Transmissions» development archives | blog.kikbot.org

Walking the Appalachian Trail

kikbot — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:32:10 +0000

Well the time has arrived for me to begin my journey on the AT. The most optimistic prediction is that I last two weeks. 2000 people try to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail every year about 50 complete the journey. The odds are against me, no doubt, but the one thing I enjoy more than being right is proving people wrong.

Powerline Exploit Allows Keylogging via Ground or Laser

kikbot — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:01:09 +0000

Hackers are now able to log keystrokes via grounded outlets or remotely by laser. Pretty ingenious when you think about it but even more to worry about if your security conscious. The exploit is achieved by monitoring the grounded electrical circuit within 15 feet of the target. When a keyboard is used it generates a different frequency from 10 to 20 Kilohertz. When the computer is plugged into a power source the the frequency from the keys are seen on the ground output. The same results can be achieved at greater distances but using a laser. By shining the laser on the computer or even objects around the computer they are able to capture the reflections from the vibration of the keys. Amazing work really and something work noting if security is important to you. Networkworld has the entire article and it’s worth a read so check it out.

How to use electrical outlets and cheap lasers to steal data.

How to avoid a colliding Galaxy

kikbot — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:45:59 +0000

Get out of the way! Only speculation exists about how we arrived on Spaceship Earth. Some will say it was God and others will say evolution. Now that we are here we need to make sure we stay. We can’t afford to go the way of the dinosaur and yet that may be our fate if we can’t get of this rock. Our spaceship may be the final resting place for the human race, but I highly doubt it. Even the largest meteor would kill billions of people but man could still survive.

Ever since the big bang set this world in motion there has been an order to the chaos. Stars spin, as do planets and galaxies; those planets orbit stars and those stars orbit the galactic center. All this motion increases the chances of a collision and not just from a meteor. When galaxies are colliding with other galaxies planets and stars become the weapons. Earth may be able to handle a meteor the size that took out the dionsaurs but nothing is going survive a panet collision. The only way to avoid a planet buster is to leave Earth and live amongst the stars. Eventually we will need to leave Spaceship Earth and let’s hope when that time comes we are ready.

Life, Probability and Fractals

kikbot — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:43:04 +0000

What is the probability of life outside of Spaceship Earth, most people will say it is pretty slim. Now more than ever we are finding life in inhospitable places and in places we have been unable to look previously. We may have even found life in our own solar system. Mars is already showing signs of the life and now it’s just a mater of finding it.

Fractals are a great model for showing repetitions in nature. These fractals can be found in all manner of life on Earth. These same fractal algorithms should be applied to the stars, planets and galaxies.

As technology advances we are able to do things that were otherwise unachicveable. At one time the mircoscopic world was beyound our sight and now we are contsructiong machines in that same space. The space among the stars has been more difficult and because of this we rely more than ever on technology. We need this technology to help us find more life in our solar system. With life found so close to our own home the probability of life in the universe must be increasing. Life finds way and after all this time thinking that nothing can live in those conditions it may be time to start thinking what does live there.

Quantifying Human Potential

kikbot — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:32:26 +0000

Human potential is not difficult to quantify. We all know those who excel for they are hard to keep hidden. Well then why don’t we all excel? Genetics. There are differences in all of us, some of those differences limit our abilities. However, our greatest asset is our mind.

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn’t.

- Watson, Lyall

What about those who genetics are not a deterrent. The answer is our minds and everyone in this group has that potential. I believe this quote sums up all there is to be said about what we can achieve.

Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds himself heavenly mansions of Joy, Strength and Peace.By the right choice and true applictaion of thought man ascends to divine perfection. By the abuse and wrong application of thought he descends below the level of the beasts. Between these two are all grades of character and man is their make and master. Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence is this; Man is the master of thought the molder of character and the maker and shaper of condition, environment and destiny.

- As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Interface, Design and Prototyping

kikbot — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:27:53 +0000

Creating a good design is not easy and it’s not meant to be. It requires prototypes to flesh out all the bugs. What makes a good design? Something performs above standard and that has an interface that is intuitive and simple. Any hammer can drive a nail, some do it better than others. And that is what I’m talking about here, doing it better than it has been done before. Some of things that designers gloss over are the interface. They either try to make it look cool and give you a lot of functions or they don’t care and just want the product released. This can be a problem for any product, most of time marketing will win and the consumer is duped into thinking they have purchased the best choice. We all get fooled at one time or another, until we learn our lesson and try to recall it before our next purchase. This shouldn’t be the case, no product should be sold if it cannot perform to a standard. Unfortunately we are always going to have weed through the crap to find that Gem. Do your research before buying, what do other people say about that model. Look at it for yourself and see how it feels to you, this can be hard with internet purchases so all the more reason to do the research. Remember you can still find products locally to test them and then buy them for a better deal online.

A message to all designers out there, take time to find out what the customer wants. Too many times products are released before they are ready. If the revision will fix that problem, revise it then sell it. Take your time to do it right and you wont need to do it a second time. Prototype and find out what works and what does not. Make products that perform above standard and are intuitive and simple to use and you will always have customers.

Fermi Paradox revisited

kikbot — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:21:43 +0000

I’ve talked about this before but never on kikbot.org, it’s time I put it on record.

Wikipedia: Fermi Paradox

The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between the high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations.

Well it seems we must not be as advanced as we think, or we live in a remote location. Whatever the reason we will eventually moved beyond edge of our solar system and be closer to knowing whether we have any neighbors. I don’t count probes, many satellites have already achieved this milestone, but humans have not. That is the key to finding other species among the stars. With life almost proven to exist on Mars, right in our back yard, the chances are good that we are not alone.