Weekend links

Well, I’m already dubious about Ethereum.

“For Ethereum, because every node has a computationally complete virtual machine, a developer can basically load up a transaction with computer code…and inject that transaction into the network,” he says. “The system then recognizes it and installs that code…on every node on the network. In a second or a few seconds, your application is deployed instantly across the whole world.”

Sounds sort of like the Morris Worm, or any other number of worms. Except now you have a baked-in means of transmittal. I’d like to hear how they plan to keep malicious code out of their blockchain.

It also sounds sort of like the hammer / nail fallacy. (“Fallacy”? uh, not the right term, but y’all know what I mean.) Yeah, the tech sounds very cool, but perhaps their optimism about its future is mainly because it’s their creation? Yeah, they’re getting a bunch of funding, so obviously, there are those who agree. But replacing very large amount of existing infrastructure might not be so easy.

I’m more interested in what Moxie Marlinspike is doing:

But he says he sees an opening, following Mr. Snowden’s revelations, to demystify, and simplify, encryption, so more people use it. He finds most privacy software too complicated for most users.

Something that works well, and doesn’t rely on passwords which are all too frequently ridiculous in their simplicity as shown by numerous cracks and dumps, would be a most welcome development. I certainly don’t know the solution to that problem.

A few years ago, when the census worker came to my house, I was outside washing out my daughter’s wading pool. She began saying she was from the census and I talked over her and said “No thanks” and went back to what I was doing. It was a noisy job, but out of the corner of my eye I could see her trying to talk to me over the fence. I ignored her until she finally gave up and left.

In later talking about the census among the family I mentioned what I had done. My mom was upset, saying it was someone she knows (probably from church) and I shouldn’t have been rude. I wasn’t rude, I just didn’t allow her to be rude to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom had given the woman all the info later.

Evidently this ‘housing survey’ comes back to the same address every time instead of being a random deal. I have been at my present home for a couple of years, and got a visit this past spring. I told the lady I didn’t want to participate. She went away, and a couple of weeks later another lady came from the ‘home office’ and I told her the same thing. She was very polite, and tried to explain that the results of the survey influenced who got what from the Federal Storehouse, etc. I again explained that I wasn’t a player, and to remove my address from her list. She left, and I haven’t seen or heard any more. They know too much about me already.