Hocus Focus

sigh what a long day

2010-10-26T19:59:00.000+11:00

sorry for the lack of updates loyal followers but my life has been awfully hektik these few weeks. between playing child carer for my nephew and neices and trying to cook food for them that they will actually eat i have zero alone time.

actually makes me wonder, if i ever have kids then i'm making it my job to look after them EVERYDAY. i mean sure it's hard but you should've thought of that before you had kids...anyway i'm not bitching i'm just saying...

sometimes i think parents should have to pass some sort of test before they're allowed to have kids. harsh but you would have less kids growing up screwed in the head.

but then again, who would the corporations prey on if not the slightly less intellectual and unfortunate. GG

last but not least. Japan's Divine Wind

2010-10-25T00:28:00.000+11:00

Everyone loves a good case of "divine intervention" that can easily be explained away by basic meteorology.

Preferably on Channel Ocho.

For instance, Russia was invaded by Hitler and Napoleon, and they were stopped respectively by a snowstorm and a snowstorm. Wow, big surprise. They didn't finish their invasions during the 72 hours it's not snowing in Russia.
But then, you have the ones that make you wonder. For instance, the Brits burned Washington, D.C., in 1814, and out of nowhere came the first recorded tornado in D.C. history. It trashed the living shit out of the British army and conveniently put out all their fires on the federal buildings.

After ensuring a conveniently sweet remodeling for the White House.

But even that pales next to the most famous example of meteorological deus ex machina: a weather phenomenon that came to be known as the Kamikaze, long before that word symbolized suicidal fighter pilots.

Where it Gets Weird:
The first Mongol invasion of Japan took place in November 1274 and consisted of 23,000 men and 700 to 800 ships. They were at sea for two weeks, made fantastic time and even managed to establish a beachhead on Hakata Bay, Japan. When the Battle of Bun'ei broke out on Nov. 19, Japan was so weak it looked like they should have started scouting out other islands to move to.

This was before Tommy Lee Jones came to straighten them out.

And everything went swimmingly for the Mongols ... that is, until a typhoon came in and wrecked their fleet like a blast from Poseidon's own shotgun. The Mongols suffered horrendous losses and retreated after only one day of fighting, which is saying something when you consider that these are the same folks who conquered everything from Korea to Austria.
But no matter -- they weren't the type to give up. They simply came back with a second, larger invasion in 1281. This force consisted of 140,000 soldiers, 4,000 ships and a two-pronged invasion via China and Korea. It was pretty much the size of six or seven of the previous invasion force. It was the best the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty could muster, and you can bet the Mongol leader, Kublai Khan, expected to conquer Japan this second time around.

By mid-August, the enormous Mongol fleet met the Japanese at the very same Hakata Bay where they had squared off seven years earlier. And, once again, this fleet was destroyed ... by a typhoon.

Where it Gets Even Weirder:
If you're now picturing Japan as a powerful typhoon magnet where you have to carefully slip in during narrow windows between storms, stop. Storms almost never hit the Hakata Bay, and one of the invasions wasn't even in typhoon season (they tend to hit in the summer, and the first attack was in November).
So exactly how low were the odds of the Mongols getting trashed at Hakata Bay? According to Japanese sources, a typhoon like the one that hit the Mongols during the second invasion occurs "once a hundred years or once a few hundred years." Or, as was the case with Mongolians, every time they invaded Japan.

All their cunning was useless.

Two storms, in seven years, both right when the Mongols were attacking, and in the spot where their fleet was located.
The Mongols never tried to invade Japan again.

Sorry for the inconvenience...

2010-10-23T19:47:00.000+11:00

hello friends and followers, the jill is back after.

due to unforseen circumstances and, well...IT...*mumbles* i was away for awhile but now i am happy to announce that i have returned~

so what do i have for you as a show of gratitude that nobody deleted me from their list, money? jewels? riches?

close, a nice article on how the feds are trying to silence an xbox hacker. enjoy.

Feds attempt to silence Xbox hacker

The US federal government is attempting to silence a talented hacker by preventing him from offering expert testimony at an upcoming Xbox 360 jailbreak trial.
According to Wired, the defendant, named as 28-year-old Matthew Crippen of Anaheim, allegedly ran a garage-style business modding Xbox 360s for $60-$80 per unit.
Unsurprisingly, the Feds want to lock Crippen away in the slammer for up to three years.   
But Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, the designer of the Chumby and author of the 2003 title Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering, wants the court to know that mod-chipping is not a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

"Basically, what he did was insufficient on his own to violate anything," Huang told Wired.
"[Of course], the bottom line [is that] I would like to see the scope of the DMCA limited to an appropriate statute that respects fair use, one that respects traditional rights."
Unfortunately, Huang may not get the opportunity to defend Crippen in court, as federal prosecutors have asked the judge to preclude Huang from testifying.
The feds believe that Huang's opinion would be "legally irrelevant" as fair use is not a defense to a DMCA charge and therefore legally "inadmissible."
We beg to differ.
Democracy isn't about silencing your ideological opponents, stifling inconvenient testimony or painting Lady Justice green to protect corporate interests.
Huang should clearly be allowed to speak, whether or not the Feds want to hear what he has to say.
So, warez 4ever, dudez. Don't give up the fight!!!

#2. The Dick Family

2010-10-17T04:12:00.000+11:00

Michael Dick of the UK had not seen his long-lost daughter Liza for 10 years. Why were they estranged? Your guess is as good as ours. All we know is that Michael went nuts looking for her.

Where it Gets Weird:
After fruitlessly combing the deserts of Sudbury for her, Michael turned to the Suffolk Free Press for help. The newspaper to write a story on the Dick family's predicament and even decided to include a picture of the family to make Liza feel homesick.
So, the family gathered out in the street, and the newspaper photographer snapped their picture. Sure enough, running the picture of the family farm did the trick! Michael Dick and his family were reunited with Liza just a few hours after the paper hit the streets.

Thanks to the tireless work of brave newsies.

Where it Gets Even Weirder:
After taking a good look at the newspaper photo, Liza realized something ...

"Hey, that's me!"

Liza, the long-lost girl whom the man in the above photo had not seen in 10 years, just happened to be walking past in the background when the photo was snapped.
She didn't know they were there, and she didn't know a photo was being taken. After a decade apart, at the moment her family posed for a photo for a newspaper story about how she was missing, she just happened to be standing within 100 feet of them.
She described the experience as "very strange" and said, "Perhaps it was fate." Yeah, call it what you want. We'll leave it at "weird as shit."

Wait -- why the hell is there an arrow sticking out of that one girl's throat?

The Synchronicity of Dennis the Menace

2010-10-16T10:25:00.002+11:00

On March 12, 1951, Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace comic strip first hit American newspapers. It's still running to this day, in more than 1,000 newspapers, because comic strips never, ever die.

Where it Gets Weird:
Just a few hours before Ketcham's Dennis the Menace hit the nation, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, issue No. 452 of the British comic The Beano hit newsstands even though it was dated 17 March, 1951. This particular comic was notable for featuring the first appearance of what went on to become cartoonist David Law's most famous creation: Dennis the Menace.

Fair to fair, this kid looks like he could kick Dennis's ass.

That creepy muskrat at his feet is supposed to be Dennis' dog.
Where it Gets Even Weirder:
So, their comics strips had the same exact name, and for some bizarre reason were published on the same exact day. That means the guy in the UK just ripped off his American counterpart, right? Or vice versa?

Was this just belated revenge for Yorktown?

Nope. By all accounts, neither man knew, or had any way of knowing, that there was an equivalent comic being developed an ocean away. No lawsuits were filed. After all, if one of them had caught wind of the other ahead of time, he'd have changed the title--it's to neither creator's advantage to create confusion among readers (for all you know the other comic is the worst thing ever). It just appears to be a massive coincidence, or as Carl Jung would have called it, synchronicity.
Besides, aside from this freak occurrence, the two characters had nothing in common. Hank Ketcham's take on Dennis was based on his own son, and David Law's Dennis was more like a gritty reboot of Calvin.

Something tells us this kid actually does piss on stuff in his comics.

Hank Ketcham and David Law decided to amicably continue their separate works, and both characters ended up becoming immensely popular with their respective audiences.

Though they clearly bought their shirts from the same thrift shop.

However, it was Hank Ketcham's Dennis that got made into a movie in 1993 starring Walter Matthau, Marty's mom from Back to the Future, and that blond kid from Rushmore.

Also, a down-and-out Doc Brown had a cameo.

Coincidentally, a totally different Dennis the Menace movie came out in Britain the same year, albeit this film was called Dennis because it was, in fact, a blatant ripoff of Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace. Why they didn't just coincidentally make a film about the UK's Dennis is anyone's guess, but we're willing to bet that it was because such a film would not get a PG rating.

Seriously, this kid rocks.

Google Analytics on your Blogger Account

2010-10-15T04:00:00.000+11:00

Spunchops has been kind enough to write a tutorial on how to add google analytics to your blog page. it lets you track various things about your site including page views, traffic information and referrals(google ads).

it's basically used to spy on who clicks your ads, how long they stay on your page(spammers?) and where in the world they're from.

while his tutorial did help me i won't paste the whole thing here but clicking THIS will take you directly to it.

i ran into some problems and managed to find more info about how to set it up properly here.

ENJOY~

coming up next part 3 in the strange coincidences series. =D

Two Brothers, One Bike, One Cab

2010-10-14T14:40:00.000+11:00

I'm going to be honest with you: There is really no way to build up the following story. It's just one of those things that is mathematically possible in the vastness of universe, but when it happens, it's creepier than those twin little girls from The Shining.

Where it Gets Weird:
In July 1975, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic went nuts over the death of 17-year-old Erskine Lawrence Ebbin, the poor kid having been knocked off his moped by a taxi in Hamilton, Bermuda.
You see, the previous year his brother was killed ... on the same street. Also by a taxi. Both kids were 17, and they were hit almost one year apart. Oh, and they happened to be driving the same moped.

Moped show-boating claims two more lives.

Well ... OK. Mopeds are inherently unsafe, right? And maybe they both drove recklessly. It could happen.
Where it Gets Even Weirder:
Before we go any further, please know that Cracked had to check with several overseas libraries and even the Library of Congress to verify this report.

WE STOP AT NOTHING.

The following clipping appeared on page nine, column three of The Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph on July 21, 1975:

That's right.
The two brothers were killed by the same taxi.
With the same driver.
Carrying the same passenger.
Almost exactly one year later.
The Final Destination movies exist, folks, and you are living in them right now.

It's worth noting that death can occasionally be bribed with coke.

sorry for the delay i was helping my friend out with some computer problems, yay i got paid!!!

The 5 Most mind-blowing coincidences

2010-10-13T18:13:00.000+11:00

Edwin Booth, perhaps unfairly known today as the brother of assassin John Wilkes Booth, was once upon a time known as the greatest actor in American history. In fact, certain theater historians and steampunk enthusiasts would probably argue that he still is today. His reputation as an actor was described as "mythic," and a statue of him stands in Manhattan's Gramercy Park to this very day.
That's what having a brother who killed the freaking president gets you -- in his day, Edwin was as famous as George Clooney, as classy as Clive Owen, as lusted after as Johnny Depp and as awesome as Josh Brolin. Hell, he even looked suspiciously like Robert De Niro ...

... and we bet that most of you have never heard his name before today.
But there's something else ...
Where it Gets Weird:
Booth performed a heroic act, one that would have gotten him into the history books. It took place during the last months of the Civil War at a crowded train station in Jersey City.

That's right. Even back then Jersey was known as a death-trap.

According to the young man that ~~John Wilkes~~ (sorry) Edwin Booth saved:
The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform. ... There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name.
Imagine if you, as a kid, fell off a ledge and were caught by Chuck Norris. Not the wacky Internet meme Chuck Norris, but the actor you've seen on TV a million times. That's what it was like for the kid.

Mike Huckabee knows that feeling well.

Where it Gets Even Weirder:
Since Edwin Booth was the kind of guy who did good deeds even when there were no cameras present, he genuinely had no idea who he'd just saved. He simply accepted the lad's gratitude, probably signed him an autograph, and spent the rest of his afternoon on a train reading a terrible fan-script the kid "happened to have on him" about William Shakespeare fighting zombies.
A few days later, Booth received a letter of commendation from Adam Badeau, an officer to the staff of General Ulysses S. Grant. It turned out that this young man Edwin had saved was actually Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln.

And father of Sean Connery's beard.

Keep in mind, it's not like the Booth family and the Lincoln family were neighbors, always running into each other. They weren't. They didn't travel in the same political circles -- the Booths were famous theater actors; they toured the country. This incident happened on a random train platform in New Jersey. It could have been any stranger and any random kid.
That act of heroism would have gone down as the only, unlikely interaction between the Booth family and the Lincoln family, if Edwin's brother John hadn't gone off the deep end and assassinated the kid's father only a few months later, nearly killing the country.

stay tuned for more (4,3,2 and 1)

Tips and Tricks to help protect yourself from malicious hackers.

2010-10-12T19:51:00.000+11:00

“Their intention is to infect your computer so that you don’t even know you’ve been infected.”
Hardly reassuring words for computer users or business owners. Cybercrime continues to flourish for one simple reason: it’s profitable.
Hackers use two broad approaches: Either they sneakily install malicious software on your computer to control it or steal your information, or they trick you into giving up your information voluntarily.
The malicious software can enter your system when you visit a shady website, or open an e-mail attachment carrying a virus. If it infects your machine, it might hand control of your computer over to networks that will rent it out to spammers, who will use it as a junk-mail-sending machine.
Or worse, it might install “key-logger” software that takes careful note of every word you type – usernames, passwords and all – and sends it back to hackers, who can co-opt your online accounts, take your money, and even represent themselves as you to your friends.
None of these things bode well for small businesses, which are often focused on the job at hand more than they are on information security. But there are new responses to these threats. In increasingly perilous seas, how do you stay on course without giving in to paranoia?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Don’t open unexpected attachments, even if they come from friends.
E-mail attachments are a great source of malware. But nowadays, they don’t just come from dodgy strangers, they can come from your best friends.
When certain malware infects computers, it will scan e-mail address books and send malicious messages to every contact, making it appear that the message comes from a friend. Oftentimes, they’ll contain messages such as “Here’s the PDF I said I’d send,” but they’re getting more clever and more subtle all the time.
If someone you know sends you an e-mail with attached files that you weren’t expecting, or that seem strangely generic (“Hey, check out these pictures!”), make contact with the sender first to make sure it’s genuine.
“If it sounds unbelievable, it totally is,” says David Mirza Ahmad, a cyber-security veteran and one of the founders of Subgraph, a Montreal-based security start-up. “Look for cues in the e-mail: Is the e-mail worded a little differently? Is it normal to receive random files from this person? If there’s a file, there should be context.”
In fact, any unexpected behaviour from friends on social networks should be taken with a grain of salt. Social networks are the latest frontier for hackers because they engender so much trust. If a Facebook friend starts posting items they wouldn’t normally post, be careful: their account might have been compromised, and the items might be a trap.
2. Update, update, update.
Even if you never opened another attachment in your life, you can still let viruses in, even by doing something as simple as visiting the wrong website at the wrong time.
The software that runs modern computers is enormous and labyrinthine, and hackers are always finding new holes that they can use to sneak malicious software onto computers – usually by injecting. And software makers such as Microsoft, Apple, and anti-virus makers, are constantly rushing to patch those holes. It’s a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse.
This is why it’s essential to keep your software up-to-date, and up to the minute. You need to update three things: First, your operating system (such as Windows or Mac OS), which receive updates to plug security holes as they’re found. By default, these will install automatic updates – it’s important to let them. Second, your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome) needs to be up-to-date for the same reason. New versions are free to download. This goes expecially for users of Internet Explorer 6, an older version of the popular browser that was well-known as a security nightmare.
Finally, your virus-checking software needs constant updates to know which malware to look for today.
3. Be very careful about following login links from e-mails.
The next trick is to keep from getting tricked. Increasingly, scammers will try to convince you to give away your login and password for a phony web page that’s set up to look like a real one.
It’s called “phishing” – as in, going fishing for victims. You’ve probably already received some that use banks as bait: An e-mail arrives, prompting you to visit your bank’s website to “verify your login information.” It will direct you to a page that looks like your bank’s website, but it is really a false front that passes your login information on to hackers.
So far, these have been fairly easy to spot. But scammers are getting smarter: they’re now sending e-mails that look like new-friend or message-waiting notices from social networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
Always be cautious. Watch out for vague-seeming notifications. Pay careful attention to the URL at the top of the web page. If there’s any doubt, don’t follow the link from the e-mail, but visit the social network’s page directly and log in there.
4. Use different passwords.
Password safety isn’t the be-all and end-all of security, but it’s an important rudiment. You’ve probably been regularly warned not to use simple or easy-to-guess passwords. But it’s probably even more important (and, yes, more annoying) not to use the same password for every online service you use.
The reason is simple: If, by installing a key-logger, or tricking you with a phishing trick, a hacker gets the username and password for one site, you can bet he’ll turn around and try it on every other service you’re signed up with. You could wind up being locked out of everything at once.
If remembering a dozen different passwords is unwieldy (and it is), consider using at least two groups of passwords – one for not-so-important sites, and different ones for the really sensitive logins. Or, Mr. Mizra suggests using desktop software that uses one master password to access all the individual passwords - software such as the Mac OS Keychain or PasswordSafe for Windows.
5. Don’t think you’re smarter than the criminals.
So you know the ropes on the Internet. You know a malicious e-mail when you see one. Still, sometimes curiosity gets the best of you, and you click, thinking that you’re not going to divulge any personal information or download any suspicious files. Surprise: the bad guys have anticipated that, too.
“People believe that the operating system will protect them from everything they want to do; that by clicking on this link they’re smarter than the criminal,” Mr. Masiello says. “The criminals have got smart to this kind of thing.”
Tricks such as interstitial pages, pop-ups, and unpatched browser exploits can infect a computer before the user has clicked a single button or typed a word on a malicious web page.
And if you’re reading this on a Mac – don’t get too smug. For all of Apple’s marketing, Macs aren’t actually more secure, they’re just targeted less because fewer people own them. Malware comes for everyone, and – unfortunately - the only real solution is diligence.

omg

2010-10-12T18:39:00.000+11:00

im such a noob. that's what happens when you make a last minute blog post at 4 in the morning...

anyway here is the video to accompany my previous post...im such a twit

Enter The Gamer

2010-10-12T09:22:00.000+11:00

I doubt there is anyone here who doesn't play online games or doesn't have or know somebody with a gaming addiction.

Here is something most of us can relate to unless of course you have no idea what MMORPG or WTFBBQ means, in which case: Enter The Gamer!!!!

Turning PC Into Apple Macintosh: Hackintosh

2010-10-12T02:38:00.000+11:00

A 'Hackintosh' is a computer that runs Apple's OS X operating system on non-Apple hardware. This has been possible since Apple's switch from IBM's PowerPC processors to Intel processors a few years ago. Until recently, building a PC-based Mac was something done only by hard-core hackers and technophiles, but in the last few months, building a Hackintosh PC has become much easier. Benchmark Reviews looks at what it's possible to do with PC hardware and the Mac Snow Leopard OS today, and the pros and cons of building a Hackintosh computer system over purchasing a supported Apple Mac Pro.

click here for more info

Dan Bull This is England

2010-10-11T05:33:00.002+11:00

check out dan bull's new video. pretty intense imo in a great way of course.

also, hurt by johnny cash...made me cry.

I love this song

2010-10-11T04:31:00.000+11:00

ch-ch-ch-check it ouuuuut

and of course, the original

which one do you think is better? personally i like the voice of the original johnny cash, but you can't beat the sound of the first one.

yippy ey aaaaaaye yippy ey oooooohhh

<3

Todays random post brought to you by Peniplus

2010-10-10T10:06:00.003+11:00

Random Quote
The future masters of technology will have to be lighthearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the dumb. - Marshall McLuhan, 1969

stay classy.

Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back

2010-10-10T00:43:00.001+11:00

A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism investigation and what the authorities would do. It took just 48 hours to find out: The device was real, the student was being secretly tracked and the FBI wanted its expensive device back, the student told Wired.com in an interview Wednesday.
The answer came when half-a-dozen FBI agents and police officers appeared at Yasir Afifi’s apartment complex in Santa Clara, California, on Tuesday demanding he return the device.
Afifi, a 20-year-old U.S.-born citizen, cooperated willingly and said he’d done nothing to merit attention from authorities. Comments the agents made during their visit suggested he’d been under FBI surveillance for three to six months.
An FBI spokesman wouldn’t acknowledge that the device belonged to the agency or that agents appeared at Afifi’s house.
“I can’t really tell you much about it, because it’s still an ongoing investigation,” said spokesman Pete Lee, who works in the agency’s San Francisco headquarters.
Afifi, the son of an Islamic-American community leader who died a year ago in Egypt, is one of only a few people known to have found a government-tracking device on their vehicle.
His discovery comes in the wake of a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying it’s legal for law enforcement to secretly place a tracking device on a suspect’s car without getting a warrant, even if the car is parked in a private driveway.
Brian Alseth from the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state contacted Afifi after seeing pictures of the tracking device posted online and told him the ACLU had been waiting for a case like this to challenge the ruling.
“This is the kind of thing we like to throw lawyers at,” Afifi said Alseth told him.
“It seems very frightening that the FBI have placed a surveillance-tracking device on the car of a 20-year-old American citizen who has done nothing more than being half-Egyptian,” Alseth told Wired.com.
Afifi, a business marketing student at Mission College in Santa Clara, discovered the device last Sunday when he took his car to a local garage for an oil change. When a mechanic at Ali’s Auto Care raised his Ford Lincoln LS on hydraulic lifts, Afifi saw a wire sticking out near the right rear wheel and exhaust.
Garage owner Mazher Khan confirmed for Wired.com that he also saw it. A closer inspection showed it connected to a battery pack and transmitter, which were attached to the car with a magnet. Khan asked Afifi if he wanted the device removed and when Afifi said yes, Khan pulled it easily from the car’s chassis.
“I wouldn’t have noticed it if there wasn’t a wire sticking out,” Afifi said.
Later that day, a friend of Afifi’s named Khaled posted pictures of the device at Reddit, asking if anyone knew what it was and if it meant the FBI “is after us.” (Reddit is owned by CondeNast Digital, which also owns Wired.com).
“My plan was to just put the device on another car or in a lake,” Khaled wrote, “but when you come home to 2 stoned off-their-asses people who are hearing things in the device and convinced it’s a bomb you just gotta be sure.”
A reader quickly identified it as an Orion Guardian ST820 tracking device made by an electronics company called Cobham, which sells the device only to law enforcement.
No one was available at Cobham to answer Wired.com’s questions, but a former FBI agent who looked at the pictures confirmed it was a tracking device.
The former agent, who asked not to be named, said the device was an older model of tracking equipment that had long ago been replaced by devices that don’t require batteries. Batteries die and need to be replaced if surveillance is ongoing so newer devices are placed in the engine compartment and hardwired to the car’s battery so they don’t run out of juice. He was surprised this one was so easily found.
“It has to be able to be removed but also stay in place and not be seen,” he said. “There’s always the possibility that the car will end up at a body shop or auto mechanic, so it has to be hidden well. It’s very rare when the guys find them.”
He said he was certain that agents who installed it would have obtained a 30-day warrant for its use.
Afifi considered selling the device on Craigslist before the FBI showed up. He was in his apartment Tuesday afternoon when a roommate told him “two sneaky-looking people” were near his car. Afifi, already heading out for an appointment, encountered a man and woman looking at his vehicle outside. The man asked if Afifi knew his registration tag was expired. When Afifi asked if it bothered him, the man just smiled. Afifi got into his car and headed for the parking lot exit when two SUVs pulled up with flashing lights carrying four police officers in bullet-proof vests.
The agent who initially spoke with Afifi identified himself then as Vincent and told Afifi, “We’re here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It’s federal property. It’s an expensive piece, and we need it right now.”
Afifi asked, “Are you the guys that put it there?” and the agent replied, “Yeah, I put it there.” He told Afifi, “We’re going to make this much more difficult for you if you don’t cooperate.”

Story continued here

what are your thoughts on this blatant invasion of privacy. As a half iranian women it scares me to think that these bastards now have the power to follow me around as i do my laundry.

AWWWW SHEEEET

2010-10-09T10:04:00.000+11:00

THAT'S RIGHT LADIES AND MENTLEGEN

the third series of the greatest anime to grace Gods green earth is out.

BLACK LAGOON

this might be old news to some of you, but i just found out two minutes ago.

a taste of what is to come;

awww sheet so bad ass.
although i'm not sure about this:
As already reported last year, the third season of the anime adaptation of Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon will not be adapted into another TV season but rather OVA episodes by Studio Madhouse and director Sunao Katabuchi. Now it has been announced that the first of five volumes of Roberta’s Blood Trail will be released in Japan on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Japan on July 17th…most probably without English subitles like Geneon Entertainment’s recent Japanese Blu-ray Disc releases of the first two seasons. source

I'm not sure what all this means but i'm trying to order it online.

if anybody knows what the difference between OVA series and a normal tv series is please enlighten me. thank you for your time

A severe case of KS'er rage

2010-10-08T18:42:00.000+11:00

anyone who has played an MMORPG in their lifetime (or any game for that matter) will understand what it is like to be KS'ed (kill stolen/kill stoled/kill steal/kill stealed[you get the picture])

if you don't know what i'm talking about, just skim passed this post else LOL.

thank you for your time.

(that's a lion in the back)

Starbuck's Free Wi-Fi Opens the Door for Hackers and Crackers

2010-10-08T18:35:00.000+11:00

Hackers and crackers are everywhere, looking for easy marks. Believe me when I say they're just as likely to hang out at your favorite Starbucks as you are, Ms. Entrepreneur. They could be sitting with a latte and a laptop on the sofa right next to you. And don't look for Boris- and Natasha-style cartoon characters here. ("Fearless Leader say we steal computer access from moose and squirrel!") They are far more subtle than that.

So for an entrepreneur who considers Starbucks -- or any other coffee shop for that matter -- his home office, what options are available to ensure the privacy and security of his or her data when accessing the internet on a free Wi-Fi connection?

One of the best ways is to use a Virtual Private Network to connect to the net. Until very recently, VPN was the stuff of corporations and large businesses. Small businesses, startups and independent entrepreneurs avoided VPN because it's highly technical to set up and administer.

Today, anyone can access the internet from a PC or Mac using what I call a "consumer grade" VPN. But don't let "consumer grade" fool you -- this is the same exact thing large corporations use. Think of a VPN as a secure tunnel that you use to connect to the internet -- a tunnel that's impervious to a hacker or cracker's attempt to see what you're doing and gain access to your data.

One provider of affordable and turnkey VPN is Connect In Private, which offers a secure offshore backchannel for internet surfing, e-mails and more on computers and mobile devices. CIP protects you from identity theft and fraud by providing a fully encrypted network that is impenetrable to hackers.

For about $15 a month (based on an annual contract), CIP provides a secure line for accessing the internet from anywhere you choose. This week, the company began offering a one-week account for $10, which gives you a chance to test-drive the service.

If you're accessing the net via a free and unsecured Wi-Fi spot, and you're working on something critical to the success of your startup, $10-$15 is a small price to pay to guarantee your data is secure!

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Exoskeletons, Robo Rats and Synthetic Skin: The Pentagon’s Cyborg Army

2010-10-08T04:31:00.000+11:00

Eyes that are alert and steady. Skin that's sensitive to the touch. Arms that bend and grasp. To an unknowing observer, troops in the next-generation military might look much like today's.
But those eyes are veiled by self-assembling contact lenses that transmit text messages and take blood pressure readings. That skin is made up of nanowires laid onto flexible rubber. And the arm underneath? A prosthetic -- controlled by brain implant.
The Pentagon wants troops to be faster, stronger and more resilient. And with help from robotics, nanotechnology and neuroscience, the military's cyborg army -- from human troops to rat-bot recruits -- is getting prepped for battle.

drugs...

2010-10-07T21:55:00.000+11:00

i've noticed i have a small problem with drugs.

i know they are bad for me but at the risk of getting all philosophical, life seem rather mundane and dull. we only live once, what is the point of breaking my ass to get a whole lot of material shit only to die in the end. also, why the hell would i have a baby and have them suffer the same thing. None of it makes sense, so i like to take a little something to help clear my mind and enjoy life more.

i mean recreational drugs are far less dangerous than the shit they put in our foods that is available to people of all ages. why is the world full of hypocrites, another question i ask myself while on drugs.

and after thinking all this i still wonder when (im 21 atm) i will get a job and move out of my parents place...RL seems so lame i wish i could live online.

money has always been a problem for my family, they struggled to pay the mortgage when me and my siblings were younger (some not even born) and that lead to a life of constant moving around from public housing to public housing. eventually settling into where we are now. there has been many more problematic situations in our families history, too many to list.

i'm always aware that there are many people worse off, much much worse off. that helps a little but if i just "stopped whining and got a job" then sure it might feel better and help me get over my situation easier, but the problems remain.

i need more drugs.

BMW 335i

2010-10-07T20:50:00.000+11:00

and this is the car i will drive to church in. if i ever went to church.

PREMIUM 4 door 5 seater.
3 liter 6 cylinder aluminum engine block.
twin-turbo inline-six with a 300 horsepower output.
6-speed manual, with take off assistance.
5-link rear suspension.
DSC and DTC.

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

2010-10-07T20:45:00.000+11:00

This will be my car for the weekends, the nissan being my car to go to work during the weekdays.

It's available in three models...haven't decided which one i want yet.

I think i'm in love

2010-10-07T04:50:00.000+11:00

The 2011 Nissan GT-R carries on the nickname “Godzilla” and features ATTESA E-TS All-Wheel Drive (AWD) with patented independent rear-mounted transaxle integrating transmission differential and AWD transfer case. The 2011 GT-R is a 2-door, 4-passenger sports car, available in only in Premium trim. The GT-R is powered by a 8-liter twin-turbocharged 24-valve V6.

*drools* yup definitely in love.

Secret-Spilling Sources at Risk Following Cryptome Breach

2010-10-07T03:59:00.000+11:00

Secret-spilling site Cryptome was hacked over the weekend, possibly exposing the identities of whistleblowers and other confidential sources, according to a hacker who contacted Wired.com and claimed responsibility for the breach.
The hacker said two intruders from the group Kryogeniks breached the long-running site, where they gained access to a repository of secret files and correspondence. Among them, the hacker claimed, were the records of self-proclaimed WikiLeaks insiders who have been the source of several unconfirmed tips supposedly detailing internal WikiLeaks matters.
Wired.com could not confirm the identity of the hacker, who asked to be identified as “Ruxpin” or “Xyrix.” To verify his claims, the hacker showed Wired.com screenshots of Cryptome founder John Young’s Earthlink account inbox and Cryptome’s directory. The latter showed two WikiLeaks file paths. The hacker also provided a list of about 30 names and e-mail addresses of sources who communicated with Cryptome and the contents of at least one e-mail between Young and a Wired.com contributor from 2008. The Wired.com contributor and Young have authenticated the e-mail.
The hacker said they broke into Cryptome using a stolen e-mail password for the Earthlink account belonging to Young. They then used the e-mail account to reset the password for his site’s hosting account. The hacker claims they copied 6.8 terabytes of data from Cryptome, though “no files were deleted or altered.”
“Everything was copied for analysis,” one of the hackers wrote Wired.com in an e-mail interview. “Cryptome is an interesting read indeed.” He added that “only data that had relatively new time stamps is being given thought. There is simply too much to sift through.”
Young, reached by phone, confirmed some of the information provided by the hacker but disputed other assertions.
He didn’t know how the hackers got into his site or if data was deleted but said that “all the files were inaccessible,” and that Network Solutions had to restore content from a backup. He disputed the amount of data the hackers say they obtained.
“We had a little over 7 gigabytes, but not terabytes,” he said. “We’ve never had that much.”
Regarding the WikiLeaks insiders, although he acknowledged that some of them communicated with what appear to be e-mail addresses that could identify them, he doesn’t believe they’re actual WikiLeaks insiders and says he’s never done anything to verify their identities, and that the e-mail addresses could have easily been spoofed.
“I’ve not verified any of those and don’t know how one would,” he said. “I’ve been quite skeptical of anyone claiming to be a WikiLeaks insider.”
The hack of Cryptome would seem to illustrate the real value that a site like WikiLeaks offers. Cryptome, a proto-WikiLeaks, has published many important leaks since it was launched in 1996, exposing government secrets and gaffes.
The site, however, doesn’t provide the kind of secure, anonymized submission process that WikiLeaks boasts. Instead, it uses e-mail addresses controlled by Young, raising the risk that sensitive sources could be exposed by this and other hacks. Despite many controversies surrounding WikiLeaks and its founder, that site has never had a security breach, as far as anyone knows. But now Cryptome has.

The WikiLeaks Connection

According to the hacker, Cryptome’s WikiLeaks files contain ample communication between Young and about half-a-dozen supposed WikiLeaks insiders who, out of purported discontent with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his management of the organization, have sent Cryptome unverified tips about supposed malfeasance and other activities inside WikiLeaks.
Young, who has long been suspicious of WikiLeaks’ motives, began publishing the tips this spring, despite expressing doubts publicly about their veracity. The tips prompted the ire of WikiLeaks, which referred to them as a “smear campaign” and has disputed that the sources are insiders.
Cryptome’s hacker claims that although some of the “insiders” initially communicated anonymously with Cryptome using a PGPBoard drop box, they later used personal e-mail addresses for ongoing correspondence, thus potentially exposing their identities to anyone with access to Cryptome’s files.
“Six [WikiLeaks insiders] are on familiar terms with John Young,” he told Wired.com. “Their real names are exposed in their signatures and in their messages. They are using familiar, personal accounts to communicate with Young.”
The hacker noted that “someone@wikileaks.org writes about problems with their leader and problems with money. He sends a PDF (was published to the site recently), some chat logs, and information about the encryption process for submits that he thinks is suspicious. This is from one of the regulars.”
He declined to identify the WikiLeaks correspondents or the e-mail addresses they used.
“Their privacy is to be respected, and they will not be exposed or compromised,” he wrote. “We believe in preserving the system of transparency that Cryptome and other websites represent.”
The hacker claimed that Young demanded proof from the insiders to verify their connection to WikiLeaks and that “he gets it with ease” from them.
“They are legitimate,” the hacker wrote. “Those who are not, appear to get trolled (John Young is absolutely hilarious) and moved to a different folder.”
Asked if the identities of other anonymous sources of Cryptome were also exposed, he replied, “Yes, all of them are. [Young’s] address books were compromised, and many of the messages were not sent from anonymous emails … there are over hundreds. Too many to easily quantify.”

How They Got In

The whois record for Cryptome, which is hosted by Network Solutions, listed the site contact address as jya@pipeline.com, one of Young’s accounts.
The hackers got the password for the e-mail account through Earthlink’s customer service center. Earthlink handles customer service for Pipeline accounts and uses a system, called MIDAS, that stores customer passwords unencrypted, in the clear, according to the hacker.
“Any Earthlink employee using MIDAS can do this without effort,” he wrote. “MIDAS is a legacy ssh application that many of the employees do not use, preferring a web interface called Spirtle instead.”
Earthlink did not return a call for comment.
The hacker said Earthlink’s system was breached about a month ago, at which time Cryptome’s login credentials were seized.
Armed with that password, according to a Network Solutions spokesman, the hackers then initiated a password reset for Cryptome’s hosting account using an online form. Network Solutions sent an automated e-mail to Young’s Pipeline account with a link to reset the password. The hackers, who had control of the e-mail account, then used the link to reset the Network Solutions Cryptome password twice — to passw0rd1 and then letmein1 — locking Young out of his account while they rummaged through Cryptome’s content.
The hackers said they decided to breach Cryptome primarily to harass a fellow hacker named Josh Holly, aka “TrainReq,” by posting a message identifying Holly as Cryptome’s hacker. Holly is best known for allegedly hacking into Miley Cyrus’s Gmail account and stealing provocative photos she purportedly sent of herself to singer Nick Jonas.
“Cryptome is a popular website,” the hacker wrote Wired.com. “Many people would have seen the joke (defacement), and the person (Trainreq) would have been subsequently bombarded with inquires about that to which he was clueless.”

The message included a shout-out to fellow Kryogeniks members EBK and Defiant — Christopher Allen Lewis and James Robert Black, Jr. — who were recently sentenced to 18 months and 4 months in prison respectively for a stunt in which they replaced Comcast’s homepage with a shout-out to fellow hackers.
The Cryptome hackers deleted the shout-out to Holly before many people saw it, however. “It did not have the intended effect,” the hacker wrote. “Josh Holly was sleeping and unavailable for trolling.”
They replaced it with another one identifying “Ruxpin” as Cryptome’s hacker. It’s not known if Ruxpin is one of the hackers behind the hack, since the hackers acknowledged they initially intended to point blame for the hack at someone else. It’s also not known if Ruxpin is the real handle for the hacker who communicated with Wired.com.
In addition to the shout-outs, the hackers left a note for Young: “Dear John. Rest assured that the integrity of the data hosted here has not been altered. We like Cryptome and needed your site because it was popular. Sorry. Godspeed.”
Young was not amused and says he’s determined to hunt down the intruders.
“One of the things I’m interested in is how much prowling they did beyond Cryptome,” he said. “Any rummaging in our e-mail is different than rummaging in Cryptome. We’re going to burn his or her ass with that.”

source
long post is loooong.
i'm sure we all remember xyrix. still attention whoring it seems.