General Tso's Total Failure Chicken
Hey folks! Today's post will be somewhat short. I'm on a better footing than I was Sunday evening, but I ended up spending yesterday evening hanging out with Police Fan. We went to see Tropic Thunder
, and I have to say: if you think Hollywood is an asinine joke, you should go see this movie. Very funny, very tongue-in-cheek, very good if you're looking for a laugh. Anyway, just a few things today.
The Olympics continue to be big news, and what was theoretically supposed to be an apolitical celebration of pure athleticism (yeah, right) has turned into an extremely political event. One of the big things about this particular go is the role of the host nation, China, in the games and in the world. However, the controversial rising nation made a less-than-perfect showing as the host of the games. People are talking about the asinine move of having one beautiful little girl lip-synch a patriotic Chinese song during the opening ceremonies, while another girl deemed too hideous to be seen by cameras was the actual singer. Everyone's heard the extensive coverage of the fiasco that was the torch run (one word: Tibet) and the little issue of the Uighar attacks in the west. Did you know about the Olympic lake full of algae that Chinese people had to clean out by hand? Did you know that the world's most ruthless hackers experienced a Blue Screen of Death on one of their computers during the opening ceremonies? China's execution has been less than inspiring. Not unlike the poisoned dog food and dumplings, virus-infested digital picture frames, and lead-based paint on kids' toys that we've come to expect from the Chinese in recent months, if the Chinese were trying to prove their rising supremacy with this Olympics, they've failed miserably.
There are a couple of op-ed pieces from the Guardian about this subject of the botched Beijing Olympics. Both are worth reading.
Thanks to China, we have a blueprint for 2012 - virtual athletes and exciting made-up CGI sports
Happiness can't be faked
Speaking of the world's greatest hackers, did you know that your mobile phone can be hacked? I ran across that article a couple of weeks ago, and was sufficiently surprised. As luck would have it, there are a couple of manuals from one the few government agencies that I actually don't mind funding, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). I haven't had a chance to read these through yet, but NIST has never done me wrong in the past, so I'm linking them just the same:
DRAFT Guidelines on Cell Phone and PDA Security
DRAFT Guide to Bluetooth Security
I haven't done a satellite image in a few days, so here's a close-up of Roskilde, a Danish city that features in one of the narratives in my spy novel. It's the site of a daring intelligence collection operation, followed by back-to-back raids on two terrorist cells.
Keep your collective chins up, folks. I've seen some changes, and it's getting better all the time.
, and I have to say: if you think Hollywood is an asinine joke, you should go see this movie. Very funny, very tongue-in-cheek, very good if you're looking for a laugh. Anyway, just a few things today.
The Olympics continue to be big news, and what was theoretically supposed to be an apolitical celebration of pure athleticism (yeah, right) has turned into an extremely political event. One of the big things about this particular go is the role of the host nation, China, in the games and in the world. However, the controversial rising nation made a less-than-perfect showing as the host of the games. People are talking about the asinine move of having one beautiful little girl lip-synch a patriotic Chinese song during the opening ceremonies, while another girl deemed too hideous to be seen by cameras was the actual singer. Everyone's heard the extensive coverage of the fiasco that was the torch run (one word: Tibet) and the little issue of the Uighar attacks in the west. Did you know about the Olympic lake full of algae that Chinese people had to clean out by hand? Did you know that the world's most ruthless hackers experienced a Blue Screen of Death on one of their computers during the opening ceremonies? China's execution has been less than inspiring. Not unlike the poisoned dog food and dumplings, virus-infested digital picture frames, and lead-based paint on kids' toys that we've come to expect from the Chinese in recent months, if the Chinese were trying to prove their rising supremacy with this Olympics, they've failed miserably.
There are a couple of op-ed pieces from the Guardian about this subject of the botched Beijing Olympics. Both are worth reading.
Speaking of the world's greatest hackers, did you know that your mobile phone can be hacked? I ran across that article a couple of weeks ago, and was sufficiently surprised. As luck would have it, there are a couple of manuals from one the few government agencies that I actually don't mind funding, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). I haven't had a chance to read these through yet, but NIST has never done me wrong in the past, so I'm linking them just the same:
I haven't done a satellite image in a few days, so here's a close-up of Roskilde, a Danish city that features in one of the narratives in my spy novel. It's the site of a daring intelligence collection operation, followed by back-to-back raids on two terrorist cells.
Keep your collective chins up, folks. I've seen some changes, and it's getting better all the time.
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