Binh Nguyen's Blog

Syrian Options

2013-05-15T06:09:00.001-07:00

The Syrian uprising has ballooned into a catasrophe on many levels after several years of fighting and it shows no signs of abating. Let's explore some of the options available to us:

- attempt to negotiate a ceasefire. It's clear that this is unlikely to hold though. It also feels as though a lot of previous attempts have been disengenuous or have been used to stall, seeking better terms, etc... Believe that only if there is greater force applied will be hold (more on this later).
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/14/syria-wants-details-about-us-russian-initiative-before-deciding-whether-to/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html?_r=0
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2013/05/15/Is-it-a-peace-or-war-plan-for-Syria-.html
http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Syria/FinalCommuniqueActionGroupforSyria.pdf
- increased support for the rebellion. It's not entirely clear just what exactly we're supporting here (if concerned about longer term spread of weapons from conflict develop/consider stronger but limited lifetime weapons). It was previously a peaceful uprising but it has since turned into violence with the problem excerbated by foreign combantants and groups who share links with terrorist groups and have other interests besides that of the Syrian people. Violations and various atrocities (from both sides) need to be dealt with as well.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/syria-oppn-condemns-heart-eating-video/story-fn3dxix6-1226642510509 http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/14/18244907-sheer-savagery-syrian-rebel-rips-out-soldiers-heart-human-rights-watch-says?lite
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-15/217157-syria-rebels-vow-to-punish-those-committing-atrocities.ashx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/28/syrian-nerve-gas-claims-eyewitness
http://original.antiwar.com/srichman/2013/05/14/no-intervention-in-syria/
- direct and full intervention/invasion. We've seen Iraq/Afghanistan weren't clear cut and this one is probably going to be just as difficult if more so (how could we possibly make it any worse than it currently is?). It's also becoming clear that surrounding countries are already getting dragged in with regards to both the humantarian problem as well as the conflict itself with many of them being used as launchpads or support for military action in Syria itself. Invasion should be considered an option but only if all other options have been exhausted and have been proven to be unworthwhile.http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/05/15/turkey-hopes-to-convince-us-to-act-in-syria
- de-militarise the conflict. This means that no more (ANY) weapons whether are to be supplied to either side whether that means re-supply, fulfilling existing contracts, etc...
http://world.time.com/2013/05/14/putin-netanyahu-meet-to-discuss-syria/
Hopefully, this will also make both sides more amenable to genuine peace talks (clearly, will not work if one side continues to arm though).
- direct but limited intervention. One option that I've been considering is destroying all air-fields/military bases/large clusters of heavy weapons/artillery/munitions and so on, shutting down all borders inbound to Syria (not easy). This will result in a stalemate situation (especially if the neither side are continued to be supplied with weapons).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/13/six-ways-assad-has-turned-the-tide-in-syria/
http://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/179855633/c-j-chivers-on-the-ground-in-syria
Hopefully, this will also make both sides more amenable to genuine peace talks (clearly, will not work if one side continues to arm though). Another option that has been widely considered is targeted, direct action against regime leadership. There will of course be repercussions should this avenue be pursued...
- a pure peace keeping intervention? Long range strikes (as outlined in previous point) combined with an international, armed peace keeping ground force (rules of engagement mean that they their primary job will be to defend non combatants, themselves, and finally to maintain peace)? Peace keeping force must have clear agenda and provide prior warning. If there is any untoward activity they have a go ahead to use force to stop it whether that pertains to rebel or regime activity. It can not be stressed enough that this peace keeping force is not about joining in the conflict. It is about stopping it and getting back to normality as quickly as possible. Obvious problem is whether or not the fighting will simply start up again the minute the peace keeping force leaves?
- let them continue to fight it out until it's conclusion. Cynical but it also means that one side is likely to be a more complete victor which may result in a more stable long term situation.
- offer the current regime safe passage out. Unlikely to be accepted given some of the messages that have been sent out.
- don't bother trying to implement a ceasefire prior to creating a transition plan or running an election? If both sides can just maintain peace on their side of the conflict (clear lines of demarcation and buffer zones so that we can minimise break outs of fighting) while elections (obvious problems here especially vote those relating to 'tampering') are running perhaps we can figure out just exactly what the Syrian people actually want (this will also mean that we can disavow everyone of all possible doubt over what the desire of the actual Syrian population is). Who's in charge of running election? A combination of existing regime/rebels/neighbours with international observers? How can you when so many people are displaced (people in refugee camps in particular)? Require identification for them to participate while existing people can simply show up at polling booths. How much will displaced people skew the results of any potential election. Obvious questions are, whether they want existing regime or rebels to succeed? What should be the timeline going forward? How is normal life going to be restored? etc...
- break up of the country should be considered if it means a cessation of hostilities in spite of warnings.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/14/303424/iran-warns-against-syria-disintegration/
- half baked measures so far have proven unlikely to turn the tide. If there is intervention (in any form whether diplomatic, military, etc...) there must be far greater force behind it to simply get it over and done with so that everyone can get on with their lives.
- don't go into talks with any pre-conditions. Push hard but give peace a genuine chance. Not sure how some people can be so optimistic that UN June 12 plan has a genuine chance given the fact that the conflict has continued unabated and esclated for several years (I've said before and I'll say it again defense, intelligence, and defense should work together and only be pressing harder will be able to force a cessation of hostilities.).
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2013/05/14/Arabs-Turkey-see-no-role-for-Assad-in-future-Syria-.html
http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Syria/FinalCommuniqueActionGroupforSyria.pdf
- provide flares and other camouflage options because it's clear that most of the weapons involved are fairly simple/non-guidance based. Likelihood that they will resort to carpet/cluster bombing even though they are already using makeshift weapons?

Key questions/issues:
- can you honestly say that Assad is fit and do the Syrian people want him to lead Syria?
- if there is intervention and there is a power vacuum is this worse than what would occur if we didn't intervene?
- the style/size of the intervention. Direct, continued covert, etc...
- even if we aren't directly involved what are the indirect impacts of continued conflict in Syria?
- will any leadership be better/worse than the previous one?
- what other moves are other stakeholders likely to make should further direct/indirect action occur?
- even if there is a transition is it going to be representative and will it hold?
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/17146065/france-sees-snags-in-plans-for-syria-peace-talks/
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/82916-france-warns-syria-conference-will-be-very-difficult
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-cameron-hold-syria-war-summit-in-washington-more-weapons-for-al-qaeda/5334993
- if there is intervention does the International community support or lead?
- are current peace talk offers genuine?
- limited public support/appetite for intervention.
- the longer the fight goes on the more desperate people have become. Concern is that either solution breaks down because new leadership may be just as bad or worse than previously or else it breaks down simply because they aren't strong enough to deal with the issues that continue to stem from this conflict.
- is this a situation that needs to be 'managed' because it can't be fixed completely in future without long term commitment?
- something which needs to be kept in mind is that many International bodies need reform or are simply losing their relevance. I think that the after several recent incidents the United Nations is beginning to fall into this category as well. In which case, I think the question we should all be asking ourselves is whether some the power plays that are occurring are really worth it. At some point this isn't a question of interests, it's a question of humanity. It's a question of being able to distinguish between right and wrong, between human and primitive animal. If the United Nations doesn't give us the ability to do what is required, what is right in order to end this situation then the International community must surely see fit to either change the existing frameworks stopping us from doing so or find a way of working around them.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/05/13/jonathan-kay-forget-red-lines-for-assad-its-time-to-start-saving-innocent-syrian-civilians/

http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Syria/FinalCommuniqueActionGroupforSyria.pdf
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/assembly-expected-approve-syria-resolution-19181298
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/05/14/learning-the-wrong-lessons-from-israels-intervention-in-syria/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/no-fly-zone-is-best-of-bad-options-for-syria-1.1393250
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/australian-aid-may-be-propping-up-syrian-regime/story-fndir2ev-1226642141799
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/15/world/syria-forum-prompts-guarded-optimism/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/13/syria-post-superpower-era-obama-indecision
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/assad-forces-gaining-ground-in-syria/2013/05/11/79147c34-b99c-11e2-b568-6917f6ac6d9d_story.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/14/c_132379592.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/opinion/ill-considered-advice-on-syria.html?_r=0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iraq-history-at-bush-center-shows-need-for-caution-on-syria/2013/04/29/ea124816-ae80-11e2-98ef-d1072ed3cc27_story.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/syria2_04-29.html
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/05/syria-weapons-2/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-cameron-hold-syria-war-summit-in-washington-more-weapons-for-al-qaeda/5334993
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html?_r=0
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/349997/putin-netanyahu-set-for-talks-on-syria
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/russia-plays-the-missile-card/article4712306.ece

Going Green - Part 2

2013-05-11T03:39:00.001-07:00

This is a continuation of my previous post:
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/05/going-green.html

If you haven't already figured out already I'm a big fan of using the environment to aide us. To this end I've been thinking of some changes to current technology (obviously, some ideas are extremely feasible but others are probably best left for the distant future) to allow us to live a more sustainable future:
- been thinking about better use of aerodynamics in cars. Provided the car is light enough and there is sufficient speed we may be able to make use of dynamic aerodynamic technologies. For instance, in Formula 1 teams were recently playing around with 'Drag Reduction Systems' which basically involved a opening/closing a flap on the back of the rear wing. Let's take this a step further. We have a channel at the front which runs through the middle of the car which when adjusted can send air over the back or under the back end of the back of the car (whose shape could possibly be dynamically altered at will?). In affect we have what amounts to variable aerodynamics and therefore theoretical weight). Ultimately, at higher speeds the effective weight of the car will become lighter which means increased fuel efficiency, reduced wear on car parts (remember in my re-design we would be throwing away a lot of parts as well so the effect is compounded), more than likely a car which requires less servicing, etc... Of course, a lot of tweaking may be require to ensure 'safe' levels of upforce though at all times though I suspect this may be computer controlled... Moreover, if the design already has aerodynamics in mind we may be able to retro-fit wings and turbines for air flight at some stage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ground_effect_vehicles
Curious to know efficiency levels of flying cars? Are we ready to fly en-masse as yet?
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/cartech/coming-soon-your-personal-flying-car-20130509-2j8w2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transportation
- been thinking about ECU modifications further. At traffic lights, we shut down our engines so that only one cylinder is used (a button somewhere or perhaps even automated)(we shut down cylinders as opposed to entire engine to reduce wear on batteries which is a problem with some existing systems). We should also have the ability to deal up/down cylinders, change timing at will, etc... The options are to provided would be similar to what is provided to Formula 1 currently but the options provided obviously be determined by manufacturers. Mandate transmission/engine modes performance, fuel efficiency/mix, etc... like they do in higher end cars?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start-stop_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idle_reduction
- thinking more about reducing effective weight further without requiring extra power. One way is by altering our roads so that they are slightly magnetised. At the bottom of our cars (possibly the tyres/wheels (strategically placed to increase contact area)?) are also magnets/superconductors. They will repel one another and may possibly increase fuel efficiency.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_concrete
Such technology could possibly be investigate on existing rail based vehicles?
- reduction of hydraulics/mechanical techology and increased use of electronics and fly-by-wire technology in cars. For instance, instead of relying on power steering, differentials, rack and pinion steering mechanism we use electronics and other techniques. While power distribution would still be centralised we would have what basically amounts to two mini-gearboxes at the front wheels (or on each side) of the car. Changing the gearing in these gearboxes allows each tyre to turn at a different rate which ultimately means that not only can get rid of a lot of extra mechanical parts (and weight) but we can get better turning circles as well. Obviously, a lot of testing is required to get this right/safe though.
- make seats (and other non-essential components) entirely removable (apart from drivers seat?). Significant reduction in weight, allows people the flexibility of increasing cargo/seating capacity of car at will as well, and obviously means fuel savings as well. Consider same technique in aircraft as well? I've been on a lot of aircraft where there was only a small number of people aboard. Curious to know what the fuel savings would be? Should be stop particular flights from running if there isn't enough demand?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/04/130423-reshaping-flight-for-fuel-efficiency/
- thinking about the large/small car debate further. Let's say we go with one seat cars from now on but they also had the ability to be able to communicate with one another (similar to technology used in high end military systems such as the JSF). In effect, they could 'connect/communicate electronically' and take you to the same place at the same time (I'm thinking driverless as well as driver based world) anywhere/anytime. Moreover, we could dedicate a particular car to taking cargo in 'driverless mode' and if we so desired we could physically connect/detach them at will as well like in Lego/Transformers (I prefer to call it 'Transformatech').
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pikeresearch/2013/05/08/are-e-bicycle-sales-reducing-car-sales-in-europe/
- need to think about insulation further. As I previously indicate in other post films are one way of achieving it with windows but I think we should think further about using insulating materials in cars (impact of fuel consumption on cars?).
- thinking about means of further reducing effective volume of engines, power and fuel consumption but believe that cylinder reduction as outlined above may be enough?
- thinking about introducing something akin to 'suspended seating/shock absorption' in seats. If you've ever been involved in any form of accident (even low speed ones) you'll realise the level of shock that goes through the car. This would hopefully would reduce the number of whiplash incidents.
- obviously to make some of the technology above work we'll need to make our cars out of lighter materials. Cost is the big issue though...
- rig our traffic lights so that we don't have to start/stop so often (acceleration/decceleration are the biggest contributors to fuel consumption)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/us/to-fight-gridlock-los-angeles-synchronizes-every-red-light.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

- consider dynamic speed limits/signage as well which will mean that traffic flows as quickly/safely (increased average speed in low traffic areas will mean you arrive at destination quicker, which means less time road and less chance of accident?) as is possible?
- need to examine better methods of manufacture of technology.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/122231-solar-panels-made-with-ion-cannon-are-cheap-enough-to-challenge-fossil-fuels
One alternative means of dealing with the waste of silicon production I've been thinking about is by liquifying it and then spraying it on to a non-stick material (similar technique that they use in cooking). The resulting silicon is then 'peeled off'.
- further research into lubrication required. Longer term, I think we need to think about less mechanical/physical contact technologies though (superconductors, wireless, electromagnetic fields, etc...). If there is no contact there's no lubrication required...
http://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/news/2011/new-project-generator-with-superconductors.htm
- been thinking of this thermodynamic control issue. I've been thinking about something akin to a 'heat bubble'. Basically, we have a gaseous atmosphere around is more amenable to heating/cooling... Of course, finding a substance which is capable of doing this and is non-toxic/explosive? Possibilities with regards to cooking?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heating_pad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_heat_capacity
Another method is actually embedding heating pad style channels in our clothing (charged by putting them in the oven/microwave) so that we can basically have heat on tap.
- based on what I've read most cars use a form of heat pump to deal with heating. What if we start to use some of the heat from the engine itself though? We control the level of heat by changing level of seperation between car body and engine? and mix of ambient air and engine heat? Something else that probably needs to be looked at is air extraction. Based on what I've read a combination of extraction and new infusion of air is far better mechanism of ensuring new air circulation and hence termpature control.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_heating
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichrome
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/dec/14/energy.insideit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump
Would also like to see stronger use of chemically based heating technologies. If we use conventional electrical means in order to heat up something similar to a heat pack, then use chemical based heat energy from the actual heat pack itself thereafter, we can can further reduce further 'active energy consumption. The benefit is that based on what I've read 'Heat Pack' style technologies are quite re-useable and may actually be easier to maintain in the long term. Possibly consider 'magnetic cooling' or other sources of more efficient cooling?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_refrigeration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump
- thinking about introducing materials into wallpaper, carpet underlay, ceramic tyles (only where appropriate), paints and dyes so that they they provide a layer of insulation as well?
- use the ground in a better fashion as well. Based on what I've seen the temperature of the ground/sea is generally cooler than that of the air. If we had thermally conductive pipes that actually built into architecture and could be lowered raised at will (they could even be left in there permanently as a means of regulating overall temperature depending on ground temperature fluctuations with insulation being used when higher temperatures are required) we may be able to gain some form of passive cooling (heat tends towards cooler areas)?
- would like to see another design philosophy addition to our technology. We shouldn't think about energy being generated at centralised points only. We should try to de-centralise it as well. In previous post outlined using environment as a means of gaining energy. Believe that we should take it a step further. Whenever possible, we should take the position of not only mitigating energy requirements but becoming 'energy neutral' as well. Namely, the object in question should be able to have it's own source of power generation and storage. For instance, there have recently been stride into transparent solar panels. It's clear that efficiency is a problem but given time we may get to the point where our windows, walls, and even lights may be able to power our buildings.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/149163-mit-startup-makes-transparent-solar-cells-that-will-allow-your-smartphone-to-power-itself
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/energy/dubai-looks-to-rooftop-solar-power-revolution
In keeping with this theme of self power generation is something I called 'Tendril Technology'. For a while now, scientists have been experimenting with nanotechnology and tiny motors. What if we do the reverse? If you've ever seen a wind tunnel you'll see that they sometimes use strips of paper in specific locations to determine direction of flowing gas/liquids. Let's take it a step further. Rarely are the aerodynamics of any object perfect. If we can design tiny electrical generators that stick to particular circuits/areas of a vehicle (like tendrils) than we can make use of the movement of the car itself to generate free energy as the car moves. Of course, this will possibly come at the cost of drag and I'm unsure of the economics of the concept itself? Possibilties are of course endless if such technology is viable/works... We could generate energy ourselves by virtue of our own personal movement. In the meantime am thinking about kinetic based generators being used on cattle and other animals. If insted of just a cow bell, a power generator was also installed I'm curious how much 'free energy' we could create (similar technology to road/pavement based power technology as outlined in previous post)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_generator
- been thinking of other 'free energy' possibilities. One is based on sound. A speaker is driven through electrical current but it can also act as a microphone and generate current as well. How much electricity could you generate using such technology at airports, shopping centres, concerts, etc?
- more intelligent use of solar panels. One design that I saw for a solar farm involved a large number of materials directed towards a group/central point of solar anels. Take this further. If we use parabolic mirrors or have a series of moving mirrors that re-direct sunlight based on the position of the sun we can gain even further gains in efficiency?
- have been considering shield concept further. One option is to use space junk (old satellites, space stations, etc...)(we may need to develop a 'Scooper Bot' to herd junk into the correct area before we can commence building obviously) to build part of the structure for the final shields (one at both poles in geosynchronous orbit. Else low Earth orbit may be fine as well depending on the impact of the shield, size required, etc?). Others things to think about is whether we should make it static or do we allow it to have varying levels of power (like a blind that you can open/shut to varying degrees)? Whether we have multiple shields in regional areas to allow for better climate control around the world? If this is the case would we be able to finally control the weather? Would these sheilds provide any protection against solar flares? Could we also connect satellites/space stations to them? Would they have any impact upon our existing satellite networks and other operations? We'll likely require improved methods of joining/construction in outer space (we need to do this at some point down the line anyhow).
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/spacewalk-bid-to-fix-iss-leak-594052.html
- even if we can't mandate use of green technology but we may be able to guarantee orders. Government forms huge proportion of GDP in a lot of developed countries and if we were able to guarantee orders of truly revolutionary green technologies that may increase the incentive for companies to make a bet on green technologies.
- better access/marketing of recycling facitilies require? Should we mandate levels of recycled product in appropriate areas?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_recycling
Possibly better develop better means of providing means of transferrance of recylable goods? Clear that we need some local options though we'll debate this issue in another post.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20130424/NEWS/130429956/new-york-city-adds-rigid-plastics-to-recycling-program#
http://qz.com/82640/china-doesnt-want-your-trash-anymore-and-that-could-spell-big-trouble-for-american-cities/
- have been thinking about methods of automatically sorting landfill (it's clear that at some point we should be able to use robots). One uses pre-defined shape/colour coding of packaging. Another involves using facial recognition and then sorting based on a database of goods commonly found in supermarkets and shopping centres...
- it's clear that we still have significant problems with regards to reaching other planets.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/nasa-says-mars-travel-a-priority-for-united-states/story-fn5fsgyc-1226636397899
Perhaps we should consider setting up a moon base in the meantime? Experiments with life support, energy/food production, and mining in particular?
- should we start to have environmental efficiency levels on buildings as well?
- based on what I've seen a lot of energy storage technologies I've come across are thermally/environmentally dependent to extract maximum performance. Do we design them with insulation and active thermal management systems as well (already present in Lithium based technologies to some extent)?
- don't think we're dealing with Chinese dumping situation particularly well. Clear that many countries have issues with the Chinese though so it's obvious that they have a case. Problem with tariffs is that they will drive overall prices up. Consider taking it to the WTO? If tariff is preferred, make it smaller/take it and then use this to subsidise (partly or completely) local industry? It will hopefully drive prices downwards overall (dumpers now have to drive prices down further to compete or run the risk of being un-competitive (they may be willing to do so in the short/medium term)) and make adoption of such options much more easier/sensible down the line?

http://www.dw.de/eu-imposes-anti-dumping-duties-on-chinese-solar-panels/a-16798471
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/chinese-kneecapping-solarpanel-rivals-20130509-2j97b.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/eu-to-slap-hefty-tariffs-on-chinese-solar-pv-20130509-2j8tc.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/germany-seeks-amicable-end-to-china-solar-tiff-20130514-2jiww.html
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130513/eu-agrees-china-solar-panel-duties-boldest-move-yet
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christophercoats/2013/05/13/eu-finally-moves-on-chinese-solar-threats/

- some countries are clearly protectionist with regards to clean energy generation technologies in Europe or else don't want/have the resources to invest in such infrastructure. Consider opening up grids/lines between countries and provide excess energy across borders? Consider setting up joint ventures between countries? Thereafter, use equity shares to perhaps sell off to re-invest? Sovereignty/percentage share still remains the same ideally as was originally.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/17085680/analysis-central-europe-power-markets-to-stay-niche-as-banks-exit/
- as state previously more alternative fuel research required...
use thermal conditions/enzymes/catalytsts as a means of controlling electrical discharge rate?

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/05/09/chinas-vision-for-a-new-urbanization/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/european-ministers-set-out-timetable-for-eu-ets-reform
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/winds-of-change-blowing-in-china/story-e6frg76f-1226637881187
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/sustainability-a-new-way-of-life/story-fn59niix-1226637910585
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/05/china_cap_and_trade_carbon_tax_the_country_may_lead_the_global_climate_change.html
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55047
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/03/29/1791811/bombshell-imf-study-united-sates-is-worlds-number-one-fossil-fuel-subsidizer/?mobile=nc
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323744604578470841012284404.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323528404578452483656067190.html?mod=trending_now_1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22491491
http://www.theage.com.au/business/carbon-economy/heavy-debt-weighs-on-chinas-renewable-energy-sector-20130514-2jiws.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/08/ed-davey-coalition-climate-change-sceptics
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2013/05/how-much-has-the-climate-change-controversy-poisoned-the-well-of-environmentalism/
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/the-science-laureate-of-the-united-states/
http://www.boeing.com/stories/videos/vid_11_tailored_arrivals.html?Quartz-Tailored-Arrivals
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/105343-graphene-improves-lithium-ion-battery-capacity-and-recharge-rate-by-10x
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/106539-stanford-creates-everlasting-nanoparticle-battery-electrode-free-water-based-electrolyte
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/142962-princetons-nanomesh-nearly-triples-solar-cell-efficiency
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10882569
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/intel_super_chip_haswell_no_tablet_08kxaMcIN4ray5YvXoRk0O
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_and_storage
http://www.gizmag.com/research-carbon-dioxide-methanol/11483/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_battery
http://phys.org/news5805.html
http://www.theage.com.au/business/saviour-needed-for-australias-auto-industry-20130412-2hqwy.html
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/uni-is-all-about-teaching-not-research-papers-20130506-2j3dr.html
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/liberal-party-discontent-grows-20130509-2jau3.html
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/carbon-price-working-coal-slumps-clean-energy-soars-20130509-2jals.html
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/al_drivebywire/
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/lamborghini-egoist/
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/lamborghini-singleseater-20130513-2jh4a.html
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/vf-commodore-less-fuel-less-power-20130510-2jbht.html

Going Green

2013-05-06T07:44:00.001-07:00

One of the things which I've always thought strange is that many people I know say that there always needs to be a winner and loser. I guess I've always believed that compromises are always possible which don't always negatively impact upon all stakeholders. I've always believed that so called win-win compromises are more often than not possible if you put the time, effort, and you have the ability/talent to be able to look at the problem at a deeper, more fundamental level.

This is particularly the case with some environmental, government, and business policies. I still remember when I was younger watching news programs which had protesters chaining themselves to trees as a means of stopping logging. It was a crude and often futile means of trying to get their message across. However, some part of it and a lot more science has meant that their warnings were ultimately being heeded.

The following are random thoughts regarding building a greener/more sustainable future without necessarily simultaneously ruining our existing lifestyles and economies. The obvious reason why this thought process is so appealing is that as the world's population continues to grow we will face growing issues with regards to natural resource depletion and replenishment. We need ways of dealing with these problems while not necessarily having to deal with massive changes to our lifestyles.

- always think big picture. Biggest polluters or those technologies that everyone uses but if efficiency can be increased can help us all drastically. Get everyone thinking about these particular problems not just the 'experts'. Sometimes a new approach is required and one of the things I've learnt is that what you can from one field is can sometimes be applied to another with sometimes surprising and fantastic results.
- teach people how to drive/fly/live in a more efficient manner and starting at a younger age. An example of this is driving and the difference between start/stop and smooth driving and how/why it often makes little difference in arrival time between start/stop and smooth driving. Another example, is running lab classes where you actually learn and interact with the environment.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/motorweektranscript.shtml
- tired of seeing postgraduate students doing inane, and sometimes useless, research projects. It's a waste of our money and their talent. A reduction in pointless/useless/redundant work. Encourage them to do something that has tangible value. It will be for their own personal benefit, will allow for an almost instant return of investment of government/private funding (depends on how they gained their place) and also benefits society as a whole. If you're smart enough to reach that level then you should be able to solve real world problems and make consequential discoveries. To this end I guess I'm proposing somewhat of a list/database of major and not no major problems that need to be fixed by both industry, academic, as well as society in general. These will form part of the basis for possible postgraduate work provided that there is of course approval for the project to go ahead. I've always believed that if you have the ability to do so you should dedicate part of your life to doing things that are likely to benefit society as a whole. This leads me to my next point.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/congress-tries-to-reset-science-grants-wants-every-one-to-be-groundbreaking/
- take the shackles off of scientists/researchers in advanced categories such as Formula 1. Clear that they have made some significant strides but it's clear that the rules have held them back from pursuing some potentially very worthwhile technologies/concepts. If they can at least do the pre-liminary work then the rest of the world can continue on from there. Else pay these particular people (either in their spare time or after they have retired) to pursue technologies for the greater good?
- alternative packaging. Particularly food and basic goods. You can advertise within decent packaging without having to go overboard. Look at things like toilet paper. Basically similar to vacuum/heat shrunk plastic. Expand concept to toothbrush, other foods, and you begin to see just how much of a saving can be made. Good for everyone since it saves of transportation costs as well. Create legislation to mandate volume of goods versus packaging percentage size?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excipient
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosage_form
- can we somehow reduce reliance on advertising and junk mail? Perhaps give advertisers an alternative means of supplying their junk (perhaps broadcast via phones, eBook reader style devices such as the Kindle, or else even wireless transfer each time you walk into or past a shopping centre?)? Smaller advertising/junk mail sizes/volumes? Smaller newspapers? magazines? More regulation of publications?
- when I was younger and conducting experiments I was often 'resource limited' so I learnt to live by the following, "if you can't buy it, build it". Learning through this fashion I learnt to resort to using to whatever was the closest approximation to the real thing that was possible. This allowed for rapid prototyping and minimal capital outlay on whatever projects/experiments I needed to be done. It also meant that I was forced to work with nature and existing science rather than against it. Suggest that this should be our first thought when developing new technologies/products. If at all possible, search for things which are naturally occurring (maybe even develop a global database. We'll expand on this in next point.) and use them as the basis for future technologies if/when required. Essentially, true bio/eco-technological development (good example of this is difference between standard LCD/LED technology and OLED technologies).
- better use/understanding of passive/bio-chemical/effects. Database or better knowledge of natural tendencies of systems that exist around us. Work with nature, rather than against it whenever/ever possible. May need to change laws to allow these thoughts/principles to proliferate though. Dangerous precedent already set when we have allowed patenting of certain critical effects that exist in nature. Could have the impact of holding back human scientific progress. More thought required...
- think about genetic modification of plants (add components so that we can kill them off easily if needed) that can be used to potentially start new ecosystems? Think about arid areas in particular and plants which can deal with low moisture environments? A lot of care required here to ensure we don't destroy native ecosystems, habitats...
- efficient/quality appliances? Biggest problems is rate of return. In some cases, people only recover cost or initial up front cost after several years. Something which many and especially those on a tight budget do not necessarily care about. Outlaw inefficient devices, subsidise efficient devices, both?
- better alternatives to showering, laundry. One alternative I saw in a science fiction series was based on a mist of synthetic substance. Technically, we're able to achieve something similar now. Basically, imagine having a shower that is essentially the equivalent of a steam bath. The first phase is based on a mix of steam, soap, and anti-bacterial liquid in a mist/vapour based form. The second phase, basically emulates a standard shower (it could be another mist phase though depending on your preference) but essentially amounts to what is a rinse. Interesting alternatives with regards to washing include ultrasonics which allows you to shift or remove dirt via high frequency sound waves. Results of commercial devices generally indicates that they are not as efficient as standard washing machines which use detergent though.
http://www.eternallysolar.com/Main%20link%20pages/flowrate.htm
- if it moves, naturally stores, or provides energy then we should look to extract all possible energy from it not just reduce emissions. Look at a power station for instance (currently a lot of major polluters use the equivalent of catalytic convertor systems/carbon filters anyhow), think about the cooling towers. What if we coat the outside of the towers themselves with solar panels? What if we add wind generators on top? What if divert some of the steam/waste water/liquid generated and funnel it down stream (remember the water is hot and in general higher temperatures leads to higher greater movement) into a tidal based energy generator? Where the fires are lit we will use the light to generate further power. Another example would be pavements, floors, and roads. Imagine if we use the an enhanced version of some of the dynamo/generator technology that is used to charge watches and other small appliances in them. Everything we move (even earthquakes would be a source of energy in this type of situation) becomes an energy source. Any and every piece of energy that can be extracted from objects in their most natural form will be utilised.
- people say that developed world should beat primary cost of carbon reduction but it's clear that some of the measures outlined here will have a negligible cost such as learning how to design more efficient homes. We should where ever possible share such information and incorporate into basic training/qualifications globally. It will help save help everyone in the long term and people in developing countries won't have to re-design goods/homes in future for better efficiency.
- we should think more about our modes of transporation. Explore whether people are willing to arrive at destination slower if their transportation was significantly cheaper (may require vehicles to be luxurious, give people the ability to work on such vehicles, or else allow people further time off work to make this work in the longer term?)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_vehicle
- even though cars have made significant strides it's clear that we can do things smarter/better. If you have ever watched traffic during a peak (or any depending on where you live) period you would have noticed that the actual average density is very close to 1. It sort of makes you wonder why you should have the other three seats there. Obvious solution is to build smaller cars and try to force people into them (higher tax for those who don't require larger/higher capacity cars is one option especially if there local petrol prices are too low to make a difference on cost of ownership. Never believed in broad based taxes/levies if they can be avoided. Have always believed that a part of society is engaging in behaviour that is causing detriment to the overall group they should be the first ones to pay/be held accountable and so forth.). Other option is to have large group of standardised vehicles within pre-set ranges that are then rented out. Similar to the way bicyles/trycicles are rented out in some cities. Could obviously also go converse with everyone owing small cars and only renting larger cars when required? Even though there are vents I find myself often having to resort to using air conditioning even though external air temperature is probably more than good enough. Opening the window doesn't work because that leads to rain. Learn from passive thermal control systems (satellite and some laptop technology in particular). On high end/performance cars air (Bugatti Veyron), magnets (Jetcars), and superconducters (Jetcars) are sometimes used as a means of slowing them down. Wonder how much effort/cost it would take to make them a realistic option on standard vehicles (think about never having to worry about brake manufacturing again far off in the distant future),
http://phys.org/news/2011-03-superconductors.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_electric_machine
http://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/publikationen/publications_pof/pof_spring_2006/motors_articles/superconducting_generators.htm
think about engine design. Much more advanced now than we were several decades ago but principles vastly the same. Chamber with piston combined with internal combustion. Look how much is involved in between though. Simplification of design would result in a more rotary style (and efficient) design (that is already used in many hybrid vehicles).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson_cycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine
fiddle around with ECU units on older cars. I recall several people experimenting with using a significantly reduced number of cylinders (1/2 out of 4/6). There's a point at which extra power is almost pointless due to speed limits anyhow. If we can (and if it doesn't cause undue reliability problems) we should think about reducing/rotating use of cylinders at the end of each service much like we rotate tyres.
- think about cause/effect issues and every single possible piece of waste that we (and our environment) produces and how we can extract maximum energy from it. For instance, exercise machines that also have dynamo/power generation/storage capabilities, retrofit KERS/dynamo based technologies on existing cars, laundry/kitchens (think about/work on safe detergents if current ones are 'too harsh') with divertor tap somewhere in house that can be turned on at anytime that can be used for irrigation (or other) purposes (only use sewerage system as a last resort but even think about using energy from that as well),
http://www.poopower.com.au/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas
guttering systems (diverted at will) that feed into systems inside of walls to provide for extra insulation during summer, solar/wind powered traffic lights/telephone booths, human food (if you can't sell it but it's still edible feed animals/give it away. Food wastage is a huge problem.) as well as animal feed (in particular ruminent animals which give off enormous amounts of emissions),
http://www.dw.de/farmers-fight-cow-farts-to-protect-the-climate/a-16702813
houses that aren't overly large and better suit the needs of the occupants and are therefore easier to control with regards to temperature/lighting,
more intelligent design of climate control systems (think about hot water heaters. Think about conductive pipes that would go into the walls or even into your house. Temperature control can be achieved by moving/elevating these pipes into out of the house walls.),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
better design and use of blinds/drapes/films for environmental control (many blinds that I've come across felt like they amplified the effect of external heat/cold)(If you've ever studied heat shields on spacecraft then you would have heard of something called the 'Ablative Effect'. It's somewhat similar to the way insulation works. If we think about this concept further then we can take it further. One side will reflect, the other will absorb giving you another avenue for passive enrivonmental control.),
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Architectural/Glass/Products/Laminated-Glass-Films/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_film
think about what we can do with architectural designs particularly to do with lighting and environmental control. Suprising how much energy can be saved it we simply rely on nature/daylight, and make better use of materials (obvious ones are insulation and highly efficient roof tiles.), electronic screens which use energy from the sun in order to charge themselves.
http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/08/09/invention-the-new-pixel-qi-lcd-screen-works-in-full-sun/
http://www.pixelqi.com/
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/04/23/pixel-qi-reveals-next-generation-display-with-retina-like-resolution-massive-power-savings/
inks that fade to nothing so that we can simply re-use it or don't necessarily have to bleach the paper to through the recycling process (I got this idea when a lot of my receipts were fading over a short period of time), devices, vehicles, and bags that have built-in solar panels so that we can charge our devices while on the road,
- we need to zoom in and out of problems. For instance, if better clothing materials existed (no need for drastic changes in cooling/heating if our clothing were
made of sufficiently good material, potentially with built-in passive cooling systems), we may not need to rely on large scale environmental control systems as much.
- need better ways/methods of sorting out waste, particularly in tip/landfill style situations.
http://www.abbott.com/citizenship/priorities/safeguard/environment.htm
- we need to be smarter with regards to technology especially with technology recycling and repair. Almost everything now has hit the point people just replace rather than repair. If it goes back to the factory systemic issues should be identified and possible remedies learnt from. If possible repair and re-sell or give away to locals in the area instead of sending it away as waste. Design systems so that they are easier to repair or else support better training of people in general.
- every satellite that goes up needs to have the ability to take out another satellite with it. Preferably they will be satellites under your own control so that we don't have to deal with issues of jurisdiction. All satellites must have the ability to de-orbit themselves from now on.
- should we consider/work on technologies which allow us to begin to consider flying above the parts of the atmosphere that are relevant?
- work backwards if at all possible. If the by-products of energy creation is clean or cleaner we may be able
- force manufacturers to open up with regards to power management on some of their devices. Sometimes the only way to achieve optimal results is if you have 'inside knowledge' or reverse engineer it. That way anyone can build software that can better manage the power output of these devices if required (hardware/software switches for most funtionality on your laptop/mobile devices so that you gain more granular control are quite common now though not so when software is ported to it)

Now for the not so simple, impracticle, and unrealistic stuff...
- take energy/product generation off-planet (reduce need for emissions on Earth). Something that others have thought of about before. Examples include: massive solar panels in orbit beaming back energy to Earth via wireless. Energy efficiency (of both the panels as well as energy transfer) is of course a huge problem; generating energy on the moon/other planets, storing it and then transporting it back to Earth. Obvious safety, time, risk/reward, cost/benefit, etc... issues at play here; mining natural resource on inter-planetary objects, creating the produce the product on their and bring it back (think about a highly advanced version of 3D printing).
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-future-is-printed-in-3d-20130417-2i0bv.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/drone-space-ship-app-to-help-robots-on-future-missions-20130422-2i971.html
- I think we need to stop thinking about space as a 'forbidden zone' for experimentation. Not only should be be looking to other planets for resources and a possible new home but we should also be looking to shape entire planets as well. Think about 'terraforming'. If successful we can run the same experiments back home on Earth as well if/when required. Perhaps even think about turning entire planets into energy sources? Ater all, think about the composition of some of the planets that are out there. They aren't too dis-similar to the basic ingredients that are used in electrochemical batteries (transferring the energy is an entirely different problem. We should not discount their possible use as a base for re-fuelling for other activities though.).
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/science/20130505_Mars_draws_closer.html
- recently we've been having trouble with emissions that drift into other areas. If we work on technologies that can control the flow of the particles (remember that some smoke detectors work on the principle of detection of ionised atoms, containment fields in plasma drive engines work in a similar fashion, and so would the fields that I proposed in the use of Anti-Weapons Technologies)(We can make it easier by making the by-product of chemical/industrial operations more 'cleanable/controllable' as well?) then perhaps we can also devise other technologies that will react with greenhouse emissions which will cause them to precipitate (liquid or solid). This can then more easily controlled (perhaps sent into outer space)?
http://www.theage.com.au/world/chinas-pollution-blamed-for-japans-dying-trees-20130425-2igfz.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
- we could try massive shields (physical or else Force-Field style technology though this is likely to be someway off into the future) in outer space. Idea which was floated decades back by firms wanting permanent, prominent, advertising.
- we're bathed in electromagnetic radiation (human and natural) at the moment. In fact, personal experiments indicate that Wifi I can reach about a dozen networks in my area alone using fairly standard equipment. Would be good if we could somehow devise a means of 'plucking' energy relatively passively from this. Have heard of experiments by service providers about providing energy via telecommunications towers, curious to see how far they can take it.
- we could try managing the problem by creating canals into natural/artificial basins/sinkholes inside of continental areas? Possibly for hydro/tidal-power generation?
- something I've been toying since the almost confirmed? discovery of the Higgs-Boson and containment chambers used in Plasma thrusters are mass based containment chambers (think 'mini-blackhole'). Imagine being able to accumulate enough Higgs-Boson particles to basically create enough gravity to be able to warp time/space to such an extent that we could control not only the size of the reaction but also the rate as well.). Basically any reaction (including explosive) could be controlled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor
- in general we need a lot more thought/research into stable, high density ('stable' is the key word here. Our work with Lithium and Nuclear based energy storage/generations should indicate how difficult these problems are to overcome.) storage of energy.
- same goes for energy generation as well. At the end of the day a lot of power generation systems are extremely primitive. Essentially, a lot of power generation works along the same principles. Kinetic energy is used to drive power generators, and so on... The basic principles haven't changed in a long time.
- with our current propulsion systems (and other technology) a lot of work needs to be done to be able to achieve inter-stellar/gallactic travel and to make inter-planetary/gallactic work more realistics. If you understand some of the complexities of rocketry you'll understand how dangerous, expensive, and inefficient it is... Work is being done on plasma/ion drives but chemical based engines still offer vast power/acceleration advantages. May need to consider more multi-stage/propulsion systems in future (work is already being done with regards to satellites in this space)?

Key issues/questions:
- many commercial operators are saying that they'll lose out in the long term if we do start using space as another frontier for resource exploration. I think we need to put this into perspective. If it's a question between profitability or survivival and living standards I think that most people are going to choose the former.
- in spite of all of the above, one thing that politicians (and other decisions makers) need to be keep in mind is that with few exceptions simply throwing money at the problem just isn't going to work. Science requires many different things. Among them talent, desire, motivation, inspiration, on top of finance. A scientist isn't going to come up with breakthrough concepts and ideas simply because he is given more money so why waste it? Use it on more pressing things...
http://www.economist.com/node/17723223?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709
- carbon tax and other levies are fine but honestly I think the greatest incentive is if we can develop technologies where there are benefits for everyone. If we do establish carbon markets or taxes probably best if don't float it for moment as it's clear that we're still feeling our way out and we can't really predict what markets are going to do (if we do float use try it on a smaller scale first to see what it's impact is). Set and review it every once in a while.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-04-18/china-to-complete-climate-change-law-draft-in-two-years
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/04/130418-europe-carbon-market-crisis/
- we've experimented with fuels and green-tech before but it's clear that unless the alternative is just as good people will not move to it. This has particularly been the case with bio-fuels and even recycled paper (I remember when they first used and they were clearly inferior and less popular).
http://www.euractiv.com/energy/study-biofuels-took-10-cyprus-ba-news-519165
- doesn't matter what the technology is it must be proven to work. Too many cases of pseudo-science or just plain fraud.
- ultimately I believe that the question of environmental conversation is a problem that is rooted in science not economics. Greater co-operation, focus, a better policy framework which supports our environment, and research on 'Green technologies' required if we are to succeed in being able to manage our environment.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dannykennedy/2013/04/18/119000-reasons-why-solar-is-a-united-states-success-story/
http://www.utilityproducts.com/news/2013/04/26/cheap-soy-catalyst-produces-hydrogen-fuel.html
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/breakthrough-in-solar-efficiency-by-unsw-team-ahead-of-its-time-20130505-2j117.html
One example is the following is if there is something that is truly ground-breaking and clearly superior we should use the laws to mandate usage of such technology when/where ever possible (in a similar fashion to the way in which we mandate safety equipment on newer cars). This provides a strong incentive to invest money into research and development in 'Green Technology' because the risk is balanced by the knowledge that if you succeed there are chances of a 'windfall'.
- it's clear that there are some issues that are contentious even though they are clearly important. Things like the environment, gun reform, healthcare, education, etc... all form a group of policies which even if politicians want to pass they are still beholden to various interest groups and backers. I propose that at a certain juncture (number of times a policy has been put forward but the situation remains deadlocked) I'd like to see something similar to a jury being convened. It will basically act as confirmation that the policies in question are in the national interest, allow deadlocked situations to be broken, and give politicians some 'breathing room' with regards to being able to pursue policies that are genuinely in the national interest rather than having to compromise their decision making all the time for the sake of elections of vested interests. To make it more more manageable you would only be able to convene such a jury a limited number of times per term and only on important issues that must be fixed for the long term benefit of the country/region in question.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-329_en.htm?locale=en

http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/climate_change_authority_seeks_comment_on_review_of_emissions_targets/081154/
http://www.elp.com/news/2013/04/26/washington-using-executive-authority-to-account-for-the-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-federal-projects.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/18/us-china-climate-eu-idUSBRE93H0ER20130418

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/03/18041136-greenhouse-gas-levels-near-milestone-highest-in-millions-of-years?lite
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Science%2Band%2BTech/Story/A1Story20130506-420598.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/power-demand-slump-saps-emissions-20130506-2j315.html
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/4/29/science-environment/industrialised-nations-greenhouse-gas-emissions-dipped-2011
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-levels-highest-in-3m-years-20130428-2imrr.html
http://theconversation.com/learning-from-europes-carbon-price-crash-we-need-a-carbon-bank-13860
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/photon-to-electron-conversion-0418.html
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/coal-gets-rogue-status-in-fight-for-clean-earth-20130407-2heqk.html
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/04/15/report-us-makes-messy-progress-on-global-warming-policy
http://climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-policy-climate/
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/fossil-fuel-funding-grossly-inconsisent-with-warming-limits-20130419-2i424.html
http://www.afr.com/p/national/no_payout_for_dick_smith_small_australia_sfIS4sQuh0AA0CaSI2pcUK
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/electricity-prices-set-to-drop-as-european-links-come-into-play-20130423-2icz4.html?google_editors_picks=true
http://news.yahoo.com/slow-scary-france-quits-nuclear-state-institute-154437859--finance.html
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/greenpeace-israel-can-generate-half-its-electricity-without-polluting.premium-1.516795
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/coal-producers-ignore-policy-on-carbon-20130429-2incv.html
http://phys.org/news/2013-04-earth-center-degrees-hotter-previously.html#ajTabs
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/us-looks-at-deeper-arctic-role/story-e6frfkui-1226624204219

Negotiating With Rebellious Rogues - Part 3

2013-04-15T10:55:00.001-07:00

A continuation from:

http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/04/negotiating-with-rebellious-rogues.html

http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/04/negotiating-with-rebellious-rogues-part.html

Key issues/questions:
- Believe that the current US administration may be too conservative with their approach. As I've previously indicated here, concepts like 'measured response' and 'deterrence' only work if your opponent is sane, believes that you will back down, or that you are utlimately unwilling to escalate further/quickly. Must be willing to 'ratchet up' just as quickly as down...
- Propose a 'measured response' initially but dramatically escalating when/if required (similar to past 'deterrence' policy with regards to nuclear arms during the 'Cold War'). This will ensure that they know if they attack we will respond.
- I've said that we should be more pro-active with regards to handling of 'rogue states' and I'll say it again. We need to be swifter, harder, creative, and more pro-active no matter what actions we may take as they've already hardened their economies against sanctions and other measures we are likely to take. They need to know/understand that for every provocation that they make their will be a reaction, one that is likely to destablise them as much as us. Moreover, OSINT indicates that while the regime may have about 9/10 figures in assets if they are hit hard/quickly enough they will likely collapse.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/15/economics_war_north_korea_kim_jong_un
- I've always believed that diplomacy, intelligence, and defense should work in unison to help reduce the chances of longer term conflict. Number one reason is that it means that if one doesn't work you're not hamstrung in should one one of these fails. Have been thinking about this further in the context in North Korea. If we are more pro-active (and push back) we'll be better able to ascertain just how far we can push. This also means we can begin to formulate a strategy which means that we can make moves which will utlimately force them to make moves. Not enough pressure on them and they'll just stall and/or continue on their merry way. If not enough progress still push but less. Work to a timeline, don't let discussions dangle.
- The reason for the emphasis in speed is that it also gives them less time to adapt. Moreover, it's clear that 'operational security' on the 'Allied side' is often lacking. In fact, fairly recently plans for pre-emptive attacks/responses to North Korean provocations were compromised during a cyberattack (cause was basically down to procedural error). Moreover, the less time something needs to be maintained as a secret the less likely and more effective the plans are going to be.
- Number of different interpretations of answer/s that have been provided in response to calls for possible peace talks. Response indicates that earlier desire for peace was a deception, that they are willing to give up short term stability for longer term gain. May indicate that may be looking for further concessions? a desire to suss out their opponent more? unsure of how to respond? want more time to respond? Also indicates that within their framework they are limited with regards to how to respond. Remember that while the way they deliver their message may have changed ('sliced salami diplomacy' versus 'jackpot diplomacy' was probably the best/enjoyable way of describing Kim Jong Il versus Kim Jong Un) their basic intentions have not. Would like to probe further and see how they respond to actions outside of their normal realm of understanding/framework... (also known as 'Black Box' or 'Fuzz' testing in the Software Engineering world). If want to engage will have to get them to become more succint, concise, push this along...
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/kerry-prepared-to-reach-out-to-north-korea/story-fn3dxix6-1226620387426
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22146598
http://www.smh.com.au/world/north-korea-likely-to-have-nuclear-warhead-for-its-missiles-pentagon-20130412-2hphf.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/never-mind-nuclear-war-says-north-korean-defector-jooil-kim-the-reality-of-famine-is-bad-enough-8572552.html
Think that there should be more room with regards to pre/conditions for talks but need to be more focused with regards to ultimate goals though. We've been meandering around this problem for far too long.
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/15/on-north-koreas-big-day-kerry-underlines-conditions-for-talks/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/15/world/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html
- Pre-emptive strikes can not be ruled out but should also be taken under advisement. You'd rather an opponent with less complete/inferior weapons than one that has stretched for more time with more advanced capabilities/responses.
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/04/12/north-korean-missiles-an-inventory/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/15/exclusive-u-s-recovered-north-korean-rocket-head.html
- North Korea and other states handling the issue of self defense badly (from external perspective but probably sures up support internally). Missile launches, nuclear tests, tearing up armistice agreements, declaring a state of war, and other rhetoric (such as threatening to 'wipe neighbours off the map', or bathing them in 'seas of fire') can only described as confrontational in most parts of the world rather than simply, 'standing up for their rights'.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-14/n-korea-rejects-seouls-offer-of-talks/4628104
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/professor-thinks-we-should-bomb-north-korea-now.html
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4885931/north-korea-defector-on-how-state-brainwashes-people.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/12/world/asia/north-korea-we-rarely-see/
Need to emphasise that every single move that Allied forces have made has mostly been defensive in nature. Drills in the past have proven to be as much of a problem? they've almost always been the provocateurs in past encounters (attacks on South Korean islands, US servicemen, etc...) Moreover, some of the measures that have been taken can only be described as prudent. Why wouldn't you deploy a missile defense shield battery (a system which is purely defensive in nature if you're aware of how many of them work) if your citizens are risk and you have the ability/resources to do so? Aegis class ships are only there as a support mechanism for the missile defense system, etc...
- 'Allied' nations have clearly made steps to reduce the tension. Believe that it's time for North Korea to return the favour and to return to peace and stability on the Korea peninsula.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/kerry-seeks-active-role-for-china-in-easing-n-korea-nuclear-crisis-20130413-2hs86.html
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/04/15/04/28/kerry-prepared-to-reach-out-to-north-korea
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/14/korea-nuclear-threat-kerry-trip-eternal-leader-anniversary/2081711/
- Looked further at Kim Jong Un. Some reasons for selection are obvious. Younger age, supposedly stronger character, outgoing nature which will help him to work at both the national and international level and so on...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/north-korea-crisis-kims-former-1830810
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-offers-many-faces-many-threats/2013/04/13/c8f0aa70-a3ad-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-kim-jong-uns-dangerous-game/2013/04/11/a618c52a-a2ed-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/09/those-photos-of-young-kim-jong-un-performing-in-grease-are-probably-of-his-brother/
http://www.smh.com.au/world/inside-the-mind-of-kim-jongun-20130415-2hunu.html
What's also clear is that for most of his life he's always had whatever he wants? Curious to see how he reacts to provocations and other moves against him? What I'd also like to know curious about is just exactly how much of the rhetoric is actually his and how much of his messages are 'composites answers'. Hard to know without better HUMINT. Curious to know whether he is someone who can be crafted, molded, convinced (believe that most of his character is fairly set now though. However, if all these moves are actually about stablising his status believe that there may be a chance of influencing him at some point down the line)? At the moment it just seems like he does whatever he wants regardless of the consequences?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/world/asia/kim-jong-un-tests-relations-with-china.html?_r=0
- If he's trying to solidify his grip on power then wondering whether or not this is the perfect time/opportunity to destablise his leadership? Likely response will be brutality as in the past... What happens if you can't extract concessions/consolidate power? What if our responses undermine his and ultimately North Korea's position? Is this information actually true or is it just mis-information?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/how_to_defeat_north_korea_L34Z2ykzkFlMiZsYyewjVM
- Assumption by many 'rogue states' is interesting. All seem to be making the assumption that if they are able to acquire nuclear weapons and other WMD they are able to hold others to ransom once they have acquired them. Doesn't entirely fit in with their idea that their desire for WMD is to reduce the chances/possibilities of invasion. Interesting how the implications of the North Korea standoff will have on other parts of the world.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/does_an_attack_on_iran_mean_an_attack_on_south_korea.html
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/04/09/3123881/in-iran-talks-north-korea-parallel-goes-only-so-far
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/04/09/fantasyland-foreign-policy-on-north-korea-and-iran/
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/lessons-from-the-nuclear-brinkmanship-from-north-korea-to-the-gulf-1.1170379
- Obvious offramp for North Korea at the moment would be to simply end the rhetoric, reform, and work with China/Russia. Allows them to help build a better North Korea without many of the risks associated with working with traditional enemies.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/14/us-japan-ready-to-talk-if-north-korea-starts-denuclearizing-north-rejects-south/
http://www.smh.com.au/world/north-korea-likely-to-have-nuclear-warhead-for-its-missiles-pentagon-20130412-2hphf.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/04/14/the-ultimate-north-korean-missile-threat-to-america-a-nuke-power-grid-attack/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/inventing-a-north-korean-threat-attacking-north-korea-or-iran-could-precipitate-a-global-war/5331207
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/04/12/Former-CIA-director-recommends-the-US-threaten-Russia-and-China-for-cooperation/8091365780296/#ixzz2QOvbO14k
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1337751-china-s-relationship-with-north-korea-will-affect-us-investments-in-asia
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2013/0415/North-Korea-s-Kim-Jong-un-celebrates-missile-free-holiday-video
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/don-t-provoke-north-korea-1.1169966
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/apr/11/barack-obama-budget-us-food-aid
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/world/asia/us-and-south-korea-devise-plan-to-counter-north.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324030704578424073391422526.html
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/for-us-and-north-korea-will-crises-ever-end/articleshow/19456183.cms
http://e-ring.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/09/why_doesn_t_seoul_have_iron_dome
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rajan-menon/korea-the-proposals-pagea_b_3081424.html
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/04/13/north_korean_restaurant_in_beijing_where_politics_is_on_the_menu.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308705/Inside-North-Korea-A-rare-dispatch-deep-lunatic-rogue-state-enslaved-Zombie-Sons.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/26/websites-about-north-korea-defectors-are-knocked-o/

Negotiating With Rebellious Rogues - Part 2

2013-04-11T04:41:00.003-07:00

A continuation from, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/04/negotiating-with-rebellious-rogues.html

Has been interesting watching some of the messages being sent out and the way they've been interpreted.

Key problems/issues:
- is it that Kim Jong Un doesn't know how to ratchet down (Offer them a set of choices? Make signal too indirect and they may not understand it? Too direct and they may just ratchet it up again.)? or is he being influenced not to go down? Based on what I've read about him this doesn't seem like his 'natural personality' or his wording/phrasing (if feels like they've learnt from or were taught by the Iranians). Need further information though. Likely need a combination of greater background work by intelligence analysts (keep in mind the notion of 'projection' when doing analysis) and analysis by defectors.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/09/exclusive_us_and_north_korea_held_secret_meeting_in_march
- this is as much about us as about them. For a long while now, North Korea has used provocations and other techniques as a means of gaining concessions. They've been pushing back members of the international community and we've been responding to threats. Shutting down all communications is simply another means of controlling the situation from there side. Become proactive whether it has to do with offers of peace, aid, war, etc...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/us-korea-north-bank-idUSBRE93900L20130410
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/north-korea-and-sanctions/4616300
Basically, engage rather than respond to them. We need to break the cycle provocations/response at some point. Possibly link a stop of threats to a growth in aid over time? a reduction of sanctions? Then link any increase in provocations to the opposite as well?
- present all a wide range of options at next meeting. Figure out whether they are just looking for attention/aid? whether they simply aren't going to except anything? and are simply going to be a nuisance for a short while... if it is the latter would be looking carefully elsewhere.
- if it is the case that we aren't really dealing purely with Kim Jong Un then we should be thinking about those people are all 'pulling the strings'? if my reading of the background of some of the people who may be 'pulling the strings' is correct then we may need to factor in other issues as well. Personal experience indicates that that people who have been under intense stress, wars, famine, etc... often have an extremely tarnished view of the world. Factor this in as well...
- are they ratcheting things up because they are trying to solidify or is this going to be the tone of things to be come? support a possible uprising? chances of success (note difference between Mail and Iraq/Syria. Support was clear in Mali and we intervened early. Highly unlikely this is going to be a 'clean operation')?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-10/my-life-as-a-north-korean-super-spy3a-exclusive/4621358
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-10/spy-says-threats-are-to-prop-up-new-president/4621842
http://www.smh.com.au/world/kim-jongun-struggling-former-north-korean-spy-20130410-2hlwx.html?google_editors_picks=true
http://www.businessinsider.com/north-koreas-army-erupted-in-deadly-clashes-before-kim-jong-un-took-command-2013-4?IR=T
- if the regime is at breaking point? does he simply need a way out of this for himself and other members of the regime?
- if Iran/North Korea are co-operating/distracting international community efforts for arms control then it's likely that messages are going to be 'massaged' as well. Factor this in. Use what we have learnt in past confrontations. Don't just give up, poke, prod, learn, feel...
- if you honestly believe that he is going trying to solidify things (with a chance of piece down the line) suggest you make the offer big and credible but not enough to make us look 'weak'. That will only encourage further provocations.
- look at trying to increase the size of the buffer zone if at all possible. That way we can reduce the chances of misunderstandings/accidents in future. You can't shoot/provoke someone if they aren't within range.
- if you want to ratchet it down, consider ratcheting down a lot... A simple re-schedule is unlikely to be enough. Something that can be seen to be a genuine concession. If they are to de-nuclearize the concessions are probably going to be high/almost unpalatable. This is more than just a regional problem. China, Japan, South Korea, United States, and other neighbours are all vital to the world's interests from both political, military, economic, and other interests. Hope that the if peace can be negotiated the burden of re-building North Korea is going to shared by all.
- reading further and clear that re-unification is unlikely going to be smooth/easy and if it is going to happen it's going to be in the distant future. It will take time. Don't try to do too much at once but don't give up an short/medium term stability. Many barriers are going to have to be broken down. Consider 'PSYOPS' type operations. Broadcast international media into North Korea, drop leaflets, etc... Try to ensure that it's not just propoganda. Try to make sure that there is no threat of invasion unless provoked. If we are to give aid make sure that it's the type of aid which can not be re-used for dual purposes. Make sure that it is the type of aid that can only be used to help the citizens of North Korea and ensure that they know where exactly it's coming from. Be more aware of the implcations of some of sanctions that have been imposed. Try to make it targeted towards the regime rather than the people. Done incorrectly it will just harden their resolve and case against us. Be aware that like Iran they have 'hardened' their economy against sanctions and it's likely that anytime you do ratchet it up their likely to simply take it away from the people. Keep in mind that the UN and international laws have not caught up or are applicable to our circumstances. In this case, we have to consider alternative options...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/08/north-korean-soldiers-joint-drills?cmp=wp-plugin
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/north-korea-propoganda-sees-population-in-a-permanent-war/story-fndir2ev-1226618447623
- if there is an issue of pride/face at stake consider sending aid via China. History seems to play a more important role in Asia then in some of the cultures that I have most often been exposed to.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/missiles-marathons-memorial-stones-figuring-out-north-korea-and-china/
http://www.independent.ie/incoming/china-and-russia-urge-north-korea-to-step-back-from-missile-launch-29187829.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/10/korea-focus-china-versus-japan-oil
- believe that more work needs to be done into exactly why Kim Jong Un was chosen to be North Korea's new leader. Don't think that this is as simple as it first appears.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea
- history indicates that no countries that possess nuclear weapons have been invaded. Need to see how they view the rest of the world. Work back from there...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/does-north-korea-need-nuclear-weapons/5323227
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/10/the-real-reason-america-used-nuclear-weapons-against-japan-to-contain-russian-ambitions.html
- delivery of message is poor in some cases. If someone like me is analysing your responses it can be guaranteed that there will be an army of staff on their side analysing the way you deliver your messages. Nuance/inflections points are important in guaging the mood of someone and their conviction behind the message being conveyed.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/04/10/china_losing_patience_with_north_korean_antics.html
- if considering change of regime think about Libya/Syria. Not going to be smooth. Believe that the following quotes are relevant, "it was once said of Prussia that it wasn't a country that had an army, but an army that had a country. And North Korea is a garrison state, a society organized for war", and "the conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/01/hitchens-200101
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/opinion/global/will-syria-bleed-hezbollah-dry.html
- China and other countries need to understand that while territory does play an important role in defense it is pointless unless you have some relative control over it. It is in China's best interests that they bring North Korea under control during peacetime than during war. Moreover, with some of the weapons in circulation and under development now, North Korea could be (depends on the level of risk you're willing to take) rendered fairly useless in the early part of any campaign. The strength, survival, growth, and stability of North Korea is important for both itself as well as that of it's neighbours so don't look at this whole situation like it's not your problem. Allies (or even 'attack dogs') who can not be brought to heal are just as dangerous for their owners as well as strangers/enemies. Moreover, while China plays an important cog in the world economy they should realise that they aren't indispensable. Others can and are likely willing to take their place. Continued military provocations can only serve to hinder relations and future trade between them and the rest of the world. Peace is in everyones best interests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22104024
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/german-foreign-minister-warns-north-korea-playing-with-fire_841155.html
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/united-states-and-south-korean-armed-forces-placed-at-vital-alert-watchcon-2/story-fndir2ev-1226617936354
http://www.afr.com/p/world/us_will_target_north_korea_missile_ZVV7wlJX9YD1SdpTv3ZqUN
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/admiral-north-korea-direct-threat-us-18913130
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/us-korea-usa-china-idUSBRE93903U20130410
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/09/world/north-korea-us-intel/?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/north-korea-behind-bank-malware-south-ko/240152644
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/north-korean-nuke-test-may-keep-lid-on-crisis-20130410-2hlmg.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/world/asia/north-korea-tensions.html?_r=0
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/02/nobody_home_at_the_state_department
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/09/how_to_detect_a_nuclear_test_on_your_iphone
http://world.time.com/2013/04/09/chinas-long-fruitless-history-of-irritation-with-north-korea/
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/04/09/making-sense-of-north-koreas-peculiar-madness
http://e-ring.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/09/why_doesn_t_seoul_have_iron_dome
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2013/0409/Top-admiral-worries-North-Korea-crisis-could-escalate-pretty-quickly
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-norkor-missile-20130410,0,1321213.story
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/north-korea-shifts-missiles-in-attempt-to-outwit-intelligence/story-e6frg6so-1226618332121

Anti-Weapons Technology

2013-04-08T06:56:00.004-07:00

Have obviously been looking at the Korean and other hotspot situations around the globe of late. When negotiations have broken down in the past other ways that have been tried include:

- sanctions/export controls

- pre-emptive strikes (risk of 'dimplomatic incident')

- sabotage of infrastructure experimental/testing sites (various methods but security is often incredibly high now. Sites often have isolated power/environmental system. Key scientists are are placed sometimes placed under permanent guard now depending on environment)

- covert operations (not as simple as it sounds depending on the environment)

- and so on...

On and off for a while now, I've been thinking of something different. It's roughly based on concepts from various different fields such as:

- missle defense

- crumple zones

- force fields

but essentially offers a diferent option for defense.

Modern weapons (there is work on chemical, directed energy, microwave, laser and other weapons but details of these programs are mostly classified) mostly work on the premise of a 'controlled explosion' in the context of direction, range, and magnitude of the subsequent impact.

If we look at current missile defense technology (Typically they work with with a combination of other systems comprised of tracking, interception, and control. Needless to say, they aren't cheap, require extensive training/skill to setup/operate, and with the exception of a few systems aren't all that efficient for the purpose for which they developed.) they basically work by activating missle warheads which are most likely triggered through one or several of the following means:

- Contact

- Proximity

- Remote

- Timed

- Altitude

- Combined

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhead

Obviously, success has been limited particularly with longer range projectile interception (high speed, range, multiple warheads, decoys, and so on...). The biggest problem has basically been associated with the so called 'bullet-on-bullet' problem. Namely, trying to hit a projectiles moving at extreme speed with another projectile that are both relatively small.

Previously, I thought about this problem in my 'Convergence' report. Basically a 'colloidal' like solution (can be gas, liquid, or solid)(conceptually it would be similar in principle to using using 'shrapel' or multiple interceptors in the fashion that the Israeli have done in the Tamir interceptor using in the Iron Dome system) that can/will work based on physical, chemical, or other principles... but let's think about this further. Without range/accuracy/controlled explosions weapons are pointless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome

https://csis.org/blog/iron-dome-watershed-missile-defense

If you flood a known area with highly volatile substances you basically have the same effect as missile interception. Namely, energy dispersal at an area that does not harm valuable targets or people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammable_liquid

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/flammable/flam.html

http://www.tkolb.net/tra_sch/Flammable/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_explosion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammability_limit

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/the-porous-shield-of-israel-s-iron-dome.premium-1.479064

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/world/middleeast/israels-iron-dome-system-is-at-center-of-debate.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.thenation.com/blog/173497/united-states-china-compete-russias-favor

http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-forum/128753-top-10-future-weapons-israel.html
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/the-porous-shield-of-israel-s-iron-dome.premium-1.479064
http://theatheistconservative.com/tag/the-tamir-interceptor-missile/

The added bonus is that it forms the basis for 'deterrence' without the madness associated with, 'Mutually Assurred Destruction'. Obvious problem is dispersal and control of it particularly in the case of secure installations/bunkers:

- gaseus solution and you run of the risk of having it basically go anywhere especially in the context of outdoor environments (though mid-flight missile defense is significantly easier if there is a cloud of gas which disables incoming weapons than having to deal with 'bullet-on-bullet' type missle defense)

- liquid based and you have the same problem unless there are natural canals/tunnels that you can use

- solid and you have to deal with the problem of camouflage and existing security staff picking it up easily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_mine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple_shield

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/i-spy-with-my-little-fly--animal-cruelty-20130330-2h02s.html

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/sci-tech/swarm-of-robots-that-could-be-a-lifesaver-20130330-2h04o.html

http://www.itwire.com/science-news/biology/59253-robot-swarms-unlocking-the-hive-mind

Negotiating With Rebellious Rogues

2013-04-06T06:39:00.001-07:00

I don't think that anyone would disagree that the situation between North Korea and it's neighbours is undesireable. It's been decades and it seems as though little if no progress has been made towards a genuine, long lasting peace. Recent events indicate that things may have changed for the worse though...

Part of the problem is that even in recent past history indicates several so called 'rogue states' (including North Korea) have:
- shared information, research, and (they've even flown scientists around the world to participate in joint research) expertise regarding weapons (WMD in particular) technology with one another
http://rt.com/op-edge/north-korea-us-danger-279/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323419104578378434011235810.html
- probably not recognised the difference between standing up for their interests and crossing the line into belligerance (cultural differences do not help)
- have often ignored communications with other states (particular with respect with nuclear dis-armament)

- possibly co-operated with regards to timing in during senstive times to possible distract others from other 'illicit activity'

- have agreed to measures towards nuclear disarmament and increasing stability only to go back on their promises. Do some basic research/background and you'll see that the line between criminal and state activity sometimes blurs to become indistinguishable
- not (perhaps they have?) recognised have sent all sorts of strange and sometimes conflicting signals

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/dennis-rodman-worms-his-way-into-north-korean-leader-kim-jong-uns-affections/story-e6frf7jo-1226612820351

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0404/Why-North-Korea-s-US-attack-plans-are-nutty

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidblair/100210753/what-does-north-korea-hope-to-gain-from-all-this-tub-thumping-belligerence/
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/north-koreans-send-photoshop-army-into-battle-20130328-2gvmp.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/04/map-this-is-how-far-those-north-korean-missiles-can-actually-reach/

So what are the options?
- wait, watch, and see. Basically, what has been done so far. Be aware of the situation, increase surveillance, do drills, take measures to guard yourselves against any possible manouvres. Problem is you're always reacting to what they do

http://news.sky.com/story/1074718/north-korea-us-deploys-spy-plane-to-japan

http://killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/05/retro_friday_forget_thaad_check_out_this_1945_article_on_missile_defense
- be proactive. Tighten restrictions/sanctions/aid even further. Shutdown EVERYTHING (including co-operation at Kaesong). Do not rule out pre-emptive attacks/covert action especially if there are imminent signs of a launch/attack
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/world/asia/us-sees-china-as-lever-to-press-north-korea.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

- ignore. Not a good option particularly in light of past 'incidents'
- he may simply be trying to tighten control/hold on power. In which case, we should just play along and hope that one day North Korea and it's neighbours can come to a peaceful arrangement. Obviously, this is a dangerous option and if we don't judge things correctly we may be worse off in future than we are currently

http://www.smh.com.au/world/bomb-alaska-20130405-2hc7i.html?google_editors_picks=true

http://www.news.com.au/world-news/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-paints-a-confused-contradictory-picture-of-his-true-character/story-fndir2ev-1226613251895
- this may simply be probing/poking us to see what the response will be in case of a real conflict. Likely that responses gathered from this particular situation will be used in subsequent situations. Wide range of responses possible here... job of defense, foreigns affairs, and intelligence analysts/strategists

- if they refuse to give up nuclear weapons technology offer their neighbours nuclear and/or ofther arms (offensive as well as defensive) technology. Possibly even if it is under foreign/allied control. Make them realise that it is in neither sides interests to pursue this tack. Obvious problem is how other countries would react to such an offer and the precedent it would set worldwide. There's also the issue of operational security. In the past, Japanese rocketry research was successfully penetrated, research into American nuclear weapons was breached, and it's been clear that South Korean cyber security needs some work

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/20133319531732780.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/north-korea-in-state-of-war-as-fresh-cyberattack-claims-emerge/article10586425/
- offer a peace agreement (are they genuinely interested in peace though?). However, make it known that if we do go down this route North Korea has to know that it's neighbours have to be able to ensure their safety as well. Concessions will likely have to be made on both North Korea's part as well as that of it's neighbours. Recommend gradual, phased standing down of military forces, expansion of buffer zone, and inspections from both sides that they are they are complying with the terms of the deal. Similar in nature to nuclear weapons inspections but these will occur primarily between neighbours. International intervention a choice if desired- go to war. Choice up/down scale between 'measured response', 'escalation', and 'all out attack'. Long range bombardment to hit all known launch sites and sites of danger. They may back down at this point or act even more irrationally (based on conventional wisdom). Obvious risk is that not all dangerous assets are hit and they have may nuclear assets still in possession. Moreover, not sure how others in the region are likely to react. China may seem them as a strategic nuisance/buffer zone (reminds me of Iranian policy with regards to Syria actually) but it's also clear that North Korea is becoming more difficult for both allies and enemies alike. Would China join in (pictures of border indicate build up of Chinese forces)? A proxy war ensues similar to Syria? Another major issue is if the regime falls who takes over (UN forces until transition takes place or would someone else?)? How could it get worse though? Major humanitarian, economic, stability, and other problems at stake...
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/what-will-china-do-if-north-korea-strikes-against-south-korea-and-the-usa/story-fndir2ev-1226613169835

- mount a phony war? Exfiltrate regime, bomb regime headquarters/all relevant sites, and then basically start from scratch? Practicality (suspect that even basic things like secure communications would be problematic)?
http://freebeacon.com/risky-business/

- Chinese strategic concept of buffer zone needs to factor in ability to control situation though. Perhaps they need to tighten grip on North Korea? Stop thinking about North Korean regime disappearing but make the Chinese realise that they will be the ones who have to support North Korea from now on. No more international support...

- pursue nuclear research in parallel (as opposed to nuclear arms inspections) if it really is their intention to pursue nuclear power rather than nuclear weapons?

Key questions:
- perhaps the regime actually is in trouble (based on what I've seen they've always been able to manage in spite of sanctions)? Is this is just a means of solidifying power? Is this just a campaign of mis-information?

- is this just internal stuff that we're unlikely to understand unless we are North Korean? Defectors to help interpret some of these messages? I remember reading reports/accounts from defectors in the past and a lot of what they said just seemed bizarre when viewed from a Western perspective (as an aside, I once remember taking a personality test of how I perceive myself and how I thought others perceived me. Not only were they unusual but there was somewhat of a disconnect between what I thought and what others thought as well. Suspect this may be happening (limited impact though) here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Dong-hyuk_%28human_rights_activist%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_defectors

- obvious question but one that should be asked. Are they reacting to us or are we reacting to them? If we do 'play along' do we keep our message muted or go out of our way to praise their state?

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0406/North-Korea-Fidel-Castro-warns-Kim-Jong-un-against-war
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/04/politics/koreas-u-s-/index.html
- should we negotiate with the knowledge that they will almost definitely go back on their word?
- would temporarily stopping excercises/scaling back help?

Either way, I believe that we need to be more clear/firm in our communications. Clear that there is some room for interpretation at the moment. Many people can talk but there must only be one or a limited number of responses and it must be firm with no room for mis-interpretation.

Keep in mind standard tenets of nuclear warfare/strategy. Richard A. Clarke's Cyber War is slight alarmist but actually does a good job of outlining some of the strategies that have been used to avoid nuclear catastrophe in the past.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/01/is-north-korea-being-more-restrained-than-we-think/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/16/world/asia/north-korea-us-nuclear/?hpt=hp_t3
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/north-korea-is-a-joke-thats-why-its-so-dangerous-20130401-2h2ih.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9963902/North-Korea-sharpens-nuclear-threat.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-koreas-kim-orders-rockets-on-standby-after-us-sends-b-2s-to-skorea-for-military-drills/2013/03/28/c99254b0-9804-11e2-b5b4-b63027b499de_story.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-south-korea-threats-north-20130404,0,7030734.story
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/16568134/north-korea-lacks-means-for-nuclear-strike-on-u-s-experts/
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/intercepted-north-korean-military-communications-reveal-plan-to-launch-missile/story-fndir2ev-1226612936097

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/north-korea-gives-final-approval-for-nuclear-attack-on-united-states/story-fnd134gw-1226612136732
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-03/north-korean-nukes-how-worried-should-we-be-and-what-is-kim-jong-un-thinking#r=shared
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/04/u-s-official-we-are-not-on-the-brink-of-war-with-north-korea/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9973577/North-Korea-missile-threat-latest-live.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/05/koreans-in-us-concerned-about-norths-threats/2058291/
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/28/china-russia-us-frenemies/

Random Thoughts and Bugs

2013-03-31T21:18:00.004-07:00

Perhaps you've heard of developer Bob's mis-adventures? A fun re-interpretation...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9811275/You-never-catch-me-outsource-work-to-China.html

The things spies will do...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9022827/Russian-spy-rock-was-genuine-former-chief-of-staff-admits.html
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-israel-s-syria-spy-cameras-tracked-russian-navy-1.512798
http://io9.com/the-cias-secret-experiments-to-turn-cats-into-spies-453478752

In spite of the trouble he created you have to admire his sense of humour, creativity, zeal, and skill.
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/12/japanese-cat-hacker-caught
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/11/japan_online_threat_arrest/
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/07/japan-cat-collar-hacker-clue
http://www.news.com.au/technology/clue-found-on-cat-collar-in-unsolved-japanese-hacking-case/story-e6frfro0-1226549207641

Warned about this previously in the context of intelligence/law enforcement systems previously on this blog. Interesting to see how much information can be 'extracted' (both explicity and implicitly) just by using social media platforms.
http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/home-it/59021-facebook-likes-can-profile-your-personality

Covered this in 'Convergence' report. Basically, new/popular platforms are most likely to be targeted and easiest to find bugs in.
http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/security/malware-writers-prefer-android/240150256

Have to admire his tenacity...
http://www.smh.com.au/world/not-worth-it--russian-oil-pipeline-thief-20130328-2gvi2.html

Even dictatorships need hard cash! Opening a chain of restaurants is something I'd never thought they'd do though.
http://thediplomat.com/2010/09/06/kim-jong-il%E2%80%99s-slush-fund-woe/
http://freekorea.us/category/sanctions/money-laundering/
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/09/dont_engage_kim_jong_un_bankrupt_him

Thought about this in 'Convergence' report. Can have notion of 'Super-Portals' but must be customisable. Suspect that it will be based client side if it does actually work.
http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/mobility/59023-android-is-so-in-in-asia

If you like your Easter eggs 'hot' here's an early Christmas present.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-21981063

The HP Mini 210 is nice looking machine but it isn't without it's problems. Overheating seems to be one of them. Not playing games seems to be a suggestion for avoiding it?
http://supportforhp.iyogi.com/mini-210/overheating-2.html
Pity it seems to still have the keyboard/trackpad bug that I found out about on the DM1 though.
http://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/HP_Mini_210-2070NR_Troubleshooting
Like the DM1 great/neat internal setup and easy access though.
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/back_to_school/hp/mini_210_nb-210-1017tu_01/338723
Hilarious system specific bug...
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02784074&jumpid=em_alerts_us-us_Apr11_xbu_all_all_1221350_78559_laptops/tablets/netbooks_critical_006_0http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/hp-mini-210.aspx

Repairing laptop cords.
http://www.fonerbooks.com/laptop_7.htm
Solder heatshrink looks very interesting if you've ever had to repair any wiring before.
http://www.calcentron.com/Pages/fusion_solder_heat_shrink/fusion_solder_heat_shrink.html

Some interesting gun control and NRA background articles
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/14/the_nra_once_supported_gun_control/
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-14/why-gun-makers-fear-the-nra#r=rss
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/us/politics/obama-to-ask-congress-to-toughen-gun-laws.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2013/01/16/what-obamas-gun-control-laws-mean-for-32b-firearm-industry/
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/a-right-of-insurrection/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323968304578245720749827656.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-aftermath-of-swiss-shooting-echoes-of-us-gun-control-debate/2013/02/07/38457624-6e1d-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/16/does_the_nra_want_to_turn_america_into_afghanistan
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/238719/washingtons-gun-debate-whats-next
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/17/obama-gun-control-miss-target
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/biden-takes-gun-control-message-to-nra-country/article7887824/
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/barack-obamas-rocky-path-on-gun-control-starts-with-his-own-politicians/story-fnay3ubk-1226556149128
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130117_Local_pro-_and_anti-_gun_control_advocates_echo_the_national_debate.html

In case I/you need to reset a USB port every once in a while.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/645/how-do-you-reset-a-usb-device-from-the-command-line

Bugs of the Week

Un-named Technology Retailer Website (company/more details undisclosed for reasons of reputation and security)

Recently a local technology retailer had a competition. Basically, they would have pictures of iTunes vouchers randomly distributed throughout their website. This sounds likes a neat way of gaining extra marketing. Pity they allowed for directory listing through various image directories though. Combine this with a download manager which can download the contents of entire directories without user intervention and thumbnail previews (image filenames were helpful as well!) in many file managers now and you basically have enough iTunes credit to last a while.

Bailing-In European Style - Part 2

2013-03-27T02:25:00.002-07:00

A deal with Cyprus was obviously concluded. However, some comments were made which were probably unwise or ill-timed (or weren't depending on your perspective).
http://www.680news.com/2013/03/25/eurogroups-dijsselbloem-forcing-losses-on-bank-owners-large-depositors-new-rescue-template/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/eurozone-cyprus-speaker-idUSL5N0CG13N20130325
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20130325
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/uk-eurogroup-cyprus-dijsselbloem-idUKBRE92O0IL20130325
http://au.businessinsider.com/buiter-euro-recovery-starts-with-cyprus-2013-3
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8632465/the-overnight-report-cyprus-evokes-double-dutch
http://www.smh.com.au/business/cypriot-deal-no-blueprint-says-stevens-20130326-2gs92.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-25/dijsselbloem-says-euro-troubled-lenders-must-fend-for-themselves.html

A number of ways we can interpreted what was said:
- he was sending out a warning to the rest of the Eurozone to reduce their risk exposure
- he was being honest and direct about future Eurozone policy
- he simply wanted to test the markets to see how they would respond
- he was slightly careless in airing his mind
Either way, it gives an important insight into what the European leaders are thinking. It also tells us that they could probably handle the public relations side a little bit better (leaking certain notes from meetings does not help either. All it does is trigger speculation... unless the point is to guage market reaction to such policies?).
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/03/25/the-dijsselbloem-principle/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324789504578384500381305458.html

Like I said in my previous post, I believe that the public should not take on responsibility for reckless behaviour in the private sector. I'm not in the game of rewarding incompetance, hubris, or sheer foolishness and I don't think that many of the international creditors that are currently in charge of bailouts are either (I probably wouldn't have dipped into deposits though. This would has probably increased the chances of 'capital flight' (there's already an increased number of inquiries regarding movement towards safer options within the EU/Eurozone) and ironically stronger 'capital controls'. No one's saying that they can't have a flourishing financial sector. We just want a stable/healthy (even if it is a 'bloated' sector)). We can't keep on trying to fix debt with more debt if there is no growth that stems from it. Moreover, by taking public money and using it to bail out banks whose business models/practices are simply not functioning/working is not doing anybody any favours. Even if we had bailed them out and did exactly what they wanted who says we wouldn't be in the exact some situation several months down the line? The thing that I've noticed is that during times of stress/volatility people often double down and they either end up winning big or losing big. For the moment, we'll play things by the book until things stablise.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/26/cyprus-bailout-eurozone-clash-savers
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/26/eurozone-cyprus-luxembourg-germany-idUSL2N0CI1FW20130326
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_control
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324373204578376502337439038.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/europe/euro-zone-remains-stuck-in-a-horrific-mess-1.1339928
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/24/cyprus-economic-model-broken-advisers
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-26/cyprus-capital-controls-first-in-eu-could-last-years

For those people who think that the deal was 'bad' for them and basically destroys their financial sector and economy (We need to think about this within context. If a retail chain, car manufacturer, or defense contractor suddenly falls apart does the government step in? Only in rare cases do they step in and even then it is only with heavy conditions imposed that they are granted government support. The same applies here.). They need to understand what exactly what was on the line. The country was basically a day (hours actually) away from 'bankruptcy'. Not only would you have lost both banks but government services, and a good proportion of other things that you take for granted as well. Moreover, my understanding is that much of the equipment that is required to create your own currency is destroyed upon entry to the Eurozone which means that a graceful exit is unlikely to be smooth nor simple. People need to understand the implications of going it alone. It's clear that the apetite is not there to test the waters and see what an exit from the Eurozone would be like. They also need to undertand that others were basically overexposing themselves to more risk than required. They should be part of the solution. You can't blame someone else for making bad decisions. If the market is there for other banks surefly they shoud consider especially in light of the light of the stress the existing bank is under?
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/16443742/anxious-cypriots-blame-eu-fear-for-the-future/
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/03/25/cyprus-its-not-over-yet/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/26/cyprus-europe-love-tougher-austerity
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/superhuman-bid-to-reopen-cypriot-banks/story-e6frg6so-1226607319532
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/cyprus-bailout-may-not-be-the-last/story-fnay3x58-1226607477703

It wasn't a question of Cyprus being forced/co-erced into anything (negotiations have been going on in the background for some while now though. Had they accepted an earlier offer things may have been a little less painful as well. Whether it was necessary or useful to target depositors with such a haircut is in question. Confidence is just as important in financial markets as are fundamentals. Would have only targeted creditors. Re-structuring can mean very many things but part of it is getting rid of toxic assets and trying to restore the health of the EU/Eurozone as quickly as possible.). The people running those banks chose to increase their risk exposure. It would be fine if they were still growing but with the EU/Eurozone being relatively unstable/seak over the last few years they took on too much than they could chew and they basically lost. While the solution that has been found may not be perfect it has staved off the uncertainty that comes part of a Eurozone exit. Something which neither European nor Cypriot leaders seem to be willing to countenance at this particular moment in time. Even in the case of Iceland/Finland while things may have recovered, things aren't exactly 'normal' now. Capital controls that were imposed long ago are still present (they have a odd way of dealing with foreign exchanges), many of their former billionaires are no longer, and a good chunk of their bloated financial sector is now gone.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/europe/2013/03/27/osborne-criticises-slow-eurozone-rescue
http://www.independent.ie/business/world/no-more-billionaires-as-iceland-purges-itself-of-old-values-that-brought-ruin-29144720.html
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-european-union-killed-cyprus-in-one-day-2013-03-25?link=MW_home_latest_news
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cyprus-lenders-agree-bailout-deal-reports-2013-03-24
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-27/cyprus-capital-controls-first-in-eu-could-last-years.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/24/us-eurozone-finland-idUSBRE92N0BY20130324

http://yle.fi/uutiset/bank_of_finland_chief_forecasts_lengthy_recovery/6343500

http://www.kwrintl.com/library/2010/thesovereignchallenge.html
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/Outside-View/2013/03/25/Outside-View-Cyprus-would-do-better-to-leave-the-euro/UPI-88431364216756/
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-26/german-10-year-bunds-decline-before-dutch-italian-debt-auctions

The other thing that needs to understand is that if that we go towards the bail-in model we won't be propping up unsustainable businesses models/practices any longer but actually gaining genuine, sustainable, real growth that actually helps the citizens of Europe in the long term. They may not have the ability to devalue but they do have other countries/people who have the strength and hopefully the desire to help rebuild their economy. The thing they need to know is that they aren't going to be alone as they rebuild their economy (perhaps with the right incentives and supervision another bank may be able to fill in the void?).
http://www.neurope.eu/article/taskforce-cyprus
http://www.incyprus.com.cy/en-gb/Top-Stories-News/4342/33834/eu-to-help-cyprus-rebuild-economy
Moreover, since they are such a small country:
- they are in a position to make rapid changes (regulation, taxes, investment)
- any changes that do make will have an almost immediate impact
- the results of any successful programs that the ECB implements in Cyprus can be used in aiding other Eurozone members
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/24/cyprus-bailout-lehman-demise
http://www.slideshare.net/as248/the-myopia-of-hope-bob-swarup-presentation-feb-2013?goback=.gde_116172_member_219439575
The key questions are of course:
- the timing of investment (do we try to break the fall or do we let it bottom out?)?
- what form of investment (private, public, what sections of the economy?)?
- and how much investment?
There are several purposes for this investment. Among them are trying to balance the ledger (cuts Vs growth) and social/political change (if policies here are sucessful and they are able to recover rapidly, then we can extend them back upwards up the hierarchy if need be in places such as Spain, Portual, Italy, and Greece. Will also help strengthen enthusiasm/confidence for the policies that are currently being pursued.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG

If we're going to have capital controls (even if only temporarily) the ECB, EU, and other relevant stakeholders (British actually flew in Euros to their military bases) should make provisions to deal with basic necessities/goods as well. It's another compounding problem, if people can't withdraw enough money how are they going to pay for goods and services, what reasons are their to bring money in if they can't bring it out, etc?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_control

Should probably hold off on adding new members to the Eurozone for the time being unless it can be proven that it will be beneficial to both the Eurozone as well as the country in question.

Interesting that the EU/Eurozone seems to have the ability to do things quickly if/when required. Suggest they do it more often and more proactively (perhaps even get the bank supervisor going by the end of the year as opposed to mid-2014?). Helps avoid critical situations like this weekend (though obviously co-operation admittedly wasn't strong early in the piece in this case) and allows us to use the Eurozone/EU in the way in which it was originally intended, for the benefit of other states.

Market manipulation/money laundering problem not a simple problem to solve.
http://euobserver.com/magnitsky/119156
http://euobserver.com/justice/119567
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/europe-expands-investigation-into-derivatives-market/

Interesting perspective of political ramifications of Cyprus situation.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297258/If-Cyprus-falls-Putins-grip-West-lost-battle-new-Cold-War.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9287904/Deception-Spies-Lies-and-How-Russia-Dupes-the-West-by-Edward-Lucas-review.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/25/a-bailout-for-cyprus-a-geopolitical-failure-for-russia/

http://blogs.reuters.com/edward-hadas/2013/03/27/banker-think-in-welcome-retreat/http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/article/weekly_spotlight/2013/03/26/What_if_Were_Wrong_About_Cyprus_and_Jorgen_Dijsselbloem_Christopher_Vecchio.html
http://www.euroweek.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=3181653&LS=EMS807498&eventcookielogin=Login&cookielogin=1&actionname=cookielogin&eid=E017
http://au.businessinsider.com/dijsselbloem-reveals-the-euro-end-game-2013-3
http://www.ibtimes.com/five-ways-euro-zone-has-changed-eu-imf-ecb-known-troika-financially-rescued-cyprus-1149931
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/euro-rises-after-cyprus-agrees-to-deal-20130325-2gpq6.html
http://www.consilium.europa.eu//uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/136487.pdf
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/europe-money-crisis-leads-to-poor-health/story-e6frfkui-1226607555265
http://www.smh.com.au/world/wholesale-theft--in-the-name-of-saving-the-euro-20130326-2gr7a.html
http://www.smh.com.au/world/cypriots-fear-austeritys-big-hit-20130327-2gumm.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/motley-fool/the-end-of-the-financial-crisis-20130326-2grlw.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/debt-crisis-live/
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cyprus-plays-safe-as-markets-spooked/story-e6frg6so-1226607114069
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/23/us-eurozone-cyprus-precedent-idUSBRE92M09N20130323
http://www.businessinsider.com/kotok-europe-is-in-trouble-2013-3?IR=T
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/shocking-treatment-of-cyprus-has-exposed-eurozones-inherent-flaws-29150368.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-eurozone-cyprus-dutch-pollbre92n091-20130324,0,3155890.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/business/global/25iht-dixon25.html?_r=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/24/us-eurozone-cyprus-worldbank-idUSBRE92N09T20130324
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/revamped-cyprus-deal-to-close-bank-force-losses-20130325-2gp41.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/cyprus-bailout-deal-reached/2013/03/25/1e11f04a-9530-11e2-95ca-dd43e7ffee9c_story.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/as-euro-zone-suffers-emerging-markets-thrive-20130325-2gokq.html
http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/emerging-states-risk-catching-cyprus-cold-1.1490930
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/cypriot-parliament-investigates-government-after-dubious-transactions-a-891168.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/eurozone-cyprus-barnier-idUSL5N0CH24M20130325
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/uk-eurozone-cyprus-call-idUKBRE92K0DW20130321
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-eurozone-cyprus-banksbre92o0r8-20130325,0,1480820.story
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-26/cyprus-banks-remain-shut-michael-pettis-offers-his/4596150?section=business
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/26/eurozone-crisis-cyprus-banks
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fcd3f62e-953b-11e2-a151-00144feabdc0.html
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_1_26/03/2013_489977
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/26/piraeusbank-cyprus-idUSL5N0CI0D420130326
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/27/cyprus-germany-cause-eurozone-crisis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/26/cyprus-bailout-eurozone
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/03/26/cyprus-rescue-marks-game-changer-for-europe-banks/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/business/global/europe-officials-seek-to-contain-cyprus-damage.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-26/canada-says-six-largest-banks-are-all-systemically-important-.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/22/paul-tucker-splitting-banks-retail-investment
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_46_12.htm

Bailing-In European Style

2013-03-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

It's clear that people are tired of watching banks and others major institutions of getting themselves into trouble only for them to be 'bailed out' using taxpayer money (often because failure may result in a catastrophic cascade/succession of other failures). This has happened most prominently in the United States of late but obviously the situation has continuously popped up over the last few years in Europe as well.

Thus far, the reasons how they have found themselves in be such circumstances have often been related to compentency, taking high levels of risk that borders on negligence and malpractice, and engaging in (and being knowingly involved in) unethical and often illegal transactions.

I think most people are in the same boat though. As far as I'm concerned the people in charge can make an unlimited amount of money if they perform. However, if they have to be bailed out they should be penalised for their indiscretions. The option to take a haircut of salaries, stock options, and so on... of any people who are directly responsible should not and can not be ruled out (ironically, there are often local laws which cover corporate governance in relation to these issues though awareness of these particular laws is sometimes sub-par and not enforced often or harshly enough)(In an ideal world such people would either resign or be let go. However, keeping them on temporarily so that they can detail just exactly where they diverged may be necessary/required.). They have to learn that if they want to play with other people's money they will be held accountable. After all, it's clear that there is a far greater propensity for risk taking, if you have no 'skin in the game'.

Moreover:
- if funds can be determined to be be used for criminal (or other abnormal) activities (if you've ever read up on/about issues related to 'export controls' especially with regards to countries that are under sanction you'll realise that tracking such activities is easier said than done. There is also the problem of just exactly how big a role criminal activity plays in modern economies. One paper I read basically insinuated that it may actually be 'holding' up a good chunk of 'normal activity'. More research needs to go into this...)
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/PET108A.html
http://www.fatf-gafi.org/pages/faq/moneylaundering/

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-spy-agency-says-cyprus-bailout-would-help-russian-oligarchs-a-865291.html
- if they have resorted to unusual regulations to artifically boost their performance in an unsustainable fashion which could lead to collapse
- or if there is any other 'abnormalities' in the system
they should be among the first to be forced to shell out some of the burden not the average citizen who hasn't done anything wrong
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/20/a-very-clear-explanation-of-why-the-euro-zone-keeps-exploding/

Obviously, there are several key problems with 'bailing in' including:
- bank/currency runs
- loss of confidence which can lead to other cascading effects
- legal/jurisdictional issues
- political issues (though history indicates that if a levy is implemented fairly and under the correct circumstances it may actually be successful)
http://carolabinder.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/cyprus-levy-historical-precedents.html
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=980223
- implementation (they recently closed banks in Cyprus as a means of stopping a bank/currency run. This is only part of the solution though. If they do go directly after proceeds from criminal activity or other people 'of wealth' they need to think about back dating laws/dealing with jurisdiction issues so that if money is shifted or broken into multiple accounts (to deal with haircuts that are based on 'tiering'). Further discussion required at an international level.)

That's why I'm proposing something slightly different. Recently, the Australian Federal government implemented something called a 'super profits' tax on the mining sector (It's implementation was only partially successful due to loopholes in the way it was legislated.) as a way of basically funding future investment if/when the mining sector does undergo something of a downturn. I propose something similar. If banks are making substantial profits (the size of this is arbitrary but if you look at profits in the financial sector they seem quite healthy at the top end despite many of the problems that we are currently facing), a chunk of their profits will to go into a pool that is then used to help stablise, neutralise, and then hopefully fix crises situations such as this. It will ultimately act as a further firewall against instability and reduce the burden upon central banks (and ultimately taxpayers) in dealing with such circumstances (Obviously, the key problem is the size of it and how to implement it without impacting upon growth upon the finance/banking sector too much. Further thought/discussion required...).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/22/the-scary-politics-of-the-euro-zone/

Banks/opponents of this policy need to think about it in a different way. If one of their competitors collapses even though they may get a share of the clients confidence in the sector is also shaken which ultimately impacts on them as well. This is reflected in the style of assets which clients are willing to invest in and ultimately the returns that are realistically posisble. Moreover, it's clear that many banks have questionable assets on their books (everywhere not just Europe) and that removing them from their books isn't going to be an easy nor quick process. A pool of money from those who are able to provide further stability to the system is in everyone's best interest and ultimately backs up any stablity funds or any other liquidity options that are provided by the ECB.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/europe-s-accounting-rules-are-destroying-its-banks.html
http://www.banksdaily.com/topbanks/Europe/2011.html
http://www.banksdaily.com/topbanks/Europe/2012.html

Another option is to bail out/in based on citizenship (transfer all money back/responsibility back to the point of origin). At this point, we re-capitalise which reduces the burden on depositors. An option to basically reduce the size of the possible impact of a possible default, reduce the size of the finance sector in proportion in comparison to their economy while also allowing them room to breathe and basically set things right. Basically, roll up the bank or shift the responsibility back to others within the Eurozone (or elsewhere) to maintain confidence within the Eurozone whilst also allowing for the (hopefully) successful roll up of the bank in question. Clearly this is something that has been thought of (and implemented) in the past (Iceland/Greece) but it is also clear that there is some reluctance by those who basically have 'less skin to lose' than members of the Eurozone. If we do go down this path we may require more negotiations and therefore more time to have deal with the problem at large. Time that we may not have depending on those that are involved and how far they're willing to push their case forward.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/16/cyprus-bailout-greece-idUSL6N0C81SM20130316

Finally, equity in projects underway should always be considered (enough to make it worthwhile but also allows the country in question to maintain sovereignty).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/cyprus-s-four-options-to-avoid-banking-collapse.html

For me, only after all of these other options have been considered should a broad levy be considered...

Been thinking about the logistics of having a second currency. Instead of a second currency if another country were willing to share their currency (temporarily or over the long term) that may be an option with regards to an exit and would save on a lot of production/implementation issues as well? The obvious question is just exactly who would be willing to put their hand up to do this.

The obvious question that has been asked before is whether or not they (Cyprus) are that important in the overall scheme of things. As stated elsewhere, they represent only a fraction of Eurozone output and most markets seem to be brushing off these issues. People may be factoring in confidence as too vital a factor in this circumstance. The key thing is just how strongly they are linked back into the Eurozone/EU.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130321/spain-beats-bond-sale-target-brushes-cyprus-crisis-0
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-cyprus-euro-crisis-20130319,0,1616609.story
From a personal perspective, I think it would be a really good test to see how the Eurozone/EU would hold up and the logistics of the process if they were to be let go.

One of the things I've found interesting throughout the the European crises is the dynamic/relationship between the desires/rights of the individual versus that of the state and ultimately the EU. On the one hand, you have those who are doing everything they possibly can to keep it from breaking up. On the other hand, there are those who are calling for reform and possibly even the breakup of the Eurozone/EU. Clearly, some of the policies that have been implemented may take time to bear fruit (such as in Germany when they reformed their labour laws about a decade ago) but the thing that continues to plague me is whether or not forcing countries into the mould/shape is necessarily the best policy at this particular moment in time. If we use a second currency we'll gain some additional flexibility, give some countries some more breathing room, and basically allow them to make their own progress in a multi-tier/speed EU which also allows them to change position at any point in time should they desire (depending on it's implementation). For me, progression should be natural and desired not forced. This shouldn't be a question of just not whether or not whether policies that are being pursued are the correct way forward. We should also question whether or not short/medium term pain is worth long term gain (or vice versa) and whether ultimately the citizens of EU/Eurozone buy into the vision that European leaders are currently proposing.
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-rebirth-and-regrowth-of-european.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/03/europes-road-towards-regrowth-continued.html

http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/03/europes-road-towards-regrowth.html

The other thing that needs to be thought about is whether the stronger economies can energise the weaker ones or whether they are just being slowed down them. This is not a simple question obviously especially in light of the role Asia (and China in particular) have played in global economic growth in recent history.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2f89e5ee-930a-11e2-9593-00144feabdc0.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/22/the-scary-politics-of-the-euro-zone/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/22/us-cyprus-parliament-idUSBRE92G03I20130322
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/18/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cyprus-bailout-in-one-faq-2/
http://www.smh.com.au/world/cyprus-shellshocked-over-eurozone-bailout-20130317-2g8db.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/us-eurozone-cyprus-greece-heat-idUSBRE92J0QT20130320
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/rescue-options-narrow-as-cyprus-works-on-plan-b/story-e6frg6so-1226602891881
http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/03/generational-inequality?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-oecd-global-economy-20130311,0,4815250.story
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/is-bitter-medicine-for-cyprus-a-cure-for-the-eurozone/story-fnay3x58-1226600464827
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/uk-france-tax-idUKBRE92K0BV20130321
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/uk-eurozone-cyprus-idUKBRE92E02120130315
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/368579/20120731/deutsche-bank-results-investment-banking.htm
http://rt.com/op-edge/cyprus-no-longer-part-eurozone-544/
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-17/how-europe-let-cyprus-get-into-this-mess#r=discussed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/19/what-is-the-eurozone-doing/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2013/mar/19/cyprus-eurozone-cunning-plan-bank-bailout
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/19/1739601/united-kingdom-united-states-austerity/?mobile=nc
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/cyprus-banks-set-for-overhaul-amid-ecb-threats-20130322-2gjas.html
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/what-happens-if-cyprus-cant-agree-to-a-plan-b-20130322-2gje7.html
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-20/jittery-spaniards-seek-safe-haven-in-bitcoins#r=read
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-21/grillo-s-euro-skeptic-party-seeks-mandate-for-italy-government
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/why-global-economies-face-an-age-of-deflation.html
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-01-540_en.htm
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2e5a544-8d8f-11e2-9a8a-00144feabdc0.html

Repairing Laptop Power Bricks

2013-03-20T00:52:00.002-07:00

Recently I've had a few power bricks die on me. In one of those cases, it was still under warranty but since Asus seem to be extricating themselves from the original 'Netbook' formula there doesn't seem to be too many spare parts to go around. I guess that's why they gave me the option of a refund/credit instead.

Anyhow, a few days ago I ended up with another semi-working power brick. The original owner of the netbook told me that the cat had chewed on the cable (you could actually see bite marks and sections where the cord had come apart) but after examining the device it was clear that there were other problems as well. Pressing at particular points on the power brick resulted in the power coming on/off (didn't help that the thing had a fairly large buffer which meant that the visual feedback (LED) wasn't necessarily instantaneous).

First task was getting it open. Easier said then done if you don't have a good toolkit.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TD2106&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=954#1
http://dicksmith.com.au/product/T6337/30-piece-mini-bit-set-with-handle

This one used a 'Torx bit' (under the sticker) in combination with a snap-lock type system and possibly some glue? Prying it wasn't easy and seemed to result in more plastic deformation rather progress in opening it. However, using a combination of a sharp knife and a hammer seemed to work perfectly and with almost no perceptible damage to the case.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-HP-dv6-notebook-power-adapter/
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/516689-gateway-laptop-adapter-lite-disassembly.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gateway-emachines/318835-ac-adapter-disassembly.html

At this point, I should probably digress. If you've ever worked with anything with anything more then battery voltage you'll understand why getting 'zapped' isn't fun or healthy (for those who have never experienced getting 'zapped' it feels like 'buzzing', it's something you know is wrong for you and something that you know you want to avoid). Wear rubber gloves (kitchen gloves well do) and take other precautions when ever possible. Don't do it if you lack knowledge, skill, or are generally careless!

Since pressing on the capacitor caused the device to work/fail I thought that either it had failed or there was a dry solder problem. I removed/de-soldered it (use a layer of solder/flux on top of the existing solder in combination with braid if you're having trouble. Makes the job a lot easier and helps to minimise damage that is often caused by a combination of heat guns and pliers or extremely high levels of heat from a soldering iron.). Didn't help that I didn't have adequate equipment to properly test (I guessed based on some rather crude tests that it was working but I wasn't 100% sure without more suitable equipment) but after removing all solder from the immediate area and re-doing the job that the problem seemed to disappear and my guess that it was due to a dry soldering issue was confirmed.

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-check-capacitor
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17592
http://www.capacitorlab.com/replacing-motherboard-capacitors-howto/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5

Then came the issue of replacing the cable between the brick and the laptop. Problem is that the tip isn't widely available. In fact, the closest you can get is this which juts out slightly from the side of the netbook.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP0503

I had two possible choices. Use that tip on a new cable or use the cable from the old brick. In my case, neither was ideal so I spliced the old tip into a cable from another brick that had another problem (broken tip)(if you want to ensure a clean job always try to follow the priciples of the original design. If it has two wires at it's core with insulation only on one wire follow that convention and so on. This will ensure that there are no strange kinks in your wire when it is finished.), used heatshrink to give a more professional look to the job, and put it back together (glue it if you want or else just screw it back together).

Using the slightly longer tip option is also possible. However, I like to make sure that things are more ideal from an engineering perspective (reduces strain on the tip as well as the laptop jack). I noticed that cap on the end of Bic ballpoint pens seemed to be roughly the same diameter as what I needed. Moreover, since it already had a 'ventilation hole', and was the right colour (black) things were even easier. I used a sharp knife that was placed in heat (too hot and it will melt the plastic, not enough and it will make the job more difficult. Aim should be for warm blade or else use no heat at all if your (super sharp blade is best. A Dremel/rotary tool may generate too much friction/heat and result in distorted plastic rather than a clean cut even at lower speeds) equipment is up to it) to cut it down to the correct length to slide it down over the longer tip, and then it was a case of sanding down until for a cleaner finish/more flush fit.

Another option is creating an adapter using a suitable jack/socket and plug though this isn't ideal.

Used these (ferrite cores/beads/chokes) to great effect recently on some sensitive devices (reduce EMI/RFI). Good thing is depending on version you use/purchase you may be able to remove and re-use them elsewhere.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question352.htm
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=LF1292

Europe's Road Towards Regrowth Continued

2013-03-17T05:43:00.001-07:00

Almost everybody currently agrees that the European Union needs growth and reform but the key questions of late have been:
- where is the growth going to come from?
- how are we going to do it?
- how much are we willing to bet/risk?
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-05/news/37469888_1_sales-of-tablet-computers-angela-merkel-bitkom

As I've stated before while I believe that ultimately governments should not interfere overly with the operations of businesses they should attempt to support it (within limits). To this end I think the stronger nations need to stop thinking of the weaker members in the union as just being debt burdens. They need to think about them as being possible business/trade partners as well.

I think the key thing is that they are seen to be genuinely helping rather than just enforcing a set of rules without any real discernable difference. The more developed countries can invest in the smaller countries. Since they are better able to adapt, there should be a very quick turnaround in these countries with regards to growth. In fact, if there is enough of a turnaround they may actually end up as being consumers of products/services from the more developed countries.

http://www.4-traders.com/news/Euro-Zone-Wage-Growth-Slumps-Delaying-Consumer-Recovery--16542022/

If there are any labour/skills shortages that can be fulfilled by people in weaker states surely freeing labour laws/movements must be considered. Portion of money from taxes gained from these workers who are willing to move can be sent back to the weaker countries for re-investment. This may be of particular interest for those countries that are having issues regarding ageing populations. By allowing greater/required skilled migration they fill in that gap while removing some of the 'burden' (unemployed workers) of some of the weaker countries as well.

The EU is already in the midst of approving a budget. However, I believe that there should also be a separate 'European Investment Fund'. The size of this fund will be based on a percentage to be determined by EU members but it will have one fundamental purpose. Namely, investing in projects that have the strongest likelihood of success within EU which will ultimately lead to growth. Prefer that it will be directly via EU rather than filtering down via various layers to speed up the process and to hopefully see the benefits of growth sooner. It should focus in on companies/projects that are:
- clearly competitive, sustainable, and basically only need a means of getting over this crisis
- need seed funding but show strong promise and have a concrete service/product in place (the fund will almost act as a venture capital firm)
- are things that nation states definitely need and will see short/medium impact on growth. Basic things that nations need like infrastructure (which will result in increased employment and productivity), critical research and development (which may result in drastic increases in productivity), etc...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/eu-summit-idUSL6N0C68TS20130314

The thing that should always be thinking about is maximum 'bang for buck'. For the smallest possible investment or change (for reasons of time required to implement the change) we need to be able to extract the maximum benefit (perhaps consider investing in SME firms only?). This can help us reduce problems related to stagnant growth in the short/medium term. If the policies in question are controversial then set a time limit on them so that we can renew or simply let the policy expire.

Help companies reform and start making things that people build/want. A common issue locally and in the EU is attempting to compete in areas where there is little chance of us succeding or else simply trying to sell things that people don't need. Locally, this means subsidising production of uncompetive goods whose sales are on the wane while in the EU this means attempting to compete with the Chinese on price even though there is little of chance of this ever being realistic without significant subsidies or moving jobs off-shore. One local program here basically has highly experienced, former (retired but now working as consultants) industry leaders basically taking time off to see where firms can change to become more competitive. Cost of such a program would be negligible if implemeted correctly and could reap large dividends.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/03/10/francoise_hollande_must_fix_frances_broken_economy_or_the_european_union_will_pay_the_price.html

Figure out how each country can contribute to the well being and future of other member states within the EU. If we do go down the route of further intergration would like further details on strengths/weaknesses of each country (one country can focus on agriculture, another on technology, and so on) and how they fit within the future EU. By doing so, we can reduce the amount of overlap and essentially give each nation a genuine purpose and a chance to thrive within the EU (use the EU like it was originally intended as an economic/trade community). If a state can not do this, then should we question their role within the EU?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/11/france-triple-dip-recession-motor-sales-slump
http://www.smh.com.au/business/europes-debt-shaded-by-cost-of-managing-it-20130315-2g67y.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-eurozone-economy-idUSBRE92E0BH20130315

We can continue to muddle along but another alternative is going even harder/deeper/faster with regards to austerity/integration and hope that the markets realise that there is a mis-pricing and will begin to reinvest in EU countries. Obviously, there are significant problems with going down this route. Protests across the EU, and results of polling should indicate that 'the people' do not believe in such policy and there may be no mandate. If there are not signs of a pickup soon and of re-investment/growth in the EU I suspect election results may continue to be hung or else wildly skewed which further impedes the process of reform. Ultimately, the work that is being done needs to have a justification behind it. Preferably, sooner rather than later.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/16/uk-ecb-weidmann-idUKBRE92F04920130316
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-13/business/37681177_1_euro-zone-austerity-works-european-nations

Clearly, there has been some thought towards a multi-tier/speed Europe by several states.
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/03/europes-road-towards-regrowth.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-rebirth-and-regrowth-of-european.html
One thing that should be considered is whether or not we can aide this situation by essentially resorting to a 'swap' to reduce the impact of instability on Eurozone members. Basically, there are those who desire to enter the Eurozone/EU and others who are considering leaving. I suggest we speed up the process to 'fix' the inbalances that currently exist (another option to correcting the problem via austerity). We do this by swapping weaker nations for those who are better suited to the Euro as it currently stands or vice versa (stronger countries out) and de-value which ever currency is relevant we can move from there on.

I think we need to be more creative in the way we're dealing with the bond buying problem. We can use some of the facilities that have already been provided more creatively. Recently, Ireland sold more than the amount of bonds than was necessary. Think about this further. If we use some of a percentage of some of 'stability funds' to sell an abnormally large number of bonds when prices are favourable on behalf of some of the weaker states then we can basically gain some ground over the market and gain some further independence. Clearly, this will require further input/support from other member states.
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland/ecb-banker-hails-irish-5bn-bond-sale-1.1326553

Noticed some countries drag their heals with regards to some regulatory reform. This can often give them a temporary advantage with regards to competitiveness, but it also allows them to see what the impact of the regulatory reform is in other jurisdictions. Think about this when looking at regulatory reform within the EU. Timing is just as important as reform. If unsure, we can create inbalances by implementing across some states and not others to see what the impact is or else simply study other countries and the way they change after reform.

Despite the unpopularity of some of what has been done it was necessary to bring us back from the brink and provide us with some stability to institute reform. I think a lot of people have underestimated the size of the problem while others have overestimated them though. As others have alluded to confidence returning (especially to equity markets) but other question is whether or not they are running ahead of schedule. Think it's a natural part of a media and interconnected world. They're guessing/factoring the likely impact of the reforms that have occured before they've even been completely implemented. It's nice to have confidence back in the markets but I think we need to think further about some of the messages that are being sent out.

I've said before membership to any geo-political union should always be beneficial to member states. I'll say it again. One of the great benefits of the EU is it's highly differentiated nature. While this makes the process of 'convergence' and other harmonisation more difficult it also provides it with significant strengths. Members from other states can learn from one another. It's almost a form of economic/social Darwinism.

http://www.social-europe.eu/2013/03/future-scenarios-for-the-eurozone/
http://www.social-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/eBook.pdf
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/ipa/09723.pdf
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/cr1375.pdf
http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Business-environment/Eurozone-country
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EEF_Spring_2013_Main_report/$FILE/EEF_Spring_2013_Main_report.pdf
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-05/news/37469888_1_sales-of-tablet-computers-angela-merkel-bitkom
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-eurozone-summit-draghi-idUSBRE92E0I220130315

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/opinion/global/the-euro-zone-and-the-global-crisis.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/global/imf-says-euro-zone-remains-vulnerable.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/us/politics/balanced-budget-fight-is-philosophical-and-fiscal.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Random Thoughts

2013-03-17T05:13:00.000-07:00

Had a USB flash drive go bad on me. Was considering repairing (many of the drives that I've come across have had some sort of soldering issue but were out of warranty when I repaired them. This was difficult to open/fix without voiding the warranty though as it was a 'nano' style device which basically sits almost flush to the casing of your computer) it but it was still under warranty. Thought there would have been more USB specific utilities out there but resorted to using storage specific utilities such as HD Tune, Scandisk, fsck, badblocks, and so on.
http://superuser.com/questions/376274/check-the-physical-health-of-a-usb-stick-in-linux
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/51481-3-sandisk-flash-drive-nightmare-error

Based on what I've observed it may actually be harder to find a reliable flash type storage (randomly) then first thought. It seems no matter which brand you choose they always seem to have a 'bad batch', counterfeiting problems, or product line issues every once in a while...
http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=918
http://blogs.computerworld.com/17585/defensively_buying_a_usb_flash_drive

Concept that I was theorising about ('Cloudnet', a predecessor to 'Skynet' like capabilities) in my 'Cloud' report. Will be interesting how far they can push this. Ideally every robot/computer out there will be able to interface with the same 'core'. In a way, the concept/technology reminds me of of many robots from science fiction.
http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/shaw-thing/59042-robots-to-use-%E2%80%9Ccloud-based-brain%E2%80%9D

Another power management utility. Given number of computers in use around the world, I wonder how much of a saving we would make towards Carbon emissions if we were to mandate use of such programs (and better hardware) everywhere (aware of extensive power management technology deployment throughout portable and server technology. Don't see as much of an impact (in the real world) in the desktop/workstation (except in major enterprises) space though).
http://grano.la/
http://grano.la/blog/bios-help/?id=faq

Which reminds me, curious to know just what impact of this style of carbon reduction worldwide would be (I recall a statistic that said that cows were the source of several hundred litres of methane gas each day)?
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/executivesuite/downtime/8609582/french-farm-scheme-targets-farting-cows

Easeus Data Recovery Wizard, nice free data recovery option for those under Windows and don't really have the time/desire to learn/skill to use more specialised forensic utilities. Limited to 1GB recovery in free/trial version though.
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/
http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm

Figured out I had left some 'extraneous material' in a header for the Aspire One referred to below (labour intensive device to open if you've never seen this particular model). Resulted in occasional short. Have since done a trace back to larger, pads/points (easier to solder 'cleanly' 1mm target as opposed to something about 0.25-0.50mm in size) and are using these as connection points. Works perfectly now.
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/03/laptop-hacking-and-hardware-workarounds.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/cleanup-operations.html

Another alternative to 'netbooks'. Note small battery capacity, difficulty upgrading, casing, and heating dissipation problems (dealt with by underclocking in subsequent BIOS versions apparently).
http://liliputing.com/2012/11/asus-vivobook-x202-dissected-almost-as-tough-to-upgrade-as-an-ultrabook.html
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2003823
http://www.minimachines.net/a-la-une/sous-le-capot-dun-asus-vivobook-x202e-1839

Some things impossible/difficult to simulate. If simulation/training runs aren't realistic then you could be doing more harm than good.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-15/airbus-test-pilot-says-air-france-crash-has-simulators-stumped.html

Europe's Road Towards Regrowth

2013-03-13T21:14:00.002-07:00

This post is obviously a continuation of some work in my 'Convergence' report as well as some other blog posts.
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-rebirth-and-regrowth-of-european.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2012/12/abseiling-down-fiscal-cliff.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2012/12/politics-weaponsgun-control-and-fiscal.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/politicalsystem-change.html

My fundamental belief is that people should have the ability to work hard and ultimately choose the life that they desire for themselves. However, I also believe that at times capitalism works against itself. For it to be a self-sustaining system that will continue to endure there needs to be enough wealth throughout the network/system that the cycle of production and consumption of (finite) goods and services can continue. If the majority, (often the middle and lower classes) can not feed themselves or deal with their own needs then at some point those at the top will have nothing of worth that they can sell to those in the lower classes (think about a the process of photosynthesis. If at some point all sunlight were taken out of the equation then suddenly everything breaks down. The same thing is likely to happen here at some point. Take a little over time rather than a lot at one time. Capitalism works but it has it's limits much like Communism and many other ideologies.). Social instablity can result and strange/extremist perspectives can begin to take root.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138844/jerry-z-muller/capitalism-and-inequality?page=show
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/9923506/Sputtering-global-economy-belies-stockmarket-boom.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/

From a personal perspective, what's been interesting is that in theory the the injection of capital into global markets should have led to growth but somehow they've mis-managed the re-structuring process. In reality what's happened is that what's basically been done thus far is shifting debt burden from the banks towards the taxpayer with the likelihood of it being paid back in the medium to long distant future. This has been due to a number of different factors but ultimately I believe that it partially comes down to complacency but also due to the fact that the policies that have been part of the 're-structuring' component have been too extreme (cut too quickly or too much and you're guaranteed to end up in a cycle of recession/depression) or just simply 'wrong' (make cuts to critical infrastructure and services and you may have other serious problems down the line. More thought needs to be put into individual country's needs.). More thought needs to be put towards how to not only becoming more competitive but not only through short cuts such as cutting back on spending, but also on how to do things 'smarter'. Make the process of business easier for people by cutting back on excessive 'red tape', streamline government process so that people can do things more quickly and easily, and pare back on non-critical services. The savings that can be extracted can be re-invested into more important areas. For instance, if you can calculate the weakest points (the points where the least amount of money will do the most) and inject it there then you can grow whilst also being relatively 'frugal'.

Another alternative is that we attempt to ride this situation out (let capitalism do it's thing). At some point, markets will realise just how much more competitive goods/services are in those weakest economies and will inject capital back into the system which 'should' lead to growth. The only concern is that I fear that by that point it will be too little, too late (youth unemployment is already at unusually high levels with no indication that they are going to come back down soon). Governments need to be more pro-active and co-operative with business when it comes to 'spruiking their wares' and make it easier for them to exist (much work with regards to FTA's being done behind the scenes worldwide at the moment. If they can't agree they could simply try/buy. Namely, implement temporary FTA's to see whether or not it would work over the medium/longer term. Ultimately, this allow for foreign investment without necessarily destroying local industries if carefully constructed.).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9921904/Italys-economy-shrinks-as-EU-leader-warns-of-lost-generation.html
http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/election-apocolyse-greeks-stock-up-on-canned-food/story-e6frfm30-1226395368597
http://bostonglobe.com/business/2013/03/12/obama-european-union-officials-rally-support-for-landmark-trans-atlantic-free-trade-deal/OXjBCTY7qWoq13XcmpKNLJ/story.html
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2013-03-12/commentary/37634157_1_eu-investment-trade-agreement-trade-and-investment
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/3443241-agreement-allow-brussels-more-supervision-national-budgets
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/3532541-national-budgets-under-brussels-supervision
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/3393891-european-union-has-been-paralysed
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/3522081-europe-has-lost-its-citizens
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/3495571-we-lost-european-people
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/is-ireland-an-economic-example-or-exception-for-the-euro-zone/2013/03/13/6da0c9cc-8c1d-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-ireland-the-promise-and-problems-of-europes-recovery/2013/02/26/e91637c2-7b6a-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html

Something I've previously considered and am re-iterating is 'bottom-up stimulus'. Clearly, stimulus in at the top doesn't always filter all the way down so we can either manufacture methods (rules, regulations, governance) to ensure that it does filter down or else we can attack the problem by starting at the bottom and moving back up. After all, the purpose of business is to make a profit. The purpose of government is to ensure that the interests of the populace are represented and expressed (that's the theory). For this reason, I've always believed that the job of government should be to make it easier to for private business to grow (within limits obviously). Only when/where it is not commercially viable (or there are simply no takers) should government step in. This allows governments to maintain a relatively balanced budget whilst also ensuring that the needs of their citizens are met (they have a lot of options available with regards to governance in most cases). A good example of this would be Australia's NBN project. My belief is that it should have only connected major capital cities with most of the commercially unviable areas to be handled by government. Private industry should have funded the rest of it (and decided whether it was to be FTTH, FTTN, etc...). This would have allowed for a significantly less costly NBN whilst gaining many of the same benefits.
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/456193/nbn_detrimental_ended_infrastructure_upgrades_by_telcos_bitcloud/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-rebirth-and-regrowth-of-european.html

Where is this leading? One thing that many governments have been involved are shared public/private enterprises. Namely, enterprises where the initial risks, capital, and burden are shared by both private and public industry which can have often much broader benefits than you would normally think.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/opinion/sunday/europe-needs-a-german-marshall-plan.html?pagewanted=all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan

Moreover, if we think about this further there's also the chance that we can bring about other benefits as well. For instance, dealing with inflation artifically. For instance, if houses and office buildings are built to a known and fixed cost up front (obviously, we're targeting a lower cost than the current market price. If locally production can not result in adequate costed options than we import workers and goods which will allow us to do so.) this will also help to alleviate issues with a real estate shortages/bubbles, create extra jobs, whilst also allowing for economic growth (in general over the long term real estate growth outpaces inflation). Ideally the projects will either break even or make only a minor profit.
http://reports.weforum.org/global-agenda-council-2012/councils/real-estate/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/23/us-russia-privatisation-idUSBRE85M0BG20120623
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/02/25/chinas-riskiest-property-market-just-collapsed-is-this-how-it-starts/
http://www.pic-reit.co.jp/en/outline/japan1.html
http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/f/Real_estate_faq.htm

Another option is to simply directly feed money (controlled/measured to help avoid inflation) into taxpayer's bank accounts instead of giving it to banks who will then lend out (they are under multiple pressures at the moment with regards to general global economic conditions, reporting to shareholders, and facing increasing strain anyhow especially with regards to the implementation of Basel and Frank-Dodd and their greater need for capital). This will allow people to pay their bills, keep their businesses going and so on...

One thing that needs to be stressed is that if we continue to make mis-steps is that we may end up in a situation that is likely to be similar or even worse than the one we currently face further down the line. Be wise...

Something I've considered/proposed in the past is a second currency within the European Union which would give nations greater flexibility with regards to fiscal/economic policy. An idea which is actually gaining some traction in the Northern (generally richer countries) What needs to be stressed is that this is most definitely not a breakup of the EU. It is reform that helps Europe modernise, become more flexible, and help it deal with the pressures that come part and parcel of modernisation/globalisation. It also gives the Southern (generally poorer) countries increased flexibility with regards to devaluation to kick start their economies once more.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/9920666/Germanys-anti-euro-party-is-a-nasty-shock-for-Angela-Merkel.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-rebirth-and-regrowth-of-european.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/economic-crisis-to-dominate-summit-of-eu-leaders-1.1325057
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/13/obama-on-charm-offensive-ultimately-differences-may-be-too-wide/comment-page-1/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/russia-cyprus-moodys-idUSL6N0C5C9Q20130313
http://www.china.org.cn/business/2013-03/14/content_28236221.htm

Recently, there was a local story about what basically amounted to a permanent line of credit/facility to help banks should they get themselves into trouble. I say that this is fundamentally wrong. We should only ever step in if it can be guaranteed that we can get value for money. If they have an 'open tap' (so to speak) I believe that they may be more willing to take risks knowing that there is always a line of credit that they can rely on should they get into trouble (even if there are rules/regulations to curb it). Even if we do have have such a facility we should not make it known to the banks.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/nab-westpac-tapped-into-us-feds-emergency-funds-20101202-18i89.html

http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/private-equity-the-target-of-multibillion-court-case-20130314-2g1jo.html

Laptop Hacking and Hardware Workarounds

2013-03-11T01:06:00.001-07:00

If you've been around long enough sometimes you'll realise that people are sometimes unwilling to pay for the parts required in order to get the job done and you have to make do. A while back someone left me with an Acer Aspire One which had its fair share of problems but I was able to get going.

http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/cleanup-operations.html

However, he neglected to purchase a power switch/cable. Obviously, these are key parts of any electronic device but the cost of them actually constitute a large proportion of the cost of the device itself. I've decided to turn it into an experimental device.

By hooking pins 2/3 of the power connector on mainboard to the the pins corresponding to relevant contact points of a 3.5mm sound socket/plug (a multi-meter with an audible continuity tester is extremely useful but you can also use guesswork, or a battery, some wires, and a standard multi-meter/LED to get around this problem) I've turned the the microphone socket into a a partial solution to power control. The other part involes a microphone plug which is then hooked up to a SPST LED switch.

http://search.jaycar.com.au/search?w=spst%20led%20switch&view=list
http://search.jaycar.com.au/search?w=3.5mm%20stereo%20plug&view=list

While I was in Jaycar I noticed these (SPST switches that require a physical key). Not a bad security option actually... How can you hack something if you can't power it up?

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productResults.asp?MID=1&SSUBID=708&SUBCATID=978&keyform=CAT2#1

Some notes from my experiment:

- clear that this particular machine had poor build quality. Even some basic things like the SD card reader slot needed some more thought/work. Based on personal experience tolerances and physical dimensions of memory cards are not identical and often vary from one manufacturer to another which means that sometimes cards from a particular manufacturer will get stuck and need to be extracted via abnormal means. This card slot erred on the side of being slightly too small. So many extra pieces which were not required. Small number of larger panels compared to larger number of smaller panels more preferable as the smaller ones tend to break more easily. Better to use more screws than snap lock type systems which when breached are often unrealistic to repair in spite of advances in glues, cements, and my experiments with plastic welding.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/more-epic-fails-involving-acer-this-is-not-a-new-story/10263
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/acer-its-time-to-own-up-to-your-lemons-and-fix-your-lousy-support/16746
http://www.geckoandfly.com/6311/the-most-reliable-laptop-survey-best-netbook-reliability-comparison/?ModPagespeed=noscript

- if you've ever repaired/modified laptops before you'll realise how specialised how some parts are and how difficult it is to find replacements (which are often expensive as well). This is particularly the case with parallel style cables that are often used for data transfer. I fashioned the required cable by using Scotch tape and filaments extracted from multi-stranded wire from junk electronic equipment. Obviously, this is not easy and could lead to terminal problems. I consider it only a method of last resort because if you don't do the job cleanly it's likely you'll have reached a point of no return and won't be able to go back. Some tips, remove the clamps which hold the cables in place, clean the connections first, and then attempt to add some solder/flux to the relevant elements which you mean to connect. Then attempt to the final connection. Obviously, too high a level of heat and you could burn away tracks, to low and you won't be able to get the solder to flow and it will increase the difficulty of the job. Not enough solder will mean a loose connection while too much will make it hard to put the system back together without deformities.

- fashioning a cable is not easy. Try to make life easier for yourself. Use maintenance manuals when/where ever possible to find out which connections are superfluous and do not bother with them.

http://podolsk.pro/scheme/Toshiba/portege%20r500.pdf

The reason why I say this is because making a cable is far more difficult than you think without a decent lab/equipment (use cables from another laptop if at all possible!). Simple things like keeping the wiring straight and insulated from it's neighbour are an issue. Several options include:

- using a single wire strand and then enclosing it with tape, then wrapping this with the next wire and so on
- using paper to create a backing which you could then begin to glue the wires to
Reaslitically you're limited to creating cables only for:
- speakers
- memory cards
- trackpads
- power
- antennas

Basically anything less than six pins/connections and it shouldn't be too difficult. Any more and you'll require skill/patience/time.

Data card (optical drive and hard drive in particular) cables should definitely not be attempted by those who don't have good hands and technical knowledge. As I've discovered many odd things that can result which with cause/effects relationships that are not immediately clear when making custom modifications. In my case, the Aspire One works perfectly fine if you leave the switch in permanently. Remove it and re-insert (or any other electronic devices such as USB devices) while the power source remains intact and the machine may not boot properly next time (fiddle around with the ordering and it will work again though. Need more time to understand the bug compeltely...). Like I've said though it's a hack and does minimal/no permanent damage to the system (I was considering drilling but there's little room to work with as it is. The recording socket seemed like the most obvious option since it is rarely used unlike network and USB ports).

- use dollar/discount store as a place from which to extract parts from toys which you can not find elsewhere. Membrane type switches are a constant source of pain for me and often I find that just breaking it off from another device is the only way that I can find one (creating one is also possible but also requires skill/time/patience. Possibly more than that required of creating a cable)

BIOS hacking introduction/roundup for those who are interested (a continuation from some of my previous posts/work obviously. Even if it is related to compliance issues there are surely better ways around this than a hardware whitelist?).
http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/20223-Remove-whitelist-check-add-ID-s-to-break-hardware-restrictions-mod-requests
http://www.sbbala.com/DellWWAN/Whitelist.htm
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/WWAN-and-wireless-card-BIOS-whitelists-Lenovo-COME-ON/td-p/952681
http://www.prizepony.us/2010/12/hacking-the-hp-nx5000-bios-whitelist/
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/140664-whitelist-bios-for-dv2000-dv2710us/
http://www.endeer.cz/bios.tools/bios.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/54350-2-laptops-blacklist-whitelist-nics-bios
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/703862-cf-52-wifi-bios-whitelist.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareuk.inc&cat=20&post=58770&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=&trash_post=&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

Freezing issue on an Acer. Interesting how many tangets they took.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1702462
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-One-522-Netbook.50481.0.html
http://www.umpcportal.com/2011/03/acer-aspire-one-522-upgrade-how-to-and-tests/

Linux on the Toshiba AC100. A so called 'Smartbook'.
http://code.google.com/p/cm-paz00/downloads/list
http://www.tabletroms.com/forums/ac100-rom-development/3562-android-4-0-toshiba-ac100-firmware-review-installation-ice-cream-sandvich-4-0-a.html
http://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Toshiba/AC100
http://kotelett.no/ac100/README/
http://pole.su/Toshiba-AC100-Ubuntu-2.6.37-install-ENG.htm
http://pole.su/Toshiba-AC100-Fedora-2.6.37-install-ENG.htm
http://www.umpcportal.com/2010/10/hacked-toshiba-ac100-ubuntu-10-10-is-running/

Interesting articles on power management/consumption under Linux and how to re-pack a laptop battery.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1205257/overclock-cpu-in-linux-necessary-program-names-given
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/04/how-much-power-does-my-laptop-really-use.html
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=67965&sid=2965074f1377886634859c9c48f0dd77
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/rebuilding-laptop-battery

Disabling cores doesn't really help with power saving and may even increase it in some cases.
http://pundiramit.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/how-to-disable-cpu-cores-in-multicore.html
http://www.absolutelytech.com/2011/08/01/how-to-disable-cpu-cores-in-linux/
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/318586-28-solved-disabling-cores-save-energy

Disappearing Optical Drive Fix
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

Netbook, Ultrabook, and Macbook Air Alternatives Continued

2013-03-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

I've been looking further at some of the models mentioned in my previous post and it seems they are not without their idiosyncracies/foibles. The HP DM1 has a number of problems which may be potential deal breakers for those who are more technically inclined. These include:
- they use an Insyde BIOS which also uses a device whitelist which means that you may be limited with regards to hardware upgrades/swaps/replacements
- the wireless module on the system I examined was a Broadcom BCM4313 which may work under Linux but isn't the best solution out there. In fact, under Linux you may simply be better off using an USB based wireless module (use blacklist.conf/rfkill or even remove the wireless module to block/disable it). Swapping it out isn't an option though because of the whitelist issue! (more on this later) This is the error message if you're interested.
####Start Quote####
Wireless module not supported

The system has detected a Wireless module installed in the system is not supported. System halted. Please remove device and restart.

WLAN Module ID (702)

For more information visit: http://www.hp.com/go/techcenter/startup
####End Quote####
- we've mentioned the BIOS previously but I must mention it here again. Normally, there is an 'Advanced Mode' with many BIOS's or there are more options that are available in the open but I'm not sure what has happened here. In the past, F12+A would allow you to access the 'Advanced Mode' but things have changed and you're left with an extremely stripped down version of what you would normally want (no options to turn on/off various capabilities (USB ports, wireless/BT, etc...), no choices with regards to SATA/ACHI mode, etc...)

Obvious ways around the BIOS/whitelist problem include:
- altering serials/ID's of devices, modifying the BIOS/whitelist, physically altering devices itself so that certain identifying information can't be gathered (create a secondary switch to make the device 'visible' again. If the machine doesn't support it obviously this could result in a smoky mess. You have been warned...) and so on but clearly these may impinge upon your warranty
- extracting BIOS/whitelist and finding compatible hardware so that you can work within whatever space is left
- creating an internally accessible (seen this mod with an Eee PC. Basically tap the internal USB bus, hook a hub to it, and plug a wireless card into that) USB wireless card. Some space in there but not much and there is already substandard thermal venting (the entire bottom side includes aluminium sheeting on the inside face, the frame uses some metal, and there are only two vents on the side. It should be noted that the machine can get extremely hot under maximum exertion) so not sure how it would go
- using a different/older BIOS. HP's utility doesn't seem to support downgrading though based on what I've seen. Hacks include using a different flashing utility or fiddling around with the extracted firmware/executables. Past experience with other manufacturers indicate that they often only make the most minor of efforts to obfuscate their work and reverse engineering may be realistic/possible
- modifying the BIOS itself, http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/archive/index.php?thread-4191.html

Having a locked down BIOS is understandable from a security, quality control, and other standpoints but this is seriously dumb for a device that is likely to be used in the consumer space. What's worse is that clearly not enough testing/research has been done with regards to providing a platform that will work across most operating systems...

For me these issues aren't really problematic. The real deal breaker here is the fact that the entire keyboard/moouse freezes from time to time. There have been numerous accounts of these problems and numerous supposed answers which include:
- build up of static
- faulty hardware
- incompatiblity with Linux (virtual machines are actually are realistic option on this particular machine but I often require raw access to the underlying hardware and I often use non-persistent/Live Operating Systems for testing)
- heat dissipation problems

Based on what I've seen it feels like there is a strong correlation with heat increases and keyboard/mouse freezes (everything else works except the keyboard/mouse. You can even plug in an external keyboard/mouse and everything works). I ran it with the following extra kernel boot parameter ("thermal.off=1") which offloads thermal management from the OS to the BIOS and it seemed to work. Then, I ran a simulation by running multiple instances of dd running pseudo random number generation and outputting them to stdout.
dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/stdout
This allowed me to increase system temperature without requiring significant user interaction. Thereafter, it was a case of watching whether or not the system would keel over. One night of testing and I thought that I had may have overcome the problem but after doing some intense network based wireless transfers it seemed clear that I had not. Moreover, attempting to cool it via air-conditioning seemed to have no effect. If I had more time this would be a non-issue since I could work away at the problem until it's fixed but the fact of the matter is I'm busy at the moment....

Still, I honestly believe the DM1 is a strong offering (screen, keyboard, battery life, and so on) in spite of these problems. If HP are willing to make the necessary modifications (and offer better/stronger support for their product) they clearly would have one of the strongest options in this particular market sector/price point.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1986925
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Hardware-Upgrades-Replacements/excess-heating-and-stopping-work-of-keyboard-and-touchpad/td-p/1347457
http://askubuntu.com/questions/182730/keyboard-freezes-with-wireless-use-on-hp-pavillion-dm1
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1026697
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-REMOVED-DV6-3071tx-Whitelist-Removal
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Test-sp55495-WIFI-Unlock-HP-Pavilion-DM1-4000
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/archive/index.php/t-276283.html
http://joshuawise.com/wireless-whitelist
http://web.archive.org/web/20090310024936/http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~mjg59/thinkpad/bios.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20090204194109/http://www.paul.sladen.org/thinkpad-r31/wifi-card-pci-ids.html
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-e-g-Windows-8-and-Software/screen-says-www-hp-com-go-techcenter-startup/td-p/1100475/page/17
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5215434&
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-e-g-Windows-8/HP-DM1-4108AU-Solid-Sate-Drive-SSD/td-p/1437603
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=5215434
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Test-sp54026-Whitelist-Removal-Request-HP-DM1-3248CA-F-12-or-F-13
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/archive/index.php?thread-8126.html
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp54001-54500/sp54026.exe
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/archive/index.php?forum-143.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1989051
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1878300
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/archive/index.php/t-276214.html
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/archive/index.php/t-276283.html
http://blog.tomw.net.au/2012/12/installing-linux-on-hp-pavilion-dm1.html
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Lockups-Freezes-Hangs/Cursor-freezes-pavilion-dm1/td-p/1705561
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/hp-pavilion-dm1-4010us-late-2011.aspx
http://gingernfree.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/hp-dm1-series-laptops-with-ubuntu-1204.html
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/HP-Pavilion-dm1z-review/
http://techlogg.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/unstick-those-stuck-pixels.html
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00288895
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defective_pixel#Partial_sub-pixel_defects
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1804786
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=75795
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-hardware-18/amd-e450-radeon-6320-stability-issues-924838/

A utility to allow for more better temperature control/battery life on your laptop
http://scottiestech.info/2010/02/05/how-to-increase-your-laptops-battery-life-a-lot-with-crystalcpuid/

http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/the_acl/downloads/consumer_guarantees_guide.rtf

Work with enough audio equipment and you'll eventually get crackling at some point. Often you think it's the speakers or the cable themselves but they're often the connections. Replacement parts are available from local electronic stores.

Netbook, Ultrabook, and Macbook Air Alternatives

2013-02-27T08:28:00.006-08:00

With the end/widespread production of netbooks options have become limited for those who require similar functionality at a similar price point. I've recently been investigating some of the options that are still available and aren't quite willing to move towards far more expensive Ultrabooks and ultralight notebooks. An obvious option includes working with whatever netbooks that are still being manufactured. Some of the locally available options include Acer, Samsung, and Toshiba. Ironically, Asus netbooks (the original creators of this product category) aren't easily obtainable (One thing I've found interesting has been the evolution in the design of netbooks. Clearly, the original netbooks were highly limited but I noticed a gradual evolution of these devices over time such that many of the original flaws were ironed out (poor keyboard design, small/slow primary storage options, etc...). However, of late I've discovered significant flaws in the design of these devices that makes them difficult to justify even at their low price point.

http://liliputing.com/2012/05/netbook-shipments-down-34-percent-from-last-year.html

Among them are clear deficiencies in thermodynamic management (ventilation design and fan efficiency/noise), issues with hard drive choice (some drives are notorious for noise problems and yet they are still chosen for mass production), upgradeability (many of them quite simply aren't able to be easily upgraded (hard drive and somtimes RAM) without voiding the warranty (they often use locking mechanisms that that will break upon opening them), power consumption (reaching silly levels given the size of the devices), build quality (I think they've gotten progressively worse over time), weight (it used to be that the best netbooks were about 1.1KG but they're now approaching 1.5KG) and durability (plastic only works so well. Even some of the more expensive Toshiba R/M series based laptops suffer from issues because they haven't given enough through towards materials engineering).

Other alternative options include:

- used ultralight notebooks (premium options such as those from Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, and others)
- cheaper ultrabooks (often expensive, come at the cost of build quality, battery life, and so on). Includes branded as well as generic options via various eCommerce websites
- tablets, so called tablet hybrids, and smartphones (often expensive, aren't as flexible (especially with regards to application support), and have poor battery life and keyboards or no keyboards at all)

However, of late there are seems to be a re-interpretation of the netbook class among some manufacturers. Price point and weight are a fraction higher than that of netbooks (though the same if you can get them on sale especially in light of the deployment of Windows 8), but so are screen sizes, keyboards (they still have some issues particularly with layout such as the sizing of the arrow keys, and often battery life. Each has their own idiosynchrocies but I've found the following to be worthwhile exploring:

- Asus 1225 series (enlarged 'Seashell' series)
- HP DM1 series (enlarged 'Mini' series)
- MSI Wind series (various designations/models but they seem to be similar in size/configuration to the 'Macbook Air' but aren't widely available locally).
- Acer A0725 series (enlarged 'AOD' series)

Since they are often enlarged netbook platforms, they still exhibit many of the same weaknesses of existing netbooks. Namely, the inability to upgrade (though you are often able to overcome the 2GB limit inherent to the standard netbook platform) without voiding your warranty, poor screens, performance (similar Intel/AMD chips are used) and thermodynamic design, and compatibility issues.

If you do some digging you'll notice that the A0725 and DM1 series both have interesting bottom panel designs. They both have bottom panels that come apart in a single section. The A0725 seems to use a single screw while the DM1 uses an innovative latch (doubles as a means of holding the battery in place) system that allows for easy upgrades. Structural integrity and build quality issues seem to have been compromised to achieve this. Nonetheless, not a bad compromise for this price range. The 1225 series has many of the same flaws as 'the Seashell' series. Beauty, thermodynamic design, and the desire for higher margins comes at the price of ease of upgrade (look at the F-35/JSF program for a good guide on how to design/create easily upgradeable systems, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II) and other build compromises. The most annoying thing about many of the keyboards out there is that there is clearly more than enough room to create a good keyboard on many laptops provided some thought is put into it. I'd take a ergonomic/useable keyboard over an aesthetically pleasing design any time.

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/netbook/2012/Acer/Aspire/AspireOneAO725/AspireOneAO725sp2.shtml
http://computers.toptenreviews.com/netbooks/acer/aod257-13685-review.html
http://lookatprioryearfiles.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/upgrade-hard-drive-of-your-samsung.html
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/2700/cpu-shoot-out-intel-atom-d2700-vs-amd-e-450
http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php?/topic/83131-1215n-hard-drive-swap-with-pics/
http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php?/topic/89236-1215p-vs-1215b/
http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php?/topic/82953-1215n-hard-drive-noise/
http://www.cnet.com.au/hp-pavilion-dm1-4108au-339333319.htm
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/how-to-disassemble-hp-pavilion-dm1-laptop/
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2009901
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-E-Series-E1-1200-Notebook-Processor.73569.0.html
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=AMD+E1-1200+APU
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1878300
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/netbooks/hp-pavilion-dm1-4125ea-review-50006730/
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6018&review=hp+pavilion+dm1&p=4
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1799014
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1804786
http://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2013/01/windows-7-vs-windows-8
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Computers/Laptops/Everyday-Laptops/ACAOD27026
http://mail.myself-care.com/Acer-notebooks/acer-netbook-10.1/
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1510270
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/googles-chromebook-pixel--an-oxymoron-priced-to-fail-20130222-2evse.html

Working with Office files on Android platform.
http://www.kingsoftstore.co.uk/kingsoft-office-android.html
http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/articles/view-and-edit-ms-office-files-on-android-for-free-with-kingsoft-office/
http://download.cnet.com/android/office-suites/3150-18483_4-0.html

Fanless designs becoming more commonplace. Should make for some extremely interesting and less compromised/more optimal designs in future. Obviously, not too many options in the marketplace though and where there are they are difficult to procure locally.
http://liliputing.com/2012/05/more-fanless-netbooks-could-be-on-the-way.html
http://www.netbooklaptopreviews.com/netbook-news/increase-in-fanless-netbooks/

Linux/Android on a few hybrid tablet/netbook class devices.
http://gdgt.com/toshiba/ac100/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20015201-64.html
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/TEGRA/AC100
http://pole.su/Toshiba-AC100-Fedora-2.6.37-install-ENG.htm
http://nullr0ute.com/2012/11/a-long-overdue-status-update-of-fedora-on-arm/
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/27975/how-to-dual-boot-ubuntu-on-asus-eee-pad-slider-sl101

Power consumption/performance comparison between low power/mobile solutions from Intel and AMD. Obvious issue is driver support when switching from Intel to AMD platform though. Have observed some anomalies myself while working with AMD platform. More investigation required but believe that even if AMD is just as solid as Intel option, driver/software support may be enough to make a difference in the marketplace for AMD.
http://liliputing.com/2011/02/low-power-chip-battle-amd-c-50-intel-atom-n550-power-consumption-compared.html
http://www.amdzone.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=138262&sid=81a5b86212664aa39bec6bfe5d0ff84e
http://www.cpu-world.com/
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

I often use plastic packaging (thin enough to open a package but not thard enough to break it) of from other products to open sensitive equipment without damaging the casing but apparently a gap guage adjuster works just as well.
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/champion_sparkplugs.htm
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Stanley-Feeler-Gauge-Metric.aspx?pid=12571

For those of us who are simply interested in the Windows 8 interface but don't necessarily want to install/purchase it.
http://betanews.com/2012/12/11/disable-the-new-windows-8-interface-for-good-with-ex7forw8/#comments
http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/35189-Windows-7-explorer-for-Windows-8
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/windows-8-disappointing-usability/
http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/are-businesses-waiting-for-windows-9/240148533
http://www.iobit.com/iobit-winmetro.php
http://www.neowin.net/news/winmetro-bring-window-8-metro-ui-to-your-desktop
http://darktips.com/metro-windows-7/

Laptop Thermal Design, Convergence, and More Security Analysis

2013-02-13T00:54:00.002-08:00

If you've ever used any laptop/netbook you'll realise a lot of compromises need to be made to achieve a balance of power, portability, durability, and longevity. One of the big issues is heat dissipation. For instance, running a fan can result in significantly higher power requirements. If you're curious one experiment I came across said that shifting more air via a larger fan was more efficient and quieter than a series of smaller fans.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sink

Recently, the thermal pad (it feels like a silicon/rubber compound) dried out on my Asus 1015 series EeePC which led to higher than average temperatures and ultimately permature shutdown. The interesting thing about the design is that the CPU is placed almost directly over RAM chip socket. Moreover, foil is then used as another supposed heat dissipation mechanism on the inside the RAM cover. The obvious issue is if the fan/heatsink combination on the CPU is not working properly this combination results in a 'heat sandwich'.

If you're curious, I've used copper shims, coins, and even foil in combination with standard thermal paste as a means of replacing thermal pads if I couldn't find a replacement. Be sure to cut to size if the material is somewhat malleable though particularly if there are components on top of the chip which may cause a short (can lead to non startup of your machine and can often be difficult to diagnose if you've been roaming around the whole board) or other problems.

One of the things I examined in the 'Convergence' report was pricing differences between local retailers and overseas options, the premium that people were willing to pay for locally purchased goods, and whether or not prices would eventually converge regionally/internationally. Clearly, there is some work with regards to suppliers/channels and a Federal Government enquiry as well. It's going to be interesting whether things will change and how long they will take given the smaller size of the Australian market.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/growing-consumer-outrage-at-information-technology-mark-ups-and-rip-offs/story-fndo1qgd-1226440690843
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/firms-to-answer-on-cost-disparity/story-e6frgakx-1226505607189
http://www.smh.com.au/business/retailers-forced-to-step-into-line-on-price-20130111-2cjx8.html
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3687910.htm
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/tech-giants-to-face-it-gouging-probe-20130211-2e80e.html
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/adobe_cuts_australian_prices_after_BgBXyFaCrXRGNIrS1M2fNN
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/02/australian-government-to-force-apple-microsoft-to-front-up-australia-tax-inquiry/
http://www.crn.com.au/News/333106,why-the-it-price-inquiry-summons-may-not-mean-answers.aspx
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/93744

Raytheon have been playing around with concepts similar to social networking OSINT (aware that FBI/DHS/NSA may have been working on similar technologies as well) and 'Algorithmic Masking' concepts outlined in 'Convergence' report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9861155/Warning-over-social-networking-snooping-technology.html

Continuing work on 'Cybersecurity' report (Hope to finish soon. It's 871+ pages/229K+ words now though I think I should be able to cut down a lot). Been interesting just how much difficulty a lot of cutting edge projects have run into, in particular the JSF program.
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-pentagons-new-trillion-dollar-jet-is-a-garbage-can
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/f-35-takes-flight-sans-ge-and-perhaps-canadians
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2011/03/air-force-norman-schwartz-says-software-may-slow-f-35-development-030611w/

News Websites

2013-02-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Google News and other news aggregators work but sometimes they don't pick up everything that you may be interested in (though an alert service can sometimes help). Here is a list of some interesting local and foreign news websites. This list will be updated over time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.reuters.com/
http://asia.wsj.com/home-page
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
http://www.theatlantic.com/
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
http://www.aljazeera.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.sbs.com.au/
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
http://www.darkreading.com/
http://www.americanthinker.com/
http://english.ruvr.ru/
http://www.asiapress.org/api/01en/index.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.smh.com.au/
http://www.afr.com/
http://www.theage.com.au/
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
http://www.crikey.com.au/
http://www.jpost.com/
http://www.ynetnews.com/
http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/
http://www.dw.de/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.wnd.com/
http://www.standard.co.uk/
http://english.pravda.ru/
http://english.alarabiya.net/
http://www.rferl.org/
http://nationalinterest.org/
http://english.hani.co.kr/
http://www.dailynk.com/english/
http://www.bloomberg.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.abc.net.au/
http://www.euractiv.com/
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/
http://www.haaretz.com/
http://www.spiegel.de/
http://www.europeanvoice.com/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://theconversation.edu.au/
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
http://www.indiatimes.com/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
http://www.news.com.au/
http://www.thenation.com/
http://www.businessinsider.com/
http://edition.cnn.com/
http://world.time.com/
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/
http://www.economist.com/
http://www.europeanvoice.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
http://seattletimes.com/
http://rt.com/
http://www.china.org.cn/
http://www.nationalpost.com/
http://www.english.rfi.fr/
http://www.thehindu.com/
http://www.csmonitor.com/
http://english.pravda.ru/
http://dawn.com/
http://www.thestar.com/
http://www.presstv.ir/
http://www.voanews.com/
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/
http://www.globalpost.com/
http://www.cbc.ca/
http://english.alarabiya.net/
http://gulfnews.com/
http://www.3news.co.nz/
http://www.sltrib.com/
http://www.worldbulletin.net/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/
http://thediplomat.com/
http://www.nationalreview.com/
http://euobserver.com/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
http://www.greenleft.org.au/
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.presseurop.eu/
http://www.euractiv.com/
http://www.incyprus.com.cy/en-gb/
http://english.ruvr.ru/
http://www.euronews.com/
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/
http://www.wsws.org/
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/
http://www.social-europe.eu/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/
http://www.ft.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/

The Rebirth and Regrowth of the European Union

2013-01-27T22:46:00.001-08:00

With regards to the financial state of the European Union, it's clear that we're in a better situation than several years ago. Nonetheless, it's also clear that there is strong discussion with regards to re-molding the union to serve greater good over the long term. Things that should be factored include:
- one model I've been considering revolves around three layers of cohesion within the union. One is core Europe and uses the Euro as it's currency, another is less cohesive and uses another currency which will allow for greater flexibility with regards to currency movements during times of ecnonomic stress. The final group is very loose and is based on primarily around trade purposes. All would technically be part of a geo/socio/political union but ultimately they would be of course associated with Europe. Countries free to move between levels as desired or deemed to fit. Naturally, moving between different groups wouldn't be easy to remove possible chance of nations shifting between them for tactical/cynical reasons. Bonus, is that countries can gain benefits of union without potential for 'contamination' of issues that face those countries that aren't quite as mature in some areas
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/in-euro-zone-signs-of-progress-and-fears-of-complacency/
- this structure will allow for flexibity and to facilitate needs of states that do not want to be part or sense a desire to be part of a European state
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/britain-europe-in-or-out-debate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/david-camerons-disastrous-europe-speech
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9828437/Europe-must-change-to-stay-the-same-and-the-PM-knows-it.html
http://www.social-europe.eu/2013/01/cameron-speech-and-britains-new-vision-for-europe/
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/373768/EU-red-tape-cost-us-700m-in-2-years
http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/2686/uk-cannot-afford-eu-open-borders-any-longer
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laursonpieler/2013/01/27/david-camerons-initiative-may-strenghten-the-eu-for-questioning-it/
- smaller groups of geographical unions will also reduce the possible number of issues in question. Easier to govern/more representative of those in question. After all, if their core values/aspirations/interests are more similar in the first place agreement should be easier over the long term (level of cohesion to be determined by those in question obviously). Moreover, why bother with central organisations if people refuse to play by the rules that they are supposed to develop, implement, and enforce?
- needs to be a reason for a union if you are to go deeper and it seems clear that there are those who still remain unclear in regards to this. The way I see it, you can't force a square block into a round hole. Moreover, centralised decision making/bodies should only take precendence if it can be proven that it is for the greater good or those who are currently making decisions lack the ability to do so by themselves. Even so, I think this is a longer term issue
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/9828438/Democracy-is-on-the-brink-of-a-sea-change.html
http://www.breakingviews.com/hugo-dixon-uk-faces-five-years-of-limbo-land/21064511.article
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0117/Could-Britain-move-away-from-EU-and-toward-the-Commonwealth
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/britain-europe-in-or-out-debate
- also, clear that interests of those at stake are very much different. A restructure/rethink of the governance mechanisms behind EU should be an option to be considered (majority instead of complete agreement) during times of crisis?
- people often underestimate the challenge of running a country/state. So many conflicting interests. Put yourselves in the place of European, United States, or Japanese leaders during the recent crises. Incredible number of variables involved, measurements and projections are not always accurate, people's lives are on the line. What would you do?
- think about bottom-up stimulus as another option rather than purely top-down stimulus. Local experience has proven that downward movement in interest rates from a central bank doesn't always get passed on in it's entirity to the average citizen. Consumers are more likely to spend on necessities, business will obviously try to make a profit...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/books/review/the-price-of-inequality-by-joseph-e-stiglitz.html?pagewanted=all
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/inequality-is-holding-back-the-recovery/
- I covered a lot of issues in my 'Covergence' report. The World Economic Forum have since come up with several further studies that expand on that work and quantify many of the issues in discussion. Interesting reading
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_KSC_Re-emergenceEurope_2012.pdf
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf
http://www.weforum.org/re-emergence-europe
http://www.weforum.org/news/new-book-klaus-schwab-re-emergence-europe-published
- need to think about economics more carefully. It's almost like a game, a relatively closed system that is governed by rules and has a relatively finite number of players. If everyone cheats by changing the rules of the game then the original game is no longer the same/valid. However, if everyone makes the same changes, the relative dynamic between players remains the same. Your level of competitiveness does not change relative to others. If however, by building on distinctive changes that separate your ecnonomy from others then significant gains (and potential losses) are possible. Almost like a game of risk/reward
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/13/world-trade-organisation-new-director-general
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/01/2013126163722186783.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/us-losing-ground-in-global-marketplace-report-finds/2013/01/17/b8d4f35e-60ae-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/18/us-billions-renewable-energy-investment
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-eu-latinamerica-deguchtbre90p0l5-20130126,0,3641151.story
- time has proven that many bailouts (American TARP program was successful and several European states are well on their way to dealing with their debt issues) have been successfully repaid. If this is the case, don't see any reason why the largest banks shouldn't have a place in bailing out smaller banks? Larger banks to be bailed out by smaller banks and central bank only when situation is critical (Basel agreement/reforms should go some way towards dealing with this problem in future provided we continue to push forward). Must be more willing to let banks go bust. Reward performance, not incompetance. Central bank guarantee of funds with deposits being shifted to other well performing, stable, well structured banks?
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/a-year-later-pressure-on-banks-remains/
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/imf-head-lagarde-warns-governments-in-europe-and-us-to-not-relax-1.57174
- a lot to learn/gain from some meetings. May need better structure though. Perhaps time limits for each speaker as in some parliaments?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/klaus-schwab/restoring-europes-competi_b_2489766.html?utm_hp_ref=yahoo&ir=Yahoo
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9811265/David-Cameron-can-prove-de-Gaulle-was-right-about-us-all-along.html
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/12/europes_economies
- can't pursue growth above all else. Perhaps termporarily but over the long term environmental, resource, social issues on the line as well
- do the people in question really share a common identify? One thing I've noticed that older people are less aware (and are less willing to take advantage) of many benefits the European Union. If Europe is going to go down the route to deeper integration the benefits must be sold to the public. Believe that time may be a few decades down the road
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/what-does-europe-mean-to-you

Political/System Change

2013-01-27T22:41:00.002-08:00

It's only when you do genuine research which spans months possibly years do you understand just how big the world really is, how much progress humans have made and similarly how foolish we've been in some of our endeavours. Extremist views and terrorism impacts no longer impacts upon those whose countries where it has taken root. The globalised nature means that these perspectives now play a global role as well. While it's clear that covert operations are one option regime change (whether as a cause or side effect) can have a substantial impact as well. Things that need to be considered though:
- how often has intervention actually worked? Is it our intervention that is causing the process of fail or is the way in which we are forcing intervention?
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/in-mali-the-domino-theory-is-real/
http://www.acus.org/?q=new_atlanticist/mali-no-way-go-war-going-nowhere
- in totalitarian regimes the distinction between reality and propoganda is not always clear or easy to uncover. Behaviour bears some similarities 'Stockholm's Syndrome'. Do people see the current regime as the best option only because they are not aware of other options?
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/01/hitchens-200101

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korean-cannibalism-fears-amid-claims-starving-people-eat-children-and-corpses-8468781.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-secret-lives-of-north-korea-8468421.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
- the structure of authoritarian governments is such that they serve two purposes. One, is to maintain security of the state from external threats. The other is to secure it against internal threats. No matter what happens in a transition there still is somewhat of a security vacuum which is made more hazardous by (sometimes corrupt) former secret police/intelligence using their 'skills' in any subsequent democracy. Vetting/background intlligence is critical in develop ment of any subsequent regime. Desire/determination of the general population is critical to determining whether or not radicalism/extremism/terrorism can survive (or be repelled) in such an environment
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-paid-to-maintain-inoperable-afghan-police-vehicles-audit-finds/2013/01/17/a32d03d2-60e7-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story.html
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2013/01/15/panetta-no-us-troops-on-the-ground-in-mali
- almost impossible to avoid non vacuum type situation in the advent of political/system change. One report that I read indicated that the most stable choice was to simply replace one autocrat to another and basically attempt gradual change (similar to the Egyption situation but I'm quite certain how that really is progressing). Even then, may not be possible though. An 'autocrat' is someone fundamentally/psychologically different from 'normal people'. How do you get them to institute genuine reform? A time limit for constitutional change via the UN with automatic sanctions?
- not sure that people really care who there leaders or the system. Believe that as long as their best interests are represented the system in question isn't particularly important
- we need to acknowledge that one system may not necessarily be the best for everyone. Imposing a system which doesn't work may potentially be just as problematic as not intervening in a crisis situation. In some countries/regions security/stability takes precedence over civil liberties. In others, people need to be behave in a certain fashion in order to succeed among their peers. We need to always keep at the back of our minds that many of the systems that we have devised have come about through people's desire for greater prosperity and better representation of the 'people's interest'. It's for this reason, I find some of our current troubles amusing. It's clear that pure capitalism doesn't work and history has clearly proven that often the pure interpretations/forms of other idelogies such as socialism, communism, and are also flawed. Even the democratic process and implementations that we have found ourselves with have resulted in often compromised, untimely decision making with representatives with backgrounds or personalities who we often find significantly flawed or questionable. I studied human resources and management as a part of my studies and while there were many theories with regards to motivation and general management, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs continues to remain important in my mind. If a person has adequate housing, food, and health you'll be going a long way towards fulfilling their needs and desires
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/at-davos-financial-leaders-debate-reform-and-monetary-policy/?ref=worldeconomicforum
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/2013126125850486938.html
http://www.smh.com.au/world/czechs-lean-left-for-zeman-20130127-2des4.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/201312612182907642.html
- after Balkan conflict there was some discussion regarding UN policy which would basically stop a recurrance. Where do we set the tipping point for intervention? How do we set it? What type of intervention?
- is the structure of the UN now 'outdated' and ill equiped to deal with these type of situations? Is modernisation of the UN required? A rotating head such as the EU? with a majority/set percentage a better option than the current UNSC structure?
Are the members of the current UNSC willing to cede some control back to the global community?
- regime change often comes at the price of much blood. We need to understand that existing authorities and associated stakeholders often stand to lose much more than what appears on the surface. The cynic in me thinks that some will not let go of power without a decent 'exit package'
- ruling out insanity the only way an existing regime can be certain that the will of the people is not with them is via a vote. Can you launch an election in the middle of a war zone? If much of the country is evacuated already can you run an election composed of people whose identities can be verified in refugee camps as well? Do you need to 'secure' a country before a vote/negotiations can take place? Either way, you need to be willing to make potentially strange concessions during times of conflict or else back your decisions up with 'brute force'
- dividing a country a realistic option at some point?
- less likely to fight in densely populated areas?
http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/syrias-assad-regime-flexing-muscle/
- while it's important to learn and honour our pasts it's also important to realise that people, the world, has changed and the rules need to change to fit the new model. People need to be able clearly see a benefit from a single market/union to genuinely yearn for it. A controversial theory says that scientific paradigm shifts only occur when the new theory can be proven to be significantly better and the previous paradigm falsified or the believers of the previous paradigm can be made to see that their perspective was flawed or they simply die/move out of their profession. I believe that it may be the same case with regards to political leaders as well. Broader communication may be required
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/9828438/Democracy-is-on-the-brink-of-a-sea-change.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/britain-europe-in-or-out-debate
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/imf-head-lagarde-warns-governments-in-europe-and-us-to-not-relax-1.57174
http://www.breakingviews.com/hugo-dixon-uk-faces-five-years-of-limbo-land/21064511.article
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0117/Could-Britain-move-away-from-EU-and-toward-the-Commonwealth
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/opinion/dealing-with-two-russias.html?ref=global
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kuhn
- is the desire really there amongst the general population for revolution?
- if so, are the structures/governing bodies in place in there for them to fend for themselves?
- do they see intervention as foreign interference or aid?
- where's the tipping point in determining the difference between dissent/unpopularity and revolution?
- if the tipping is reached, how do you even measure it? number of casualities? amount of time in trouble?
- SIGINT/COMINT is possible but many ways around this (tunnelling/encryption)? Moreover, where do we draw the line with regards to bringing potentially highly sensitive communications to light?
- experiments with social media/group think indicates that a lot of work needs to be done. Obvious problems include access and desire. Do people actually want to get involved with the decision making process. Personal experience indicates that there is a small minority cares but the rest of the population doesn't really care
- is it the place of foreign governments to intervene in other nation's affairs?
- who takes reponsibility if the intervention is not completed satisfactorialy?
- going to war is a final option. It's clear that some nations/administrations favour intervention, others clearly try to steer clear of it. Moreover, arming rebels can lead to other difficulties as seen in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etc... There is also some evidence to suggest terrorist groups may aide a revolution and then seek to topple the subsequent regime. Care needs to be taken with regards to arms distribution. Possibly arms that have a limited lifetime?
- more studies required with regards to succesfull counter terrorism techniques?
- sanctions obviously have an impact but they obviously have a more widespread, civilian impact as well

http://www.isis-online.org/
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/IranReport_091112_FINAL.pdf

Wireless/Behavioural Security Analysis and Bugs

2013-01-08T01:07:00.004-08:00

I previously theorised ('Cloud' document) about wide spectrum radio solutions to help deal with the problem of expensive/continuous hardware ugprades of telecommunications infrastructure. The CSIRO has since built something along these lines.
http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/technology/53040-csiro-debuts-10gbps-microwave-backhaul-technology

What has interested me even more though is recent work in software based radio technology. A similar concept but what I'm particularly interested in is the flexibility it will provide with regards to offensive opeations (Electronic Warfare and Jamming).
http://www.h-online.com/open/features/One-software-radio-to-rule-them-all-1775971.html

As many people are probably aware GPS is being updated/upgraded to deal with various known threats such as susceptibility jamming, substandard performance in enclosed areas, and so on. One complementary solution/alternative being considered is Leica's 'Jigsaw'.
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/01/move-over-gps-a-new-positioning-system-has-you-in-its-sights/
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21728985.600-new-positioning-technology-could-compete-with-gps.html
http://mining.leica-geosystems.com/products/
http://mining.leica-geosystems.com/products/unified-hardware-platform-uhp/

Variation of 'Adaptive Networking' concept I was playing with in the original 'Cloud' document.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/a-wireless-router-that-tracks-user-activity-but-for-a-good-reason/

I've spoken about interlaced attacks, and attacks which involve disrupting activity (they tend to fail open though there are a number of devices which allow you the option of having them fail closed at the expense of ) of security systems by overloading or confusing them in the 'Convergence' report before. The following of a study of how performance drops off in the real world using entry level enterprise firewalls from several well known vendors.
http://www.spirent.com/White-Papers/Broadband/PAB/Broadband-Testing_Entry-Level_Enterprise_Firewall_Test_Report

A variation of my 'Cognitive Fingerprinting' work as outlined in the 'Cloud' and 'Convergence' reports. Basically instead of using purely signatures we're going to look at behaviour as the main means of detecting whether a file is good or bad. Of course, this will be on top of existing security models/systems but something we need to think about is how even this can be bypassed. Some recent research I've come across seems to suggest that many sandbox type solutions that are used to detect presence of malware can be rather obvious. Countermeasures are being deployed which means that only 1/3 of all malware may be being picked up. More thought required...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21728983.100-unmasking-the-cyber-saboteurs-whoever-they-are.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21728985.300-mapping-malwares-genome-to-fight-future-attacks.html

Neat way of increasing collaboration from the perspective of defense.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428684.600-why-we-may-never-know-who-created-flame-virus.html

Interesting graph of where your system is likely to get infected by a virus on the Internet. Not sure of it's overall validity...
http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2898/28985301.jpg

Details surrounding NSA 'Perfect Citizen' program to protect critical infrastructure becoming clearer.
http://phys.org/news/2012-12-privacy-group-nsa.html
http://epic.org/2012/12/epic-comments-on-federal-cyber.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57560644-93/revealed-nsa-targeting-domestic-computer-systems-in-secret-test/
http://www.examiner.com/article/perfect-citizen-program-tests-security-of-u-s-utility-infrastructure
http://www.fiercesmartgrid.com/story/nsa-secret-cyber-security-testing-no-longer-secret/2012-12-26

Microsoft email Exchange/Outlook plugin to block reply all, forward option. Still doesn't deal with the 'analogue hole' problem though. Namely, taking a screenshot, a picture of your monitor itself, or even just (manually or automatically) copying and pasting the contents of the email in question itself and then relaying this on to the desired recipients.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/researchdesktop/noreplyall.aspx

A more comprehensive Microsoft Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution.
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/en-us/information-protection-and-control.aspx

Vacuum your laptop/netbook ventilation ports regularly. Not doing so can result in higher dust build up, higher temperatures and fan speed, power consumption, etc... As stated previously, design of portable systems is always a compromise between performance, size, power consumption, and so on. If I had a way of being able to alter shell design without comprimising structural rigidity and resale value I would use it in a heartbeat.

The article that I was referring to in my previous post with regards to how the wealthy don't always produce more jobs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-20/top-2-not-job-creators-or-millionaires-in-tax-debate.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_rasa
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1310314
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4300066,00.html

Bugs of the Week

Sega's/Sports Interactive's Football Manager Series (most of these apply to 2009 but some apply to only earlier versions)
- when operating in small window mode some fields/words will overlap making it sometimes impossible to navigate
- sometimes go on holiday mode doesn't stop before the play of a game on that particular day. Would like more 'predictable' behaviour

Microsoft's/Big Huge Game's Rise of Nations
Not really a bug. Sometimes I modify lines in rules.xml file so that I can tweak the game rules (population limits, resources, etc...) to make it easier/harder depending on my mood. I've discovered that depending on the total number of units and movement currently occuring underlying hardware performance becomes a major limiting factor. Just have to be careful.

KNetWalk
Opens to a rediculous default window size on a Netbook (not sure about other platforms as yet). Neat game though (fun for those who enjoy mazes) and each puzzle is reasonably short/easy (depending on level).

NeverPutt
Algorithm for finding direction to hole doesn't correctly identify best/easiest pathway to goal all the time which means some awkward/impossible starting directions are possible. Believe that it may be limited to holes where a certain terminal/short distance condition is triggered.

SuperTux
Basically a clone of SuperMario/Sonic the Hedgehog style games. Not really a bug but one thing I've always wanted to do in these games is to have more freedom with regards to going backwards and choosing another pathway through the game (understand the underlying hardware limitations of the consoles at the time though).

News Website (further details not disclosed for reasons of security and reputation)
Various uncaught exceptions after turning off JavaScript.

E-Commerce Website (further details not disclosed for reasons of security and reputation)
Website started sending refund messages to people who weren't involved in a recent mix up/pricing error.

HPM Powerboard
Purchased this a while back because it had a lot (12) of sockets and built-in RF/EM noise suppression. Lately been having problems with it though. It doesn't seem to smooth the power supply out. It seems to be cutting power in/out now. Believe it may simply be malfunctioning. Difficult to diagnose/fix personally though due to strange/unique screws being used in casing. Hoping still under warranty.

Open Core Security and More Security Analysis, Routing Problems, and More Bugs

2013-01-04T03:15:00.000-08:00

I once recall a conversation with a engineer from one particular security firm/vendor. They said that they were prohibited/dissuaded (by their country) from using solutions (even though one solution was considered world class) from another particular country because of philosophical/national security concerns. This is ridiculous. In a large number of cases, firms are having to open up their source code for analysis by national intelligence agencies and third party auditors. If the solution being provided is minimalistic, there is a common open source framework and Application Programming Interface (API) that the solution can plug into (and that can fit into popular devices) I don't see any reason (apart from commercial/political/philosophical) why we shouldn't be able to use the best possible solution/s even they may come from possibly questionable sources (I'll expand on this concept in 'Cloud and Internet Security' report. Currently, 820+ pages/214K+ words).

Tom Clancy's book, 'Threat Vector' actually provides a decent (though fictitious) example of how to carry out an integrated cyberwarfare/conventional warfare attack.

Richard J. Aldrich's, 'GCHQ' actually provides a good explanation of some of the activities of modern intelligence agencies. Certain decisions make sense but seem incredibly cynical.

In the past I've tried using open proxies and fiddling with MTU and other setting to get around certain networking problems. Sucess has been limited. The most elegant/useable solution that I've come across/found has been 'Tor'.

Interesting to see what the rest of the world is downloading via BitTorrent.
http://www.customer.scaneye.net/data

I remember developing and running small programs/games for the TI-83 platform. Amazing how far some graphic calculators have come...
http://hackaday.com/2012/11/12/linux-on-a-nspire-cas-cx-calculator/

Cool robot called 'iCub'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICub
http://www.icub.org/

Timestamping audio using power hum.
http://gizmodo.com/5968396/police-can-timestamp-any-audio-recording-from-background-interference-alone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20629671

After my recent wireless experiments with EM/RF permeation of various materials (and the surprise at how even the thinnest/least dense materials have impacted significantly upon reflection/absorption) I'm curious to see how the NetGear AC6200 (USB wireless 802.11ac dongle) performs with a shell integrated adjustable antenna. Reviews so far have been mixed (though most problems feel like they are related to the frequency band in question as well as driver support under Windows 8)...

Bugs of the Week

Google Images
Not really a bug but a problem nonetheless. Certain websites can't be previewed in Google Images since they can not be opened in a frame and must be opened in a seperate window.

Microsoft's Windows Media Player 12
After ripping a few CD's recently at max bit rate of 320KB using MP3 format I've noticed a bug. When you go into the 'Library' you'll notice that the size is incorrectly listed as 'O KB'. Solution is to remove and re-add files to music library. Not sure if this is limited to my particular setup though. Bug doesn't seem to appear at other bit rates.

Sega's/Sports Interactive's Football Manager Series (most of these apply to 2009 but some apply to only earlier versions)
- clubs still silly enough to bid on a player even though he is approaching end of contract
- even if you give a company in a lower division a significant cash boost it doesn't seem to provide them with that much of a performance boost. The burn rate for clubs in lower divisions when given cash boost doesn't seem to make any sense as well. If a club can make it on a net worth of only a few million dollars how can it burn through millions of dollars over the space of a year and not make any significant performance jump?
- accept all offers option for players not honoured sometimes even when you have taken over another team
- transfers in next window option often doesn't work even though transfer fee to break clause has been met (unless there is something about my understanding of this is incorrect)

General Observation of eBook Readers
Often sub-par performance (performance and usability such as having a decent font size/zoom level) using PDF files on inexpensive eBook readers. Try to use native formats (MOBI, ePUB, etc...) where possible. Makes a big difference...

http://calibre-ebook.com/
http://www.lightreading.com/

Abseiling Down the Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-23T05:04:00.003-08:00

When you look at the magnitude of the problem it seems insurmountable. Nonetheless, let's have a look and see whether we can break this down and make a difference...

- Pass the bill in chunks (3-4 $500 Billion USD chunks) if you can't do it at the moment. Situation is manageable but not dire. There is still time.
- Seems as though both sides are attempting to for a 1-1 dollar debt cut/revenue raise ratio. Use this as the basis for what essentially amounts to a trade of what can be done now if we need to pass an intermediate/stop gap package.
- Think about negotiatons in another way. Focus on the big things that affect the largest number of people first or have the largest impact first or do the exact converse.
- Another option is to simply find finding those who are willing to cross and convincing to see whether they will do so.
- Think we may be looking at this too simplistically. It's not just cutting costs and revenue raising. One of the things that has always surprised me with the United States is the total number of agencies and the size of the government/administration. Many different agencies with overlapping responsibilities. Believe that their may be signifiant savings to be made if there were simply greater co-operation and a streamlining of many activities. Best way to achieve this without cutting required/critical programs would simply be to ask the heads of the relevant agencies (consult individual states as well. Look at programs that aren't producing results, look for alternatives, you'd be surprised what you can provided you have the right in people in the right position in place). Look at the big picture but try to see the smaller details as well. It's clear that there are loopholes everywhere if you spend enough time and consult enough people. If you pass the bill in chunks then you can spend more time dealing with these issues as well.
- Clear that there are generally limited options when it comes to elected officials and members of the administration/executive. Need a clearer vision of where the country is headed. Once this is done, use this as the basis of cuts (if they are required). Have seen a number of times where programs have been stopped and then restarted. In the end of the cost of this administration actually outweighed the cost of having the program running for that entire period.
- Continue 'economic stimulus' and using this money to restructure/reinvest in infrastructure and other projects that are likely to result in strong returns. Use it wisely though. If not, it basically amounts to a risky bet and if the investment doesn't produce the expected return or does not keep pace with inflation then you may be worse off then when you began. Reminds me of dogs chasing rabbit at the race track. Theoretically, if the growth curve runs ahead of the debt curve you could do this forever. Not recommended though. Best used in combination with other reforms.
- Not sure we should be looking at only 1/2 tiers for tax increases. Perhaps 3/4 so that the impact is not as strongly felt. Need to factor in implementation and overheard issues though. Moreover, clear that there each state has different costs of living. By having a larger number of tiers we can increase flexibility and 'spread the load' better so to speak without pushing family budgets over the edge.
http://www.usmayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/2012/1219-report-HH.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/20/choose-your-own-fiscal-cliff-adventure/
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkeTUNT8ZF3ldGNTU2g3Y2pTaFVabDNpaG5Ua2F6cEE#gid=3
http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2012/12/your-very-own-fiscal-cliff-tax.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/20/there-is-no-fiscal-crisis-what-that-means-for-the-us/
- Changing measure of inflation (CPI-U Vs chained CPI) difficult and possibly dangerous route to take. At the end of the day, it is just another metric/variable. By not changing this and focusing in on other issues you may actually save on administrative costs associated with the switch. Moreover, in practive, over time it may just push too many people over the edge. Need to realise that the theory/principle behind this is much like broad based taxation anyhow. If that's what you want why not use it? Moreover, other styles of taxes have greater flexibility naturally built into them. For instance, GST/VAT can be applied to whatever goods/services are relevant and changed when required if they are written well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-alan-grayson/the-chained-cpi-cut-if-yo_b_2340095.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
- Let the cliff occur. Then start working backwards. Horrible option but an option nonetheless. Won't give markets much confidence. Temporary pain obviously. Need to put this into perspective though. United States economy is huge and should be able to absorb it.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/so-what-now-seven-fiscal-cliff-scenarios-20121222-2bs8d.html
- Focus in on cause and effect issues. Look at the number of healthcare programs that are currently being considered to be cut. If you increase the tax on products/services (and it successfully leads to a reduction for these particular products/services) that are likely to cause them health issues then you ultimately reduce the burden on the healthcare system and also gain extra revenue from the product/service themselves. Question is of course, just exactly what is the level of taxation required to achieve this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_%28United_States%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricare
- Large number of healthcare problems/costs. Consider bringing in overseas healthcare specialists/staff to help relieve possible costs. Really need to be careful with screening though. Local experience has taught us that this can lead to medium/long term pain if insufficient checks regarding qualifications are made.
http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1806-Healthcare-Why-Healthcare-is-Experiencing-Work-Shortages
http://www.njhealthjobs.org/sites/default/files/health_care_workforce.pdf
http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1337207668-Legislators-Grappling-with-State-Wide-Shortage-of-Healthcare-Workers.html
- Link the increase in age for Social Security to occupation (labourer, office workers, etc...). Dig enough into your data and you'll figure out what is a fair age for the relevant occupation so that ultimately everyone averages out
- Economy is too dependent on gas/carbon at this stage. Larger carbon producers and transportation for both people in general as well as for goods may be too strongly impacted (If public transportation were safe, could handle extra load, and was cheap enough it may be a viable option though but this doesn't seem to the case in many cases. Have noticed that price of gas in the United States is significantly lower than elsewhere in the world.). Australian implementation of carbon tax to top producers of carbon have had limited impact on end consumers but there has still be an increase in price. May consider this further along the line or stagger it as Green technology uptake becomes stronger (in first year and increasing in 1% increments until reaching a chosen target?)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13338754
http://chartsbin.com/view/1115
- VAT/GST with exemptions for staples/necessities. This would allow people to budget better while maintaining a revenue stream. Need to be careful with implementation though. Overheads of changing it once in place is not easy as indicated by local experience. While there are critics with regards to transparency experience indicates that if you remove other complex, competing, tax schemes at the same time a lot of overhead can be reduced for businesses in the long time making business easier.
- Despite the obvious problems, need to be wise about this. Policy that is created hastily without thought of the medium/longer term effects can be damaging not only for your economy, but for morale, healthcare, and a large number of other issues as well.

Politics, Weapons/Gun Control and the Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, a number of countries around the world are currently in financial difficulty. I've written about this previously in the 'Convergence' document (some of the theories mentioned have actually been used). Whilst these policies have helped to stabilise a number countries, I haven't necessarily agreed with the way in which they've been been implemented. In the case of the European Union several of the countries involved have had policies imposed on them which weren't pertinent to their particular situation and may actually cause them some medium range harm at the cost of immediate relief (Admittedly, we have come a long way back from the precipice.)(I'll outline what I mean shortly.).

So I guess this is 'Take Two'. The reasons how the United States has achieved it's tenuous situation are well known but the means that it has sought to extricate herself from her present circumstace diverge (sometimes alarmingly so considering a compromise needs to be achieved very soon in the near future). I think one of the key questions that should be asked is how quickly does she wish to pay down her debts and what is the likely direction of successive administrations? Another that should be asked is just exactly how far are they willing to push their citizens.

In France, taxes on wealthy individuals have reached levels so high that many high profile/wealthy citizens have changed (or are considering) changing their place of residence. Clearly, there are two schools of thought. One is that we require high wealth individuals/organisations to create jobs for others. However, I recall a Wall Street Journal article that suggests that this is not always or entirely the case.

In Spain and Greece drastic cuts have had such significant negative impacts on the living conditions of the general population/middle class. Wide spread cuts to the middle class may possibly push those on the 'edge' over it which may lead to a cascade of other societal issues (increase of crime to support oneself, health insurance, poverty and so on).

I think two things that should be absolutely critical to these negotiations are a rough figure of what cost of living is (basics such as food and water to things like healthcare and utlity bills)(I recall strange welfare oddities which have meant that people were often better off staying at home rather than going to work. Further thought is required here!) and exactly how much are the wealthy willing to pay before they say enough is enough and begin undertaking non-trivial tax avoidance schemes.

From this point we can begin to work backwards. If we can figure out the spread of income/assets across the population we can begin to understand exactly how far we can push before the cuts begin to make too significant an impact on those affected. It's at this point I wish to digress to game theory. If you've ever played a game which has a production as well as a consumption aspect to it (such as Poker) then you'll realise that large bets (spending) are much more rare when you have little to spend. Extrapolate this across an entire population. If not enough people have enough to spend then economies which are dependent on consumption are suddenly in trouble. Balance is key but for this accurate numbers (monitoring on top of projections) are absolutely critical.

I'm sure we've all heard about recent gun tragedy in the United States... It really puts into perspective the cultural differences between the United States and many other countries but for the first time in a long time it's become clear that gun control reform is at the forefront of everyone's mind.

There is an avalanche of opinion but one thing remains clear the so called, "right to arms" plays a far greater role in the United States than in other nations. For instance, Australia is lucky in that it was populated in rather unusual circumstances and is essentially a isolated giant island which has meant that it has been relatively free from war. Other countries used conflict (and continue to use) as a means of forming national boundaries/borders and land locked countries are of course always at stronger risk of invasion owing to relatively greater ease of movement over ground rather than sea or air. Some things that are of interest include:

- storage (store only at clubs, police stations, etc... Many possible problems here including those that require guns as part of their livelihood such as those living in rural areas or on farms)
- culture (television, films)(freedom of expression problems here)
- size of catridges (large scale shooting more difficult with smaller catridges)
- stopping power (ammunition that causes less damage)(exemptions created where required)
- mental health (history indicates that some intigators often suffer from mental difficulties)
- stronger surveillance (law enforcement/intelligence difficult as is. How far do we go? Some automated detection systems won't work against alternative material weapons)
- buyback scheme (logistics/tracing the location of every weapon mightn't be realistic or possible though)
- whitelist as opposed to blacklist methodology (focus on what is needed/desired by people in the general public rather than on what should be banned. Allow these and then ban everything else with obvious exceptions for law enforcement/defense)
- increased law enforcement numbers/rounds around high population areas (these services likely streched as is)
- designated safe areas (in Israel many buildings have safe areas/bunkers where people can hide from rocket threats until they dissippate. What about those between safe areas though?)
- education (not sure about the impact of this?)
- make private sales illegal by only allowing sales through licensed brokers (hard to police/check) which helps to ensure proper/adequate checks are made (logistics?)
- background checks (problem is whether there are adequate resources in place or can be allocated. Enforcement is a major problem as indicated by FBI)
- trigger locks on guns (careful thought required here, if there are flaws in these mechanisms 'class breaks' are a distinct and dangerous possibility)
- provide people with alternatives to guns. Minimise gun distribution as much as possible.
- stronger gun controls/laws (need to be careful with the actual implementation as discussed further on)
- politics (we'll discuss further on)

If you've been reasonably observant of late then you'd realise that recently there has been an extremely close margins of victory in several democratic nations around the globe which has ultimately resulted in 'compromised' decision making. Based on what's been reported in the media it often feels as though we're not satisfied with the options that we currently have. A local journalist recently indicated that we may quite simply be creating undesirable environments for people who have the characteristics/skills to work in.

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/culture/blogs/all-men-are-liars/governed-by-inferiors-20121120-29ne5.html

From a personal perspective, I think that a lot of the 'romance' of politics has sort of disappeared. Political parties are increasingly funded by major private entities and if your particular 'cause' is not cogniscent with that of these entities then the likelihood of your campaign being funded and succeeding is miniscule. Moreover, campaigning is often no longer about results or superior policies. It's a combination of personal attacks, highly formulaic/scientific/mathematically based campaigning that often detracts from the actual job of running a state/nation.

Ultimately, this often attracts a strange group of folk who sometimes lack the competency or moral capacity (if you read the previous American attempt at gun law reform there were clearly significant flaws in their contruction which may lead a cynic to question whether or not they were left in deliberately, whether there were issues of competancy, or whether it was simply a half hearted effort) that I desire of someone who is running a state or nation (I don't expect them to know everything but I do expect them to have an internal moral compass that points in roughly the same direction that most normal people do.).

Some have argued that we should perhaps consider changing funding models to reduce the impact of third parties on politics. However, this will clearly require bipartisan support and risk the existing staus quo. Unlikely to happen.

Others have argued that we should simply increase the wages of politicians and other public servants in an attempt to compete directly against the private sector to attract the 'best and brightest'. That's fine.

One thing I'd like others to think about though is that if one can put up with all of the other 'external issues' pertaining to the job (media, personal attacks, and so on) I ask you what possible greater honour can there possibly be? You are an 'elected offical' of a community that more than likely has a population of several million at the worse. Moreover, you have an opportunity that few others have.

You have the change to do something that will have a long lasting and wide spread impact on an innumerable number of others around you. Unlike a scientist, you're not attempting to decipher problems of possibly infinite complexity. Unlike a doctor, you need not deal with one patient at a time. Unlike a lawyer, you need not defend people of questionable morals.

A politician simply is. A politician can change laws as needed/required, can redefine history simply by showing up at their work place, and is in a position of privilege that quite simply does not exist in the private sector. A politician is a representative of the people and a fundamental reflection of who we value, what we value, and how we act on it at that particular point in time.

For these reasons, I wish to convey (it's most eloquently stated in French) a simple message to those few politicians who can still be considered faithful to the people's cause. Bonne Chance.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/nine-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/us/politics/justice-dept-studied-and-shelved-ideas-to-bolster-gun-database.html?hp&_r=1&
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/gun-background-check_n_2312582.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/ap-sources-new-obama-offer-moves-toward-boehner-with-400000-tax-hike-threshold-more-cuts/2012/12/17/666f2e06-48ab-11e2-8af9-9b50cb4605a7_story.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/expats-debate-does-a-mental-health-strategy-need-to-be-part-of-obamas-guns-task-force/article6553135/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-asks-cabinet-members-for-proposals-to-curb-gun-violence/2012/12/17/ac4a8dae-4869-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_story.html?hpid=z1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/18/a-better-target-for-gun-control/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/thinktanked/wp/2012/12/19/battle-over-gun-control-fiscal-cliff-negotiations-and-boehners-shake-up/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/thinktanked/wp/2012/12/03/petraeus-fallout-shows-diminishing-separation-between-think-tanks-and-government/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-banning-assault-weapons-in-one-post/
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c103:H.R.3355.ENR: