terms. Emergency Room visits, illness, and such cannot be made to conform to a particular set of criteria in real time because they involve too many unknowns.
I recall mom repeatedly apologizing to me for taking her to the hospital. All I could do is be glad I had the privilege of doing so. Love is not always a huggy kissie sort of thing. Often times the highest form of love you can provide is caring enough to be there in times of trouble regardless of the circumstances. I did nothing for her that she hasn't done for me many times over.
I already suffer from the "what if's" and the "if onlys". No one who is sick should ever go to the hospital unaccompanied for reasons which are multidimensional. I can't fathom why mom might think that the duty of a son to his mother is anything but the right thing to do.
Some things simply don't require a reason for action. You do it because a situation presents itself and acton is appropriate and necessary.
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- December 4, 2016
- pavlovmedia spammer ring
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There is a spammer ring called pavlovmedia that pelts the mail server with spam from diverse locations consisting of small subnets.
I had been rejecting their traffic up to the point that they began multiple attempts to deliver rejected communications and ever wary of backscatter black listing because of email rejection policies I opted for drastic action.
The situation grew so bad for me with so many of these unsolicted business emails that I ran a filter on my logs and extracted their IPs from which I derived their various subnets.
These I submitted to the firewall and now all of those (many) packets are dropped. I kept thinking that the Spamhaus project might pick up on their activity but alas, my efforts were to no avail ...
I like to reject their email when I gain contempt for an entity. Others I simply instruct the server to discard. The transaction appears normal to the delivering server and I simply never see the traffic cluttering up my inbox.
It would appear that my contempt for pavlovmedia didn't sit too well with a number of their spammer cohort given the various multiple log entries for a single delivery.
Oh well, be that as it may the die has been cast. I have an automated process extracting the trouble children now so that I may eliminate the rejection backscatter sooner rather than later.
Spammer cockroaches beware !
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