Author: alohawild

It is Thursday morning when I write this, and the sun has been up for a while. I woke up at Eastern Time sunrise, rolled over, and then woke up for sunrise in Pacific Time, and rolled over again. My body did not have time to switch to Eastern, meaning now I am completely mixed up. I head for a short trip to Michigan a week from now.

It is nice to be home, but my office is a mess, and the house looks disorganized. Oddly, even with the endless spending on travel, my finances are doing well. My revenge on Trump is to live well and spend it. When I am too old to travel, I will give it away to local liberal causes. And sorry for the political comment to my Republican friends, but F**k you, Trump!

Aside: Although the math does not pencil out to giving away some to cover the taxes on the cash I withdraw from my IRA to live on, it is not a total waste. For about an increased 20-30% burn of cash, I can give away a lot of money (well, for me it is a lot, F**K you, billionaires) to liberal and my church and pay little in tax. I like that. I will also start Social Security (if those F**kers in DOGE and in the Republican controlled Congress have not made it impossible for new filers to get paid).

More: Sorry again to my right or center-right American readers, but after my experience with TSA, I am a little more pushed to the left now. I understand that the TSA sent me a note stating it was not their fault, but Delta’s. However, I had assumed the TSA was responsible for airport security. Growl! Apparently, the only person keeping you safe and headed the right way in an airport is yourself. 

Returning to Wednesday, my coffee is locally roasted and from the local veggie market at 185th and TV Highway. It is dark and bitter, much like the current administration. I drink deep and let the bitter come. I am reminded that Justice with Compassion is the goal, and how bitter it will be for so many bad actors when we finally reach this goal. While it seems contradictory, for me, dear reader, the darker/bitter the moment, the brighter/sweeter it will be soon. It is called Hope.

I drink half a pot of dark coffee to keep going. I am almost bouncing in my chair as I write more than 1,600 words, and I still rushed the ending. It was a crazy and educational day yesterday. The highs and lows of my experience were invaluable. I love to travel!

I make coffee by grinding the beans, from Gather, Darkness brand, using my brush to clean every bit of coffee dust from the grinder, and then filling it with tap water (where a coffee purist might just wince). I shook out all the laundry from my bags, and moved the clean stuff (though wrinkled) to hangers or put it away. I did two loads of laundry in The Machine, which was expensively repaired ($380 to replace the sensor, and then free to fix the leak that was caused by the repair). It worked without coding or flooding. About two hours per load, when loads are smallish. I continued writing while doing two loads. My iPhone App for LG tracks the progress. I did not buy a smart dishwasher (for an additional $200) because I did not want it, like a Douglas Adams story, to happily inform me of its status. I also get updates from Air VW the Gray. It is currently worrying that its doors are unlocked (inside the garage). My experience with so-called Smart Devices makes me sure that the definitions of smart and intelligence are too imprecise.

Returning to Wednesday, I wrote and wrote, and took a screenshot of the TSA explanations and put that in the blog (the screenshot text is generally not searchable), and included that with my pictures of Queens Zoo and the nearby park. With that finally done, I showered, and all of that.

I spent time in the morning and afternoon reading more about quantum computers, and I learned that the math is deep and the physics is outside of my high school level classes. I will need to skills-up to work on this. I decided that this was the direction I wanted to go after all the options that HOPE_16 offered. I am less interested in traditional hacking, which involves breaking into computers. Instead, I am interested in breaking encryption with a simulated quantum computer, an older form of hacking — more Maker and DIY. Years ago, when I applied to work for the NSA right out of college, this was the area I wanted to work in; I am grateful that I did not end up in the shadows.

I am at a loss to understand how the traveling salesman problem can be broken by a quantum computer, but it might be possible after learning about Concord software and its ability to produce a good-enough solution on large versions of the problem. Python has an open-source simulator for this work, and I am starting to read and understand it. The gap between my understanding and math/physics is significant, but I would like to try.

Encryptment uses factoring and elliptic curve calculations, and interestingly, the ellipse problem I worked on in the 1980s, trying to use FORTRAN’s math libraries to calculate, and failing, to solve inexact measurements of ellipse to determine the actual original ellipse, an unsolvable problem (though I thought it could be solved with something now that I have read about in the Concord software).

I purchased a new Raspberry Pi 5, a ready-to-use system and monitor, from SparkFun. I want to make sparkling lights to show the status of the simulated quantum computer, and a Pi seemed a good choice. I ordered the whole kit because I did not wish to assemble it from various parts I already had. I initially wanted something easy that would let me focus on programming.

I stopped in Beaverton at Powell’s, where I picked up a used number theory book for about $15 and a Ritter chocolate bar (Eric A, “Elric,” loved them, and I think of him whenever I get one). I also dined at Pastrini nearby and saw Charlotte J, who was having lunch there too. Charlotte and I agreed this one was better than most, and the portion sizes for lunch were perfect ($13 plus drink). Charlotte started me on the path of remodeling part of the church; it was her idea, and I think of her often as I press the process forward.

I read more about Quantum at lunch (here), and I found the Python class and notebooks on how to use the simulation, called QuTiP (Python tradition is to use crazy names for things). My goal is to utilize quantum computing code in Python to solve a reduced version of factoring on a Raspberry Pi 5 (with added flashing lights), thereby breaking easier encryption as a dazzling demonstration. I may have to search out some online classes on math (I don’t remember much of my linear algebra) and matrix versions of the physics calculations. I have taught myself AI, Python coding, and various other things.

To start such a journey is the hardest part. You see the path in your mind, and that is not too bad. Then, the clouds part, and you realize that what you saw was just a waystation, with the summit far off. There are also requirements for the journey that look difficult, and those are the ones you know!

But I love to travel, even in just my mind. Time to start. Equipment is on its way! I have a book that I can barely read, and it is written in English, but I have it. Here we go!

I get Tiramisu to go. I am tired (and a bit overwhelmed) and arrive home and take a nap. I rise, finish the laundry, clean the kitchen, and have the Italian dessert for lunch. I take Air VW the Gray to First United Methodist Church and meet the choir and Z. Z and I play the board game, Concordia, using the Roma board. Z gets every good move, and soon leads me by twenty points! I build and collect many personality cards, but those don’t Z. The Mason card, usually a weak card, supplies Z with bricks and points for brick-cities. I manage to chase her to the end, but she finishes her houses, scoring seven points for ending the game, and that is enough to beat me by seven points, though I would say the Mason card works well in the Roma board. I passed on it three times. Hmmm. Next time!

We agree that the newish board, Roma, with its alternative rules for ships, makes the game better. Recommended. We might try Sicily (on the reverse of the Roma board) next, with its erupting volcano, because it looks fun. A standee volcano on the board!

I returned home, and instead of sleeping, I watched the next episode of Wednesday, which led me to miss the clues in the second episode. I would recommend it because it has some great lines. For example, when asked if Wednesday’s mom, Morticia, could be convinced to leave, “That casket is closed,” explained Gomez. Recommended, though I found the storyline confusing.

It was still not late, but I put on my PJs and read. I am enjoying The House at Devil’s Neck: A Locked-Room Mystery (Joseph Spector Series) by Tom Mead on my Kindle. I have read all the preceding books and enjoyed them all. Recommended for those interested in learning about a fictional retired magician in 1930s Britain who solves impossible cases as an advisor to Scotland Yard. I like the mix of crime and stage magic.

I sleep after that, setting back on the AC, and wake up later, feeling cold. I managed to sleep until, as I said at the start, until 3ish.

Thanks for reading!

 

(Grammarly dropped my past tense — I did not notice…sorry if it bounces back and forth).

I rose around 6:30, as the sunrise woke me, and was awakened by many vivid dreams, making Tuesday morning’s rise hard. I had started packing the night before, and soon I was assembling my return to Oregon while doing all the usual morning stuff. I was extra careful to put everything on top of the luggage and not forget anything (except a few cookies). I first tried to be neat, but then I just stuffed it all in and sat on the bag until it closed. I have a ridiculously expensive bag that folds up into a suit carrier, too, and it always surprises me what those zippers can withstand. It can handle about two weeks of clothing plus a few days of extra T-shirts.

My carry-on, a red Nike gym bag, is heavy again with the 15″ Apple adding the most weight. Although I like the screen on my 2023 model MacBook Air (an M2 with 24 GB of memory and 2 TB of fast solid-state storage), and the colors are wonderful, a smaller footprint would be a better fit, which is what I mainly saw at HOPE_16. You can open the 13″ in an airplane; it weighs about the same as a book, and a maxed-out one from Apple is about $2,100 (and a used 14″ slightly older model at OWC with less storage for about half).

I head to breakfast down in the lobby. I sit with a friend I made, Savy (I think that is the spelling), at HOPE_16. She has to rush as her and her husband’s flight is in the late morning. We talked for a while. I managed to finish the blog, though I rushed that last bit of writing as I was time-boxed, and thanked the staff.

With everything put away and in one of two bags (except the last two Milano Cookies), I checked again and headed out. While not overly emotional, I always look back at the hotel room, my home while I was there, and wish it well and thanks. The front desk woman takes my bags to hold until my return and room key. I head out and order an Uber to the Queens Zoo, which I know is close to the US Open (tennis, for those who don’t speak sports), and there may be some challenges. Tickets to the small zoo, recommended by Rev. Ann, are timed-entry, and I picked the opening time the night before.

The Uber dropped me at the museum, and I had to walk back to the park, where I then headed to the Queens Zoo, which is located inside. It is a lovely park. I reached the zoo, with the back pain from yesterday returning, but fades, and watched them open the gates a moment later.

It is a small and happy zoo. The animals looked well, and the glass was so clean that when the mountain lion passed within a few feet of me, I jumped back as it looked at me! A giant aviary with a slow spiral up and back down path, which walked you through the trees, was a surprise. Sea lions are at the center of the park, and they were barking and seemed to enjoy posing for photographs. The fluffy cows (bison) were set far back to prevent anyone from petting them (terrible idea).

The zoo is arranged in a circular layout with paths that allow visitors to see the animals. Most of the space is for the animals. Only the outer path is paved, which makes it feel more natural. For lunch at their Zoo Truck, I had a pair of hot dogs with fries and a Diet Coke. I regretted that they had only honey mustard and no onions for the dogs. Still, it was nice to sit in the shade, have a dog, read my new novel on my Kindle app, and listen to the crowd and the sea lions.

The place was full of little summer campers. The summer camps are finishing up as schools begin to start up, and visiting the Queens Zoo today seemed to be on the last things to do list. The mostly flat walking, the limited use of paving, and open spaces seemed ready-made for little people in mass. I saw many tiny campers walking while holding a rope, and all had matching T-shirts; even the adults who were helping were in matching shirts.

(It is huge!)

The 1964 World Fair was held in Queens, and this area is now a park made from those grounds (The same can be found in Spokane). I saw the giant Earth statue and other familiar (Men in Black) structures. The fountains were empty and many structures were being repaired, but it looked like the place was cared for, if not loved.

It was still a bit early, but it was hot, and I started trying to find my way out and to an Uber. I instead found the US Open and, though a hedge blocked my view, I could hear the play, “love.” I asked for help and was directed back to the same park where the Queens Zoo is located. I walked out of the park and down to a parking lot.

My Uber driver could not find me. Traffic was a mess. I slowly used the app to locate him. He was parked waiting for me on the street. He apologized, and I still gave him a large tip and a good rating. The traffic was messy from the US Open, but he got me back to my hotel without issue (but there were a few abrupt stops, horns, and one dodge).

I retrieved my luggage and soon had to walk out into traffic to get the Q75 bus (like last time). I read some and then watch the area go by. I try to see what I remember from the trip inbound, a game I play on buses (“where am I?”). I got off the bus and then wheeled to the wrong building. A friendly Info Desk person directed me to the next building. I was happy to find that the escalator at the Jamaica AirTrain building was working, and soon I was sitting on the train. It was standing room only.

Arriving, I took the escalators into Terminal 4, Delta. There was a line for printing tags at Delta that was three or more deep. This DIY luggage setup becomes messy when there are not enough machines to handle the momentary surge in people checking in. The space was crowded, and my situational awareness training was on red alert with the crowding.

My turn on a machine came after a short wait. This was after a young woman tried three times, until the machine, using her name, directed her to an agent. I felt for her — her USA passport scan was not enough (yikes!). I had no issue printing my luggage tag and dropping it off.

Security was 45 45-minute wait in total chaos. My situational awareness exploded. There was nobody directing people except for an occasional shout to go one way or another. I saw one man lead a whole collection of folks across the terminal to another line start location! Folks were cutting in and out of line. Clear was being sold, and it was clear that the only people working the crowd were the Clear folks, and this mess was to their advantage.

A man, in dark sunglasses, told me that my Real ID was good enough for free usage today (I had a passport card in my carry-on in case my wallet gets stolen or lost), and all I had to do was walk out of the line, and I would be on my way. Twenty minutes into the line, I finally reached the start. WTF! TSA was saying from here, rather Disney-like, that this was the start of the line, and it would be 30-35 minutes from there. It was an accurate count. TSA is misleading people by stating JFK has a 30-35 minute wait, when it’s actually closer to an hour, by measuring the wait from halfway.

I saw someone drop their stuff and then abandon it, as if there was no hope, and all of us commented that someone should help them. None of the TSA, Clear, or other folks helped. We were all too intimidated to leave our lines. It was more like a Soviet-style experience getting bread than a security process.

I was fed up, and with all this time, I connected with TSA on my browser in my iPhone and filed “TSA Customer Service Response: SR: 07406575 – Webform submission from: Complaint.” Yes, I had plenty of time to fill this out. I would suggest others do it when stupid happens. I did receive a response that night that was so corporate it made me laugh.  I took their customer service survey today and did not rate them very highly.

Here is the response, enjoy. Reading this, I am so happy that coercing passengers is not part of their job. And I was right, there are no TSA agents to get you in the right lines. It is up to you, alone in a crowd, to find a way in the maze to the actual TSA folks. I am also sure that asking for a TSA supervisor while trying to get through security is something I want — NOT! Here:

According to this, Delta Airlines is contracting Clear, not TSA. The whole mess is on Delta and not TSA. While it is hard for me to understand why this is, it is the usual finger-pointing I was expecting. TSA did not make it unsafe; Delta did, and I am sure Delta would say that TSA is responsible for the lines and security. Ugh!

My laptop and carry-on were waiting for me once I began the actual two-minute or so process.  I was told by the TSA that I was invisible. It took five scans to determine that my junk, yes, that, might contain something dangerous (so many jokes). After a thorough public check (so many jokes), I was released.

As you can imagine, the bar bill was a bit high after that. I found a sort of Mexican-style joint on the way to my gate that had Heineken on tap, my favorite, and it is hard to find in this world of excellently made local beers. Chips and salsa and then tacos. The man sitting next to me was relaxed as his flight had been moved from the morning to the evening and had a few drinks while waiting.

I mangled a signal and ended up with another Oh-My-F**king-God expensive draft beer. I was pretty relaxed by that and would drop my phone on the plane and not get it back until after we landed in Portland. Oops.

I waited only twenty minutes or less before boarding and then relaxed (except for cutting my arm trying to retrieve my phone — don’t reach under the seat!). The blood was not much, and I ignored it (three small sets of punctures that had been on my neck would have suggested a vampire visit). I watched some movies, had some coffee, and enjoyed some cookies.

It was not a really memorable trip, and soon we landed (but two beers helped, I think), retrieved my effects and phone, found my bag at baggage claim, and headed out. The metal tag on the checked bag was bent up more. I soon was on MAX and traveled through Portland to Beaverton.

I found a quick Uber home, again a nice tip, and soon found my PJs and was quickly asleep.

Thanks for reading.

I rose at 6:30 after sleeping well, but with non-remembered vivid dreams. I was still getting in 7,000 steps during the conference, which made sleeping easy, even with the time changes. I do run late, as it is after 11 before I pack it in for the night. I do the usual run of Quicken downloads to check all the transactions and balances. I often, if your are wondering, dear reader, check my balances at US Bank; I don’t totally rely on Quicken. I read my email and news on CNN and NYT, and drank my industrial room coffee, which I ran through the hotel-supplied coffee machine. I once again discovered that we liberals have an endless opportunity to improve the world by bringing Justice with Compassion. There is hope, and if you can ignore Trump’s headline baiting, and despite the damage from DOGE, we are still able to forecast hurricane paths — it will miss me.

I got a text that friends I met at HOPE_16 cannot join me in NYC, they are too tired (they have been doing back-to-back computer conferences). I had breakfast down in the lobby. It was less busy on Monday morning, but the US Open was still going on, and many people at breakfast were heading to the event. There is even an ESPN bus that takes folks from these hotels (the Courtyard is next door) to the tennis event.

I wrote a postcard for Mom Wild, a NYC-themed one, walked to the mailbox (it still amazes me that there is one, slightly graffiti-ed, here), dropped it in, and then found a local MTA bus to get me to NYC. I connect the bus, as before, with the E train, and then start to read on my iPhone using the Kindle App. I have taken the trip a few times, and I think I can read now instead of watching every station. I just realized at the last moment that I am already at my transfer. I have to do a few short hops/transfers to finally get to the A train, which runs to the extreme uptown, where the MET Cloisters museum is.

There are a lot of steps. So many that I have to stop a few times. A few bemused young people walked past me as I rested a few times. The stairs suck. I am getting my workout today. My balance isn’t an issue when going up the stairs, but later, I am challenged, and it takes some moxie to descend those sharp-edged, irregular, cliff-like stairs. I reach the top winded and my back hurts, which makes the trip less pleasurable since I am in pain the whole time I am in the museum. The M4 MTA bus pulls in as I walk to the entrance of the MET Cloisters museum. F**k, I will take that next time! I may have condemned the authors of the Maps software on my iPhone to eternal torment and damnation for not including the M4 in my trip.

There are more stairs. I have to wait on steps while folks buy their tickets. I am given a Senior discount, and after the steps, I do not object. I grabbed a physical map, and that was a good idea (though I just got lost over and over and discovered the map was vague). Later, there are more stairs because the bathrooms are a floor down!

The MET Cloisters museum is a built showcase of medieval and some Renaissance architectural pieces, now built into the museum. All reflecting a religious element, the building’s stone construction makes it seem as though the monks and nuns will appear at any moment to show us away. Stone-sculptured doorways from the 1100s are mixed with modern wooden, older-style doors. Pillars, everywhere, are built into the wall, suggesting a religious cloistered community building, and are often reused, with nearly a thousand-year-old original stone carvings. Stained glass that is five hundred years or older is incorporated into modern lead and glass work. To say this is a permanent display is not quite getting it. This is a built museum.

The unicorn tapestries have been here since the 1960s, when the Billinares families still built museums to take their loot and display it. The Museum of Pop Culture, built in a more recent time, is one of the few exceptions, founded by Paul Allen. The herb garden was recommended by a docent, and it was lovely and a mix of useful and often dead plants (all carefully marked). I found the cafe, and a friendly gentleman recommended the chocolate croissant with coffee, and it was excellent.

I spent a few hours and then dared the steps again. And while I survived without injury, my left knee actually started to fail once after the stairs, and I am grateful that I did not have that on the stairs, though I held the railing for most of the walk. I am also thankful that the honey bee that I somehow got in my bag of goodies (mostly postcards) did not sting me when I inadvertently pulled it out of the bag! I had not squeezed it as I did not know what it was (thinking a bookmark was added to my bag). That was a moment between staircases, which I am also grateful for.

I rested for a while and called Deborah, and we chatted about how lovely the Cloisters museum was. I then walked on Arden Street and then a block to the 1 train. I was wondering how much an apartment here costs. It was lovely ($1800 rent for a 350 sft studio on the third floor, a million for 2-bedroom condos). I found the 1 train and took it back to 79th and Zabar’s (Zay-bars to pronounce it) and ordered a bagel. I also bought a few easy-to-pack items (except for the coffee).

The bookstore across the street was great, and I found three cheap books on history and for $6 had them shipped. I paid no tax as I was making an out-of-state purchase of something being mailed. That paid for half of the shipping!

On the way back, I met a young woman and her son. He was sporting an A Train T-shirt and loves the subway. They take different trains based on what her son wants to see. An excellent plan, I thought. I will try to ride them all on one of these trips. Just keep transferring until you have them all!

I met friends I met at HOPE_16 (now rushing as I am out of time to write) for dinner, and we tried another kabab place, and it was terrific. We talked about programming, computers, and the upcoming trips. We ate fast, and I was back at the hotel. Deborah and I planned and built a trip to Michigan for me over Labor Day. All booked and added to TripIt. I also booked part of the November trip.

I finally slept, but woke often from dreams. My usual travel day reaction.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for rushing the last bit.

I felt a bit sad today as HOPE_16 was wrapping up. I rose at 5:30 to start my day early and finish writing the blog. I started in my hotel room and made coffee. I miss the mornings when I’d rise and make Deborah coffee after spending so many weeks in hotels with her. We talked often on Sunday and used FaceTime; it is good to see each other.

As usual, I went to Quicken and started downloading all the financial transactions on my various accounts and credit cards. There was no criminal activity, and I updated some of the categorization so my reports and screens in Quicken better reflect the reality of my finances. I have a pretty good picture every day of my income and outgo. I was annoyed that the Bank of America website was down and disconnected from Quicken. Apparently, they had an outage, and Quicken required me to re-enter my connection information on Sunday evening. This happens when any connection breaks, but it does make you recheck that you are on your private network and not on something pretending to be the hotel or other “friendly” networks! While it is unlikely a criminal would raid me, it is possible I would be reminded, possibly quite spectacularly, had I lost my password to a hacker at HOPE_16. I would expect to discover, later, that I had a thousand one-cent transactions (500 +1 and 500 -1) in my account, serving as a reminder to be more careful with rather direct text on each. But nothing like that happened.

I remembered to keep my phone locked down and did not bring my laptop with me, though I saw more and more laptops as the weekend went on. I am unsure if Smithers, the name of my laptop, is secure enough for the Hackers’ Conference, as it’s still set to be very friendly. It did warn me that the hotel Internet connection certificates were bad, and I told it to ‘forget’ them.

I returned to the lobby after I showered, dressed, and all of that. A week of hotel life doesn’t bother me, but I do miss knowing anyone here. I have made a few acquaintances, and I am sure that at the next HOPE, I will feel more comfortable and bring my laptop (with it set to be less likely to wander, with VPN definitely running), which would open more workshops to me and make note-taking digital. I am writing everything in a book my sister gave me (though I broke the supplied pen).

I put away my laptop, looking a bit longingly as I do miss having Smithers, and grab my bag, the Strand Bookstore bag I bought for $1, and head out with my analog solutions to notes taken, pen and paper, and my iPhone. I put an apple, the fruit, and a bottle of water from the hotel in my bag. Victoria, a woman I met at the bus stop, complained that the last Q30 bus had ignored her. She is from DC and was upset that the buses here were not as friendly. I reminded her that she was in NY and told her I chased it down the day before, and they opened the doors in the street. I dodged cars to get on board. She laughed when I said one of us would have to take ‘one for the team’ and literally throw ourselves under the bus. Victoria, I learned, is IT for a non-profit in DC and does, among other things, InfoSec for her employer.

We soon had a whole crew of folks waiting for the bus to travel to HOPE_16, and the bus did stop for us; nobody had to stop the bus. We arrived, and, being hackers, half went one way in, while the others walked to another entrance. I said many good mornings as I am beginning to recognize folks. I headed to a talk on the impact of Quantum computers on security.

The presentation was high-level as this emerging technology, Quantum Computing, has been, well, emerging for a long time (and I have very little faith that it is real or usable). The presentation, with a non-English speaker, had CC running and covered the current state of the technology (very much still a lab experiment with rumors that sovereigns have it working and that China has already broken encryption with it).

Though I thought it was too early, there are recommendations to change encryption in the future to much more expensive and challenging to break methods. The suggestion is that organizations need to be ready for the new future in ten years and should start planning. Again, I thought it all very speculative, but I took notes on things to learn: Grover’s Algorithm, Shor’s Algorithm, Python Quantum called QuTip (yes, that is the name). Lastly, anything encrypted now and saved might be breakable in ten years. That presents some interesting challenges for long-term secrets that are exposed as encrypted material. Hmmm.

Next was an interesting group that was building drones in Mexico using 3D printers to deliver medicines to hard-to-reach communities in the mountains. I discovered it was the same guys who were doing the jewelry from the day before. Their most complex issue, I learned, was actually flying and not crashing the drone. The selected drone was more of an RC plane than the typical up-down drones you usually see. They are now trying to set up non-profits for this, and I did talk to them about checking with their local liberal churches, which they thanked me for, but I felt that was not going to happen.

Victoria, while we were talking, I mentioned my church, and she then suggested that we drop ‘Christian’ as it was too toxic now. She said the history and association with the far right made it a threat, and we liberal and moderate church-goers needed to drop the name church and find more friendly terms that are not associated with hate and a bloody history. She said this to be helpful. An interesting observation from Victoria.

I watched part of an OOCRO.org, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, presentation. This is a journalist project that helps reporters work across county borders to report on crime. They have an online tool, Aleph, with an excellent multilingual search that can take a word like ‘Putin’ and find the Russian version and use that too in the search. I tried it out during the presentation. I found lunch after walking out early — it was more of a sales pitch and something I am not likely to use. They did cover how they built the search, but I decided lunch was a good idea.

OOCRO.org has just implemented a 25% layoff following the USAID funding cut.

I made an error; I thought the book binding workshop was at 1, but it actually started at 11. I made a mistake when I wrote it down (dropping a 1) and did not double-check. I missed the workshop, but I had picked replacement items in case the class was full.

Instead, I attended a standing-room-only ATM Hacking presentation. The presenter, Roman Pushkin, an ATM expert, covered the history of ATMs and their hacking. He broke down how an ATM card strip is populated and how to hack one. He made it clear that hackers are different from criminals; hackers want to understand how things work and point out failures, whereas thieves steal. There seemed to be a general agreement on that. He then pointed out that a USB slot on most ATMs is the starting point for successful attacks.

Roman then produced a coin machine you see at grocery stores in the US, and pointed out the USB slot, and showed the manual for the coin machine online. He even built a machine to take over the coin machine. “We are Hackers and love little black boxes,” he said, demonstrating his ability to extract all the coins he wanted. He did not demo the hack of the cash dispensers in an ATM, but suggested that they, too, are USB devices and can be taken over in the same way. It was an impressive display, and he pointed out that ATMs could be better built to avoid this issue. It is just banks being lazy, he suggested.

(Please see my previous blog for a note on this, if this is shocking to you.)

For those who do not know these words, Large Language Models (LLMs) are a means to make chatbots and ChatGPT (and like tools) understand and produce meaningful text. The following presentation focused on hacking LLMs and exposing forbidden, protected, or claimed-to-be-excluded content. It seems that the LLMs are used even in video games, with Darth Vader being assigned one that was hacked (and using the now AI-controlled voice of James Earl Jones to spout facts once it was hacked; insane!). The presentation demonstrated how to exploit these LLMs to perform odd and sometimes awful tasks. The presenter has made the vulnerabilities clear to officials (yes, some folks monitor and report on this stuff). Still, a few of the LLM owners are actively pursuing more protections, and the new Trump laws will remove most requirements to address these issues. Yikes!

Lastly, ICEBLOCK’s creator gave a speech and was then verbally beaten up a bit by the Hacker community as he, Joshua Aaron, refused to make the code for the app open source. The community seemed more than willing to help, but Joshua was clear that he felt he and his family were endangered by the reaction of the Trump administration, the right-wing news agencies, and trolls. I felt for Joshua as did all the Hackers, though they were clear they disagreed with Joshua.

The closing ceremonies were late and confused. The report on the network, traffic, malware discoveries, and evaluation of the security of individual users was interesting. This is, I learned, a reason to show up for the ceremonies. About 30% of the folks on the network needed, according to the report, more security training. The number of folks connecting to their banks using open access was disturbing. Had HOPE_16 been a man-in-the-middle attack, it could have been unfortunate. They also identified various hacking attempts and malware running on some users’ computers. They supplied the device name so the impacted folks could kill the malware. They brushed off the attacks. China accounted for a significant portion of the traffic.

I walked back in the rain to the bus and caught the Q30 back, and then walked some more in the rain, getting damp, but not cold (until the AC from the hotel hit me). I ordered veal and mushrooms from the local Two Brothers Pizza (I had promised to try the veal) and talked to Deborah for a while. I walked for ten minutes, took a break, picked up my dinner–they remembered me, got back to the room, and spilled the salad dressing on myself, but I still enjoyed the food. Deborah and I ended our day together on a FaceTime call, and soon I was asleep.

I had a nightmare about 3ish, kicked off the covers, and then kicked the AC machine, and the pain woke me. No damage to me or the AC, and soon I slept again. I was reading a horror/SciFi book before sleeping, and it leaked into my dreams. Ugh! I dreamed I was on a burning hot floor with bare feet and had to get away. Some kind of trapped environment; the details are fading from my memory.

(Small rainbow as I walked back in the rain)

My foot is good. Thanks for reading!

 

 

A Note: For the readers, HOPE_16 is the good guys. For instance, the hack and ATM class highlights the sloth of banks, which, rather than addressing vulnerabilities that hackers can easily exploit, should focus on improving testing and delivering enhanced protection. The hope, thus the name, is that the banks will listen, fix, and improve. Remember those ATM fees? They are there to partially cover the banks for not fixing the issues. Corporate sloth. It is all our money, and they should do better.

I woke before my alarm and started at 5. It was easier than I expected, as I slept well and managed to get a few extra hours too. Rising, I started in on my usual checking of my accounts and emails. I made a cup of coffee in the room, missing Deborah, whom I would make a cup for first. I texted her and heard back soon after she started her day while I worked on the blog. Then, I showered and did all that. I headed down to the lobby, which was busy with the Fairfield Inn’s complimentary breakfast.

I wrote in the morning, trying to finish as quickly as possible, as I had to arrive at St John’s University by 9:45 for the first speaker at 10. I did get a bagel with cream cheese, banana, and a decent apple to take with me for later. I ate it around dinner time, as I did not get dinner until about 7 at night (missing a lecture from a lawyer I wanted to see while I waited). I published the blog, returned to my room, and then headed out.

I was offered a ride in a Lyft, but I had to mail a postcard, so I declined. I waited ten minutes instead for the Q30 bus and was soon early at the campus. Excellent! I walked into the campus, talking to another attendee, and soon did my first lecture.

The first lecture was also the worst as their demo and presentation were ineffective. They finally got things going, and while the presentation was embarrassingly bad, the idea of SD Cards as jewelry intrigued me. Also, the concept of splitting data between the cards and needing, say, 3 out of 5, to reassemble the data sounded like a brilliant protection with a possible extra physical secret to protect it all. No sharing it. You could wear your data and protect it. Hmmm. I was already thinking of a new SciFi story about a rich uncle passing away and leaving you some SD Cards, and you having to find the secret and the extra cards to get access to his BitCoins.

The following lecture was about the harsh truth of body autonomy, given by the senior technologist, Daly Barnett of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which fights many legal battles and is on the front line for abortion and trans rights. I learned that the abortion pills, though strongly controlled, are not as controlled by locals as some of the transition drugs are. Wow, justice with compassion seemed so far away after listening to Daly.

Next, I grabbed a prepackaged sandwich and more coffee, paid $15, and quickly ate them. I found the presentation by the Free Software Foundation (GNU, to some of us). I learned that the idea was published by Richard Stallman and got started back in 1983 (while I was in college). The presenter, Craig Topman, sought a solution to help the world and alleviate some of the madness. He found that working for the Foundation allowed him to make a meaningful difference. He made a strong case for us to join, listing volunteer positions that need to be filled immediately. There was some interest. I resisted (everyone wants me).

A bright high school kid gave the best history of the actual means to break the old Enigma machines. He covered how the Polish mathematicians solved it first. He then demonstrated how the updates to the machines necessitated additional assistance and how Alan Turing utilized both manual and electric machines (nearly computers, but specially built for a single task) to crack the code, building upon the partial solutions derived from the manual work. I did not know that Ian Fleming was the Intelligence Officer for the Enigma decoding effort. It was an excellent talk.

For the Enigma talk, I was able to answer a question because I had met one of the folks who worked with Alan Turing, and he had answered the same questions for me back in the 1980s. I repeated Dr. Peter Hilton’s answer that the Germans generally did not guess that their codes were broken, except Rommel, who gave many deceptive reports that understated his capabilities.

Lastly, I caught a lecture on how to build a police scanner system that logs all traffic calls and lets you listen to them in near-real time. It can track the frequency trunking done by the P25 system. It involves multiple radios and a Linux system to receive traffic files.

I headed out and soon found myself on the Q30 bus, but I got off at a stop a block from my usual one by accident (I couldn’t see that well in the dark). I reached my room without any issues, washed up, and then headed out to the dive bar, Emerald Pub, next door. There I got a beer, and then talked to some lawyers (whose lecture I missed).

Savy, along with a friend and her husband, was out smoking by the unfinished new phone tower. I chatted with them and they were friendly. I shared my phone number, and we will try to connect today at the closing ceremonies, and then they may join me for a trip into NYC on Monday and a museum or two.

I returned to my room and stayed up until after 11, chatting, texting, and doing some work on my laptop (none of which was hacker-related).

In general, I noticed the positive and friendly “you do you” vibe at HOPE_16. In many ways, Hope_16 is the after-party for Defcon in Las Vegas. About half of the folks I have met at HOPE_16 were in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. I was told that Defcon is a hacker school and that this is the fun, learn crazy crafts, and meet fun people conference. There are some learning options (there is a lecture on how to hack ATMs on Sunday — I will likely do a class on bookbinding instead), but it is more of a party and celebration. It is definitely not corporate.

I liked it.

Thanks for reading.