The Register had an item about the "Privacy's
Dark Ages" comments made by Simon Davies of Privacy
International. I haven't found other sources for his keynote
speech at the Black
Hat Europe 2005 conference in Amsterdam.

This weekend, I found a new tech magazine. It's Make: technology on your
time. The publisher, O'Reilly, calls a "mook" because it is a combo "magazine and book". The cover boasts "181 pages of D.I.Y.
technology" and the magazine delivers. Among the projects in
it:

1. Aerial photography with a kite-borne camera
2. DIY magnetic strip reading (See also Stripe Snoop)
3. Fun iPod tricks


4. Ten Google Gmail hacks


5. Make your own 5-in-1 network cable
   
   

In some ways, this publication reminds me of a blend of 2600, various home handyman D.I.Y. magazines, and various computer publications. Excellent!

The only downside I see is not having enough time to do some of these projects before the issue is out.

Oh, by the way, the fine print disclaimers for the "mook" on page 8 are
interesting. Among them are safety warnings and a caution that
conditions can vary and that some projects might not be consistent with
local laws or product licensing conditions.

J.D. Abolins

I'm not sure if this site is for real. (Reality is getting quite surreal at times.)

Even more striking was one of the entries in its links section for an ExtremeKidnapping.com site. What's next, a staged "extraordinary rendition" service for "that special person in your life"?

Have that special person you really
want to give a once in a lifetime experience? Our Extraordinary
Rendition service is just the thing to do it. We can customise the
"event" to your specifications. Want it it nice & lovely or rough
& nasty? If you suspect your special person of interest 
(SPoI) is hiding a secret, this is a grand opportunity to learn it.

We'll nab your SpoI. Cuff &
blindfold him (or her). Put the SpoI on one of our charter private
jets. (Your choice: in a nice padded chair or in the unheated cargo
compartment.) Then we'll give the SpoI an unforgettable “human
intelligence collection” session from our international collection:
Egyptian, Jordanian, Uzbekistani, Israeli, PRC, Yakuza, Russian Mafia,
“The Sopranos”, IRA, IRS/Inland Revenue, SAS, or the “In-laws”. After the sessions are
done, we'll return the SpoI to you. (For a special fee, we'll “lose” the person, really lose that person.)

J.D. Abolins

EFF's new guide - How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else):

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity/blog-anonymously.php

Much of the advice in the guide is useful almost anywhere in the world, covering basics such as:

1. Use a Pseudonym and Don't Give Away Any Identifying Details
2. Use Anonymizing Technologies
3. Limit Your Audience
   This appears to be possible with the 20six.co.uk blog service.
4. Don't Be Googleable
   This
   requires using a robots.txt files. I am not sure if one can upload such
   a file to a free 20six.co.uk  blog. Something to look into.

I'd add my own entries:

5. Watch the "tick off" factor. Kick a big enough hornet's nest and
   you will almost certainly be found if the pursuers are able to and
   willing to spend sufficient time, money, and effort.
6. Don't carelessly brag or promote the blog. The Monty Python "How
   Not to Be Seen" sketch may be helpful. (The sketch can be read near the
   botton of this Web
   page.)
7. Don't invite irresponsible gossips into the circle of people invited to read the blog. Invite the  responsible gossips.
   
   

Another section of the guide, Blog Without Getting Fired  is intended for people in the USA. A few items in this section may,
however, point would-be-bloggers elsewhere to topics  in local
laws to check.

More or less blogging as myself, sometimes besides myself,

J.D. Abolins

Last week, a Beluga whale wandered up the Delaware River
and was spending its time going between Philadelphia and Trenton.
A Philadelphia TV station has great photos and video of the whale.

I
went
down to the River by Trenton, NJ to look for Hélis (pronounced ay-lis)
as
the whale is called by researchers. (Some whale researchers had been
tracking this beastie for years and recognized a scar on its back. "Is
there a whale catalogue with entries for Scars/Tattoos/Other
Identifying Marks?") There were about thirty people gathered to catch a
glimpse of the whale.

Spotting a large marine mammal in a river seems easy. It isn't.

First problem: where is the whale on the length of a river.

Two woman from south NJ told me they called the State Police and were
told where the whale was. (It helps having a charming female voice in
such calls. I tend to get the "Mister, do NOT tie up this official phone line with trivial calls...")
I took a guess from the news reports that the whale travels northwards
in the late afternoon, dines on herring & shad, and goes south
towards Philadelphia for the night. The comments by many of the
riverbank observers told me that I had guessed correctly and Hélis was
indeed there.

Second problem: when and where will the whale surface?

Hélis was not staying on the surface for photo ops. He can stay down
for 20 minutes or so and, then, pop up for a quick breath. In the hour
and half, he surfaced several times and quickly submerged. People near
me were shouting, "There he is..." and by the time I turn my eyes at
the particular area, he was gone. The field of view was wide and the
whale was swimming hundreds of feet under the surface.

Third problem: One can start to hallucinate while looking through a camera viewfinder.

After a while, every ripple of the water surfaces started to look like
a hint of Hélis surfacing. I even thought I saw Nessie cavorting about
in the waters. I had to take my eyes off the camera and gaze about to
readjust the eyes and, more importantly, my mind. Ironically, the more
"telephoto" one's camera lense is zoomed, the smaller the area covered.
So the aim of the camera is tricky.

Finally, I saw the whale surface about eighty feet from where I was
sitting. A bump of white breaking the surface and a quick snort of
exhalation. Then a even quicker inhalation and back down goes the
beastie. I may have snapped a photo; I'll find out when the film is
developed.

There was another sighting before the sun set but I was looking in
the wrong direction. Still the one glimpse was worth the trip. (Also
that glimpse and hearing the snort allaying my wondering if the whale
sightings by others that evening was a hoax or mass delusion.)

J.D. Abolins