This week's video demystifies and deep dives into a delicious drink that is highly misunderstood and frequently overlooked. Also, I tell the story of a remarkable scientist whose drive and passion has done more to resurrect this industry than anyone else I can think of in recent memory. 🍾
Is anyone else as unreasonably perturbed as I get when encountering a seatbelt where the buckle has inexplicably been flipped around the wrong direction?
Who else out there on the internet cannot rest and enjoy their journey until you have spent time methodically fishing and twisting the belt in order to set things back right and proper again?
(Airplanes and rental cars are some of the most common places I run into this, but I've even found personal friends' vehicles with a buckle turned oddly. How in the world do people manage to do this to themselves?)
i cannot begin to describe how badly i wish weatherscan.net was an Android app so we could easily load it onto TV type devices.
So I feel a little uneasy with the whole Susan Dell situation that's captured the internet these past few days. (And not just the "uncanny valley" kind of uneasy feelings that many folk are talking about.)
Let's speak plainly: at its core, most of the takes and posts and reactions about her and her husband's recent appearance with trump have been -- unequivocally -- poking fun at her appearance. I think we can start by at least acknowledging this fact.
In general, I tend to give side-eye to low-effort attacks that focus exclusively on someone's looks. Now, I realize there are a few factors here that are unique to this specific situation:
1. Susan Dell is a billionaire and therefore she (and her husband, and anyone else in their class of people) should be subject to pretty much near-constant public opprobrium. But for their wealth-hording, not for their physical appearance.
2. Susan Dell does not suffer from a birth defect or other innate physical deformity but rather, it would appear, she has made the choice to subject herself to an extreme amount of cosmetic surgery with results that many now find questionable.
3. The Dells are using their wealth and philanthropy efforts in an attempt to polish the image and soften the public profile of one of the most evil and hateful and harmful individuals to ever hold power in modern history. Philanthropy by the wealthy is a mixed bag, morally, even in the best of times. In this instance, it's unquestionably repugnant.
... all of that can be true, while at the same time we can still take pause when we consider all aspects of treating someone's unfortunate appearance as risible instead of pitiable.
If you look at articles like this... https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/susan-dell-then-now-photos-dell-ceo-s-wife-goes-viral-after-oval-office-appearance/ar-AA2dNWOx ...it becomes pretty apparent that Ms. Dell very likely suffers from body dysmorphia and this, coupled with her absolutely endless financial means, has possibly led her to pursue more and more extreme attempts to quell the demon in her head that tells her she must "change" her image to be "more appealing" to others.
I do not know that I have a solid conclusion to this post. I simply know that we pressure people in our society to look a certain way (some types of people more than others. hooray, patriarchy.) and that there are far more valid ways we should be tormenting billionaires. Including ways that do not make regular work-a-day women further question their own beauty or hold themselves up to impossible standards.
Having said that, I would like to now go back to an internet that existed before I ever knew of or saw this person.
Feels low-key unfair to have art like this which seems to be begging to be touched only to tell people that they shouldn't touch it.
I wanna touch the plushy-ness! 👉🛋️
My girlfriend here just spotted another one in a nearby area of town. More of this, please.
These used to be Flock cameras.
They no longer are.
I appreciate whoever did this.
My video booted from YouTube yesterday is back (well, at a new URL) with a brief intro from me summarizing what happened.
TL,DR: YouTube's AI tools flagged it as "firearms sales content" even though it's (a) there are no sales and (b) there are no firearms.
Uhm, aren't we all pretty much convinced right now that we know he won't? Because pretty much all of us believe that he has been functionally brain dead for weeks?
Ooof. This screenshot is a real yikes. 😬
If you spot anyone like this at Black Hat or DEF CON or BSides, espousing the wish that they could stone queer folk, how would that make you feel?
Maybe that's a person who possibly shouldn't be at our events. (Again, I'm willing to listen and amend my comments if someone can tell me that I'm way off base here or if they can link to videos where this man has renounced these views and apologized for his past behaviors.)
https://www.instagram.com/stories/tracketpacer/3973055782675615010
I'm curious if any of you can help me determine the validity of some concerning details regarding someone in our industry.
I personally had never heard of Network Chuck...
https://youtube.com/shorts/r45TCd9rx3w
...and upon first glance he looks to be kind of a goober whose channel is based around hype and sizzle more than substance, but I don't want to get hung up on aesthetic criticisms.
No, the larger concern is that allegations have been made that this fellow may be a toxic right wing fellow with strong anti-LGBTQ views...
https://www.instagram.com/stories/tracketpacer/3973042165096057638
...the linked Instagram story there appears to have the receipts.
Am I missing something? Can anyone shed more light on this for me?
My video this week talks about scammers on social media and I have a particularly honest moment during which I discuss my biggest *personal* concern when it comes to this topic...
I cannot properly express how much I want to yeet all AI features like this into the sun. NO, I am NOT interested in your "summary" of anything to do with my personal messages or personal information. 😣
Thank you to everyone who is being so swell and smiling and offering hugs and hellos and fist bumps in the DEFCON hallways already. ☺️👍
Because some of you are a little timid or felt like you couldn't ask, yes saying or grabbing a selfie is fine.🤜🤛 (Golly, I sound like a douchebag saying that) 😆
Also, thank you so much to the very kind individual who had 3D printed this name tag for me and caught me in the hallway to offer it! You are cool! 💚
(Also, yes, I definitely accept stickers either for me or on behalf of @InclusiveLittleUnicorn or Victoria or Sara or Wesley) 🥰
The day is here, the hour is now! Black Hat officially is started, and with that all of Hacker Summer Camp season commences. 🍾
I know some of you have not yet made your journey here to vegas. But you're all coming in the next few days.
Here's a suggestion if you want to spread a little cheer: now is a wonderful time to go through ALL of your sticker drawers and boxes and bags... Look for ones that have been languishing for a while, or ones that you have in excess. Consider making small envelopes or cards and carry them on you at the events. 😁💌
You'll encounter many friends whom you seldom see and with whom you never get to spend enough time. You'll want more moments with them than life affords. (It's like this for me very much with many of my fellow trainers, because we are all so busy during the days and so exhausted during the nights) 🤜🤛
If you have small notes with well wishes and packets of stickers and patches and goodness inside, you can turn a 5-second glancing blow in the hallway into a more meaningful moment that you both can share and reflect upon later after the craziness subsides. ☺️
(And while I do keep my assorted sticker packs relatively neutral and light-hearted, I also keep a secret stash of much spicier stickers that have more political hot takes and so forth... If you're interested in one or two of those, you can always grab me for a hug or a hello in the hallway!) 🔥
So this was an amusing development. Many of you enjoyed my recent video where I shared the "Trashing Our Rights" game involving handcuffs, a diskette, and a bin.
As you would have seen, the very start of my YouTube video involved a clip from the movie Hackers where a handcuffed Dade Murphy tosses a yellow floppy into a trash can before being put into an FBI cruiser and ultimately shouts "Hack the planet!" from the open rear window. Classic.
After uploading, I found my channel facing a copyright claim. But NOT for the reason you might think. 😏
No, it was not United Artists who hit me with a copyright claim. It was a music artist whom almost no one has ever heard of, Bassbasher, who put out a track simply called "Hacker" a few years ago...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljZ4i7h-aDg
... and then they (or, more likely, their record label's automated IP system) attempted to assert ownership of all material in their track. Including the clip from the film Hackers.
I submitted a dispute and (In a rare victory for sanity and reason) prevailed. Do we think that their record label, Believe Music, will face any repercussions? Probably not. But, hey, at least it feels good to stand up and actually win in a situation where odds are (usually) tilted well against the little guy. 👍
We're honored to be offering our training along side of other colleagues of ours whom we know and respect. Folk like Greg Conti and @Jayson are also running classes then and we wholly recommend those folk, too!
Many of you are coming to Vegas for @defcon ... but how many of you are doing the super awesome bonus move of staying in town AFTER the con for training?
Red Team Alliance is running our RFID/PACS training class "Breaking Physical Access Control" August 10th & 11th and seats are still available...
... go hands-on with all manner of electronic access control hardware (much of which will be yours to keep) and learn how we do things that no one else is doing to attack RFID credential systems.
Are you coming to Vegas for hacker summer camp soon? My video this week describes the greatest game you can play while in town during @defcon ☺️
Surprise: It doesn't involve gambling! 😉👍
