Disqus - Latest Comments for ichael S Black

Re: Martial Arts Goals

ichael S Black — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:46:55 -0000

It would depend on the intent, but when it comes to doing what martial Arts are originally intended for (i.e inflicting damage on a human during hostilities), I will always adhere to a combination of Krav Maga and pressure point based knuckle striking arts.

If I wanted to look cool or interesting, I'd look towards Jeet Kune Do or Wing Chun (Tsun) with a heavy leavening of Muay Thai.

Re: Too Lazy To Eat Right

ichael S Black — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 08:50:43 -0000

I have turned cooking into a geek hobby, studying the chemical processes that make food cook and taste the way it does (Check out Alton Brown on the Food Network). If you really think about it, proper cooking is merely the application of scientific principles done in a way to maximize aroma, flavor and nutritional payload. You can do this with some of the more traditionally "fattening" or "unhealthy" foods with a modicum of effort and really increase the nutritional value, while still being able to eat the savory foods many of us love. For me at least, turning this into science project has made me LOVE to cook, and I save quite a bit of money over the course of a year by maming my own meals, not to mention the rather significant health benefits.

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 08:07:19 -0000

Nice...course you could do more..

2005-09-09 08:06:29 EST: 23646 / 12281
Your download speed : 24213622 bps, or 23646 kbps.
A 2955.7 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 12576623 bps, or 12281 kbps.

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 12:44:11 -0000

ROFL, I got my employer to pay for my Internet connection, and then I got a connection that is WAY overboard...In essence, I cheated. The fastest consumer targeted connectivity around here is either Comcast's top tier offering (which is what your speedtest looks like it is) or going with some form of DSL which can scale up to around the same as Comcast's (7100/1500 I think is about the quickest you can get). Of course if you are several towns over, you can get FIOS...and then you can get the 30Mbps/5Mbps package...it's a steal at $200/month..

P.S. Don't be fooled by the comcast email addy...I still have a cable modem, I just didn't run the test from that network, if I did, it would have been roughyl the same as yours.. :)

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 13:55:27 -0000

Oh I occasionally jump in a rehost torrents (I've had over 400 pulling from me at once) when I have a chance...My biggest complaint is that it takes "other" people too long to get the file to me, but once I have it...Yeah I can make some people very happy :) Course I never host "questionable" content off this pipe, so it is mostly the occasional distro and such that gets used. My company still "owns" the connection, and I would hate to have something traced back to it that gets me in hot water

Re: The New Blackberry

ichael S Black — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 09:13:43 -0000

I know here at my company, the idea that RIM may lose this patent case has some of our managerial types scared rigid. We probably have over 2k people who carry some form of a Blackberry, and most of them rely quite heavily upon them. I personally use my 7290 a lot as a wireless modem hooked up via an USB cable to my laptop in the areas that I cannot get a wireless signal, but can get a decent phone signal. Losing RIM (I guess they will just license the tech if they have to) would be a major headache for us.

Re: The Tsunami “Hacker” Story

ichael S Black — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 15:54:46 -0000

If you can get this kind of sentence for simply adding "../../../" to a URL, why oh WHY do we still have script kiddies??!! I do this all the time at work when I am investigating sites that "appear" to be phishing sites trying to look my companies online portal, does this mean I can no longer do this if they reside in the UK? I can't do any investigative work in trying to determine whether they are ripping our customers off? I suppose I then must contact LEO and ask some officer to do this. What kind of priority can I expect the UK Law Enforcement Community to give my "possible" phish site? I think the implications of this ruling are WAY MORE imperative to pay attention to than the individual repercussions of Mr. Cuthbert, as sad as they may be.

Re: The Tsunami “Hacker” Story

ichael S Black — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 09:46:52 -0000

Bad form, Yeah...conviction worthy...I don't really know if I would agree with that..Will it make me be on my toes from now on, even more so that I am already...DEFINITELY

Re: American Ignorance

ichael S Black — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:46:29 -0000

I'm gonna side with Dan as well. I consider my self a rather "cosmopolitan" person, and have spent over 5 years total time "in country" in Japan (over the space of say 20 calendar years), as well as many trips to SE Asia and the Indian sub-continent, and the truth is that "most" Americans really are ignorant and loutish. They lack the desire, or they fail to express it, to actively learn. Failure to learn new things and challenge old ideas will inevitably lead to ignorance, and an ignorant citizenry leads to a moribund society.

Re: Hemp != Bad?

ichael S Black — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:12:19 -0000

One of the biggest fallacies ever spread was that it is impossible to grow commercial hemp without growing psychoactive marijuana. The fact is, commercially grown hemp is practically devoid of pscyhoactive substances. In hemp you are growing a plant and trying to get it to devote ALL of its energies into growing tall and thin...When you grow marijuana, you are trying to get all of its energies to be devoted to sap production, which in turn drives up the levels of various cannabanoids.

Whatever your stance on legalized marijuana, as Daniel says, hemp SHOULD be legal to use for material. Almost nothing in the WORLD grows faster, or has such a high conversion rate of raw product to useable material, than hemp. I would suggest anyone interested to take a look at a book called "The Emporer Wears no Clothes" by Jack Herer, it could change the way you think.

Re: A Puzzle: Can The Plane Take Off?

ichael S Black — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:10:21 -0000

All that matters is a differential in air pressures on the wing surface...If the lift generated is sufficient it will launch, if not, it won't. This is SOOOOoooo old as a aeronautics puzzle I can't believe they are still arguing it.

If the plane is going forward RELATIVE to the air being passed over the wings, it will launch. But, as in this case, if the plane's wings stays still relative to the air, then it will remain on the ground...

Re: As If I Needed Another Reason To Love Tool

ichael S Black — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:13:15 -0000

Is it me, or was that hip toss REALLY slow? I mean the fan just walks into him with arms wide open and get tossed. It almost looks like the dude was expecting Maynard to Hug him, not toss 'em.

Re: Ten Out Of Ten Vegetarians…

ichael S Black — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:04:52 -0000

I can't think of a more succint way to put it..

Re: WoW Video Goodness

ichael S Black — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:14:28 -0000

Someone split the clips up and made a soundboard so you listen to whatever you want...I must listen to the "LEEEEERRROOOOOOYYYY JJEEEENNNNKINS!!" about 8 times a day whenever people are pissing meoff, it NEVER fails to make me laugh loud enough to scare my co-workers

http://www.scottwills.co.uk/flash/teamwork/team...

Re: I Got A Pistol

ichael S Black — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:00:08 -0000

Get a real man's gun...

http://www.swissminigun.com/gallery_steel.html

Re: Finishing My Degree

ichael S Black — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:32:49 -0000

"REAL" security professionals might look down at you and turn up their noses cause you got "all that there BOOK learnin'"

On the real though, I never got mine, and I've been doing IT professionally for over 12 years and Security for over 7...I haven't noticed the loss except one time when I got called in to interview at Merck, at the time, they DID NOT hire anyone who did not have a Bachelors, hence no job. Aside from that, never been an issue with any of my employers

Re: My Current Car’s Performance

ichael S Black — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:05:00 -0000

well I most definitely don't want to be left out of this, I worked hard to get my car where it is :)

312 hp @ 6120 rpm
295 lb-ft @ 2690 rpm

BTW Ken, what do you drive? I have a modded 2002 VW PAssat W8

Re: Why Learning Self Defense Is A Good Thing

ichael S Black — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:36:06 -0000

Neither of the two guys seems very concerned that he is pummeling the hell out them...And what was that little girl slap the one guy did against the fighter's girlfriend??

Still, gives you a reason to know how to protect yourself...Good thing those two didn't have any kind of weapon though, that is what SCARES me..

Re: My Next Car Has Been Chosen

ichael S Black — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:01:02 -0000

Daniel, have you ever driven a car with a significant chunk of the HP coming from turbo's? Wait till you do, there is this whole interesting phenomenon called turbo lag...personally it drives me batty, and if you have a Drive-By-Wire car, and there is some response lag anyway...anyway, see if you can get superchargers instead, the gas mileage may suffer a tick or two, but you will not have to worry about those damn turbo's spooling up.

Re: How Responsive Is The New Setup?

ichael S Black — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:05:17 -0000

From a totally unscientific POV, it seems faster, and slightly more responsive, but then again it may only be a psychosomatic impression...want me to hammer away and "test" it? :O

Re: Quote Time

ichael S Black — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:59:42 -0000

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Thomas Jefferson

Re: The Atheist’s Prayer

ichael S Black — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:00:21 -0000

Logic dictates that you do not try to disprove the existence of Deities

Re: Poker: It Begins

ichael S Black — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:07:51 -0000

I have two brothers who harp on me CONSTANTLY to get into it. They make over 2K/month average just in playing online...BUT, I know my obsessive personality would prevent me from pursuing my other interests as I work to be as good as I possibly can be, leading to a loss of time w/ my wife and friends. So, Good Luck in your endeavor Daniel, may you approach in a significantly more sane manner than I ever could :)

Re: My First 2600 Meeting

ichael S Black — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:35:27 -0000

You deserve to be chided for showing up at a 2600 meeting in business attire (was this business casual or were you wearing the dreaded TIE!!!) It's good to hear that you enjoyed it, the one near me is pretty good, there are several very talented people that attend. You never know what kind of knowledge base some of the attendees have ( I mean come on, except for me, no-one I've ever met face-to-face has heard of the idea of China deploying asymmetric weapons systems under this name).

Well I take it you liked it, if you go the Dec meeting (citigroup Center, right?), let me know, maybe I'll take a trip up

Re: VIN Number, Check

ichael S Black — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 08:44:45 -0000

make ya a deal Daniel, I'll let you drive mine one day if you return the favor :)

Re: The Future: Personal Assistants (Companions)

ichael S Black — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 09:53:51 -0000

I've been thinking about this concept since High School, course back then I assumed it would require a neural/machine interface...now I just think it would be more efficient. I've always thought that a digital AI overlay (the DC, so to speak) on your consciousness, say low-level organization and memory routines, combined with Internet access, and self-modifying "quasi" AI will spark a new paradigm in human consciousness, maybe even an evolutionary leap. Many, if not most, people that I have discussed this with have been appalled, "How would you learn, how would you mature, what effect on my personality would this have, etc..."

Think about it, learning by rote, or learning basic facts would be useless. Most of the things taught from K-12, aside from social skills, and emotional maturity, would no longer be needed to be learned by your "wetware", the hardware would handle things like that. Direct sensory interfaces could provide multi-sensory Eidetic memory, the ability to sift thru what you are experiencing and selectively listen, smell, hear, see, taste. Combined with a repository of human knowledge (good and bad), this would literally change our definition of Humanity.

Re: We Are Engaged

ichael S Black — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 08:47:53 -0000

Congratulations

Re: We Are Engaged

ichael S Black — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:09:46 -0000

Naw, as in Beer that is free for your free-loading blog fans who have nothing better to do but show up at your reception (don't do weddings, they are too long), drink all your free beer, then make idiots of ourselves...Hey, you'll never forget it, we PROMISE :)

Re: The Myers-Briggs Personality Test

ichael S Black — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:56:45 -0000

INTP for me, but my wife is an ESFJ...makes things interesting

Re: Right-To-Carry Laws Are Good

ichael S Black — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:59:07 -0000

'Course it helps that all Swiss men capable of serving (i.e able-bodies men between 18 and 30) are required to undergo 15 weeks of military training. Over the next 22 to 32 years, they must attend a succession of two- to three-week training camps during until he's accrued 300 to 1,300 days of active service. (Service requirements depend on rank: the higher the rank, the more years and accrued days are required.)

Having every physically fit man in a country trained in using a rifle, and then actually having that rifle in their homes all the time...well one could see why you might want to steal from a different country

Re: Cognitive Dissonance: Materialism

ichael S Black — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:52:19 -0000

Yeah, I can't say anything negative about any of this, because I tend to be the same way. I want to do something (like my current 1080p projector project), but I can BEAR the idea of doing it half-way...so instead of building or buying something that is "adequate" (GOD, do I hate that word), I have to make sure I cover my outre requirements. Since we are listing our crass, materialistic sides, here is mine :)

Car: Volkswagen Passat W8 (one of less than 11K in the world made)
Swords: several Shinto era Katana, Paul Chen Kami and Orchid Katana's w/ matching Wazikashi
Speakers: Vintage Tannoy LSUHF15L pair in custom built cabinets
Amplifiers: McIntosh monoblock tube amp
Phone: T-Mobile MDA

Now I just need to learn how to stop spending money :)

Re: 10 Questions To Ask During An Information Security Interview

ichael S Black — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 08:51:06 -0000

Here is a few we use:

Define non-repudiation and give a real world example.

What would you do with a Rainbow Table?

What is a downstream liability?

What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric cryptography?

Re: Why The Valentine 1 Radar Detector Is Stupid

ichael S Black — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:07:41 -0000

because there is also a counter for the number of sources...So if you regularly pass a strip mall and get 2 sources every day, and one day you get 3, there might be a "surprise" waiting for you

Re: Digg and Reddit: If Bush Attacks Iran, Let’s Unite And Demand Impeachment

ichael S Black — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:23:48 -0000

Which War Mark? Which Enemy?

The one that daddy Bush started in 1990? The enemies there we fed. Since the 70's, which daddy Bush helped to start.

I don't think George Jr. is the problem, he is a symptom of it. The cabal of people from whom he takes direction from, THEY are the biggest issue. The man himself, Bahh, he's a easily deluded zealot, with little ability to think for himself beyond chopping at wood, and trying to get people to believe he's "A REAL COWBOY". In a way, he acts like a child, which lets him be pushed and pulled in whatever direction is needed.

What we need is someone who doesn't tacitly support a military-industrial complex that is predicated on heightened global tensions to make money

Re: Is Google Going To Buy Apple?

ichael S Black — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 07:42:54 -0000

Umm, Daniel, Methinks you've run yourself aground on the Isle of Mac, beware the natives are nasty. Notice the almost Pavlovian reaction to any negative (or non-conformist) viewpoint of the Mac landscape. Best just to back up and go searching for more fertile ground, the natives here have scorched the earth :)

Re: Security: How Network Ports Work

ichael S Black — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:36:08 -0000

Are the midgets unionized?

**We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild**

Re: A Poor Geek’s Copyright

ichael S Black — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:26:11 -0000

you mean you aren't going to just send it to Full Disclosure and let the archive bots handle it :)

Re: I Truly Apologize For Giving This To You

ichael S Black — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:51:29 -0000

I have wasted DAYS already with this game...I just can't get past level 72/73 in the challenge mode 100 levels

Re: IQ Is Real, And It Matters

ichael S Black — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:34:19 -0000

**sigh** I wasn't going to post and have this float in the aether forever, but WTH, I should give back some sort of meandering thoughts to those who have made me think and laugh.

I believe the "average" IQ of the population (world) is somewhere around 90 or so, with a standard deviation of 15 or so. This means that around 85% of the population has an IQ of less than 110 or so.

Those "gifted" (I use that term in a darkly ironic way) with elevated IQ have a twofold issue to deal with.

1) They are told to "live up to your potential", but they are not supposed to feel superior or be condescending towards those who aren’t as heavily endowed, and are constantly "harped upon" to integrate socially in a "normal" way. Well, I'm a 4 sigma deviant and I KNOW I don't integrate socially in a "normal" fashion. I also don't tend to be disparaging for those who cannot keep up with me mentally, but I do get annoyed when it takes them significant time to grasp something that I already know. Especially when they need to grasp it for me to continue an explanation.

2) There is a disproportionately large burden placed upon these individuals because of their increased potential. This flies in the face of Number One logically, which tends to confuse and infuriate the intellectually superior High IQ person. Logic says if I do more, and the work is harder, than I should be compensated (which for many is not money, but respect and recognition of good work).

Whether this burden is placed upon these people via societal pressures, or personal acceptance of the duty to use your increased intelligence for "something", High IQ's tend to bring depression, manicness, bi-polar disorders, and a whole slew of mental and emotional issues that relate. Even worse, many of us find that treating these problems tend to has the side-effect of lowering your intelligence, talk about a repercussion to treatment!!

I agree with Jason in the sense that many High IQ examples fail to really tap into their abilities, instead simply synthesizing ideas by combining stuff that already exists in their environment. Truly creative insights are difficult and involve a lot of failure, something that many highly intelligent people have serious issues facing.

Once I was asked if I would trade places with someone that had a relatively normal IQ of roughly 110 or so. I replied No, but said the offer was tempting.

Can you imagine the peace and quiet of your brain not constantly processing?

Re: A Logical Approach To Gun Laws

ichael S Black — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:51:02 -0000

Ravi:

How do you define Heavy Fire Arms? Is it assault weapons? Is it rifles capable of penetrating armor and bulletproof vests? Is it automatic weapons? What about a .50 caliber rifle? What about a M-1 Garand/AR-15/Springfield M1903? The reason I ask about all of those individually is that I own an example from every category except the 50 caliber. I have a legitimate reason for even the most unusually powerful weapon I own (a Damascus steel "punt gun" that is the equivalent of a 0 gauge shotgun).

Fortunately, the Constitution (currently) allows any citizen to walk into a store an buy a firearm, subject to some light background checking. Who gets to define who is of sound mind? You? Me? Some random shrink?

The truth is as most NRA boosters claim (disclaimer: I am a lifetime member). Gun control is a knee-jerk reaction to statistically insignificant events that cause emotional turmoil, or a personal opinion. Many people just don't LIKE guns, and because of that, don't want other people to have them. The problem is, when you take 'em all away from the legal owners, the only ones left are the criminals, and they tend not to buy licenses.

Re: D.C.

ichael S Black — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:48:05 -0000

how long? I'm living in Delaware now...

Re: A Simple Realization

ichael S Black — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:24:29 -0000

"To experience all things possible within the realms of human capabilities"

"To exceed that which is human without sacrificing that which individual"

Re: Episteme

ichael S Black — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:44:43 -0000

Walden
Tale of Genji (I can't believe this isn't on that list)

I own the 60-book Brittanica's set, as well as the 100 greatest books from the Franklin Library (gorgeous books, not considered estate collectibles, they still are leather covered with 24 karat gilt edges and good paper, pleasurable to read). I consider those 2 sets as an acceptable "core" of a private library for anyone who wants to have a semblance of a Renaissance education, liberally assisted with additional texts.

Re: What’ll Happen When Someone Dies In MMA?

ichael S Black — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:00:43 -0000

Some people want to be the barbarians clamoring at the gate, some want to be the people cowering behind the gate...

Some of us want to be the people waiting inside the gate, ready to beat the everliving hell outta the barbarians for disrupting our day :)

Re: Transformers: A Thoroughly Pleasant Suprise

ichael S Black — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:10:35 -0000

Bumblebee is a Camaro and Megatron isn't a gun, call it a great movie, or a new live/animated classic, but please, in certain fans minds, it will never be the Transformers.

Just another childhood memory violated and trashed by modern day revisionary film making to sell products...

p.s. and this time, the stuff they are selling costs THOUSANDS, not a couple bucks for a metal figure.

Re: Ingenious Merging of Star Trek and Simpsons Music

ichael S Black — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:48:03 -0000

Is he playing a Theremin @ 0:40 secs in?

Re: Indulgence as God

ichael S Black — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:10:22 -0000

Make your own reality and find solace, if not, go crazy....Both are equally attractive, and may even be the same thing :)

Re: Second Day in Vegas

ichael S Black — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:10:46 -0000

I'm there as well. I sent you an email with some details, so maybe we can meet up.

Re: Olympic Cynicism

ichael S Black — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:13:52 -0000

Except almost all the swimmers are wearing the Speedo LZR Racer suit, even the Nike sponsored swimmers have been given permission to wear it. Hence the "playing field" is level, IF your wearing the suit, you too can compete to be second place to Mr. Phelps

Re: Look What I Just Found In My Access.log

ichael S Black — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:50:18 -0000

What.... They just wanted you to check out their uber-leet c00l piece of javascript, you're not interested?...

But it's really cool...

Oh, OK, how about this great TRS-80 I got back here, I'll toss in a tape deck for free?? :)

Re: The Verdict on iPhone Update 2.0.2

ichael S Black — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:20:01 -0000

Remember all those nice HTC phones I was mentioning in Vegas...Might want to look into a few of them :)

Re: Yep, Georgia Attacked South Odessia: Russia Saved Them

ichael S Black — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:11:41 -0000

OK, hold on, There is NO WAY we'd save Quebec...HELL NO, so the comparison falls flat dale :)

As for this whole scenario, this is pretty simple.

Putin.

The guy's a reincarnated czarist in post-fall colors. He YEARNS for the old empire, and failing that, a return to some semblence of the 60's-90's would suffice. Of course, he sees himself as the head of this new power. So, to get back to topic, they need more buffer states and areas.

The former soviet republics have "mostly" turned western, at the very least paying lip-service for cash and support, so Russia worries about exposure. With Poland placing US missile defense shield stations (which have been publicly acknowledge by Russia as being 24 hour targeted already) to cover "Middle Eastern" threats, we've already stuck the saber up their nose prior to shaking it.

So they've nicked a few spots (Poti) and recognized a place or two (see Abkhazia and N. Ossetia) in an effort to keep most people worried, but not TOO much. Still, this little effort has hurt their nascent economy fiercely, they are in a rush to get back to "normal"

But don't forget, they thought they could do so much because they assumed everyone would understand from the start that the Georgians were in the wrong...They're pretty pissed and confused as to the coverage the MSM over here gives them

Re: Ancient Civilization Found Off the Coast of Okinawa

ichael S Black — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:15:26 -0000

Heh, it's one reason why Hokkaido is a more accepting of North Americans...It also helps that Otokoyama is made there, good sake tends to make friends :)

Re: Contemplating Confirmation Bias

ichael S Black — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:14:51 -0000

Well if the VAST majority of the nation makes under 200k/year or so and the Dems represent this category, then by definition of a Democracy (which the US IS NOT, we are a republic), they are representing the majority, hence are "right".

Sure, there were economists who suggested ultra-low rates and weak underwriting procedures might cause the current issues years ago, but if you ask Joe-Six Pack (as DM might say, a typical mouth-breather) whether he cares if the economy MIGHT tank in 10 years because his home loan is too large and at too low a rate to be sustainable, he'll laugh, show you his new deck and say “Paid for it using the president’s Tax stimulus check, don’tcha know!”

note: I used economic indicators, but it could be anything that divides the nation into unequal population groups with extreme levels of emotion and/or devotion to an idea, the Iraq war in the 2004 election is a prime example

I've got plenty of knocks on Obama, but like I said when we were at BH, I will vote for him. McCain has…..disappointed me, to say the least.

Remember, I used to like him in 2000, but he finally lost me when he voted AGAINST banning torture, thus opening up its use on OUR soldiers. He did it because he knew it would make him appear strong to the pro-war right (and because the White house indicated it would veto the bill anyway). This kind of personal flip-flop (as a POW who WAS tortured, to not vote against banning it is the WORST example of selling your soul for politics) is why many who formerly supported him have nothing but distaste and a lingering sense of disappointment. Hard to get those people to defend him, isn’t it?

If you're looking for intelligent Pro-McCain commentary, get off the internet and talk to his local people. The campaign the national org is running hasn't really provided much chance for his supporters to be proud of his words or actions, so it gets tough to defend him.

Re: Contemplating Confirmation Bias

ichael S Black — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:15:26 -0000

So.......

Watching the debate on DVR... and I get to 9:38, where Tom/Jim/John says I opposed the president "On torture of prisoners"....

Seriously, is it just me, or do the chills reverberate over the aether?!

Re: Some “Family Values” Types Who Support McCain

ichael S Black — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:20:16 -0000

Are you serious Jonathan? You're gonna call a P-Shop on THIS pic?! Check those lighting ranges on the MAVRICK sign, where would you HIDE the E?

Re: Home Network Upgrades

ichael S Black — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:08:18 -0000

Bahh, run 21 separate boxes and pay the electricity bill like a man. :0

Seriously, 350/month average, it takes juice to get that high a rank on F@H, to say nothing about being able to distribute a LC5 crack over 20 boxes means you can do a large corp AD directory pass hash in a weekend.

I can assist with the Asterisk box though, the wifey and I have been on one thru VoicePulse for years and love it.

-msb

Re: The Ultimate Masculinity Test: A Laser Pointer

ichael S Black — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:32:39 -0000

Oh, if I could only justify it :)

http://www.biglasers.com/site/1589403/product/532-115-S

Re: Magibon

ichael S Black — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:29:31 -0000

ALL of my Japanese friends are absolutely captivated by this....woman.

For the life of me I can't see why. I get the chibi look, and the deformed anime eyes, but aside from that, she's just another henna-gaijin, albeit one who hasn't lived or even visited the country...

Re: What Parts of Your Identity Are Practical vs. Ideal?

ichael S Black — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:38:12 -0000

How can you engage in reductionist thinking about your persona? Isn't the complexity and interplay what MAKES you unique? If everyone was merely a list of traits and skills, then we'd all be EXACTLY alike, and trust me, I've yet to meet someone identical to me.

Sometimes, you can be overly analytical....Just be you, and if someone doesn't like it, tell 'em to rack off. You get to define your own reality, no-one else.

Re: An Interesting Search Concept

ichael S Black — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:07:20 -0000

Hmm, Heather seems to like it as well...At least she's been spending an inordinate amount of time on the site looking @ purses and shoes...

So, yeah, I'm agreeing with Jeremy, Thanx....

Re: Can the Internet Replace Cable TV?

ichael S Black — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:11:33 -0000

We've done exactly this at home. We now just have Internet, all content is streamed to the PS3 from a dedicated PC setup w/ TVersity. I use mostly torrents (via RSS) to populate the directories and we watch everything one night delayed. The only thing I spend time/effort/money on is NFL Football (you can get an online subscription to NFL feeds if you do not live in the US....get some international friends :) The upside of DL'ing everything is that many times you can get better quality programs than offered in your area for viewing.

Re: The Economics of the NYT: This Can’t Be True

ichael S Black — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:26:35 -0000

favorite part "And here's the thing: a source with knowledge of the real numbers tells us we're so low in our estimate of the Times's printing costs that we're not even in the ballpark."

Wow....Bump the costs to 500 and you could send every subscriber a decent netbook...

Re: Abraham Lincoln: The Hippy Musician

ichael S Black — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:26:38 -0000

OK, couple of statements here.

Regardless of the Cannabinoid content of the "sweet hemp", the base compounds are identical. Studies have shown that smokers self-regulate based upon mental/physical effects, not the potency of the substance. Hence, Lincoln likely would would have smoked until he was "pleasantly stoned".

Also, please remember the fact that this is a natural product, with NO processing and/or refinement. This is NOT similar to alcohol and/or cigarettes. Both of these are considerably refined from their raw states. In the case of tobacco, unless you are smoking loose leaf that is untreated, it has been chopped, processed, and then treated with various chemical sprays to enhance the uptake of nicotine and suppress any "negative" transitory effects.

This is a natural plant that was banned originally due to racial fears and then later, pure politicking (anyone ever examined Anslinger's actions?) and counter-lobbying actions. The fact that the human brain has receptors made solely for Cannabinoid, combined with the fact that our bodies NATURALLY produce these same chemicals, should lead any rational person to re-evaluate the idea of cannabis prohibition.

Re: It’s Cute That You Think You’ve Played Tetris

ichael S Black — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:55:55 -0000

reminds me of the the DDR (that's Dance Dance Revolution) ranking system. It goes Noob, middling, advanced, dance god, 12 year old Japanese schoolgirl...Gaijin need not apply :)

But seriously, the GM exam is tough, especially the invisible part at the end. Remember that only 3 people have done it under TGM3 Terror!!

Re: New Liberal Strategy: Accept and Promote Rush Limbaugh as the Head of the Republican Party

ichael S Black — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:12:12 -0000

Carl, I gotta disagree with you that only "some people" can be convinced, the party itself is fracturing along support lines for him. The GOP claim's to be the party of conservatives, Rush headlined CPAC (Live, and managed to confuse the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence) to massive adulation, then the head of the party retracts some of his statements and APOLOGIZES! to Rush...Looks like the man is in the driver seat to me....

Whatever the back-door conversations may mean, to the public (those not privy to private meetings between GOP power brokers), Rush appears to be the face of the party and the conservative movement.

Want to bet the 2012 post-election analysis will point to his (i.e Limbaugh's) rise in prominence and increased vitriol as part of the continuing slide of the GOP?

Re: Insanity vs. Christianity

ichael S Black — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:38:45 -0000

OK, I've avoided this for a bit, but seriously Carl, you are applying an inordinate amount of logic to defend religion, when the average lay person of almost ANY region has practically NO knowledge or understanding of the "higher mysteries" other than vague ideas. Use Kaballah in Judaism, or Sufiism in Islam as examples.

You CAN NOT argue faith with logic...while not mutually exclusive, they do not follow the same strictures of thought.

I know of many devout people who will agree the world is NOT 6-7 thousand years old, that GOD did not create everything as a fixed setting, etc.. YET will still say Jesus died, was buried and rose from the DEAD.

to rebut the example of Hell though, ALMOST all religions have a hell, it's just many of them do not refer to it as hell though. MOST of the time, it is the dissolution of the spirit or removal of the deity's blessing that could be considered hell, not a specific plane/place/state...

Oh and for the record, I do not consider myself atheist or agnostic. I am a devout worshipper of my religion, it just took me 24 years and traveling to over 40 countries to find it. I have danced with Sufi's...It is an experience I would greatly recommend, even if the entire judeo-Christian mythology is ludicrously complex and just wrong.

Re: Prominent Infosec Personalities That Use OS X

ichael S Black — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:40:26 -0000

It's just an observation, not a scientific sample, but i did notice a LOT more Mac's at BlackHat/Defcon this year than I have seen previously...

Re: A Must Read by Robin Hanson

ichael S Black — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:02:36 -0000

rambling train of thought here:
1=true
2=who cares
3=idiocy
4=yeah, probably
5=nope
6=more than 5, less than 20
7=LOL...ROFLMAO.....wow, again nope
8=falls into the Singularity domain, so...Meh
9=nope, doubt we'll still be matter then, so who needs worlds?
10=nope
11=So the entire material wealth of the system is worthless? I don't buy it
12=wholeheartedly agree
13=NO, to use the current vernacular, and when the "Black Swan" hit, what sahll we do?
14=Bahh, he's playing with riddles of reality and the "FINAL" truth...topics best left for 10 year olds and those with the senses to perceive it.

yeah, yeah, I'll be here all night..please, try the pork, it's delicious!

Re: Prominent Infosec Personalities That Use OS X

ichael S Black — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:06:13 -0000

ohh and you forgot Joe Grand aka Kingpin from L0pht

Re: A Deductive Moral Argument for Helping Those Who Fail

ichael S Black — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:58:36 -0000

Who decides who is part of the ultra-secretive third arm, or the second arm or even the first?

Who decides who is "the noblest and smartest among the society", when by the very definition, it would be this very subset of the population who decides they are qualified (i.e. if they really are the best and brightest, then it should be obvious to those being ruled that the ones saying they are the best and brightest really are, except it never quite works out that way, huh?)

D, this just seems to be a rehashing of an ideal "Utopian-style" government where you have multiple checks and balances, but it assumes that the people in their roles will fulfill them in an ideal way that is almost always pragmatically logical. It also never happens, NEVER!

People make selfish, illogical decisions based upon base desires. Show me ONE example of a governance model that humans made and run that has not been corrupted...

Besides (as an example), who determined that the elimination of strife and conflict is best for the human species, you? People who think very similar to you? Which is why you respect them and agree with their deductions, correct?

We are not capable of suppressing these drives (as a population), so how can we say it is in our best interests to do so?

You say we need to remove various "negative elements" when we do not have any way to dispassionately determine what is negative and what is positive. Not to be cheeky, but it really is all relevant. Moral and ethics will always be subjective, and are not reducible to some "magic" equation, but instead vary as the population base itself changes it's own collective boundaries.

IMHO, to many of your recent arguments use faulty logic where you accept a certain base set of observations as true, when they are merely true in your eyes...

Re: Too Lazy To Eat Right

ichael S Black — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 08:50:43 -0000

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 08:07:19 -0000

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 12:44:11 -0000

Re: Bandwidth of Doom

ichael S Black — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 13:55:27 -0000

Re: The New Blackberry

ichael S Black — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 09:13:43 -0000

Re: The Tsunami “Hacker” Story

ichael S Black — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 15:54:46 -0000

Re: The Tsunami “Hacker” Story

ichael S Black — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 09:46:52 -0000

Bad form, Yeah...conviction worthy...I don't really know if I would agree with that..Will it make me be on my toes from now on, even more so that I am already...DEFINITELY

Re: American Ignorance

ichael S Black — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:46:29 -0000

Re: Hemp != Bad?

ichael S Black — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:12:19 -0000

Re: A Puzzle: Can The Plane Take Off?

ichael S Black — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:10:21 -0000

Re: As If I Needed Another Reason To Love Tool

ichael S Black — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:13:15 -0000

Is it me, or was that hip toss REALLY slow? I mean the fan just walks into him with arms wide open and get tossed. It almost looks like the dude was expecting Maynard to Hug him, not toss 'em.

Re: Ten Out Of Ten Vegetarians…

ichael S Black — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:04:52 -0000

I can't think of a more succint way to put it..

Re: WoW Video Goodness

ichael S Black — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:14:28 -0000

Re: I Got A Pistol

ichael S Black — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:00:08 -0000

Get a real man's gun...

http://www.swissminigun.com/gallery_steel.html

Re: Finishing My Degree

ichael S Black — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:32:49 -0000

Re: My Current Car’s Performance

ichael S Black — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:05:00 -0000

Re: Why Learning Self Defense Is A Good Thing

ichael S Black — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:36:06 -0000

Re: My Next Car Has Been Chosen

ichael S Black — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:01:02 -0000

Re: How Responsive Is The New Setup?

ichael S Black — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:05:17 -0000

From a totally unscientific POV, it seems faster, and slightly more responsive, but then again it may only be a psychosomatic impression...want me to hammer away and "test" it? :O

Re: Quote Time

ichael S Black — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:59:42 -0000

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Thomas Jefferson

Re: The Atheist’s Prayer

ichael S Black — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:00:21 -0000

Logic dictates that you do not try to disprove the existence of Deities

Re: Poker: It Begins

ichael S Black — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:07:51 -0000

Re: My First 2600 Meeting

ichael S Black — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:35:27 -0000

Re: VIN Number, Check

ichael S Black — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 08:44:45 -0000

make ya a deal Daniel, I'll let you drive mine one day if you return the favor :)

Re: The Future: Personal Assistants (Companions)

ichael S Black — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 09:53:51 -0000

Re: We Are Engaged

ichael S Black — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 08:47:53 -0000

Congratulations

Re: We Are Engaged

ichael S Black — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:09:46 -0000

Re: The Myers-Briggs Personality Test

ichael S Black — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:56:45 -0000

INTP for me, but my wife is an ESFJ...makes things interesting

Re: Right-To-Carry Laws Are Good

ichael S Black — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:59:07 -0000

Re: Cognitive Dissonance: Materialism

ichael S Black — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:52:19 -0000

Re: 10 Questions To Ask During An Information Security Interview

ichael S Black — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 08:51:06 -0000

Re: Why The Valentine 1 Radar Detector Is Stupid

ichael S Black — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:07:41 -0000

because there is also a counter for the number of sources...So if you regularly pass a strip mall and get 2 sources every day, and one day you get 3, there might be a "surprise" waiting for you

Re: Digg and Reddit: If Bush Attacks Iran, Let’s Unite And Demand Impeachment

ichael S Black — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:23:48 -0000

Re: Is Google Going To Buy Apple?

ichael S Black — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 07:42:54 -0000

Re: Security: How Network Ports Work

ichael S Black — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:36:08 -0000

Are the midgets unionized?

**We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild**

Re: A Poor Geek’s Copyright

ichael S Black — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:26:11 -0000

you mean you aren't going to just send it to Full Disclosure and let the archive bots handle it :)

Re: I Truly Apologize For Giving This To You

ichael S Black — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:51:29 -0000

I have wasted DAYS already with this game...I just can't get past level 72/73 in the challenge mode 100 levels

Re: IQ Is Real, And It Matters

ichael S Black — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:34:19 -0000

Re: A Logical Approach To Gun Laws

ichael S Black — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:51:02 -0000

Re: D.C.

ichael S Black — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:48:05 -0000

how long? I'm living in Delaware now...

Re: A Simple Realization

ichael S Black — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:24:29 -0000

"To experience all things possible within the realms of human capabilities"

"To exceed that which is human without sacrificing that which individual"

Re: Episteme

ichael S Black — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:44:43 -0000

Re: What’ll Happen When Someone Dies In MMA?

ichael S Black — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:00:43 -0000

Re: Transformers: A Thoroughly Pleasant Suprise

ichael S Black — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:10:35 -0000

Re: Ingenious Merging of Star Trek and Simpsons Music

ichael S Black — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:48:03 -0000

Is he playing a Theremin @ 0:40 secs in?

Re: Indulgence as God

ichael S Black — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:10:22 -0000

Make your own reality and find solace, if not, go crazy....Both are equally attractive, and may even be the same thing :)

Re: Second Day in Vegas

ichael S Black — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:10:46 -0000

I'm there as well. I sent you an email with some details, so maybe we can meet up.

Re: Olympic Cynicism

ichael S Black — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:13:52 -0000

Re: Look What I Just Found In My Access.log

ichael S Black — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:50:18 -0000

What.... They just wanted you to check out their uber-leet c00l piece of javascript, you're not interested?...

But it's really cool...

Oh, OK, how about this great TRS-80 I got back here, I'll toss in a tape deck for free?? :)

Re: The Verdict on iPhone Update 2.0.2

ichael S Black — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:20:01 -0000

Remember all those nice HTC phones I was mentioning in Vegas...Might want to look into a few of them :)

Re: Yep, Georgia Attacked South Odessia: Russia Saved Them

ichael S Black — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:11:41 -0000

OK, hold on, There is NO WAY we'd save Quebec...HELL NO, so the comparison falls flat dale :)

As for this whole scenario, this is pretty simple.

Putin.

Re: Ancient Civilization Found Off the Coast of Okinawa

ichael S Black — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:15:26 -0000

Heh, it's one reason why Hokkaido is a more accepting of North Americans...It also helps that Otokoyama is made there, good sake tends to make friends :)

Re: Contemplating Confirmation Bias

ichael S Black — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:14:51 -0000

I've got plenty of knocks on Obama, but like I said when we were at BH, I will vote for him. McCain has…..disappointed me, to say the least.

Re: Contemplating Confirmation Bias

ichael S Black — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:15:26 -0000

So.......

Watching the debate on DVR... and I get to 9:38, where Tom/Jim/John says I opposed the president "On torture of prisoners"....

Seriously, is it just me, or do the chills reverberate over the aether?!

Re: Some “Family Values” Types Who Support McCain

ichael S Black — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:20:16 -0000

Are you serious Jonathan? You're gonna call a P-Shop on THIS pic?! Check those lighting ranges on the MAVRICK sign, where would you HIDE the E?

Re: Home Network Upgrades

ichael S Black — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:08:18 -0000

Bahh, run 21 separate boxes and pay the electricity bill like a man. :0

I can assist with the Asterisk box though, the wifey and I have been on one thru VoicePulse for years and love it.

-msb

Re: The Ultimate Masculinity Test: A Laser Pointer

ichael S Black — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:32:39 -0000

Oh, if I could only justify it :)

http://www.biglasers.com/site/1589403/product/532-115-S

Re: Magibon

ichael S Black — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:29:31 -0000

ALL of my Japanese friends are absolutely captivated by this....woman.

For the life of me I can't see why. I get the chibi look, and the deformed anime eyes, but aside from that, she's just another henna-gaijin, albeit one who hasn't lived or even visited the country...

Re: What Parts of Your Identity Are Practical vs. Ideal?

ichael S Black — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:38:12 -0000

Sometimes, you can be overly analytical....Just be you, and if someone doesn't like it, tell 'em to rack off. You get to define your own reality, no-one else.

Re: An Interesting Search Concept

ichael S Black — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:07:20 -0000

Hmm, Heather seems to like it as well...At least she's been spending an inordinate amount of time on the site looking @ purses and shoes...

So, yeah, I'm agreeing with Jeremy, Thanx....

Re: Testing the New Domain

ichael S Black — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:33:24 -0000

I prefer the old way (mostly because it let's me claim to be curmudgeonly :), but as long as you settle on one, I'll deal...

I still reserve the right to be a obstinate crank...It tends to be a lot more interesting.

Re: Subtlety –

ichael S Black — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:38:33 -0000

So what you're an evangelical Muslim, good for you. It doesn't matter to me.
What DOES matter is your obvious (yet pathetic) attempt to troll a group of rather smart people that have likely been troll baitin' and killin' since long before you failed basic spelling and Grammar classes. Now, go away troll, else you may get replaced by a small shell script.

Re: An Empty Existence

ichael S Black — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:34:37 -0000

"I dream. I merely work 50 out of 168 to provide my meat shell with nutrients and shelter. These items tend to very expensive on my planet you see...."

I'd then ask if they have a way to simplify or increase the efficiency of these rudimentary needs.

as for why, if you don't already know WHY you dream, then you never will understand the need, no matter how hard you try

Re: For Anyone Curious About Obama’s Birth Certificate

ichael S Black — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:30:50 -0000

Try living in Delaware...

The "infamous" town hall meeting going about the Interwebs right now with Mike Castle is from far south Delaware..