Search Results for: node/seattle sscc

I’d say I told you so…

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But what’s the point? The people who realize that using Javascript for everything is a bad idea don’t need me lecturing them. The people who want to use Javascript for everything couldn’t create a secure system, much less understand the realities of a hostile environment if their life depended on it. Their fandom precedes the ability for critical thinking.

This is why when I read this, this morning;

This impacts Node at the Buffer to UTF8 String conversion and can cause a process to crash. The security concern comes from the fact that a lot of data from outside of an application is delivered to Node via this mechanism which means that users can potentially deliver specially crafted input data that can cause an application to crash when it goes through this path.

I said, “And nothing will change.” At least, as a minor saving grace, HTTP(S) headers do not fall vulnerable to this particular bug, but that’s mainly the headers there is question to the remainder of the processing.

The fact is, nothing is perfect, nothing is fool-proof, and frankly my hate for Javascript is largely due to the people I find who fall over themselves defending it. Does it serve a purpose? Yup, you bet. Is is a hammer that should be used while seeing every problem as a nail? Absolutely NOT.

 

Interesting Map

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So I stumbled across this from Kiro TV in Seattle today.

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That is the distribution of CPL licenses by zip code.  The deeper the red, the more self reliant the community.  What I found interesting is major urban area’s had a much lower rate, with Seattle having a rate as low as 1%.  What is most telling about that though is that when you get into the rural areas there is a realization you cannot depend on the police.  I’m not making that up either:

“People understand it might take a while for the sheriff to get to Lyman,” Hills insisted.

Mayor Debbie Heinzman also runs the local tavern. She agrees that “everybody has guns” in Lyman to protect themselves and their property.

Next I’d like to see a map that overlays property and violent crime rates by zip code.  Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but I think it would still be an interesting thing to see.  Doubly so since I’m sure it would counter the “more guns equals more crime” myth as well as the “concealed carry means blood in the streets” myth.

I’m reasonably sure this would be the case because:

KIRO 7 Investigators calculated only 2.8 percent of Seattle residents, overall, have sought the right to carry.

In the six zip codes to the east of I-5 (the International District to Capitol Hill, to north of the UW) the number is even lower — just 1.6 percent.

I lived in Seattle for 2 years in the U-District and there wasn’t really a day that went by that I didn’t hear about either violent crime or property crime.  There is an anomaly in that theory as Kent, which is not exactly the nicest part of the area, has a carry rate equal to where I live.  Even worse is Tacoma, which high urban area also has a much higher carry rate than the state average.

So when you pull all that in, it’s like the gun is merely a tool and what really matters are the people carrying it and what their intent is.

SSCC Honorable Mention–Houston

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A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Like Tam said, I prefer to avoid Monday morning quarter backing, which actually is kind of hard at times with this series because one side tells a story and the other side usually refuses to say anything.  This case though has some serious red flags.  Flags that wave as prominently as this incident with the Seattle PD.

"It was close quarters in the area of the house," Silva said. "The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out."

In other words the officer was incompetent, placed himself in a position where he either closed the distance to an aggressor, or he let the aggressor place him in a position with no ability to withdraw.  Both of which are failures on the officers part.

This is merely an honorable mention because there is no indication that the officer was intending this outcome, then again there wasn’t with the Seattle PD incident.  This however was in a building instead of outside where the interaction was much more open and the Seattle officer had many more options at his disposal.

State Sponsored Criminal Honorable Mention: Officer Matthew Jacob Marin

Because when you’re responding to the scene of someone who has been known to get a little off kilter, by all means close distance with him and let him back you in a corner.  Sure it will be self-defense, but no one will second guess your negligence and how it contributed to the death of another.*

h/t Tam 

*There are times where the SHTF and it just goes south.  It is extremely difficult for me to believe that negligence wasn’t a factor in this case.  My suspicion is Officer Barney Fife here was complacent because “it’s a dude in a wheel chair” and just ditched the initiative.  His OODA loop response time was lacking because of it.

SSCC #330 – BATFEieio

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This one came across the wire this weekend.

A felon with a lengthy history of violence against women, Jackson was
sentenced to 10 years in prison April 13 for sexually abusing an
18-year-old woman and holding her against her will for days inside a
cheap South Seattle motel last year. The woman told investigators
Jackson forced her to audition for a porn film and at one point choked
her so hard she almost lost consciousness.

What does this have to do with the ATF I hear you ask?  Quite simple really.

For all of this, the 34-year-old Jackson would be just another
habitual criminal except for one startling fact: He was working the
entire time as a paid informant for the Seattle office of the federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The agency made Jackson an informant even though he had come out of
prison early last year with a documented reputation as a violent,
mentally unstable inmate who had been arrested in nearly every state and
posed a serious threat to law-enforcement officers.

It’s so good we have geniuses like the ATF around to protect the innocent and law abiding.  Oh wait, they criminalize ownership of inanimate objects.  Their sole purpose is to make criminals out of as many people as possible.  The upshot of hiring thugs like Jackson is it helps intimidate people into compliance.

Besides, as Ry, this was the result of the geniuses behind Gunwalker recognizing their own talent.  Normally one needs to be an officer to make the count, but I’m making an exception due to the egregious nature of the crimes committed and the sponsorship by the ATF.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 330: Joshua Allan Jackson (Sponsored by the Seattle ATF Office)

Because sometimes it’s better to just hire your thugs from prison and put them on the payroll as an informant.  That way when they’re caught abusing an 18 year old girl, plausible deniability is that much easier.

Radio, Radio, and More Radio

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Saturday ended up considerably busier than expected.  Initially I had just planned to help with the ARES exercise, but it ended up they were making a trip up to the Kamiak radio site.  I went along to help since I hadn’t seen the radio site.

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That’s the tower with the KABARA Repeater Antennas, as well as the packet system we were up there to work on.  Next to it is that tower is KWSU.

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Inside the radio shack was some impressive equipment for the KABARA system, more specifically a pair of duplexers for the 6-meter repeater.

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After a quick tour we then got down to why were were there.  Someone was going to have to climb the tower for recon for an upcoming antenna installation.

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He wanted proof that he climbed the tower.  I have other pictures while he was at the top, none however provide proof that it was actually him climbing.

It appears the recon was successful, the hardline we were planning on using is currently at the location where we are planning on installing the antenna.  We just need to coordinate with some of the other antennas owners when we go to actually install it.

The antenna is going to be hooked into this.

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Which is the packet node on top of Kamiak, the recon was because the owner is planning on adding a 70cm link if I remember correctly.  It was pointed out to me though how wind can be a royal bitch up on the tower.

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The wind was light that day, the antenna is either caught in the tower, or permanently deformed from wind and ice loading.  That particular antenna however was no longer in use.

After that we headed back down the hill with one quick stop right after we got out of the trees so I could do this today.

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After that K7LL helped me test an mobile amp I have.  It works, but nowhere near as effective as it should be.  It is now sitting on my workbench awaiting disassembly.  An upshot a coworker and fellow ham drove by and I paid him a visit.  I must say his ham shack is by no means a shack, and is actually quite nice.  He actually had a spare 2m/70cm base and it’s now sitting on my desk.  He also has a spare HF rig but it needs some repair work.  Electrolytic capacitors don’t last for ever.

From there I went and picked up a sign for the lodge.  The sign was vandalized and I picked it up to take it home to attempt to clean it.  Attempt one removed some of the paint but next on the list is acetone.  From there I headed over the Moscow to W7UQ to kill some time before going over to a friends house for dinner and helping him with some homework.

While sitting at W7UQ one of the members showed up and I then preceded to spend the next 2 hours discussing antenna design, radiation patterns, and methods to solve some issues they are having with their current project.  Including moving from just telemetry based information to adding command and control.  I gave him my contact information so they can come to me with questions and help with the project.

Lastly I had dinner over with some friends.  I finally headed out from their place at 0130 after helping him with a programming assignment.  Overall it was a busy, educational, and productive day.

The First Car Meme

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JayG posted a meme this morning that I’ll hop on board with mainly because… well you might notice.

So here’s the meme. Long answers or short.

1. What was your first car? Model, year, color, condition?

2. What adventures did you have in it, good or bad?

3. What happened to it, what’s the end of the story?

So my first car was a 1994 Chrysler LeBaron my parents bought used in 1996.  It looked very much like this.

1993 Chrysler Le Baron 4 Dr LE Sedan

Those became my primary wheels in 2002 once I finally started driving.  I was late to the party since I had no reason to drive anywhere prior, second my parents used my drivers license as leverage to speed me up in getting my Eagle Scout, it didn’t work.  I finally bothered to give a crap and get my license so I could go visit the future Minutewoman while she was home on break. The interior was in quite decent shape, though the paint was flaking off by the time I got it.

I had a couple interesting road trips in it.  Mainly between the Seattle area and the Palouse where I now reside.  The most memorable was a trip where I told the future wife I had to go help my mom with some stuff and I’d be on IM later that night.  I then drove the 5 and a half hours and knocked on her dorm room door with roses while wearing a tuxedo.  This car was also the source of a personal record for the Pullman Seattle run.

One night on the cross state strip I found a dead deer in the middle of my lane on highway 26.  I shaved it’s belly after straddling it.  It sprayed entrails all over the firewall and engine block.  It stunk to high heaven for about 2 months until the rest of it burned off.

I had a lot of fun in that car and loved it cause it always treated me well.  I traded her in because she was starting to burn oil and maintenance bills were increasing expensive.  We replaced her with the 2003 Explorer Sport in 2007.

And we shouldn’t be trusted?

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A police officer in the Seattle Police Department didn’t have his head screwed on tightly.  In his infinite wisdom, the officer left his loaded “assault rifle” on the back of his cruiser and drove away.

It was around 9 p.m. and the car was parked outside the Roosevelt Hotel, near Pine and 7th Avenue, with no police officers in sight, said Gonzales.

In addition, after an officer got back into the patrol car, it was driven away with the rifle still on the trunk.

The Seattle PD has apologized and an investigation is being conducted.

Its amazing how much flak citizens are given over ownership of guns and the police are just given  a slap on the wrist.  I doubt the officer will be punished for his ineptitude. Especially since this is the same department who shot a deaf man in the back.

About Me

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I grew up in Western Washington south of Seattle in a small town. That town has since been over run and turned into a suburb of Seattle. Going home to visit friends and family is quite depressing, especially as crime has increased since I grew up there. At least now I can carry a concealed weapon.

I was extremely active in Scouting all throughout my youth. Most summers I was gone from home about two thirds of the time during vacation on trips and events. I Received my Eagle Scout just prior to my 18th birthday.

After high school I attended the University of Washington. After two years I was informed that I wasn’t good enough for their engineering program and fled Western Washington to Washington State University. The sad thing is I am by no means the only person who has been through this experience, there is also a common thread amongst those who have been through the experience, but if I say what it is I’d be called racist. I graduated in 2008 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, or applied mathematics as I call it. If you have an EE you get the joke.

After moving to Eastern Washington I decided I wouldn’t move back. The Peoples Republic of Puget Sound is just too much. The people are too self centered and not friendly. While many would say that the people out here are unfriendly I have one comment. They’re unfriendly because you’re probably being an ass. This also includes aggressively driving like you’re from a major metropolitan area.

In 2005 I was in a massive car accident which resulted in severe injuries to both my wife and I. It took us over 6 months to recover and I now have a metal rod in each leg. That accident resulted in a ding on my record which has provided me with a point of view of the system that not many people see. That accident also provided another view in that my wife is permanently disabled due to nerve damage in her arm. Currently we are writing a long post on the subject. Suffice it to say, any attempt to limit the features or capabilities of a rifle does not sit well in my house.

I currently write software for embedded systems as well as partake in my own pet projects on the side. I also actively help and participate in Boomershoot and I highly suggest that you make an attempt to attend.

That is the rough overview of who I am and a few of the major items that have provided me with the glass I use to view the world.

TMM