BoB - Not the Planet: Emergency Preparedness

Akima: What are you going to call it?

Cale: I think I'm going to call it... 'Bob'.

Akima: You can't call a planet 'Bob'!
















Not the planet; a Bug-out Bag.

In California, we're all about The Next Big One, and those state crafted earthquake lists? Are really overwhelming. I know people who proudly show off their outdoor storage facility as part of the standard household tour, located a precise x feet away from the house with enough supplies for each person in the family to survive 2 weeks blah blah blah.

Here's what a friend had to say after going through Loma Prieta:

Don’t obsess – just pack a bag – and the [freezed dried] food is a good idea (you can always eat it on road trips). We took an old suitcase (canvas/backpack type) and started putting stuff in. I try to go through it once a year to refresh or whatever. Here’s what we have:

• Grubby clothes/jacket, including old shoes that can take a beating, and all of it be rain-repellant
• Toothbrush/paste/floss
• Toilet paper
• Washcloth/towel/soap
• Underwear
• Contacts and glasses
• Notebook and pencil
• Small first aid kit (just make it up – Ace bandages, bandaides, antibacterial stuff, etc. Aspirin, etc.); also any meds the family is taking
• Some cash
• Flashlight/batteries
• Candles/matches

Basically “what would I likely need and what would I be miserable without?”

After much deliberation, she settled on a plastic bucket with a garbage bag liner for a toilet and let go of obsessing over a seat.

What's missing? Water. There are a few interesting options at REI, but I admit to going into stasis when it comes to purchasing. You can live for a couple of weeks without food, but not many days without water...

The Curse of the Gifted

My son started counting before he was 2 years old. I didn't think there was anything unusual in his behavior until another Mom commented in gymnastics class, "Oh my god! He's counting?!"

Stevie was picking up push-up bars from one side of a balance beam and walking them over to the other murmuring, "One. Two. Three."

It wasn't until 3 years later sitting in a Kindergarten orientation that I found out most 5 and 6 years know numbers, some up to 10, but cannot place the numbers in order.

Warning Will Robinson! But I didn't listen...a few months later I was confronted by a pissed off teacher who shoved a piece of paper at me saying, "Stevie will not transition when asked!"

I looked at the paper and said, "He's writing kanji! That's incredible. Must be from the judo book he's reading..."

She crossed her arms and scowled, "It was time to clean-up for circle."

(Yes, he's also an early reader.)

I was really looking forward to 1st grade, thinking Stevie would finally get the stimulation and challenge he craved. That, was a mistake.

The classroom was beautiful. There was a loft. Bookshelves packed with books. Couches. Stations for making stuff. One morning, Stevie walked up to a table filled with art balls and pipe cleaners. He was in the middle of making an elaborate spaceship when the teacher swooped down and said, "No, no! Those are for making bears," then turned a smug smile at me as my son walked away.

She beat the math out of him. By the time the school year was over, my gifted son was convinced he "wasn't any good at math". He became obsessed with death. Ironically, that woman is now an "Educational Consultant" :/

He started taking private music lessons with a wonderful teacher in 2nd grade. I would pick him up from school all nasty and angry. 30 minutes with Sludge, and Stevie was bouncing out the door filled with an all-body joy. We started going twice a week.

I came to realize that whereas nursery school is about learning to transition and sitting still, Elementary and Middle School is about following directions - including HOW to solve the problem, regardless of whether or not the student provides the correct answer. It wasn't until 9th grade that Stevie's "independent learning style" would be accepted.

A gifted mathematician feels the answer. They don't know how; it just happens. Being forced to "show your work" in detail as a young child is unbearably frustrating. He can do it now, but he's also 15 years old, and taking calculus and physics.

It took 4 years to re-build Stevie's self-confidence. My husband and I spent countless hours with teachers and administration.

At the beginning of each school year, I could set my watch by how long it took for Doug to fire off The Mathematician's Lament, an essay by Paul Lockhart. I don't know when it was written. Our oldest son found it...he too is a gifted mathematician like his father, his little brother, and my father. May this give you peace, and the words to do battle for your gifted children.

https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf

Intolerance is Intolerable - The 2016 American Presidential Election

When I was a kid, many of my grandparents' friends had tattoos on their forearms from the concentration camps. They didn't talk about it, but they certainly didn't hide it.

I was fascinated - probably because it was taboo - and started reading everything I could get my hands on. No small feat, as back then you had to go to the library.

The more I read, the more horrified I became, and swore in my heart that I would speak out if ever I saw impending evil. To this day, I don't like watching movies or reading books set in the WWII era. It is too real. My personal scary monster under the bed.

The Hitler regime hated everyone who wasn't them. It wasn't just the Jews. They tried to exterminate gypsys and homosexuals and academics and Poles and Roman Catholics - anyone who was not part of the Master Race, an Aryan. At least 11 million people died - as many as 20 to 30 million. For most, it was a horrible, excruciating death. Those gassed on the trains were the lucky ones. The Nazis collected mountains of shoes, hair, and teeth. They were slaughtered like cattle, every piece of the human body was used, both living and in death.

I am forever haunted by the pictures...the walking skeletons. Lamp shades sewn from human tattoos. The bombs. I don't know how people survived this terrible time.

The Holocaust was the direct result of Hitler's propaganda. The German people were reeling from economic crisis. Hitler convinced the people that Germany would be great again if the degenerates and racial inferiors were eliminated.

Sound familiar?

I didn't believe for a minute that Trump would be nominated the Republican candidate, nor did I believe his vile rhetoric could retain, let alone gather, supporters. 

And yet here we are: 38 days till the election - and it's close.

To be clear: I am a life-long independent specifically because I don't like politicians and have issues with both (all) parties. I am used to voting for the lesser evil. I understand my vote doesn't matter because of the electorate. I have cast empty ballots, voted Libertarian, Green Party, written in Mickey Mouse - whoever comes closest to aligning with my values at that time.

This election is different. Words matter.

America is struggling. There is inequity. Injustice. Corruption. 

We live in a time of great change. The population explosion of the past century has impacted the livability of large geographic areas resulting in militarized pursuit of critical resources and mass migrations.

I feel so fucking lucky to live here, in America; the land of the free, home of the brave. Of opportunity and hope. A country born of the tired, the poor, the hungry. Born of the belief that all people have the right of liberty, freedom of speech, and pursuit of happiness.

It's the power of those words that binds us together - even though these basic tenets of American democracy were tested at inception and to this day; these rights are for all people, regardless of race, religion, or sex.

It's the words that give us the strength to question - and to compromise. Because if it's not for all, then it's for none. In the melting pot of our differences lay our equality. We don't have to agree. We don't even have to listen. But we do have to respect each others right of personal choice, as long as those choices do not impact other peoples' rights.

Forget about the appalling ignorance, the crass genital references, the 5th grade level vocabulary, the impulsive diarrhea of the mouth that spews forth day and night. Donald Trump's words are the antithesis of American democracy. He believes "We are a nation that is seriously troubled." And the reason? "...people are pouring into our country."

This sociopathic megalomaniac has managed to convince enough of the American populace that they are exempt from being classified as part of the problem - even though all of us, except Native American Indians, are here by the grace of migration. I do not - cannot - believe the majority of Trump supporters agree with his racist bigotry and misogynistic attacks. The siren call of Trump propaganda is to play on feelings of economic disadvantage and fear from the recession.

Ironically, history tells us isolationist nations fall into economic stagnation - and typically collapse. Cutting international trade agreements and building The Wall will result in the one thing Trump supporters fear most: less money to buy things. Like any good salesman, Trump has conned people into wanting. More.

Maybe the worst part about blaming the changing job market and losses on immigrants and foreign nations is it leaves us, as a nation, completely unprepared. Indeed, there are less jobs - and it's only going to get worse. We are in the midst of what will probably be known as the Tech Revolution. I think will have more impact on society than the Industrial, if for no other reason than there are more of us. It is already happening. The development and deployment of self-driving vehicles, autonomous robots, and artificial intelligence may be keeping pace with rising sea levels.

I don't like Hilary. She's a liar - like most politicians. Condescending. Probably corrupt. But this election isn't about choosing the least evil or making a personal statement. It's about democracy, warts and all. The inalienable rights that are granted to all people. Intolerance is intolerable.

InfoSec Basics for Families

Information Security Basics: What every family should know about using the Internet

“Digital security education is like drug education and sex education in that people believe all kinds of things that are simply not true.” Eva Galperin, Global Policy Analyst at EFF

Everyone gets pwned. Some don’t know it. Others don’t want to admit it.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/worlds-biggest-data-breaches-hacks/

The chances of an intrusion going from bad to worse - identity theft or social ostracization -  are reduced when families openly discuss and support each other without edicts, judgement, shame, or blame. Open, frequent discussion about how to protect personal (inter-related) information and how to practice safe surfing are key to maintaining online privacy.

Know Thy Enemy - Hackers are like witches; there are good hackers and bad hackers.

• “Getting Hacked” is a bunch of FUD; sensationalized news about targeted POI or organizations that are famous, gatekeepers, or victim of personal revenge or bullying
• Bad Hackers use FUD to sway the masses

• Joe Blow and Jane Doe? Chronic long-term disregard for basic security, safety, and privacy settings. Bad Hackers use sophisticated readily available automated tools and high powered computers to process 1000s of records to glean a few hundred logins. Then:

• Try the combination and variations on other sites
• Match against other sources and start building a profile
• Sell the data or publish for free

Basics:

• Set devices to automatically lock after a period of time
• Use 2 Factor Authentication whenever possible
• Use a (reputable) Password Manager to generate and store passwords
• Apply OS and application updates as soon as possible
• Choose your browser well (aka All browsers are not made the same)
• Unsubscribe from email you don’t care about
• Freeze your credit, and avoid establishing credit for your child as long as possible

Intrusion:

• Mechanisms: Email attachments, Click-bait, Phishing, Spear-phishing, SE, Shoulder surfing, Brute force, Re-using Logins, Wifi & Bluetooth, Anti-virus SW, Flash, USB & other external storage media,
• Malware: Trojans, Adware, keyloggers, browser hi-jackers, backdoors, ransomware,
• RATs: Camera & Mic - Tape the camera!
• Location tracking

Calculate Risk:

• Accessible vs. Hardcore (Linux, Signal, Tor, and PGP)

Build Common Sense:

• Instead of relying on Filtering vs. Monitoring...neither are very effective.
• The Internet never forgets; archives of old emails, chat rooms, blogs, tweets, etc.
• Don’t dox yourself or your family. Avoid using key identifiers in social media like names, (DO)Birthday, locations, pictures, credit cards, 1st paycheck, pic of your house with address number, pic of your car with the license plate, etc.
• Write (post) like everyone is watching
• Don’t give your trust to strangers - or acquaintances
• Think before you click (aka There is no such thing as “free”...)
• Be Prepared!
• Backup your devices
• Air gap personal data
• Secure physical medium: Cross-cut paper shredder

Defcon 24 Badge Challenge - Symbology 3

The symbols are most everywhere - and maybe that's the point. If you want to solve 1o57's puzzles, you have to get out and look. The more we automate, the more they feed; AIs consume data faster than we can conceive. And yet they can never feel the wind on their face, sand under their feet...the touch of love without even touching.

The one true defense against the rise of the machines is in meatspace. Embrace the physical world...and the sacred geometry.

Defcon 24 Badge Challenge - Symbology 2

Here's another potent clue: at least one T-shirt is related to what you do. The first I found was war10ck gam3z; QR is hot...so on my way, I found a few more possibilities. Take what you will. Good luck to all the teams!

Defcon 24 Badge Challenge - Symbology 1

Here it is my gift to you: I scoured Bally's and Paris, every level I could. There's probably more, but now you will see, the code at the bottom. What can it be? No further ado, here ya' go. Please share with each other. Good luck! And stay tuned...