Nothing surprises me these days as to how far hackers will go to execute their scams.

Hackers quickly move to exploit Bhutto assassination

The basic attack vector used is offering the video but requiring users to install a new codc to view - thus engineering the mechanism for downloading nd installing their trojan.

At the moment it appears to be a Windows-only exploit, and most major AV companies recognize it as such, but be careful.

Worth noting: this is not really a new vector for an atatck; instead it's simply updated to leverage this high-profile news event.  As the article says, "Even death isn't sacred to some."

Now this one bothers me.  The 'Net has always been a bit of the wild west to me, and anything that reigns that in makes me wonder at the motivation.

Australia to enforce a "ratings system" on web, track users

See the thing is, it's just one more privacy concern.  It's really a shame that it's happening in Australia rather than the U.S. because the outcry of invasion of privacy would be so loud, this initiative would get crushed quickly (and if the politocs had their way, probably quietly).  Not sure if the same thing will happen in Australia where people are more concerned with Dingos.

Whenever something like this comes along it reminds me of the Ben Franklin quote: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Tough night.  Especially when Dwight Howard has a decent game but misses 9 free throws. 

ESPN - Orlando vs. Boston Recap, December 23, 2007


Stan Van Gundy's been ranting about changing the lineup.  Isn't it time he actually does something?

There are only two players that are pretty much guaranteed to be on the court: Dwight, and Rashard Lewis; looking at the current lineup, what do we see?

• C- Dwight Howard - He's not going anywhere.  Dwight's been an incredible stud all year long and is playing better than any center in the league.  too bad everything around him is crumbling at the moment!
• PF- Rashard Lewis - Playing out of position, the tough to guard two wings worked early, but teams are learning how to defend it.  Rashard desperately needs to slide back to his natural SF position where he can flourish.
• SF- Hedo Turkoglu - Hedo's played as well as he ever has - but Rashard wasn't signed to sit.  hedo either slides to the bench or is the trade bait to bring in the starting PF that Magic need - desperately.
• SG - keith Bogans - I like Bogans.  I really do.  but not as a starter.  He's a decent swing man in the 6-7 slot on a roster, but he's simply not starting material in the NBA.
• PG - jameer Nelson - Now I know the guy had a rough off-season, what with his Dad's sudden passing, but in recent weeks (like: the last month) he's been playing like crap.  I know he's on an emotional roller-coaster, but there have always been questions.  Would the team be better served with Jameer coming off the bench?

So then - who's on the roster that might be able to help?

• Carlos Arroyo (PG) - historically streaky, not the pass-first guy the Magic need to feed Dwight down low, but recently he has played like the PG the team needs.  Not sure you start Carlos, but he has played well of late.
• Keyon Dooling (SG/PG) - keyon is probably too valuable off the bench to move into the starting lineup - but maybe.  He is pure energy, played good D, and covered the point fairly well when injuries hit recently.
• JJ Redick (SG) - Pure shooter, when given time to play he always scores, but his D is barely suspect.  With a good defensive PF to help Dwight plug up the middle, or a defensive PG that could cover the 2 on other teams, maybe.  At the moment his defense would kill Orlando

Notice what's missing? Any options at the 4 slot.  Power Forwards we ain't got.  Thus it's likely a trade needs to roll in for the team to have overall playoff success this year - unless Brian Cook suddenly becomes the second coming of Horace Grant.  Or heck, at this point, even Harvey Grant

Interesting tidbit - I knew they were doing well, but wowsa: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/smartphones/iphone-greedily-eats-north-american-market-share-334516.php

That's really impressive, given the huge focus MSFT has placed on WinMobile over the past two years.  Just goes to show you that a great product actually can beat a worse one.  of course, the marketing hype doesn't hurt either.

ESPN - Players listed in the Mitchell Commission report - MLB

I'm talking about the length of the list - I frankly expected it to be much longer.

To my way of thinking there are few surprises - but none of them are:

Does anyone really believe that Bonds hasn't used steroids?
Or Lenny Dykstra?  Here's a guy that is about 5 feet nothing and over one offseason he bulks up so much he can win the 'Rambo' look-alike contest.
All those guys that went from single digit homeruns per year to 20 or 30 (or more) - big surprise there!
Or folks who were on the upswing then suffered a mysterious 'body breakdown' - as in, they cut their use and the negative impact of steroids reared its ugly head.

Nope - the real surprise is that the list is so bloody short!  I'm a bit surprised by that...would not have shocked me if a few hundred players had been named.

As you might imagine, it's a real thrill to be travelling from Orlando to Dayton, OH this time of year.  of course it's all the better when I can't get a direct flight.

So as I am waiting in line for security in Orlando, waiting to depart, I oversee two kids in front of me playing 'Rock, paper, Scissors, Pencil.'  Apparently these two felt they had to try to improve on perfection.  If you live on the moon and somehow don't know the routine, rock paper scissors is the traditional game, with a perfect 33% chance for any one of the choices to win (well, technicall, there's a chance you will tie, but...) with each choice having a perfect match, and a perfectly worst match.  Every choice is theoretically even.

So now add a pencil as the choice.  It is crushed by Rock, and it writes on paper.  It gets cut by scissors. It completely tips the scales on the game.  Suddenly Paper is a loser selection (50% of the choices beat it), Pencil is a loser (50% can beat it).  Scissors is crushed by rock, and beats 50% of the choices.

I think Rock is the clear winner.  Only 25% of the choices beat it, 25% tie, and it beats 50%.

breaks down something like this:

Choice   Wins   Loses   Ties
Paper      25%   50%     25%
Pencil      25%   50%      25%
Scissors   50%   25%      25%
Rock       50%   25%      25%

But that doesn't tell the whole story.  Since the only thing that can beat Rock is Paper, and it's outclassed by two choices, it seems like Paper is less likely to be selected, and thus makes Rock an even better choice.

of course, as with many games, your opponent's play style will have an impact on your choices, but on  the surface, you want Rock.  Charlie Brown would finally win!

So anyhow, yeah, this is what I was thinking about in line for Airport Security.  Admittedly my mind works in odd ways sometimes.