Early Copies of Great Articles
I have had the good fortune recently of getting to look over drafts of two fantastic articles by giants in the blogosphere. Great stuff that is just on a different playing field. Leaps and bounds beyond what is coming out of the brick and mortar world. It’s game changing.
On that note: I have been giving some thought to what looks to be the authoritative history of blogging. A significant portion of the book should be devoted to the stunning work done on war: coverage (Michael Yon), energy (peak oil), and theory (our cluster) come to mind.
In fact, that topic is worth a book of its own. (Adam?)
One Music Business Model
I have liked Ari Hest’s sound for years, but never had to venture past iTunes (or now Amazon’s great MP3 download service) to acquire his music. However, I heard some buzz about the “52 club“. Ari is releasing a new song every week (produced with his Macbook Pro instead of purchasing costly studio time). Pretty impressed.
You can buy each song individually or prepay:
- For $20. All the songs as they come out, at 128 kbps, 320 kbps and in the FLAC format. (Which is great if your home theater PC – or MacMini/Squeezebox – is also the hub for your stereo system.) To top it off, you can collaborate with other fans on stuff that is more useful for him than it is for you (which, if it is fun, is a great).
- For $35. A sticker, bonus tracks, and a autographed poster to go with the music.
- For $50. Add an autographed CD, a free ticket to a show, and behind the scenes video.
He threw open the gates and is maximizing the exposure of his music via DRM free releases, added value to purchasing a “subscription” and isn’t limited by the CD format anymore.
DOE Under Attack
Inspector General Gregory Friedman hopes to lock down security on the Energy Department’s interconnected computer networks, after auditors called 132 security breaches serious enough to report to law enforcement in fiscal 2006 — 22 percent more than in the prior year.
The department’s 69 organizations support as many as eight separate intrusion and analysis groups, which do not use a common incident-reporting format and do not always retain crucial information about cyberattacks, the IG said in a report released today. Some sites opt out of monitoring their networks or even disable the sensor equipment.
I Am Looking For Work
I am finishing up the degree in International Relations that underpinned my research on terrorism and infrastructure in India, well-received big thinking on private military contractors, and an article in the international press. Have a deep understanding of the dynamics of future warfare that is applied on a daily basis to author the only open-source analysis available on India’s most pressing security challenge.
Also finishing up my tenure as V.P. of the student association where I managed $300,000 to build, revamp, and otherwise improve businesses and nonprofit organizations. I used my extensive web technology experience (honed while working with local, regional, and state governments) to accomplish these strategic goals. Continue Reading →
Predicting Urban Fear Vectors
Via Schneier- Here is a computer simulation to predict fear vectors in an urban context. This stuff can really take off as unpredictability moves closer and closer to the present.
- simulate how a crowd flees from a burning car toward a single evacuation point;
- test out how a pathogen might be transmitted through a mobile pedestrian over a short period of time;
- see how the existing urban grid facilitate or does not facilitate mass evacuation prior to a hurricane landfall or in the event of dirty bomb detonation;
- design a mall which can compel customers to shop to the point of bankruptcy, to walk obliviously for miles and miles and miles, endlessly to the point of physical exhaustion and even death;
- identify, if possible, the tell-tale signs of a peaceful crowd about to metamorphosize into a hellish mob;
- determine how various urban typologies, such as plazas, parks, major arterial streets and banlieues, can be reconfigured in situ into a neutralizing force when crowds do become riotous; and
- conversely, figure out how one could, through spatial manipulation, inflame a crowd, even a very small one, to set in motion a series of events that culminates into a full scale Revolution or just your average everyday Southeast Asian coup d’état — regime change through landscape architecture.
Tie it together with a sensor system and a map of utility grids and community law enforcement would be able to leverage it to respond more effectively and quickly. As with all duel use tech though: the bad guys know where to set off secondary catastrophic events. You will need people able to deal with lots of complexity very rapidly.