Election Day 08, GO VOTE!!!!!

I've been quiet for a last couple of weeks because I've just been too busy.

Today is election day and make no mistake, America, you are voting for change no matter who you vote for President. One candidate will have you believe that voting for his opponent is voting for more of the same and frankly he is wrong. Any one who has read some or all of my posts can probably tell how I am leaning, but then again I've never tried to hide that I'm a firm believer in personal responsibility and a capitalist way of life.

Whether you agree with me or not what is really important is that you my readers, simply do your own research and not let the Main Stream Media (yes even Fox News) tell you how you should vote. Do your own homework on the issues and candidates and GO VOTE!

Ish

Congress of Broken Promises

As you think about who you are going to vote for this November ask your self are you better of then you were 2 years ago? If the answer is no then take a look at Congress both the House and Senate are in fact controlled by the Democrats who failed to live up to their campaign promises, increased deficit spending, and has the lowest EVERY approval ratings. But but but it's all President Bush's fault you say. I reply that the CONGRESS holds the power of the purse not the President. Also take a look at WHO received money from whom. You will find that the very people who are/were tasked by US the PEOPLE to monitor and safeguard our economy were the same people taking money from the very people they were supposed ot safeguarding it FROM!

So while it may be a historical belief that Democrats are good for the economy I charge you to look at the current mess and see who are the very ones who failed to safeguard our economy this time the answer: A Democratic Party controlled House and Senate, thats who.


Ish

Begining of The United Socialist States of America?

For me things have reached their boiling point or as Heston once said "I'm mad as Hell! and I'm not going to take it any more."
I've been home all week watching the piggster, while the wife is off with the mother in law in Vegas, and this has allowed me time to catch up with the news, research, and homework. All I can say is everything I have been hearing on news truthfully is scaring me to death. As just about every one with a pulse knows our economy is in a down turn and our Government's solution to turn things around? Nationalization. Well my fellow Americans all I can say is what they are talking about doing is not Capitalism but the beginning of a down ward spiral into Socialism. Capitalism rewards people for making smart decisions and succeeding, Socialism on the other rewards people who make bad decisions and failing. Now which system would you rather work under?

Now for the most part I have tried to be non-partisan in any article I write about the Presidential Candidates. However the time has come when I can no longer stand by and listen as one candidate would have us spiral even further down the road of Socialism and according to recent news stories not only has questionable ties to extremists (who some would call domestic terrorists) and others who hate this great country (relationships he has never really been truthful about), but who has now been linked to ACORN who has been implicated in VOTER FRAUD in over 13 states. But you may ask "Ish isn't this guit by association?"
To this I answer: My grandparents and parents have always told me "You are judged by the company you keep."

The candidate I have been talking about is of course Senator Obama, who's call for change may seem appealing to many people, these same people need to stop and ask themselves: Change to WHAT???? He has never answered this question and I will submit the change he calls for is really for a bigger swing towards SOCIALISM.

He has said he wants to give everyone making below $250,000 a year a tax cut. Well to me this means he wants to punish successful people and business. Last time I checked poor people didn't hire people or create new jobs. Many will say but he is calling for a tax cut for 95% of people how can that be a bad thing. Well 40% of those people don't pay any taxes already, so does this mean he will be giving them a free check? And who is going to pay for all this? The backbone of the economy and country: the middle class that's who! Now you may say and ask how can that when he is saying he wants to help the middle class... Let me tell you how he wants to help the middle class: by raising their taxes! When he ran for the Senate he promised a middle class tax cut. Not ONLY did the NOT even propose a single tax cut for ANYONE, he voted to increase taxes.

WAKE UP AMERICA! For too long the Democratic party has tried to use class warfare against the middle class. Well I, SAY NO TO SOCIALISM and NO MORE to using my fears against me! While I may not always agree with Senator McCain, at least he knows the meaning of personal responsibility and sacrifice! Before going to the polls this Nov, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH! Do not be fooled by empty promises and simple bumper sticker slogans of change. Actually take the time to look at the records of BOTH candidates and ask you self honestly who has the record they are open and honest about and who has an empty record and only real accomplishment has been running for office. I am a person of facts and at the end of the day the facts speak for themselves.

If you believe in a strong America and want someone of integrity to be running this great country vote McCain/Palin in Novemeber.

On the other hand if you believe in SOCIALISM and want someone who has been less than honest about their past and current ties to people of questionable character then by all means be the dumb sheep and vote Obama/Biden.

As with my sites main disclaimer: these thoughts and feelings are MY OWN and not in anyway those of the US Air Force and I am simply expressing them in accordance with my 1st Amendment Rights.

Till next time read and study your history for those that fail to learn it are doomed to repeat it. (Look and remember at what the people who lived under the last major attempt at national socialism, the USSR, went and are still going through. There is a reason the US won the cold war -> Capitalism, Democracy, and LIBERTY)

Ish

Personal Responsibility

Since my last post about the bailout fiasco I've taken a little time off to focus on school. Well the bail out was passed last week and the markets are still in the drink. Tonight is the 2nd debate of the main candidates and I was going to write a post about my thoughts on the new muck slinging by both sides, until I opened my e-mail to the following comment: (BTW thanks for the comment! I'm alweays glad to receive feedback.)

"majgross has left a new comment on your post "Starship Troopers Redux":

I recently needed a quote regarding authority and responsibility and your blog was the first item in the google search. I only read your first blog, but I enjoyed it. Good work!
"

This comment got me thinking about Starship Troopers what I had said in that post about responsibility, especially personal responsibility. I also heard some of the AIG testimony and well frankly it made me sick. It wasn't our fault it was accounting rules. It wasn't my fault it was predatory lending. B.S. You made bad decisions/gambles and you lost. DEAL WITH IT! Right now the wife is in Vega with her mom celebrating her mom's 60th, while I'm home watching the piggybutt. Now the wife and I had set aside a set sum for her to play the tables with. Are we going to whine, complain, and demand our money back if she should lose? Heck no, we are going to accept the loss and move one. Basically the bailout is the opposite of this mentality. It is exactly what true socialism would have us do: REWARD the LAZY and PUNISH the hard working. Where is the help for the hard working people who made smart decisions, who accepted the need to get a second or third job to pay the bills? The answer from Washington: Crickets! WTF! I understand the need to help people but lets be real for a moment. Only about 6% are defaulting on their home loans, so we are going to make the other 94% work harder to foot the bill, rather then making them take responsibility for their bad decisions???


So going into the 2nd debate I have the following message to the two candidates:
To the Obama campaign I have the following comment: "Man, up. Accept personal responsibility for your past/current associations, stop dodging and give truthful answers when ask. My two debate questions for you would be: 1. How exactly do you plan to increase spending without increasing taxes across the board? Because let's face it the rich as you call them can't pay for it all. 2. What is you plan for getting us energy independent NOW not 10 years from now."
To the McCain campaign: " While I will agree with you and that it is important to know who a candidate and what they really stand for. Man up and give some details about how you would like to fix things. Also if you really want to attack your opponent confront them about their Fannie/Freddi connections. My two debate questions for you would be: 1. How exactly do you plan to get us out of this financial turmoil? 2. What is you plan for getting us energy independent NOW not 10 years from now."


Ish
Thanks again for your comment majgross, I'm glad you liked it.

Define: Sacrifice

Dictionary.com defines it as: A forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

McCain defines it by suspending his current campaign for the Presidency to go back to Washington D.C. to work with the current President and the rest of Congress because doing his current job and role of Senator is more important than a campaign to be President.

Obama defines it by by suspending his current job as a Senator and representing the people who elected him and continuing to campaign and further his desire to be President.

Now, I ask which one of these two is acting closer to the true spirit of what the word means? Which one is showing they have the quality and strength of character you would prefer as a President?


I also have to point out and question something as reported by the MSM.
McCain in his announcement asked for Obama to join him in suspending his campaign. Obama responed with the following statement: “Presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time,” Sen. Obama said. “It’s not necessary for us to think that we can only do one thing and suspend everything else.”

My response to Sen. Obama is that while you are right in that Presidents do have to deal with more than one thing at a time, we the people expect them to do their job and deal with it! Not continue to campaign or further some legacy building project. We also hold these same expectations of our Senators and Congresspeople. Further, while I am not a registered voter of the great state of Illinois on their behave let me say: "Senator" Obama would you please get your personage back to Washington D.C. and do the job for which you were elected before campaigning for another!

Actually it may have been unfair of me to signal out Senator Obama so let me reiterate this statement in a more neutral fashion:

"Would all Senators and Congresspeople please drop what you are doing, get back to Washington D.C. and make sure the hard earned tax dollars of the people who elected you into office are used wisely and not squandered in a $700 billion goat rope. Set a side your partisan ship and safe guard not the CEOs, companies, committees, regulations, legacies that got us into this mess BUT the American people who will have to foot the bill!"

To those that are not in Washington D.C. because they have to campaign to keep their seat. Maybe you should think ask your self what the voters in your state/district are thinking when the person who THEY elected thinks holding on to their position of power is more important than doing the job the people gave them! Nov isn't that far away AND absentee voters are ALREADY in the process of filling out their ballots and sending them in.
I know from experience as I'm one of those absentee voters and to my Congress person: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher I say the following: I received my ballot in the mail and will be watching the Daily Republic and Vacaville Reporter on-line editions to see how you "as a member of the NYSE and former Wall Street senior executive" handle this situation before filling out my ballot. On this is for sure, while I'm not going saying how I intend to vote what I will say is that the easiest way to LOSE my vote and guarantee I vote for someone else is for me to read about campaign events you attended in California while this mess is going on when you could be in Washington D.C doing the current job WE elected you to do. Especially since your NYSE and Wall Street experience would make you uniquely qualified to provide valuable input to the only going effort.


Ish

sacrifice. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved September 24, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sacrifice

Why HR 6899 ( Proposed Energy Bill) should be stopped

Okay here are some details about this bill:
Bans 88% of domestic oil
Bans all oil shale (estimates are 1.8 trillion to 8 trillion barrels in CO, WY, UT)
Raises taxes on the evil oil companies
Doesn't allow states to share any of the revenues, only the Feds
While it allows offshore drilling, it only allows it more that 100 miles from shore and only between 50 and 100 miles with states permission. (So Cuba could tap certain oil pockets off OUR shore but not us.)

While we need a comprehensive energy reform bill, this is one we don't need. What we really need is a bill that opens up offshore drilling as close as 1 inch and exploration of oil shale production WITH states permission. That being said the States who have those oil/shale reserves should logically benefit along side the Federal Government.
Regardless of how close you drill at least 5% of the revenue from any new drilling should go directly into the pockets of residents of those states and 10% should immediately invested into X Prize type competitions to help jump start research, development, and mass market productization of cost effective alternative energy sources that do not impact the cost of food! These can include but not limited to better battery technology for plug in cars, lower cost ways to product solar/wind/geo-therman power, low cost efficient natural gas/methane powered cars, etc.


Ish

Earmarks and pork barrels

I'm not talking about the Piggy toy boxes here. I'm talking about the trend in Washington to earmark special projects in the budget bills. I'm home again baby sitting the Piggy while the wife is at the dentist again and listening to the McCain talk on Fox News.
Now I've been a big advocate of stopping earmarks for a long time now and while McCain has just said that he will Veto any bills with earmarks and loudly expose those people who are trying to force them through. All I can say to this is I'll believe it when I see it. Not saying he won't but I'm also a realist and unless WE the people start holding out Congressional and Senators accountable and start voting OUT the ones who do not live up to our expectations and campaign promises then earmarks are going to be alive and well for the foreseeable future. And by voting out our officials I mean voting them out regardless of party affiliation.

Though the one nice item in his talk today was it was the first time I have heard him or any other candidate say the words "Drill here. Drill NOW" and lets invest the increased earnings in technology and projects would create true energy independance.

So to the Maverick I say nice talk, I like what your saying. I hope you can follow through.

In this same vain to give equal time to Obama's talk:
I'm listening to this talk and for some reason all I keep hearing is I"m going to enact legislation to protect people who made bad decisions and use tax payer money to bail them out.
Although some of the regulatory ideas have some merit. Like force full disclosure by any agency/business who borrow from the government. I also completely agree that we need regulators to enforce the rule rather then over look them. But the key question here is WHY are we not holding the regulators feet to the fire when they don't aren't enforcing the rules. On that same note I would say lets start holding states, counties, and cities accountable to Federal immigration laws and withdraw Federal funding for the so called sanctuary cities. Don't get me wrong I'm all for people coming to this great country and taking apart int he American dream BUT DO IT LEGALLY!

This being said Obama has now said he is against corruption and against special interest group funding. But what about his ties to ACORN? I also have to cry foul when he says that he wants to reward people and small businesses with tax credits. But the very people who he is talking about generally fall into his above $250,000 yearly income and need to be taxed more category. Also economics 101: Businesses DO NOT PAY TAXES. Any tax burden a business has is passed directly on to the customer/consumer.

More if I get the time later.

Ish

Obama ad faults McCain for being injured Vet

Okay so my title may not be completely honest but its just as honest as many of the headlines in the MSM lately.

With that let me explain my logic. The recent Obama ad faults McCain for not being able to use a computer. Well Michelle Malkin user powerpro and others have uncovered an interesting fact: "McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes." and guess when this was written?

March 4 2000 by Mary Leonard of the Boston Globe. Talk about not doing your homework!

So when one takes this little fact into account you can easily understand my title. In case you can't follow my logic here goes step by step.

1. The lasting affects of the injuries McCain's suffered while a POW prevent him from using a keyboard.
2. Obama and crew fault McCain for not using a computer.
3. So Obama and crew's ad faulting McCain for not using a computer is really faulting him for being an injured Vet.

Unless they honestly suggest that he partake in an action that physically hurts him. What other message can we take from this? I mean would you bother learning to use a computer when it physically hurts you to do so? Or would you have others do it on your behalf?

Ish

Resources:

Goldberg, Johna (Sept 12 2008) Wonder no more. the Corner. Retrieved: 12 Sept 2008 site: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTliMTNiZjg5ZDEwZWNiZDYwZWFjN2JlNjNjNjkxZmM=

Leonard, Mary (March 4 2000)McCain character loyal to a fault. Boston Globe. Retrieved: 12 Sept 2008 site: http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/McCain_character_loyal_to_a_fault+.shtml

Three thoughts on the latest Obama ad.

As I sit here in San Antonio, watching piggy while the wife is at the dentist, and watching the news coverage of IKE and the constant replays of the new Obama ad, I can't but help wonder about three things about this ad:

1. What does pictures of McCain from the 80’s have to do with how he dresses and acts today in the 2000's?
Especially the picture of him and President Reagan. In my mind these pictures help reinforce the fact that McCain has more experience than Obama.

2. So what if McCain doesn’t like using a computer?
I’m an IT professional and while I will admit I love computers, networks, and technology, at the end of the day I would much rather meet with people in person or talk to them over the phone than exchange e-mails. In my opinion one can lose the closeness and real compassion/understanding that can only come from real in person human interaction.

AND last but not least (and in my opinion most importantly)

3. Why is Obama and crew picking on the Rubik’s Cube?
Is it that they don’t have enough brain power to figure one out, so many other things they would rather hate on it and disparage anyone who does like it rather then seek understanding and acceptance? I’m a geek and love logic and other brainy puzzles so in my eyes nothings wrong with playing with a Rubik’s Cube in fact it is quite good for at exercising not only the brain but flexibility in the hands and wrists. So, to me by Obama and crew say McCain plays with Rubik’s Cubes, means that McCain is an intelligent person who understands that it is important to stay mentally sharp and have fun doing it. Also the Rubik’s Cube also offers a physical and often over looked benefit: it helps exercise and maintain flexibility in the fingers and writs. Maintaining joint flexibility is very important, but is probably difficult for McCain with his POW injuries. So using a Rubik’s Cube would provide a good two-in-one activity for McCain.

Ish

(Note most of this post was taken from my posting/comment [#151] over at Michelle Malkin's blog)

A little levity for this solemn day, word of the day, and question

Yes I know it's Sept 11, but I also know that some levity is needed to balance out the memorials. Unlike the Gilbert Gottfried Hugh Hefner roast, which took place shortly after that fateful day in 2001, I will not be doing the Aristocrats. (If you haven't seen it you should! Gilbert Gottfried the Aristocrats joke WARNING ADULT Language @ link :)

What I will do on the other hand is present a word of the day: tartuffery [tahr-toof-uh-ree].

Why did I pick this work you may ask? Well besides the fact that it is fun to say it it is really an appropriate word for some of the treatment of the Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has been getting lately from the MSM (main stream media).

Can someone please explain to me how one can: support the position that a woman has equal rights in the work place, celebrate women who balance having a family and a career, and in the next breath question and criticize a woman for attempting who is doing the SAME thing as VP but happens to have an opposing view point?

Maybe I have just too much common sense and that think that all people regardless of gender should be treated equal. So in my mind if you celebrate/applaud one woman for balancing work and a family then you should be celebrate/applauding all women who can do this and especially one who's career may lead her to the second highest office in the US.

If its good for the gander it should be good for the goose. Or in this case if it is good for one goose it should be good for another!

In case you are wondering:
Tartuffery = A show or expression of feelings or beliefs one does not actually hold or possess: hypocrisy, pharisaism, phoniness, sanctimoniousness, sanctimony, two-facedness. See honest/dishonest.

Resource:
Tartuffery. (n.d.). Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. Retrieved September 12, 2008, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/tartufferyhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tartuffery

The conventions are finally over.

One thing I have noticed in the military blogging arena in specific and blogging sphere in general is that to be successful you need to either champion a cause of some sort or get political. Because it is a major election season, I would like to iterate two key points about this blog:
1. All opinions I express are just that, MINE, and in no way are that of the Air Force or any other US Gov organization/agency. I also take no responsibility for comments people post to this blog. While I will not out right censor postings because of differing opinions, I do however reserve the right to edit, censor, and/or delete comments that are liable and/or offensive in nature/content.
2. I will do my best not to champion/push any particular party but rather present issues that are important to me and that I wish to spread the word about.

Also the fall term is starting and looks to be a rough one, so while I may not post every day or every few days, I will endeavor to post at least once a week.

Until then check out some interesting happenings over at the EFF site.

Ish

Price of Books not included...

As any regular reader to this blog knows, I'm working on my Master's degree. I've been used to high tuition rates and have even come to expect them as I am in a graduate program. After I filed my tuition assistance paperwork and G.I.B. top-up to pay for the tuition bill, I hopped over to the on-line book store to get my books. As I logged in I froze momentarily. It was as if hundreds of voices all screamed out at once, and then where gone forever. No it wasn't mystical cry felt through the Force as some evil galactic empire showing off some new planet destroying weapon but rather my wallet and bank account screaming in abject terror at the price of books.

I'm taking two classes this semester and each class is requiring two books, that's four books total. Not usual at the graduate level, but I'm expecting the average cost of each book to be around $40 may be $50. No such luck. the total cost for this semester's books over $350.00 and that's finding them on sale via Amazon.com rather then from the school book store. (BTW not to plug the site but if you are a college student and have to buy books, you really need to check them out!)

Having to pay tuition is one thing I understand this but getting further raked over the coals via needing a special book?

But wait the coal raking continues. I've convinced a co-worker to go back to school and get his Master's as well (same major/program). He start's this semester and is taking one of the classes this fall that I took in the spring. We did some figuring and it looks like he would be one semester behind me the whole way through the program. Since we're both low payed NCOs made what we though would be a smart economical gentleman's agreement that if I didn't want any book from the current semester, I would be careful and not mark up the books much and sell them to him at half the book store price. (It's just a little more than what the book store would give me but less then he could buy the for.) Great sound like a very great plan for both of us right? And you would be correct except for one minor problem, they decided to change books between semesters, so no such luck.

As I sit here seething, since there is not much I can do about this issue since well I like my school for the most part and really want to get my Master's, all I can do is help publicize the Open Text Book Project.

Well till next time,

Ish

P.S. in case you haven't heard the MBTA's motion's have been denied and the MIT students have been cleared. If I get the time I'll expand on this topic later, in case you don't want to wait check out Groklaw . Here's a link to the PJ's article containing the decision: Judge Lifts Restraining Order: MIT Students Win - Updated. The short of it according to the EFF is:
"The judge today correctly found that it was unlikely that the CFAA would apply to security researchers giving an academic talk," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "A presentation at a security conference is not some sort of computer intrusion. It's protected speech and vital to the free flow of information about computer security vulnerabilities. Silencing researchers does not improve security -- the vulnerability was there before the students discovered it and would remain in place regardless of whether the students publicly discussed it or not." Judge Lifts Unconstitutional Gag Order Against MIT Students

MBTA vs MIT Students

A lot has already been written about this subject so I'll try not to repeat it.

My only real bone on contention with the decision by the Judge to grant the TRO. A little background is in order, the TRO motion was filed on Aug 8th and granted on Aug 9th. The students in this case were set to present on Aug 10th. All seems okay right? Here's my bone of contention: Defcon pre-registration began on Aug 7th about noon.

Why is this important? For those that have never attended Defcon, when you pay your fee, you get this year's badge, a schedule, and a CD containing: most of the presentations slides, some music samples, some art work, some of the tools/source code being released, and some other tidbits.

This year, the Defcon folks ordered about 8,000 badges and they ran out of them! That means Defcon had over 8,000 people in attendance this year, WOW, but I digress. (NOTE this figure is probably very conservative since I saw plenty of folks walking around with paper badges, and this figure doesn't include Goons, staff, press, and vendors.) While there was a slight hick-up with the badges (yes besides them not having enough for every one, and some bugs in the code), there was no shortage of CDs.

This year's Black Hat Briefings attendance is estimated to have been around 4 to 5 thousand people all of whom received free tickets to Defcon. Even assuming only people from Black Hat took advantage of pre-registration and only half of which did so. This would mean that on Thursday Aug 7th about 2.5 thousand people (me included), pre-registered at Defcon and received CDs. Lets say that half to three fourths of the rest of the Defcon attendees registered on the 8th.(about 2.75 to 4.125 thousand people) Adding these two figures together you have probably a very conservative estimate of the number of people who received a Defcon CD by midnight Aug 8th. This would mean that: before the motion was even filed about 2.5 thousand people had Defcon offical CDs and about 5.25 to 6.625 thousand people had them before the Judge ruled in the case. (Note this doesn't take into account all the copies being made and sent out to friends, colleagues, etc.)

Why is all this important information and just where am I going this with this line of thinking you ask? I'll tell you: As mentioned previously the Decfcon CDs contain most of presentation slides, and a quick look at the CD by even the average noob/computer user, 5th grader, etc, that the slides from the MIT students WERE one of the presentations included. So, before the TRO motion was brought the court about 2.5 thousand people already had most of the information the MBTA sought to suppress and about 5.25 to 6.625 people had it, before the Judge was able to rule.

To summarize: before any TRO motion was filed, about 2.5 thousand of the very people the MBTA didn't want to have the information contained in the MIT students slides, had it and about 5.25 to 6.625 thousand people had it before the Judge OK'ed the suppression.

Talk about trying to close the barn door after the horses have been already escaped.
(We won't even get into the rapid speed these slides would have been copied, sent out, and posted to as many people/web sites as possible, by pretty much every Defcon attendee, once word got out that someone was trying to suppress the information).

Till next time.

Ish

Defcon 16 Days 1-3

As mentioned previosuly I'll be posting information concerning specific talks later as I get the time. I would like to mention however for more information about the legal events surrounding the MIT students and the injunction on their Defcon talk go to Groklaw. (Funnest part about this whole affair is that the geniuses over at the Mass Bay Transit Authority, in their zealous attempt to stifle the free speech of some college students, released way more details about the vulnerabilities in open court, which made their way on to Pacer, than the students intended. Again to get the full 411 go to Groklaw, also support the EFF!!!!)

The badges this year were pretty cool: TV turn off with limited file transfer/receive capability. Also of note according to a few people I talked too over 8,000 badges were ordered and despite a hang up in customs, they still ran out! WOW! Only real items of note for me was that I was introduced to Major Majfunction, DT, and Priest by a friend. Despite the Federal injunction this years Defcon seemed to run pretty smoothly. I defiantly like the Riv better than the AP.

Lets see other items of note... Saturday the stillsecure and IO Active Freakshow at the top of the Riv was pretty cool. We left there early and headed to the Edgeos party. Again I played DD and had water most of the evening, not drinking so others
could :) This party was pretty cool except it got crowded quick. We quickly took over a booth in one of the back corners and just chilled out most drinking lots of free drinks. Some noob was snapping pictures with out asking till we schooled him other wise. Word to the wise, if/when you attend Defcon, proper etiquette (yes even at Defcon there is etiquette)states that you ALWAYS ask before taking pictures, EVEN if you are holding a Press badge. The guy was pretty cool about the whole affair and even let us screen the pictures he had taken to delete any we objected to. We called it an early night and on the way out said hi to Major Malfunction as he and a few others were arriving. Sunday was spent going to more talks and simply chilling, packing and getting ready to head home.

Take care and check back in later because over the next few days/weeks I'll be posting more in depth information about the talks from both Black Hat and Defcon that felt were especially interesting.

Ish.

Black Hat Days 5-6

Yes I know the lights have been turned off and even Defcon has come and gone but I was busy and my Internet access limited. I'll summarize the major happenings and post info about specific talks after spending more time reviewing my notes and going through the slides/white papers.

Day 5 well sucked, the reason food poisoning. Not sure where I caught it but I did. The parties last night went by just fine. Me and a few others started at the Secure University get together, where they gave out a free test. We then headed to the Qualys party in the Absolute suit. It started off decently. We then headed out to a third party. At this unnamed third party much silliness ensued. One friend earned a new handle of H1ghh33lz after someone dared him to walk around the party with in them. Not wanting to back down the friend promptly set out to find a pair to borrow, he found a pair and completed the dare. But wait there is more, the person he borrowed the heels from happens to be an editor at a well know magazine.

Waking up with food poisoning sucked. Now many would say it was a hangover, I on the other hand have medical proof other wise. (yes I broke down and went in to a clinic). I spent the rest of the day taking it easy. While I hung out at some other get togethers (the Cisco one was very nice BTW), I simply drank lots of water and played DD.

Day 6: I woke up feeling much better. The talks to day were interesting and I'll post some highlights later. To day was also the final day at Black Hat. The vendor parties were okay, I started out at the Core meet and greet and soon moved on to the IO Active one after the Core one became too crowded. After the IO Active meet and greet me and a few others went over to the Shadow Bar where H1ghh33lz put the nail in his coffin about avoiding the new handle, when him and another friend jokingly walked around the Shadow Bar in another pair of Highheels. The shoes in question were provided by a weeding party that had broken and looking to spend the rest of the night out on the town. Only difference is that this time not only did we get pictures of the event (well the weeding party did and will hopefully be sending them on) but H1ghh33lz kept the shoes.

Finally on to Defcon. As with the rest of Black Hat I'll summarize the major events and expand on specific talks/topics as time permits.

Ish

Black Hat Day 4

Today started slow, but things picked up around 10 when I got a call that a bud had a line on a few extra invites to the Cisco party and wanted to know if I wanted to go,. responded with a resounding YES, so hopefully he was able to get the names in, in time. The class I've been taking for the most has been pretty cool, it was the Advance Malware Deobfuscation class, my one biggest complaint with this class is a lack of good step by steps for the student exercises, so we can go back later and re-work through the exercises if we want. I don't know about any of you but after taking two heavily compressed and very technical IT courses, followed by 5 days of in-depth technical briefings, and various Vendor parties, I'm going to need a few days to decompress and the ability to re-run through the course materials when I'm more well rested. I'm probably not alone in this so.....

To say lunch sucked would be giving it a compliment, it was that bad. Of course this just means I'm going to be "forced" to grab something quick from the Caesars snack area before the Qualys get together, then again that might be what Caesars had in mind in the first place.

Last break of the day found us attendees rushing to grab our delegate bags. This year they had multiple colors not just the typical Red/Black bag (three to be exact: Red/Black, Orange/Black, and Blue/Black are the three bag color combos that I can see.). I'm not sure what if any difference there will be between the bags but I did notice a larger number of Red/Black bags than the other two. While standing in line I over hear one of the people near the front ask for a specific color, the guy handing them out said they couldn't do that and they we had to take what we got. Well as I reached the front I notice a nice Blue/Black bag after the typical Red/Black I was a bout to receive... thinking quick I turn to the guy behind me and say go ahead man. He buys it, steps right up and gets the Red/Black bag. I then smile as I step up for the nice Blue/Black bag. The guy handing them out just smiles back and says: thats the sweetest hack I've seen today, that's getting it done! So now I have a nice Blue/Black bag. As I look through the bag I notice not only have the goodies improved over years past the number has have increased a little (guess they found out they save lots of weight and money by not printing out the big red books).
Besides the usual program/schedule, conf DVD there is a rather nice, hard cover flip up book journal (kind of like a steno pad but hard bound and much better looking, an especially welcomed for this southpaw), a highlighter that also includes a two color ball point pen, and a nice new PayPal/ebay Security Key fob. Again not sure how this differs from the other colored bags, but I'll do some schmoozing and find out.

Well class is over so it a quick call to the other half, a snack and then the Qualys!

Ish

Black Hat Dat 3 post 2.

The after noon class went a little slower then the morning portion did, mainly because many people in class were not already familure with OllyDbg. Once we got passed the intro to OllyDbg the class picked up a little more as we explored how to find the original entry point in a program. Day three ended early for me, by legs and back were ache from the uncomfortable chairs and since Monday is one of the most dead nights in Vegas I figured I'd just spend a quiet night watching a little Mythbusters and reviewing the days exercises. Besides tomorrow starts the real fun... Vendor parities :)

Ish

Black Hat Day 3 (up to lunch anyway)

At breakfast this morning we had a Jackalope sighting. For those not in the know, DJ Jackalope is probably one of the best spiners/mixers who are regulary asked to play Defcon. She has mad skills with the turn table and can crank out the tunes.

Today's class defiantly seems a lot better that my weekend class. We started off straight into how executable Windows binaries look in a hex editor then started from the beginning and stepped through what things mean inside that binary. Next we stepped through the PE header information and how to find certain items in side the header. So far this class looks to be a new must attend for any one interested in getting into Reverse Engineering or binary analysis. It's lunch so I don't have much time left.

More Later

Ish

Black Hat Day 2

I'm taking back something I said yesterday, Responder is cool but what really sets it apart is the wicked graphing feature that allows you to pull items on to the graph, as well as set layer colors (much like in adobe photo shop or Gimp graphics editing). You can turn off and on the layers so you can focus on a few items at a time. The graph also has a handy feature that allows you to "grow up" and "grow down" from an item on the graph. This means that you can add new items in the graph by following the associated function calls.

Tonight found a few us trying to answer the age old question: "Whats for dinner?". So we walked of Caesars and took a right and stated walking down the Strip towards the Luxor. After much indecision we finally wound up at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone at Planet Hollywood's Miracle Mile stores. We had passed over the place because of the price but finally decided to stop in because we acquired a buy one get one free entree. While higher priced the food was GREAT and it wasn't little portions either, they were huge! After dinner we were kinda wiped so we headed back to Caesars so we could slpit off and enter into food commas.

Ish

Black Hat Day 1

First things first, while my Internet access will be a little spotty, I'm going to be keeping a running journal of the events as the happen or soon after they happen, but I may not always be able to post to the blog on any given day or at any set time. I will post in order of occurrence but this means that some days there may be no postings, some there may be multiple (one for each day) and others may have multiple postings are continuations of the same day. Training today was okay wasn't exactly was I was expecting from the class description but by the end of the day it had picked up some. While Hogland and Cummings are very smart, the class was more geared tword using HBGary Responder for things rather then hard core rootkit reversing. One item of note they did present something they call Malware Analysis Factors (MAFs). These MAFs break down program functions into six categories. While these MAFs are cool and all, it remains to be seen if the rest of the class will improve. Don't get me wrong Responder is a cool tool and all its just I was expecting a little more from one of the founders of rootkits.org.

Dinner tonight was very disappointing, it was over priced and just kinda of anh. After dinner found me a few others at the Seahorse lounge in Caesars near the Pure night club. A few years ago it was a pretty good spot for people watching and reasonably priced for drinks. My how things have changed, they updated the part out side of Pure so that now they have the "Pussycat Dolls Casino" basically a just a small card table pit with a roulette wheel and craps table. While still a good place to people watch they jacked up the prices by almost triple so we probably won't be going back.

Ish

Vegas Here I come... BlackHat 08 /Defcon 16

In case any one is wondering why after my July 8 post I have been quite its because the wife, piggy, and I were taking a much needed break. I was also busy working a travel training issue at work so I could attend the upcoming Black Hat 08 and Defcon 16 conferences. While I can't promise I'll give a daily play-by-play I'll try to at least do a summary every few days.

If your also going to be there and wanna hang out or have some inside scopes on some of this year's unofficial events drop me a line.

Ish.

I'm Back

Sorry for delay but starting work on my master's, having a full time job, and taking care of the piggy hasn't left a lot of free time lately. Well all that is about to change, now that I'm more used to going to school again I can better manage my time and energy... So Ish's Cyber Wolf Den is back!!!!!

I'm hoping to continue with my weekly book reviews, along with posting on topics that interest me. So for those of you who have been checking in to find new content I thank you for hanging in there.

One item of note, with in the last couple of weeks Congress and the President passed a new MGIB program, and it looks to be a great new benefit that has been a long time coming. That said they still have a long way to go to better compensating our men and women who are now serving or have served.

Stay tuned to the wolf den more to come.

Isnala