Rogue Nantucket WiFi cop embroiders the truth (some more)

Grok Headline matches for Rogue Nantucket WiFi cop embroiders the truth (some more)

Rogue cop invents anti-WiFi laws, shakes
down man-of-cloth

Rogue cop invents anti-WiFi laws, shakes
down man-of-cloth 08/22/2004 11:28 PM
Cory Doctorow: A copper outside of the Athenaeum in Illinois shoook down the Reverend AKMA -- the bloggin' theologian -- who was using the library's WiFi from out front of the building. The incident that unfolded is flabberghasting, with the cop inventing whole new laws and then insisting that AKMA was violating them:

"Sir, you can't use the Internet outside the library."

I said, "What?" (I'm pretty clever under pressure.)

The officer in question (whose conduct was entirely professional, firm, and calm behind those mirrored shades) solemnly assured me that in order to use the library's open wireless signal, I had to be seated within the library. The officer then wandered on back to the nearby police station.

I dutifully, if reluctantly, turned off the power to my Airport card and, since I had only been on the bench a few minutes, began working -- offline -- on what turns out to be this post. I had noticed two other weak but open signals in the area, and I figured that I could post this perplexing moment via one of the other open signals, then scuttle back to the studio. As I was writing, the officer returned and -- as the officer walked straight for me -- I held up my TiBook, pointing to the zero lines in the Airport icon, and showed the officer that my card was off.

"Why don't you just close that up, sir, or use your computer elsewhere?'

I closed the computer in order not to constitute a threat to established order, but engaged this peace officer in a discussion of the complexities of the topic. "I did notice several other open signals in the area -- am I allowed to connect to them?"

"Maybe if you had permission it would be all right, but it's a new law, sir; 'theft of signal.' It would be like if you stole someone's cable TV connection."

Link (Thanks, AKMA!)

It'll go over well in Nantucket...

It'll go over well in Nantucket... 08/18/2004 04:43 AM
The OEDILF is an audacious project which is attempting to write a limerick for every word in the English language. 642 limericks have been completed so far. Here's an overview of the project. Is it possible? Here's what editor-in-chief Chris J. Stolin says:

Skeptics say it's inconceivable.
A new OED? Unbelievable!
But I feel secure
That if we only endure,
It's a goal that is wholly achievable!

(via languagehat. )

Nantucket-Fi

Nantucket-Fi 08/04/2004 09:49 AM
Please don't try to escape your busy lives by visiting an island miles off-shore: Call me Tropos. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having little or no Internet access, and nothing particular to interest me on my Blackberry, I thought I would surf about a little and see the watery part of the world wide web. It is a way I have of driving off the spam and regulating my network traffic. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to surf the Web as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the Internet. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards Tim Berners-Lee with me. Apologies to my dear Mr. Melville. A Nantucket startup plans to install Tropos equipment and use Airpath's back-end to offer service across 800 acres on the island and out to marinas and surrounding waters. The plan requires public approval because of certain aspects of occupying space. Since the FCC recently ruled that only it can oversee unlicensed spectrum, I have to assume that Wi-Fi Blast, the WISP, needs access to poles or public property. (If not, they should read that FCC decision.) The article includes a great baseline number: a resort on the island installed Wi-Fi last year at its properties and grossed $16,000 so far this year at $10 a day and $60 per month. About 50,000 people visit Nantucket in its busy summer season. Pricing hasn't yet been set. Roaming with other Airpath locations is part of the deal, too. The arrival of widespread WiFi access on the playground of beautiful people and billionaires would mark a watershed in commercial WiFi technology. Hardly....

The Truth About FOX News is That It is
Not the Truth: It is Murdoch's Right
Wing Shill Machine for Bush 11/1

The Truth About FOX News is That It is
Not the Truth: It is Murdoch's Right
Wing Shill Machine for Bush 11/1 11/03/2003 06:39 AM
Miles from 'fair and balanced' .. Media Matters column .. fair

latimes.com/features/lifestyle/cl-et-rutten1nov01,1,234902.colu mn?coll=la-headlines-lifestyle
track this site | 5 links

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - Senator
Kerry: Tell the Truth and We'll Stop the
Ads

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - Senator
Kerry: Tell the Truth and We'll Stop the
Ads 09/01/2004 06:10 AM
open letter to John Kerry .. offered

swift4.he.net/~swift4/article.php?story=20040831145849995
track this site | 4 links

A new Nantucket perennial garden

A new Nantucket perennial garden 06/09/2004 12:25 PM
One of the things I did while on Nantucket was plant a new perennial garden along the edge of the lawn. My Nantucket Perennial Garden gets lots of sun, so I picked plants that would thrive with sun. I also selected plants that were relatively tough, since the soil is sandy and during the summer it can get pretty dry. It took about three days of work to get the garden completed, and my mom helped me get all the plants into the ground. It was lots of fun, and if I had more money to buy plants, I'd keep extend the garden along the rest of that edge of the lawn. For now, what's there will suffice. And who knew I could make a stone wall? Not me.

Kerry Tests Waters on Vacation in Posh
Nantucket

Kerry Tests Waters on Vacation in Posh
Nantucket 06/20/2004 04:08 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jun 20 2004 7:37PM GMT

Ventana to Present at the Wachovia
Securities Nantucket Equity Conference

Ventana to Present at the Wachovia
Securities Nantucket Equity Conference 06/24/2005 03:04 PM
Market Wire Jun 23 2005 11:24PM GMT

"In this mourning space, however, there
must be room made for the truth. Writer
Edward Abbey once said, "The sneakiest
form of literary subtlety, in a corrupt
society, is to speak the plain truth.
The critics will not understand you; the
public will not..."

"In this mourning space, however, there
must be room made for the truth. Writer
Edward Abbey once said, "The sneakiest
form of literary subtlety, in a corrupt
society, is to speak the plain truth.
The critics will not understand you; the
public will not..." 06/14/2004 09:52 AM

On scientific truth and Christian
truth...

On scientific truth and Christian
truth... 07/16/2004 06:40 AM

In the middle of an article about the way that the religious right have interfered with scientific work in the US, I find a troubling paragraph:

At a time when biology is poised to undergo a fundamental revolution, the US government, arguably the most potent government in the history of the world, is rife with White House appointees who believe that scientific truth and Christian truth cannot be synonymous, and may well be in opposition.

I ask myself - do I believe that scientific truth and Christian truth can be synonymous? My answer - no. I ask myself - do I believe that they may well be in opposition? My answer - yes. The only difference between me and the people from the religious right then, is that we disagree with which 'truth' is the more reliable. I stick on the side of the people who test their conclusions and refine their belief systems with reference to evidence - they stick to the side of the people who believe that a magic being sets bushes on fire and turns women into salt.

So the scary bit for me is not that the nutters in power believe that the two are incompatible, but that the assumption is that for reasonable, normal, run-of-the-mill scientists all across America that it's normal to be able to reconcile meteorology with the concept of rains of blood and biology with people who bring people back from the dead...

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Free open WiFi on Tacoma-Washington
train, courtesy WiFi hacker

Free open WiFi on Tacoma-Washington
train, courtesy WiFi hacker 03/24/2005 08:15 PM
Cory Doctorow: A Seattle wireless hacker rides a commuter train from Tacoma every day with a battery-powered WiFi hotspot in his backpack that's linked up to the Internet with a 14.4 144k wireless modem. Catch his train and get free WiFi on your commute.

The open wireless node can be found in the first car of the last morning train and in Car 403 on the 5:10pm return trip. Use SSID "FreeInternetAccess" or "seattlewireless" to connect - You may have to assign yourself an IP in the range 192.168.0.0/24 and use the Default Gateway 192.168.0.1 as the DHCP is sometimes flakey

Link (via Make)

Hermosa Beach, California Launches Free
Citywide WiFi Service using advanced
WiFi-Plus obstruction penetrating
antennas.

Hermosa Beach, California Launches Free
Citywide WiFi Service using advanced
WiFi-Plus obstruction penetrating
antennas. 08/05/2004 03:39 AM
Los Angeles Beach Community WiFi service made possible by WiFi-Plus antennas. Makes internet available on the beach. [PRWEB Aug 5, 2004]

Review: WiFi Seeker / WiFi Spy

Review: WiFi Seeker / WiFi Spy 07/16/2004 04:50 PM
A few weeks ago I got Chrisalis Developemnt's WiFi Seeker, a convenient keychain-sized wireless network locator. Marware's recently announced WiFi Spy is a rebranded version of the same device, so it should perform identically.

To locate a wireless network simply press the button and watch the LEDs. When the lights stop sweeping back and forth, the number that remain lit will show the strength of the wireless signal. If the lights continue to sweep back and forth, you're not in range for any wireless network. Unlike other devices, the WiFi Seeker isn't fooled by other 2.5 GHz signals like microwave ovens or cordless phones, and it doesn't depend on 802.11 client activity to detect the access point. It detects both 802.11b and 802.11g.

"Many media outlets have been providing
a relatively easy outlet for the
so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth" (SBV for short; more
appropriately described as the Swift
Boat Veterans Who Have a Problem With
The Truth or as Swift Boat Veteran..."

"Many media outlets have been providing
a relatively easy outlet for the
so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth" (SBV for short; more
appropriately described as the Swift
Boat Veterans Who Have a Problem With
The Truth or as Swift Boat Veteran..." 08/12/2004 08:05 AM

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -
Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth Member Larry Thurlow

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -
Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth Member Larry Thurlow 08/20/2004 10:56 AM
Statement By Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Member Larry Thurlow .. Larry Thurlow responds to attacks from the Kerry campaign .. Instead Thurlow has spurned this dishonorable honor

swiftvets.com/article.php?story=20040819100856500
track this site | 4 links

Rogue Clone IV

Rogue Clone IV 05/07/2004 09:02 AM
1000 downloads

Rogue Waves

Rogue Waves 08/08/2004 05:40 AM
Rogue Waves

1) Rogue Waves
http://www.e nviroliteracy.org/article.php/257.html
2) Ship-Sinking Monster Waves Revealed by ESA Satellites
http://www.es a.int/esaCP/SEMOKQL26WD_index_0.html
3) MaxWave
http://www.e nviroliteracy.org/article.php/257.html
4) Rogue Waves and Explorations of Coastal Wave Characteristics
htt p://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Task_rpts/2002/ppliu02-3.html
5) Rogue Waves
http: //www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2003/10/10.php
6) Freak Waves
http ://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/neptune-side-waves.html
7) Joint Time-Frequency Properties of Freak Waves
http:// www.ece.utexas.edu/~thkim/Taek_files/isope04.pdf

While many people in the nautical world have told stories of large freak ocean waves for years, in the past most people had dismissed the seemingly unlikely rogue waves as myths. New oceanographic research, however, has validated these tales.

First, the Environmental Literacy Council provides an introduction to rogue waves (1). Students and educators can learn about the many mysteries that surround the giant waves. Next, the European Space Agency (ESA) describes its findings of the widespread existence of very large ocean waves that may actually be a leading cause of the sinking of large ships (2). Users can learn about the advantages of using radar satellites to investigate the oceans. The third website presents the MaxWave research project's investigations of low frequency wave fields, extreme individual waves, and wave groups for deep and shallow waters (3). While data is not yet available, users can download publications and find information on meetings, conferences, and international participants. At the fourth site, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) present its past and future investigations dealing with rogue waves (4). Visitors can learn how conventional wave measurements and their assumptions make it difficult to discover freak waves. The fifth site, produced by the Mount Washington Observatory, provides a text and audio report by Robin White on rogue waves and the destruction the deadly waves can create (5). Users can learn ways in which the waves may develop. Next, PBS furnishes a summary of rogue waves and identifies where they are more likely to occur (6). Visitors can find a variety of fun, educational animations including wave simulations. Lastly, the University of Texas at Austin provides a pdf scientific paper discussing research that has helped scientists to distinguish between freak and non-freak waves (7). Students and researchers can discover and view graphs of the joint time-frequency characteristics of a freak waves. [From The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003. http://scout.wisc.edu/]

The Rogue-like Engine

The Rogue-like Engine 10/30/2003 11:24 AM
Variant Manager Design Completed

The Rogue DNS Phenomenon

The Rogue DNS Phenomenon 03/20/2003 01:05 PM
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for allocating IP addresses and domain names, has not been winning many friends of late. Its recent decision to drop all elected seats on its board of directors was especially unpopular. What most people do not know is that there are alternatives to ICANN.

A Rogue By Any Other Name Still Stinks

A Rogue By Any Other Name Still Stinks 11/04/2003 12:52 AM
A rogue access point on a company that takes its wireless LAN security seriously still painful to detect: You can see how even with a strong set of policies, it's easy for an employee to subvert them. You might understand now why some companies have strict bag searches for employees entering and leaving the building. Those of you who saw the Al Pacino movie The Recruit will remember that one of the most plausible technology plot points involved a hidden USB hard drive. (Of course, CIA computers probably have their USB drives sealed and USB drivers set to restrict access, but you never know.) One of the factors that makes rogue wireless access points difficult to cope with is that local wired networks are often security free. This is changing, of course, with the rise of VLANs and secure fileserver mounting. The Recruit 2: Revenge of the Nerds will obviously feature someone with a micro-Wi-Fi-antenna....

Rogue Leader Bargain

Rogue Leader Bargain 12/08/2003 03:36 PM
KBToys.com has a pretty big video game sale going on right now, which includes the GameCube title Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II for $15.99. Try using the coupon KBDECTEN to get an additional 10% off. A thanks to Richard for the tip!

Targeting rogue hot spots

Targeting rogue hot spots 11/19/2003 02:06 PM
CNET Nov 19 2003 1:45PM ET

Rogue Squadron On The Cheap

Rogue Squadron On The Cheap 04/24/2004 06:40 PM
The Nintendo GameCube title Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is available at Wal-Mart right now for a mere $20. That's about half the price of most places. Check it out.

Rogue dialers now use satellite

Rogue dialers now use satellite 12/02/2003 06:34 AM
The Register Dec 2 2003 5:35AM ET

Rogue pharmacies still thriving

Rogue pharmacies still thriving 12/22/2004 01:11 AM
Fake medicines and identity theft

letters from a rogue state

letters from a rogue state 03/20/2003 08:29 AM
I just saw the President on TV. He announced that the US was ignoring the will of much of the country, ignoring the will of the Security Council, ignoring the will of much of the world, and going ahead with...

Rogue diallers now use satellite

Rogue diallers now use satellite 12/02/2003 06:30 AM
But how do they make money?

Rogue lawyer 'guilty' in QXL case

Rogue lawyer 'guilty' in QXL case 09/10/2004 12:38 PM
QXL Ricardo, the UK's version of internet auction site Ebay, scores a victory in its bid to win back control of its "stolen" Polish arm.

Calling time on rogue diallers

Calling time on rogue diallers 08/04/2004 01:25 AM
News.bbc.co.uk - Tue Aug 3, 06:38 pm GMT

Rogue net diallers prompt review

Rogue net diallers prompt review 08/03/2004 07:35 AM
Ofcom is to look at how to regulate premium rate services, in an attempt to stop unscrupulous activities.

Rogue PC rings up GBP700 bill

Rogue PC rings up GBP700 bill 08/30/2004 10:21 AM
BBC Aug 30 2004 1:58PM GMT

Rogue Amoeba releases Nicecast 1.0

Rogue Amoeba releases Nicecast 1.0 12/08/2003 11:51 AM
Rogue Amoeba Software has released the final version of Nicecast 1.0, its software that allows you to easily broadcast music from Mac OS X...

Beware the rogue access points

Beware the rogue access points 06/10/2004 06:32 AM
Wireless security headaches

Watchdog takes on rogue diallers

Watchdog takes on rogue diallers 03/17/2005 04:20 AM
News.bbc.co.uk - Tue Mar 15, 05:11 pm GMT

In Brief: Rogue Wave Software partners
with Sun

In Brief: Rogue Wave Software partners
with Sun 12/24/2004 12:45 PM
Rogue Wave Software and Sun Microsystems have formed an alliance intended to help enterprises quickly and easily migrate legacy applications to Sun's Solaris 10 OS. The agreement calls for Rogue Wave to port and certify its enterprise C++ development toolkits including SourcePro Core, SourcePro Net, SourcePro DB, SourcePro Analysis, and Rogue Wave LEIF on Solaris 10 for both Sparc- and AMD Opteron-based systems. These tools are particularly aimed at helping help developers in the financial services, telecommunications, and government sectors to migrate existing Windows apps and develop new applications on Solaris 10.

Announcement: Rogue Amoeba Slipstream

Announcement: Rogue Amoeba Slipstream 12/24/2004 12:13 PM
Rogue Amoeba announced Slipstream, an application that will make it possible for AirPort Express owners to hear audio from any application remotely, not just from iTunes.

Rogue code can take down Linux systems

Rogue code can take down Linux systems 06/16/2004 03:41 AM
ZDNet UK Jun 16 2004 8:01AM GMT

BT moves to block rogue diallers

BT moves to block rogue diallers 06/29/2004 10:50 AM
vnunet.com Jun 29 2004 1:49PM GMT

Rogue Amoeba releases Audio Hijack Pro 2

Rogue Amoeba releases Audio Hijack Pro 2 07/28/2004 10:58 AM
Rogue Amoeba Software has announced the release of Audio Hijack Pro 2, a new version of its audio recording/enhancing utility...
Grok Description matches for Rogue Nantucket WiFi cop embroiders the truth (some more)
GrokA matches for Rogue Nantucket WiFi cop embroiders the truth (some more)

WiFi Signals In Between Television
Frequencies

WiFi Signals In Between Television
Frequencies 05/18/2004 10:32 AM

Reverend AKMA almost arrested for
stealing public wifi

Reverend AKMA almost arrested for
stealing public wifi 08/22/2004 07:16 PM

OK He wasn't almost arrested, but he was told that he couldn't be use computer within range of the open wifi network of the public library by a policeman. The officer cites some law against it and describes all of the terrible things Reverend AKMA could be doing. When AKMA asks whether this was a state or federal law, the officer says, "It’s a federal law, sir; a Secret Service agent came and explained it to us.”

Anyway, it's worth reading his entire post. What law is this officer referring to and how can we undo damage that misinformed (if there is no such law) Secret Service agents are causing? If it were me or some other less pious person, I'm sure the policeman might not have been as nice.

Comment - TrackBack

"Stealing" Music

"Stealing" Music 10/29/2003 01:14 AM
The music industry (aka RIAA) is on a hellish campaign to convince you that file traders are stealing music. They’re even about to start putting up television commercials to poke this into the mindset of the average American. The problem...

On stealing authenticity...

On stealing authenticity... 10/29/2003 12:10 AM

So I'm sitting at my new Powerbook watching The Man of Law's Tale when Cameron Marlow IM's me to say that he's in this conference watching a paper called, Visual Factors In Constructing Authenticity In Weblogs and they've just started citing the design of my site. It would probably be disingenuous of me to say that I just ripped off kottke, although when I first showed it to him, he did think it was a joke. Sigh. Anyway, it looks like an interesting paper:

The emergence of weblogs as contributing to the public sphere has returned concerns about authenticity in renewed form: readers who encounter weblogs must construct some basis of trust in the content and the subjectivity represented there in textual form. Many sources of authenticity are largely verbal (mutual citations, ideological coherence, recognized links, ease of access, ranking on index sites). Beyond these, however, there are visual cues which tend to promote confidence: these visual cues are more easily overlooked but nonetheless important in establishing the writers’ credibility.

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Stealing Nemo

Stealing Nemo 12/30/2003 01:37 PM
As if Steve Jobs needed another reason to call his lawyer, French author Franck Le Calvez has Sued Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, citing claims of alleged plagiarism. LeCalvez is claiming damages for breach of copyright and trademark, and demanding that Nemo books and merchandise be pulled from French shops. The author asserts his book, Pierrot Le Poisson Clown, has been pulled from the shelves of French bookstores since it was “too similar” to the...

Stealing From an Infant

Stealing From an Infant 03/28/2005 03:03 PM
Bill Mann pulled out the calculator to figure out how much a corporate embezzler took from his infant son.

Holovaty on Stealing

Holovaty on Stealing 02/11/2004 09:44 AM

Read Adrian Holovaty's "Topix.net service policy: Hypocrisy in action"
well written... I agree... Topix just drains traffic from otherwise deserving websites, but then again, it might add traffic to those little websites it steals from... depends on how you look at it.

It's Not That They're Stealing, It's
That They're Lazy

It's Not That They're Stealing, It's
That They're Lazy 01/09/2004 09:57 PM
Exhibit A: An unattributed article on Google Bombing posted last month on the Web site of Glenn Beck, a radio talk show guy. Exhibit B: An article on Google Bombing from 2001 on Uber.nu, attributed to Adam Mathes. Compare and contrast. It's possible Beck purchased the article for reprint, but the lack of attribution, either to Mathes or So New Media, suggests against it. Assuming plagiarism, two questions: 1. After a decade of the existence of the Web, how is it that people still don't get the concept that content plagiarized from the Web is easily discoverable, particularly when posted on the Web? 2. Honestly, now, is it really that hard to rewrite? Unrelated article on the Glenn Beck site: The Death of Shame. (via Oliver Willis)

Is anyone stealing your content

Is anyone stealing your content 03/08/2004 11:16 PM
With a lot of people covering world events, tech news etc then what is found many times is some of...

IE Certificate Stealing (Phising) bug

IE Certificate Stealing (Phising) bug 04/30/2004 05:37 PM
E.Kellinis (Apr 30 2004)

Software Worthy Of Stealing

Software Worthy Of Stealing 08/15/2004 06:12 AM
The Mac OS is in John Dvorak's Top 10 Most Important Software Programs, ever.

Men Charged With Stealing $41G in
Clams (AP)

Men Charged With Stealing $41G in
Clams (AP) 07/31/2004 10:16 PM
AP - Two men were charged with grand theft Friday for allegedly stealing more than $41,000 worth of clams from an aquaculture farm in Cedar Key, officials said.

How the PC grinch is stealing Christmas

How the PC grinch is stealing Christmas 12/07/2003 09:46 PM
Irish Times Dec 7 2003 9:33PM ET

City PA jailed for stealing £4.3m

City PA jailed for stealing £4.3m 06/14/2004 10:10 AM
A City secretary who stole millions of pounds from her bosses is sentenced to seven years in prison.

Sly Fox Caught Stealing Kan. Newspapers
(AP)

Sly Fox Caught Stealing Kan. Newspapers
(AP) 07/15/2004 08:42 PM
AP - Neighbors in a subdivision of this small eastern Kansas community have spent weeks trying to catch whoever was stealing their Kansas City Star newspapers.

Stealing Back the Airwaves

Stealing Back the Airwaves 05/07/2004 05:01 AM
As summer camps go, it's unusual. In four days, you can learn to build transmitters and antennas, and get advice on handling any FCC agents wondering about your new radio station. By Jason Silverman.

Men Charged With Stealing $41K of
Clams (AP)

Men Charged With Stealing $41K of
Clams (AP) 07/30/2004 08:42 PM
AP - Two men were charged with grand theft Friday for allegedly stealing more than $41,000 worth of clams from an aquaculture farm in Cedar Key, officials said.

[s2n] Borrowing or stealing panel

[s2n] Borrowing or stealing panel 04/08/2005 12:47 PM
Terry Fisher runs a panel. Bill Alford wrote a book about the Chinese views of "intellectual property," called To Steal a Book Is an Elegant Offense. He says that the Chinese have a sense of the past as a living, shared context. One makes one's mark not by breaking from the past (as our Romantic geniuses do) but by making it one's own. "Copying doesn't carry the same dark implications as in the West." Unfortunately, I missed most of what Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club, had to say. When I came in, he was speaking charmingly about noticing...

RE: IE Certificate Stealing (Phising)
bug

RE: IE Certificate Stealing (Phising)
bug 05/01/2004 11:51 AM
Michael Wojcik (May 01 2004)

Stealing the Network: How to Own a
Continent

Stealing the Network: How to Own a
Continent 08/22/2004 07:30 AM
Cory Doctorow: Whil I was on holidays, I read Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent. This is the sequel to "Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box," and like the previous volume, it consists of short stories written by extremely talented hackers in which the computer bits are reported so faithfully that the books can be thought of as especially colourful HOWTOs, technical documents dressed up with narrative.

As such, they are terrific. I would much rather read a Stealing the Network volume than any hundred HOWTOs and Anarchy Filez: STN has the tone of a really good bullshitting session at a DefCon or Hackers on Planet Earth, hackers spinning war-stories about hacks they've pulled off, or have conceived of. Make no mistake, these are imaginative and brilliant technical people.

As stories, these pieces are sometimes clumsy. The prose rarely rises above journeyman level (it's at its best when the authors stick to declarative, Hemingwayesque sentences, but too often they stray into "colourful" similes and descriptive phrases that can be cliched and even unintentionally funny), and there's not a lot of characterization to be had, and virtually no character development. That said, the book is still a rip-snortin' read, mostly because while it's not the best fiction ever written, it is some of the best, most engaging technical nonfiction you're likely to find.

A couple of the stories are very funny -- I'm particularily fond of the "A Real Gullible" piece, which is an homage to one of the great hacker farces of all time, Real Genius. There's a lot of that kind of nerd humour and nerd folk art sprinkled throughout this volume, and for that alone, it's worth reading.

It's a good formula and a smart one, too: how else could you produce a tech book that was still worth keeping in print 18 months later? Link

Stealing gallery space

Stealing gallery space 03/23/2005 08:34 PM

This is the best thing I've seen on the web in the last few weeks. An artist from the UK named Banksy went into four of NYC's most prominent museums -- the Met, the Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum, and the MoMA -- and installed four of his own pieces of art:

Dressed as a British pensioner, over the last few days Banksy entered each of the galleries and attached one of his own works, complete with authorative name plaque and explanation.

He says - "This historic occasion has less to do with finally being embraced by the fine art establishment and is more about the judicious use of a fake beard and some high strength glue." Banksy continues -"They're good enough to be in there, so I don't see why I should wait"

Staff at the New York Met discovered and removed their new aquisition early Sunday morning while Banksy's discount soup can print took pride of place in the MoMA for over three days before being torn down.

As of now, the other two pieces currently remain firmly in place.

Be sure to click through to see the photos. As far as I'm concerned, this is probably more interesting than most of whatever else is happening in the art world right now and instead of tearing it down, the MoMA should move it into their contemporary art collection. Thanks to ci tyrag for the link.

Rogue Nantucket WiFi cop embroiders the truth (some more)

The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: stealing wifi signals nantucket 802.11b