It is well worth a listen. We drover a Chevy Nova (later Geo Prism) built at the Nummi plant and it was outstanding. Actually ruined us since we knew it was really a Toyota. I've never bought anything but Japanese since.
I've been using the Ramsey Electronics 1 watt FM transmitter (FM35BWT) for about 5 years continuously in my my house. Although it goes up to a watt, I only output about 1/2 a watt.
I also have used the C.Crane FM transmitters (Item # FMT) that have the easy mod to boost the output. This should cover a normal stick construction house. (I had to get the Ramsey transmitter when I moved into big concrete and rebar homes overseas).
There are also lots of options on eBay but I had trouble getting the antenna impedance to match up correctly on the one I bought.
What, you don't know how to set the clock on your computer back to June 1st, then fire up Word and type up the document? That amount of effort certainly doesn't take a techie or a fancy bit editor. It only takes a few drops of imagination. It's certainly within the skillset of your average cop.
The only requirement is that you set the clock back before creating the new doc. It won't work to set the clock back and try to edit it after the doc has been created. But in that case you'd just have to create another new doc and retype in the old text. It's no big deal, but when people are stressed out enough that they're forging "evidence" they're also likely in a rush, and may make a careless mistake.
In many corporate environments (and much to my irritation at my USG job), only an administrator has the capability to adjust the clock/date. Doubt it is for the reason you mentioned, more likely to ensure job security.
You assumed that they mass emailed the notice and are incorrect.
As the article states, the notice was sent by "cable" which is the old telegram system and still the only official means of communication between the Department and US Missions overseas.
The cable system is on a completely separate classified network.
As the unfortunate recipient of the mail storm emails I will say that many people included information in their replies that referenced the cable (and subsequent Department Notice) telling people to stop hitting reply to all so you are not entirely incorrect. It is just that the Department was smart enough not to send out a blanket email to everybody.
The other thing that seemed compound this problem was that the To: line didn't have any names or mailing list groups listed. People (idiots) didn't realize that they emailing almost everyone in the Department.
I would also point out that the email servers slowed but I never experienced any lost email or service interruption. Some emails were delayed by as much as two hours.
Re:I'm already using a solution to your problem
on
Email-only Providers?
·
· Score: 1
I too use 1and1.com. It's cheap, reliable and the only times I have ever needed support, I talked to a real person in under 5 minutes. The email only package is.99 per month and comes with 5 accounts. Cheaper still is the domain package that comes with one email account and the domain for 6.99 per year.
For the 3.99 per month "home package" you get the domain and 600 email addresses. Hand them out to friends, that's what I do.
Packet8 has had standalone video units for at least the last 4 years that I recall. I seem to recall that they were 'featured' on one of the seasons of 24.
It's VOIP so works just like a phone but with full motion video. Seems pretty grandparent proof. Broadband required. Video Phone
Or more accurately internet service that is "capable" of 256Kbps.
My airtel 256Kbps service rarely provided more than 100Kbps. I upgraded to the 512Kbps and now I get between 200Kbps and 300Kbps depending on time of day.
Yesterday - Republic Day - I was getting a whopping 50Kbps all day.
You should learn about federal law enforcement before you comment.
I am a federal agent and although previously with the FBI, I switched to a better agency. We didn't even have interoffice email when I left in 1998.
I have worked joint cases with many other federal agencies. The FBI is the only agency that doesn't have internet based email. Agencies that deal in classified information typically have two standalone systems. One that is for sensitive data with internet access and one for strictly classified information. The classified system (SIPRNET) is also used when unclassified information is deemed too sensitive for the Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) system.
With either of these systems I can contact other agents and exchange case notes. Many FBI agents I have worked cases with have had to resort to using yahoo and hotmail accounts. It's a joke. Only in the last couple of years have some offices (not individual agents) gotten FBI.gov accounts (think Philidelphiaoffice@fbi.gov). I think some HQ people have fbi.gov accounts too.
The FBI is really behind the curve in trying to protect their information. At a minimum their agents should be connected to the SIPRNET which handles up to Secret information. At least then they could interact with other organizations besides their own.
Article leaves out some details
on
Hacking Hotels 101
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I have a *friend* who travels a lot who has been doing this with the TVs for years.
Although most hotels lock the F-connector on the outside of the wall jack, remove the two screws for the wall jack and you can access the F-connector on the inside. I don't know if the systems are checking for missing TVs yet, but as a precaution a decent splitter should be used so the TV doesn't go missing when you connect your laptop. Someday they will wise-up and check. Then an engineer will not on your door to see if there is a problem with your TV.
Everything comes back from the headend via a TV channel. The system just allocates the channels as they are needed. The problem with this is you can only have about 80 people using the premium content at one time (because some channels are used for the regular content). Of course I here there are rarely more than 10-15 using the system simultaneously. If you scan the TV channels at 4am, you probably won't find much activity.
This leads me to the other point which is overlooked in the article. Yes, you can see porn and PPV movies but only if somebody ordered it. If it hasn't been ordered, then it won't be shown. Now for porn, stumbling across the active channel in the middle of the movie isn't too bad. But if it's a PPV movie that you haven't seen, you just have to get lucky. Obviously the larger the hotel and the more guests, the better your chances of finding what you want.
I'm currently using VOIP and a horrible connection with a satellite. The VOIP works fine. I live in Africa. I use dial up internet and can usually connect at 33.6. I then use a one-way satellite downlink for the return traffic.
I'm using http://www.packet8.net/ for my VOIP. Their
tech support says that the latency shouldn't be greater than 300ms for effective use. My latency is usually between 900ms and 950ms. As long as it's under 1000ms, the call quality and voice delay is fine if not better than using POTS.
It works great and covers the entire house. It's cheaper than the original post and includes a case and power supply (problems that the original poster had with the ebay one).
Of course you live where I do (Asmara, Eritrea) and you can't drink the regular water no mater how well you filter it, the distiller is the only way to go.
Actually he's being a little alarmist when he says - It means that a passport holder is continuously broadcasting his name, nationality, age, address, and whatever else is on the RFID chip.
RFID chips don't actually broadcast unless they are hit with radio energy at the correct frequency.
The real reason behind these new passports is probably to get people through immigration controls as rapidly as possible. Even a savings of a few seconds, will make the lines move more rapidly. By not having contact readers ie smartcard type, there won't be parts to wear out and probably less downtime for equiptment.
Disclosure: Yep, I'm a DSS agent involved with the investigation of passport and visa fraud.
http://www.state.gov/m/ds/
I remember this stuff from when I was a kid. It was in a toy called Stretch Armstrong (obligatory link) Soft and pliable when you pull and push him slowly but hit him fast and it hurt like hell.
Of course we all ran around demonstrating how soft his was and then getting our buddies to punch him hard. Damn that hurt.
How about this for expensive. I marry my wife and we're at her parent's house and there were still paying the "rental" fee on an old rotary phone (554) from the 60s. This was in 1998. MIL says but it's only $5 a month!
I've racked my brain for the last 5 minutes (yeah so that's not a lot of time but you get what you get) and can't think of any other disposable items that the consumer does not control the rate of consumption.
The closest I could come was phone cards and gift cards that self expire but even those last so long they usually only expire because they get lost/forgotten. I also thought about pay per view movies but I was trying to use example that didn't have anything to do with movies.
As far as government is concerned, the self destruct method of these disks would not be sufficient if they stored classified information (yes I am a USG employee in a security related field). Just as an example, the only method approved for destroying floppy disks is incineration. You'd think that sticking the Mylar into one of our high security cross cut shredders would be sufficient but it's not. Hard disks are also destroyed (not overwritten) but I'm not sure how. We just send them back to HQ.
I'd disagree with your psychological theory (at least for Americans). We buy disposable items that have a permanent alternative all the time. Some examples that come to mind are cameras, silverware, mops (swiffer), batteries, pens, lighters - you get the idea. I haven't heard any complaints of being "ripped-off."
I think this failed because of price. Americans base everything on price and perceived value. We value disposable merchandise because of the convenience.
I live overseas and have tried many of the cross platform clients (my wife's brother is only a Max OS guy). We never could get anything that really worked (I think we got yahoo working decently once for voice only).
Eventually we discovered Packet8 It's solved all our problems and we use it to call parents and great grandparents as well. I assume you both have broadband (since your GF has a router) and the costs is minimal ($20 month - unlimited minutes, free adapter). Lose you landline and pick this up instead. One other trick would be to get telephone numbers in each others city. That way you can use your local POTS to call her from anywhere and it would be a "local" call.
We love Voip. It allows us to receive calls via a US telephone number here as well. The whole thing works just like you'd expect and call quality is good.
I live overseas and have tried many of the cross platform clients (my wife's brother is only a Max OS guy). We never could get anything that really worked (I think we got yahoo working decently once for voice only).
We love Voip. It allows us to receive calls via a US telephone number here as well. The whole thing works just like you'd expect and call quality is good.
You're missing the point from your overseas prospective.
I work for the USG and live overseas (Bahamas). There are several of us who use packet8 here. We get a US number that we can use from our homes.
All calls within the N. America are part of the flat rate. We also receive calls from our family and friends for free. Packet 8 has a ton of local numbers that you can get. For example, I'm from the DC area and so I got a 202 number. All of my friends and family in the DC area call me on that number and it's a local call. Anybody else still only has to pay for a call to DC instead of the Bahamas.
You're using a calling card for 5 cents a minute to call the US. Instead for $20 bucks you get free calls to US and can receive calls for free as well. It's great for keeping in touch. My 83 year old mother-in-law has a regular phone and can call us for free. She would never be able to figure out a VOIP service.
As you can tell, I'm a big fan. We've saved a ton of money.
Just look at ImClone founder Sam Waksal. He got 7 years. Enron pushed the public over the brink. The public has finally had enough of corporate greed and immorality.
I think that we are going to see a lot more of these types of prosecutorial actions in the future. Bill Gates just may get a nice shiny pair of nickel-plated bracelets one day
I too drink like a fish. I'm not sure why. I've had myself tested for diabetes with negative results. Because of my job, I get numerous full physicals and tests are always negative for anything bad. One thing that I found interesting is that my daughter (now 21/2) also drinks like a fish. She'll say she's thirsty and drink a 12 oz. sippy cup in one gulp. Must be genetic.
As far as diet soda goes, go cold turkey from the sugar based stuff. Once you switch, you won't be able to drink regular soda because it tastes like syrup. It takes about 2 weeks to get used to the diet stuff. You can also try a couple of the "normal" tasting diet sodas. Fresca and diet root beer are drinkable according to my friends that drink sugared soda.
Re:A safety net while you test the waters
on
Working Abroad?
·
· Score: 1
Don't forget the U.S. Department of State. I currently work for them (not an IT position) and have been to more than 30 different countries on the Gov. dime. I am currently on my first permanent overseas assignment and will live here for two years.
Although the pay may not be as high as private sector, when you are assigned overseas the USG pays- Your rent (huge houses except in european capitals) Your utilities Gives you a stipend for more expensive countries Pays for you to return to the states every two/three years(home leave).
You also get the security of working for the USG and possibly a 20 year retirement(not sure about the IT slots).
If you're really feeling adventurous try one of the third world African countries. The people are great and you get to live like a king(maids, gardeners ect). This link is for the foreign service IT jobs. Note that you want foreign service jobs not civil service (which are U.S. based.
Slashdot Mirror
A great interesting story. You are looking for This American Life #403 - https://www.thisamericanlife.o...
It is well worth a listen. We drover a Chevy Nova (later Geo Prism) built at the Nummi plant and it was outstanding. Actually ruined us since we knew it was really a Toyota. I've never bought anything but Japanese since.
Just look at my Slashdot user name.
I've been using the Ramsey Electronics 1 watt FM transmitter (FM35BWT) for about 5 years continuously in my my house. Although it goes up to a watt, I only output about 1/2 a watt.
I also have used the C.Crane FM transmitters (Item # FMT) that have the easy mod to boost the output. This should cover a normal stick construction house. (I had to get the Ramsey transmitter when I moved into big concrete and rebar homes overseas).
There are also lots of options on eBay but I had trouble getting the antenna impedance to match up correctly on the one I bought.
What, you don't know how to set the clock on your computer back to June 1st, then fire up Word and type up the document? That amount of effort certainly doesn't take a techie or a fancy bit editor. It only takes a few drops of imagination. It's certainly within the skillset of your average cop.
The only requirement is that you set the clock back before creating the new doc. It won't work to set the clock back and try to edit it after the doc has been created. But in that case you'd just have to create another new doc and retype in the old text. It's no big deal, but when people are stressed out enough that they're forging "evidence" they're also likely in a rush, and may make a careless mistake.
In many corporate environments (and much to my irritation at my USG job), only an administrator has the capability to adjust the clock/date. Doubt it is for the reason you mentioned, more likely to ensure job security.
You assumed that they mass emailed the notice and are incorrect.
As the article states, the notice was sent by "cable" which is the old telegram system and still the only official means of communication between the Department and US Missions overseas.
The cable system is on a completely separate classified network.
As the unfortunate recipient of the mail storm emails I will say that many people included information in their replies that referenced the cable (and subsequent Department Notice) telling people to stop hitting reply to all so you are not entirely incorrect. It is just that the Department was smart enough not to send out a blanket email to everybody.
The other thing that seemed compound this problem was that the To: line didn't have any names or mailing list groups listed. People (idiots) didn't realize that they emailing almost everyone in the Department.
I would also point out that the email servers slowed but I never experienced any lost email or service interruption. Some emails were delayed by as much as two hours.
I too use 1and1.com. It's cheap, reliable and the only times I have ever needed support, I talked to a real person in under 5 minutes. The email only package is .99 per month and comes with 5 accounts. Cheaper still is the domain package that comes with one email account and the domain for 6.99 per year.
For the 3.99 per month "home package" you get the domain and 600 email addresses. Hand them out to friends, that's what I do.
Packet8 has had standalone video units for at least the last 4 years that I recall. I seem to recall that they were 'featured' on one of the seasons of 24.
It's VOIP so works just like a phone but with full motion video. Seems pretty grandparent proof. Broadband required.
Video Phone
Or more accurately internet service that is "capable" of 256Kbps.
My airtel 256Kbps service rarely provided more than 100Kbps. I upgraded to the 512Kbps and now I get between 200Kbps and 300Kbps depending on time of day.
Yesterday - Republic Day - I was getting a whopping 50Kbps all day.
You should learn about federal law enforcement before you comment.
I am a federal agent and although previously with the FBI, I switched to a better agency. We didn't even have interoffice email when I left in 1998.
I have worked joint cases with many other federal agencies. The FBI is the only agency that doesn't have internet based email. Agencies that deal in classified information typically have two standalone systems. One that is for sensitive data with internet access and one for strictly classified information. The classified system (SIPRNET) is also used when unclassified information is deemed too sensitive for the Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) system.
With either of these systems I can contact other agents and exchange case notes. Many FBI agents I have worked cases with have had to resort to using yahoo and hotmail accounts. It's a joke. Only in the last couple of years have some offices (not individual agents) gotten FBI.gov accounts (think Philidelphiaoffice@fbi.gov). I think some HQ people have fbi.gov accounts too.
The FBI is really behind the curve in trying to protect their information. At a minimum their agents should be connected to the SIPRNET which handles up to Secret information. At least then they could interact with other organizations besides their own.
I have a *friend* who travels a lot who has been doing this with the TVs for years.
Although most hotels lock the F-connector on the outside of the wall jack, remove the two screws for the wall jack and you can access the F-connector on the inside. I don't know if the systems are checking for missing TVs yet, but as a precaution a decent splitter should be used so the TV doesn't go missing when you connect your laptop. Someday they will wise-up and check. Then an engineer will not on your door to see if there is a problem with your TV.
Everything comes back from the headend via a TV channel. The system just allocates the channels as they are needed. The problem with this is you can only have about 80 people using the premium content at one time (because some channels are used for the regular content). Of course I here there are rarely more than 10-15 using the system simultaneously. If you scan the TV channels at 4am, you probably won't find much activity.
This leads me to the other point which is overlooked in the article. Yes, you can see porn and PPV movies but only if somebody ordered it. If it hasn't been ordered, then it won't be shown. Now for porn, stumbling across the active channel in the middle of the movie isn't too bad. But if it's a PPV movie that you haven't seen, you just have to get lucky. Obviously the larger the hotel and the more guests, the better your chances of finding what you want.
I'm using http://www.packet8.net/ for my VOIP. Their tech support says that the latency shouldn't be greater than 300ms for effective use. My latency is usually between 900ms and 950ms. As long as it's under 1000ms, the call quality and voice delay is fine if not better than using POTS.
I bought the CCrane transmitter http://www.ccrane.com/fm-transmitter.aspx/ and perfomed the easy mod http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=3257&postdays =0&postorder=asc&start=0/ to increase it's output power.
It works great and covers the entire house. It's cheaper than the original post and includes a case and power supply (problems that the original poster had with the ebay one).
Ahh, blanket statements
Of course you live where I do (Asmara, Eritrea) and you can't drink the regular water no mater how well you filter it, the distiller is the only way to go.Actually he's being a little alarmist when he says - It means that a passport holder is continuously broadcasting his name, nationality, age, address, and whatever else is on the RFID chip.
RFID chips don't actually broadcast unless they are hit with radio energy at the correct frequency.
The real reason behind these new passports is probably to get people through immigration controls as rapidly as possible. Even a savings of a few seconds, will make the lines move more rapidly. By not having contact readers ie smartcard type, there won't be parts to wear out and probably less downtime for equiptment.
Disclosure: Yep, I'm a DSS agent involved with the investigation of passport and visa fraud. http://www.state.gov/m/ds/So I'm fixing the damn link an hit the submit button. Yes, I posted it screwed up. Here it is - really.
click me
I remember this stuff from when I was a kid. It was in a toy called Stretch Armstrong (obligatory link) Soft and pliable when you pull and push him slowly but hit him fast and it hurt like hell. Of course we all ran around demonstrating how soft his was and then getting our buddies to punch him hard. Damn that hurt.
How about this for expensive. I marry my wife and we're at her parent's house and there were still paying the "rental" fee on an old rotary phone (554) from the 60s. This was in 1998. MIL says but it's only $5 a month!
I think I'll have to concede the point.
I've racked my brain for the last 5 minutes (yeah so that's not a lot of time but you get what you get) and can't think of any other disposable items that the consumer does not control the rate of consumption.
The closest I could come was phone cards and gift cards that self expire but even those last so long they usually only expire because they get lost/forgotten. I also thought about pay per view movies but I was trying to use example that didn't have anything to do with movies.
As far as government is concerned, the self destruct method of these disks would not be sufficient if they stored classified information (yes I am a USG employee in a security related field). Just as an example, the only method approved for destroying floppy disks is incineration. You'd think that sticking the Mylar into one of our high security cross cut shredders would be sufficient but it's not. Hard disks are also destroyed (not overwritten) but I'm not sure how. We just send them back to HQ.
I'd disagree with your psychological theory (at least for Americans). We buy disposable items that have a permanent alternative all the time. Some examples that come to mind are cameras, silverware, mops (swiffer), batteries, pens, lighters - you get the idea. I haven't heard any complaints of being "ripped-off."
I think this failed because of price. Americans base everything on price and perceived value. We value disposable merchandise because of the convenience.
I live overseas and have tried many of the cross platform clients (my wife's brother is only a Max OS guy). We never could get anything that really worked (I think we got yahoo working decently once for voice only).
Eventually we discovered Packet8 It's solved all our problems and we use it to call parents and great grandparents as well. I assume you both have broadband (since your GF has a router) and the costs is minimal ($20 month - unlimited minutes, free adapter). Lose you landline and pick this up instead. One other trick would be to get telephone numbers in each others city. That way you can use your local POTS to call her from anywhere and it would be a "local" call.
We love Voip. It allows us to receive calls via a US telephone number here as well. The whole thing works just like you'd expect and call quality is good.
I live overseas and have tried many of the cross platform clients (my wife's brother is only a Max OS guy). We never could get anything that really worked (I think we got yahoo working decently once for voice only).
Eventually we discovered Packet8/a It's solved all our problems and we use it to call parents and great grandparents as well. I assume you both have broadband (since your GF has a router) and the costs is minimal ($20 month - unlimited minutes, free adapter). Lose you landline and pick this up instead. One other trick would be to get telephone numbers in each others city. That way you can use your local POTS to call her from anywhere and it would be a "local" call.
We love Voip. It allows us to receive calls via a US telephone number here as well. The whole thing works just like you'd expect and call quality is good.
You're missing the point from your overseas prospective.
I work for the USG and live overseas (Bahamas). There are several of us who use packet8 here. We get a US number that we can use from our homes.
All calls within the N. America are part of the flat rate. We also receive calls from our family and friends for free. Packet 8 has a ton of local numbers that you can get. For example, I'm from the DC area and so I got a 202 number. All of my friends and family in the DC area call me on that number and it's a local call. Anybody else still only has to pay for a call to DC instead of the Bahamas.
You're using a calling card for 5 cents a minute to call the US. Instead for $20 bucks you get free calls to US and can receive calls for free as well. It's great for keeping in touch. My 83 year old mother-in-law has a regular phone and can call us for free. She would never be able to figure out a VOIP service.
As you can tell, I'm a big fan. We've saved a ton of money.
Just look at ImClone founder Sam Waksal. He got 7 years. Enron pushed the public over the brink. The public has finally had enough of corporate greed and immorality.
I think that we are going to see a lot more of these types of prosecutorial actions in the future. Bill Gates just may get a nice shiny pair of nickel-plated bracelets one day
I too drink like a fish. I'm not sure why. I've had myself tested for diabetes with negative results. Because of my job, I get numerous full physicals and tests are always negative for anything bad. One thing that I found interesting is that my daughter (now 21/2) also drinks like a fish. She'll say she's thirsty and drink a 12 oz. sippy cup in one gulp. Must be genetic.
As far as diet soda goes, go cold turkey from the sugar based stuff. Once you switch, you won't be able to drink regular soda because it tastes like syrup. It takes about 2 weeks to get used to the diet stuff. You can also try a couple of the "normal" tasting diet sodas. Fresca and diet root beer are drinkable according to my friends that drink sugared soda.
Don't forget the U.S. Department of State. I currently work for them (not an IT position) and have been to more than 30 different countries on the Gov. dime. I am currently on my first permanent overseas assignment and will live here for two years.
Although the pay may not be as high as private sector, when you are assigned overseas the USG pays-
Your rent (huge houses except in european capitals)
Your utilities
Gives you a stipend for more expensive countries
Pays for you to return to the states every two/three years(home leave).
You also get the security of working for the USG and possibly a 20 year retirement(not sure about the IT slots).
If you're really feeling adventurous try one of the third world African countries. The people are great and you get to live like a king(maids, gardeners ect).
This link is for the foreign service IT jobs. Note that you want foreign service jobs not civil service (which are U.S. based.