This site will be a repository for cybersecurity education. Some of that education will be foundational, and breaking news will be included as well.
Your interaction will help shape the direction that we take this site.
Author: Griz
It has been a while
I have put Disqus back on the website. I tired it for a short bit several years ago.
Alas, IntenseDebate chose to not integrate to social media platforms, so I am going to try it again to see if it allows for more interaction between the various platforms.
Please test it out and see if you like it.
Oregonians Feel That The Poor Are Subhuman
The title takes a short journey to connect the dots.
In 1951 Oregon passed a law that was initially to protect customer from pumps that were far less safe than today. They felt that a refueling technician was needed.
After those initial safety concerns were mitigated making pumps quite safe, they found that gasoline (and the other fuels as well) had carcinogens. The average driver did not like the smell of gas either.
Rather than having everyone pump their own fuel (or pay for full service like forty eight other sates (New Jersey is the other wimpy ass state that doesn’t allow self-serve pumping) thus minimizing the intake of carcinogens, they relegate that to the poor working class. No there are exemptions, motorcycle riders can refill their own gas tanks. Could that be a hold over of feeling that bikers are nonredeemable scourge? Since diesel is also exempt truckers are in the same class as bikers, seen as less than… You have probably seen that as well. Yes, every time that you pull in and have the minimum wage worker scratch off a ticket to a lottery of fatal health issues. The longer than they stay in their oppressed role, the more likely it is that they will win that evil lotto.
Now a couple of years ago, they allowed the people in rural regions to pump their own fuel. Could this be yet another subjugation of the country folk? I will leave that you for consideration
The Oregon voters have decided that gasoline vapors are hazardous to humans, so they have gas station attendants do the pumping. Gas station attendants are typically a low wage job with little room for progression, so they remain poor and not worthy of the protections granted to humans, thus sub-human.
Google Ads
I am tweaking the site to get it ready for more content.
Part of those tweaks was Google Ads, they were either obnoxious if you didn’t have a blocker, or invisible if you did. Since I want to use some of the money from ad clicks to put up a prize for Dead Pool, I need the ads to be clickable.
What else should be on the list of to-dos?
A large pool tournament right now?
UPDATE after this was published: Opal APA and the national APA office have cancelled the tourney.
Last night I became aware of a situation that did not thrill me. I spent some time to roll it around before speaking up. I have a pretty good chance of bothering, agitating, or upsetting friends with my position on this.
APA is still holding their regional pool tournament at Chinook Winds next month. Granted it is a month out, and situations can change.
We are talking about a large gathering of players. Players from all over the area, including the Seattle area. Obviously, that does not mean that they are sick. It just adds a little weight to odds and probabilities. A significant number of the players fall into multiple risk categories.
With the incubation period being 4.5 to 5.8 days and symptoms beginning between 8.2 to 15.6 days, we know that you can be incubating before becoming symptomatic [1]. Why would we needlessly gather so many people who may be contagious? At what point does working under disclaims give way to negligence?
The league has suspended the sportsmanship of handshakes before and after the matches which is a good thing with all things being considered. The players of the matches still share a crowded environment and the pool tables. One cannot sanitize the felt of the tables, and it is very unlikely that the side rails and balls would be sanitized between matches.
I do not question the league operators’ sincerity in their concern for the well being of the players, but I think that several factors may be interring with cancelling/postponing the event due to health risks. Of course, there are financial, reputation, and other issues to consider.
Using the fact that there have been no cases of coronavirus in Lincoln county as justification for safety, seems silly to me. Especially since very few people participating will be from Lincoln County. Yes, they have the blessing of the tribe… of course the tribe wants people to fill the hall and the tables, machines, and motel. While the tribe is somewhat sovereign and can ignore the state’s attempts to protect the citizenry, they do have to listen to the feds. We shall see if the feds come down with some protective restrictions.
Covid-19 Mortality Theory
Three days ago I had put forth the theory that countries with socialized/universal health care appeared to have lower mortality rates than countries without it.
Universal healthcare is only .01% higher than non-universal healthcare countries.
When you look at countries with universal healthcare, it is more dramatically different.
Countries with universal healthcare (most of the world) had 75 countries with a sum of mortality at 62.53 this gives an average mortality rate of 0.83%.
Now if we look at countries without universal healthcare, there were 29 countries with a sum of 4.09% mortality. This gives us an average mortality rate of 0.14%.
So, my initial view an opinion was incorrect. Countries without socialized/universal health care fare better than countries with it.
If you feel that I misinterpreted the data, I am sharing it here for full transparency.
The Data is from 03/07/2020 at 17:23:12 (Perhaps my theory was good three days ago, but it isn’t now.)
The one part that did not get tossed into the equations is the people that were on cruise ships. Since they are not really part of a country since they are on the high seas.
| Country | Confirmed Cases | Deaths | Mortality Rate | Socialized Medicine |
| Mainland China | 80654 | 3559 | 4.41 | Yes |
| South Korea | 7041 | 44 | 0.62 | Yes |
| Italy | 5883 | 233 | 3.96 | Yes |
| Iran | 5823 | 145 | 2.49 | Yes |
| France | 949 | 11 | 1.16 | Yes |
| Germany | 799 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Others | 696 | 6 | 0.86 | |
| Spain | 500 | 10 | 2.00 | Yes |
| Japan | 461 | 6 | 1.30 | Yes |
| US | 424 | 17 | 4.01 | No |
| Switzerland | 268 | 1 | 0.37 | Yes |
| UK | 206 | 2 | 0.97 | Yes |
| Netherlands | 188 | 1 | 0.53 | Yes |
| Belgium | 169 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Sweden | 161 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Norway | 147 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Singapore | 138 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Hong Kong | 108 | 2 | 1.85 | Yes |
| Malaysia | 93 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Bahrain | 85 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Austria | 79 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Australia | 63 | 2 | 3.17 | Yes |
| Kuwait | 61 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Canada | 54 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Iraq | 54 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Thailand | 50 | 1 | 2.00 | Yes |
| Iceland | 50 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Greece | 46 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Taiwan | 45 | 1 | 2.22 | Yes |
| UAE | 45 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| India | 34 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| San Marino | 23 | 1 | 4.35 | Yes |
| Denmark | 23 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Lebanon | 22 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Paletsine | 22 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Israel | 21 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Portugal | 20 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Czech Republic | 19 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Ireland | 18 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Vietnam | 18 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Algeria | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Oman | 16 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Egypt | 15 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Finland | 15 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Brazil | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Ecuador | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Russia | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Croatia | 12 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Estonia | 10 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Macau | 10 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Argentina | 9 | 1 | 11.11 | Yes |
| Azerbaijan | 9 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Romania | 9 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Qater | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Slovenia | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Belarus | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Mexico | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Pakistan | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Philippines | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Poland | 5 | 1 | 20.00 | Yes |
| Fench Guiana | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| New Zealand | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Saudi Arabia | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Chile | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Georgia | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Hungary | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Indonesia | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Senegal | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Malta | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| North Macedonia | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Saint Barthelemy | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Dominican Republic | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Luxembourg | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Martinique | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Morocco | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Andorra | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Armenia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Bhutan | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Cambodia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Cameroon | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Faroe Islands | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Gibralter | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Lichtenstein | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Monaco | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Nepal | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Nigeria | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Peru | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Serbia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Slovakia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Togo | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
| Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Yes |
| Vatican City | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | No |
Walmart Door Gestapo
Does your Walmart have people at the exits wanting to check your receipt and cart/bags?
Do you allow them to intrude on your ability to exit the building unimpeded?
I would like to hear the excuses that they have given you for why they are stopping you. Please drop a comment to share your stories.
This is not a valid case of loss prevention. Having a person standing there to check receipts does not work. There are three components that need to be met for a shoplifting case:
- You must witness merchandise being concealed
- You must keep them in line of sight
- they must set foot outside of the building without paying
What are the chances that the well intended person at the door has witnessed any of the three from their vantage point?
I have watched the loss prevention guy in my local Walmart. We was creepy enough that I went to another staffer to verify his role. They wanted to deny knowing him until I suggested that they may have a problem within the store and that they may have a problem with a person in the store. Yes, I have worked security enough to know odd behavior well enough to notice it.
Before you play the Costco card, keep in mind that they are a club store. You pay for membership and part of the agreement is to be checked on the way out.
Yes, Frye’s Electronics has the same receipt check and I handle it the same way as Walmart. Here is what I suggest…
Simply respond in a polite manner, “No thank you, but have a nice day.”
Remember that your transaction was completed at the register. They no longer have a right to detain you. One exception that I make, is when goods are not contained in bags. If it is a gallon of milk, I don’t stop, at it is customary for that to not be bagged.
Obviously how you choose to respond to their requests is up to you, but just know that they will not stop this behavior as long as we let them get away with it.
Excuses given for stopping us:
- It helps with inventory (as if the registers do not do this)
- You can’t return anything without the receipt being checked
What is the term for…
What is a geologist? One who studies rocks, right?
What is a linguist? One who studies languages.
What is a separatist? One who wants to keep the races separate.
What is a sexist? One who believes that one sex is better than another.
What is a racist? A person who feels that their race is better and the others are less than human.
What is a person who believes that their religious faith is better than all others? Who knows? I am unable to find a term/label for it?
I know people who are steadfast in their religions, which is fine. The problem comes when they refuse to coexist. If you wish to believe in a boogeyman with a golden chariot that hands our chocolate chip cookies on April 21st, great! Just be sure to not interfere with those who do not share your beliefs.
What people choose to believe is up to them. The only caveat to that, is that they must not trample on others while they practice their own faith.
So, with all of the thousands of years that we have had many religions floating about, they were mostly peaceful. Sure there were periods where one religion or another would get a wild hair and try to eliminate all of the others, but for the most part co-existing until Christianity came onto the scene.
Our current world situation is one where conservative Christians and to eliminate most or all Muslims, and the far right Muslims wish to do the same.
In the end after all this time, we do not seem to have a term for a person who hates religion other than their own. This is a faith equivalent to racism. I myself, find it just as repugnant as racism.
Are you aware of a term for it? Perhaps it is a theological bigot. I did find a site that refers to Christian Bigots, and that may be appropriate. ( https://www.redletterchristians.org/am-i-a-christian-bigot/ )
Trying something new
I am playing with splitting the site into three parts.
If I get it right there will be the blog, a cybersecurity blog, and a store.
I may break the site at times as I learn new things.
Also on my list of things to work on is to adjust the horribly large ad block at top and bottom of the page. It is too large. I do intend on using ads, but modestly. It is how I plan on adding prizes for the Celebrity Death Pool.
Vaping with flavor
It only took a few days of reporting for my wife and I to determine where the deaths and illnesses were coming from with respect to vaping.
We called it out at that time as being bad juice as it was using an oil based additive. It is easy to understand that we do not put oils into our lungs. It coats the alvioli thus preventing the oxygen to carbon dioxide exchange.
The media jumped all over this and the pressure to ban flavors jumped to the forefront. The establishment saw the opportunity to ban something that they did not like citing bullshit theory during a “panic”. Those who view the world in an analytical manner sat back and put thought to the issue. NPR did a show covering the topic and I sent an email in hopes that they would at least be interested in a dissenting view. I got a nice form email back form them. It was clear that my experience with vaping for nearly eight years did not fit their narrative to whip up supporting a ban on vaping or flavored juices.
Now, the CDC has confirmed what Gigglez and I were saying in the first few days. Juice using vitamin E acetate is to blame for for the deaths and illnesses. What?!? It had nothing to do with flavors? What sorcery is this?
With the truth being determined and brought out into the open, do you think that the jurisdictions that enacted bans, putting people out of work, and making people go back to smoking their death sticks have reversed their actions? Nope, the scare served their purposes to control the masses. Why should they?
It is time to right the wrongs. Allow flavored e-juices to be sold again. The arguments made to ban them are just as ignorant as those about flavored cigarettes, and some alcohols.
Speaking of ignorance, vaping does not lead to smoking. It is however a viable option for smokers to reduce their health risks. Vaping is not perfect. Most people still take in nicotine, but the rest of the ingredients are food grade… so think about that for a moment. the same stuff that we take in on a daily, the powers that be want to block because they do not like the way that it looks.
When I started vaping, both my doctor and cardiologist were in support of eliminating the tars, and 3000+ chemicals going to my lungs. I have not had a single puff from an analog cigarette since I switched. I reduced my nicotine levels form 24 mg (at a high) to 8 mg. When my supply runs out, I will have the choice of either illegally making my own juice, having it shipped illegally, or going to smoking again… none of those options are appealing. Bring back the flavors.