firehose

Back in December, Der Spiegel published a lot of information about the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group, including a 2008 catalog of hardware and software "implants." Because there were so many items in the catalog, the individual items didn't get a lot of discussion. By highlighting an individual implant every day, my goal is to fix that.

Today's item:

TAWDRYYARD

(TS//SI//REL TO USA,FVEY) Beacon RF retro-reflector. Provides return when illuminated with radar to provide rough positional location.

(U) Capabilities
(TS//SI//REL TO USA,FVEY) TAWDRYYARD is used as a beacon, typically to assist in locating and identifying deployed RAGEMASTER units. Current design allos it to be detected and located quite easily within a 50' radius of the radar system being used to illuminate it. TAWDRYYARD draws as 8 mu;A at 2.5V (20mu;W) allowing a standard lithium coin cell to power it for months or years. The simplicity of the dsign allows the form factor to be tailored for specific operational requirements. Future capabilities being considered are return of GPS coordinates and a unique target identifier and automatic processing to scan a target area for presence of TWDRYYARDs. All components are COTS and so are non-attributable to NSA.

Concept of Operation
(TS//SI//REL TO USA,FVEY) The board generates a square wave operating at a preset frequency. This square wave is used to turn a FET (field effect transistor) on and off. When the unit is illuminated with a CW signal, the illuminating signal is amplitude-modulated (AM) with the square wave. This signal is re-radiated, where it is picked up by the radar, then processed to recover the clock signal. Typically, the fundamental is used to indicate the unit's presence, and is simply displayed on a low frequency spectrum analyzer. TAWDRYYARD is part of the ANGRYNEIGHBOR family of radar retro-reflectors.

Unit Cost: $30

Status: End processing still in development.

Page, with graphics, is here. General information about TAO and the catalog is here.

In the comments, feel free to discuss how the exploit works, how we might detect it, how it has probably been improved since the catalog entry in 2008, and so on.

The definitive Voyager torpedo inventory log [via MeFi]

nicephorian:

Bronze… Photographer Lionel Arnaudie, my gif

New Booze: Gran Patron Piedra Patrón Spirits announces the launch of the brand’s first extra añejo tequila. Like all Patrón tequilas, Gran Patrón Piedra starts with 100 percent Weber Blue agave grown in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. For Gran Patrón Piedra, and its sister tequilas Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos, the very best of the agave harvest is set aside to create this tequila. Gran Patrón Piedra is aged for more than three years in new American and French oak barrels. In addition to extra añejo ageing, Gran Patrón Piedra is also distinguished by its “Tahona” production process, a time consuming and ancient method for creating tequila. To produce this tequila, the steam-cooked agave is slowly crushed with a two-ton volcanic stone wheel called a Tahona. The resulting juice is then fermented and distilled along with the agave fiber. Piedra, which means “stone” in Spanish, is created entirely from the traditional Tahona process – one of very few tequilas that is still produced in this age-old way. It is bottled at 80 proof (40 percent alcohol by volume), with a suggested retail price of $399. For more information about Patrón Spirits, please visit www.patronspirits.com. New Booze: Mezcal...

[Visit Alcademics.com for the full post.]

Perfectionism affects every aspect of my life. It tells me: "No matter what happened in the past, you can validate it now by being perfect." Every mistake I make festers in my being, compounding my misery.

The movement to make a cleaner, quieter, more beautiful and exclusive web. And what’s left of it.

I’ve had dreams like that

Hot Wheels

This video is proof that a beaver is alive and well in England, centuries after they were believed to have gone extinct in that country. No one is sure how it got there, but it's munching on trees in Devon.

Read more...

Obviously, Detroit was not the only city in the region to suffer from the decline of U.S. manufacturing. It's also evident that the decline began before the Great Recession in 2008.

Associated Press

Following up on a State of the Union promise, President Obama officially created the MyRA — "my retirement account" — today, a new way for companies to encourage retirement savings by their employees. What is it? Do you want it? The Wire tried to find out.

One of the best existing resources on the MyRA comes from The Wall Street Journal, which put together a nine-part list explaining key details of the accounts. In short, the MyRA takes contributions as low as $5 from people who make $191,000 a year or less, and invests them in government bonds. There's a guaranteed (and modest) return on the investment, and it can be transferred between employers, since the government administers them. Once an account hits $15,000, though, it must be rolled into a Roth IRA — a more complicated investment product. But that's the goal: get people on the path to serious, long-term retirement investments.

The best way we could think of to assess the MyRA as a retirement product was by putting together a table comparing it with other retirement options, evaluated on a number of factors.

• Are contributions taxed? Usually contributions to retirement plans are taxed before being put into a plan, to eliminate taxes on withdrawal. The MyRA operates that way.
• Can the contributions be automatically deducted from a paycheck? MyRA contributions can be.
• Can the employer contribute? It's not clear if employers can contribute to MyRAs, but they probably won't.
• Is there a guaranteed return? Some retirement plans, like pensions, essentially guarantee a return — which is why many versions are called "defined benefits" plans.
• How high is the risk?  A key consideration is the likelihood that those funds will still be around by the time you retire. 401(k)s and IRAs allow you to invest, introducing risk.
• Is there a penalty for early withdrawal? Sometimes, you want to get money out of your retirement account early, which often incurs a penalty.

Product	Taxed?	Automatic deductions?	Employer contribution?	Fixed return?	Risk?	Penalty?
MyRA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Low	No
IRA	Yes*	Yes	No*	No	Medium	Yes
401(k)	Yes*	Yes	Yes	No	Medium	Yes
Social Security	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	None	N/A
Pension	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Low	Yes*
Savings	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	High	No

* There are a lot of products that offer a lot of different things. Consider this a general guide. If you are using this chart as your only tool for planning your retirement, you will starve to death before your 66th birthday.

There's a lot to fight about in those evaluations (especially the Social Security one, which you are welcome to argue about in the comments). But in general, the MyRA is exactly what it says on paper: a way to get people into the habit of saving for retirement with a very low barrier to entry. Is it for you? Well, do you need to get into that habit? If so, yes. If not, no. 

See how easy that was?

Original Source

submitted by soxfanpdx [link] [43 comments]

My first anon hate since I re-enabled it!

Omg I didn’t expect this at all, I’m so speechless!

I’d like to thank not only God, but Jesus as well.

Omg I’ve framed this and am putting it next to my bed so I can wake up everyday and be inspired to continue to have a much more fabulous life than you. 

Yesterday marked the expiry of US Patent 5597589, "Apparatus for producing parts by selective sintering." This is one of the core patents in the 3D printing world -- the patent that allows 3D printer companies to charge more for fine nylon powder than Michelin-starred restaurants charge for filet mignon. The high cost of consumables in 3D printing has been a major barrier to innovation in the field -- selective laser sintering produces a fine finish that the patent-free fused deposition modeling technique used in Reprap-style printers can't match -- and now the brakes are coming off.

However, there are still lots of patents (including some genuinely terrible ones) in the 3D printing world, so the expiry of 5597589 doesn't necessarily mean that we'll see a flood of cheap printers and cheaper feedstock -- given the murkiness of the overlapping patent claims and the expense of litigating each one of them, radical new entrants into the field are still facing a lot of risk that has nothing to do with making great products at a fair price.

In a good piece on 3D Print, Eddie Krassenstein speculates about the scary supplementary laser-sintering patents lurking in the wings, pointing out that Stratasys (the major competitor of 3D Systems, who owned 5597589) didn't design their entry-lever printers to use SLS, even though they knew that the patent would be expiring in early 2014. Krassenstein suggests that this means that Stratasys knows about some other gnarly and deadly patent that would torpedo them if they went SLS.

But I'm a lot less convinced than Krassenstein is about the potential of a competitor taking the risky step of making a SLS printer that sticks to the claims in 5597589. Virtually every technical idea is covered by a stupid, overbroad patent, and yet people start businesses every day that open them to legal liability from a troll or an entrenched incumbent. If the potential for a patent suit was, in itself, a sufficient deterrent to raising capital and starting a business, we wouldn't see any startups. And a company that sticks to the claims in 5597589 has a powerful weapon in any patent suit: the USPTO granted 5597589 20 years ago, and so if they granted overlapping patents since, they were manifestly in error, a matter that is relatively (in patent terms, anyway) easy to prove.

The main thing people expect to happen, with the expiration of this patent, including many experts in the field, is a significant increase in the production of SLS 3D printers, follow by a large decrease in the price. Some are led to believe that Chinese manufacturing firms will quickly be spitting out cheaply made SLS printers at a small fraction of the cost of current printers. However, others argue that there are still too many barriers for entry. The expiring patent is an old one, and while it is probably the most important in selective laser sintering printing, it isn’t the only one. There are literally dozen of other patents that are still valid that center around SLS. This means that any company that wishes to enter into the selective laser sintering market, must make sure that they are not breaking any of the more modern patents. This can be shaky ground, that many entrepreneurs and corporation wish to avoid.

With the possibility of a lawsuit, if a firm believes that their patents have been infringed upon, will certainly scare off a lot of possible competitors. At the same time though, most of the large 3D printing companies have known for years now, that this patent would be coming to an end today. Certainly they have already taken liberty to investigate all of the other laser sintering patents out there, to prepare themselves for the moment this occurred. It is unlikely that many Chinese companies that are used to making cheap merchandise will venture into possible patent wars. However companies like Stratasys, and their subsidiary Makerbot will surely try and find a way around the newer, still active patents.

Laser Sintering 3D Printing May Now Take Off with a Very Important Patent Expiring Today [Eddie Krassenstein/3D Print]

(via O'Reilly Radar)

China blocks foreign news sites that revealed elite's offshore holdings:

Tania Branigan and James Ball at The Guardian:

The blocking of foreign news sites that revealed details of offshore holdings by the relatives of senior leaders has continued in China as reports emerged of a propaganda directive ordering websites and services to target users posting on the subject.

Details of the order were published by China Digital Times, a website that monitors censorship instructions.

“Immediately find and remove the foreign media report “China’s Secret Offshore Tax Havens” and related content. Interactive platforms must strictly check [users]. Related images and accusatory comments about leaders and the system [of government] must be deleted without exception,” said the instructions, according to CDT.

crankyashley:

getoutoftherecat:

you are obviously not my violin cat.

Perfect, kitty-shaped hole

Finally, Nintendo’s mobile plans make sense ⊟

Nintendo going all out with mobile game development? Probably not going to happen. Making “minigames” for iPhones and Androids? Just a rumor, folks.

But this is actually happening, and it’s sure to reverse Nintendo’s fortunes around. Expect president Satoru Iwata to announce this new mobile initiative at the top of the company’s imminent investors’ briefing: Pikmin stands that can hold up your smartphone (or a strawberry if you are so inclined).

San-ei is selling these sets — along with other cute items, like a Pikmin bin that I must have — for ¥1,260 (around $12) in Japan. Via Nintendotweet!

BUY Pikmin 3, upcoming games

insertfandomreference:

Not gonna lie, I would read an issue like that.

Durant sets fire to everything he touches.

Oh, just another game over 30 points for Kevin Durant, who dropped 33 in 23 shots in Oklahoma City's blowout of the Heat in Miami, including some outright absurdity from distance:

Right in LeBron's face, too.

This moving image has not been doctored in any way. These are real things that happen when you've cracked 30 points in 12 straight games dating back to January 7.

While reading the novels of Stephen King, I've come to notice that he's quite fond of erections. Some are funny, some are disturbing, and some are described rather creatively. Here I will attempt to catalog the many boners of Stephen King. Perhaps together we can figure out what this guy's deal is with wieners.

Original Source

hodad

This one’s for you, @firehose

Remember, shaking a clear drink is like shaking a baby: first there’s going to be a lot of foam, and then you’ll be staring death in the face.

Original Source

Much has been made about Marshawn Lynch’s Super Bowl media participation. The Seattle Seahawks' All-Pro summed it up the only way Beast Mode could: "I'm just here so I won't get fined, boss. That's the only reason why."

Kaia, a very energetic Border Collie, races down a Vancouver B.C. trail, staying ahead of her human Bryan on his mountain bike in “Bryan and Kaia”, a short video by Jonathan Kang of Foxwood Films

We set out on a brisk, winter day to shoot this before heading back to school for the semester. Bryan’s dog, Kaia, accompanied us and this was the result.

via Pedal Culture, MetaFilter

submitted by Felrick
[link] [22 comments]

New York Daily News

And an Oscar nomination should have gone to ... Los Angeles Times When the Academy Award nominations are announced, there are often surprises, sometimes including an underdog or two that may have burrowed their way into a finalist slot. It's rare, however, to find nominees who haven't been significantly promoted to ... Oscars revoke 'Alone Yet Not Alone' song nominationNew York Daily News Oscar nod for 'Alone Yet Not Alone' song rescindedSeattle Post Intelligencer Oscar shocker: 'Alone Yet Not Alone' best original song nomination revokedCNN all 274 news articles »

When NASA concluded that a "doughnut-sized" object that appeared mysteriously before its Opportunity rover on Mars was actually an errant rock, it left some people dissatisfied: A lawsuit brought against the Agency alleges NASA not only failed to adequately investigate the object, but that it is biological in nature.

Read more...