Archive for February, 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Chips ‘n’ Dips: White Hat Hacker Remotely Reads RFID Passports
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 4, 2009 by admin in Technology
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009The latest in drive-by RFID
Feeling safer after eight years of the Bush administration’s paranoid and insane attempts at making life in America safer? Well don’t. Perhaps you’ve seen the 2006 “Prank the Virginia DMV” clips on YouTube, in which two wild and crazy guys dress up in absurd outfits (like the cartoonish Asian pictured here) and proceed to secure legitimate Virginia driver’s licenses. Don’t forget, it was the Virginia DMV that issued ID’s to several of the 9/11 hijackers. Well now, to add to all the TSA woes we’re familiar with (which I’ve touched on here), a San Francisco white hat hacker has demonstrated just how easy it is to extract identity info from those RFID passports that were supposed to enhance our security. In spite of acknowledged flaws with RFID, the US State Dept. has moved ahead with the technology. For a humorous twist on RFID, see this article about tracking dementia with RFID technology that uses a photo of John McCain with absolutely no explanation.
Valentine’s Day 2009: Is That Love Gun Loaded?
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 3, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009Nothing says “I Love You” Like $40,000
 $40,000 Of Pure Love |
Thinking of getting your partner a diamond for Valentine’s Day? Well, as they say Nothing Says ‘I love you’ Like a Superficial and Overvalued Rock Clawed From the Guts of The Earth by African Slave Labor. And on that note, nothing says “Disposable Income” like a Blancpain Womens Ultra-slim Valentine’s edition watch. Only $40,800 USD. A bit steep for your budget? Do V-Day on the cheap with a Blancpain Camelia
I Feel Like I Posted This Before
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on February 3, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009This morning I completely forgot it was Groundhog Day, mostly because of the fact that it was a good friend’s birthday (Happy Birthday Laura!) was more important in my thoughts. In any case, once I realized it was Groundhog Day, I took note of the fact that it was sunny, and thought “Oh. That means [...]
This morning I completely forgot it was Groundhog Day, mostly because of the fact that it was a good friend’s birthday (Happy Birthday Laura!) was more important in my thoughts. In any case, once I realized it was Groundhog Day, I took note of the fact that it was sunny, and thought “Oh. That means we’ll have….um…six more weeks of winter?” I couldn’t for the life of me remember how the tradition went, and kept asking people. They all said something similar like “I think it means, um…y’know, six or eight more weeks of….hmmm.” Living in Michigan, it was pretty darn clear to me that whatever that little rodent saw, we were in for at LEAST six more weeks of Winter. And suddenly I was overcome with the weird feeling that I had gone through all of this before. Which made me think it would be fun to rent Groundhog Day the movie. And then I remembered I had thought the same thing last year, and none of the local rental places had a copy. Then it dawned on me that the only time I seem to see the movie is when I’m laying around at a friend’s place in a different city, watching cable and recovering from the party the night before or something. And I think every time that happens, it feels creepily familiar. And now I’m just creeped out all around. Can we just start over?
Monday Demotivators: The Super Bowl Fever Edition
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 2, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, February 2nd, 2009It’s not super, and it’s not a bowl
Since 1.5 million of you will be calling in sick today, I thought I’d share some excuses to avoid, courtesy of CareerBuilder.com. On the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday, the only one of those that might fly would be “Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work“. Once you’ve come up with your lame excuse for not working today, come back for this week’s Monday Demotivators. First up: while it loads, Perfect Balance asks “are you ready to master both harmony and inferno?” A little dramatic for a moderately amusing game where you balance objects on the screen. A more reasonable question might be “are you ready to master your disdain for new-agey game soundtracks?” The game also pops up with a mildly annoying FaceBook suggestion in the lower right. After you’re suitably annoyed, you might want to try the simplistic and slightly creepy HitStick, a first person shooter that takes place in a subway. You shoot little round-headed guys in suits for no reason I could immediately ascertain. If your bloodlust isn’t sated by that one, perhaps you need a new twist on your sick interest in shooting things: BUNNIES! Shooting bunnies (even bunnies that have escaped from a research facility and are terrorizing the countryside) sounds pretty cruel until you find out what the bunnies are actually up to. Happy Super Bowl Monday!
Super Bowl Traditions: The Seven Layer Dip
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 1, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Sunday, February 1st, 2009Super Bowl: It’s Not Super, And It’s Not Bowling
 Another Disturbing Super Bowl Tradition |
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’m engaging in one of my favorite Super Bowl Sunday activities: not watching the Super Bowl. I like football about as much as I like eating Ortolan, so Super Bowl Sunday has always mystified me a bit. The buzz surrounding Super Bowl commercials can be a little amusing, but c’mon. They’re commercials, for cryin’ out loud; media blips that in any other context are the bane of our existence. One Super Bowl tradition that fascinates me though is the seven-layer dip. I personally hadn’t heard of it until a couple of years ago, but apparently it’s one of the more sacred Super Bowl traditions. More intriguingly, it’s an excellent way to separate people into three distinct categories: those who come from an affluent, sophisticated background who honestly have never heard of it; those who are a little less well-monied (and whose favorite recipes always begin with “take one can of”); and those who for some reason know about it and either make it every year as an ironic statement, or just love joking about it. That last category would be me. So I’d love to know. Have YOU heard of seven-layer dip? Got a good recipe?