I graduated TJ a year before David - got a 1550 on my SATs (750 Verbal, 800 Math), a 3.5 GPA (which was VERY low by TJ standards...my advisor, the same Vicki Doff who was David Bahn's advisor, was always talking to me about that), and did original research in military simulation for the Department of Defense my junior and senior years. I also got my pilot's license during this time. I took 7 AP classes, and 3 tests I did not take the classes for.
I was rejected by Brown, Rice, and the University of Chicago. I was deferred (effectively rejected) by UVA. I was easily in the bottom quarter of my class at TJ.
Going to TJ does not improve your chances of getting into college...Princeton and MIT cannot accept 250 people from one school. UVA has even reduced the numbers of TJ students accepted in recent years. If I had simply been trying to maximze the best college I could get into, I would in hindsight not have attended TJ.
By the way, what David Bahn did - ridiculous by any standard. People thought I was crazy for having 39 credits coming in!
Creating another proprietary system isn't going to solve the underlying issues...people want ownership of the music itself, and the first service that does that is going to be rewarded handsomely by consumers.
I still don't understand it, though. I think the computer network analogy is a good one for conceptual purposes, but I'm not sure that's all there is to it.
Um...where exactly do you get your information that Chuck Robb was a hardcore Republican? I volunteered with his campaign in 2000...he lost to George Allen, a Republican. Robb is most definitely a Democrat...maybe on the conservative side of the party, but he is not a hardcore Republican. Robb served on the three national security committees...so this would seem to imply that he would be well-qualified to deal with national security issues, such as the ones the DOD works with, thus a defense think tank such as MITRE would want to have him on their board. I don't see where the CIA comes in...
Also, in fact, only one of the trustees (the chairman, Dr. Schlesinger) has been Director of Central Intelligence. It is true that one of the others (Richard Kerr) was Deputy Director, but DCI and DDCI are different positions. Yes, four of the board members have worked for the CIA. Four of nineteen does not make a majority. The intelligence community and the DOD do, strangely enough, work together. Thus it probably makes sense to have a couple of people with experience at the CIA in MITRE. My guess (speculation, as I have no idea who MITRE consults for besides the DOD, which I'm told is at least 75% of MITRE's operations) is that MITRE does consult for the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology or perhaps the Directorate of Intelligence, but I doubt they work with the "spies" (the Directorate of Operations).
You've successfully proven that MITRE does in fact have some connection to the CIA. However, that's entirely different from being a "front" for the CIA. Everyone who works with the CIA is not automatically a front for them.
I suggest you read Inside the CIA by Ronald Kessler. Kessler is a journalist who has studied the intelligence community in detail. He has also written a fantastic book on the White House (Inside the White House). I haven't read his book on the FBI, but it's on my list to read.
MITRE is a corporation in the sense that it is private. However, it is a federally funded research and development center. While it does not have to, it takes instructions from and works entirely for the DOD. They do scientific research for and give advice to the DOD.
I really doubt MITRE is a front for the CIA. Yes, their campus in Virginia is in Langley, but is about two miles down the road from the CIA's campus. I've briefed MITRE people before, and they were perfectly willing to tell me their last names and give me business cards. The locks on the trash cans are standard for "burn bags," and anyone who works with classified material has access to one (at least as far as I can tell). Maybe you just went to a very secretive division.
Unlike most FFRDCs, you don't absolutely need a security clearance to work at MITRE. What's your proof of the CIA link, and not just that they do secretive work for the DOD (which everyone knows)?
Tom Clancy wrote a book about a virtual nation that existed entirely on the Internet of the future and demanded diplomatic recognition. The book was pretty bad, but the idea is an interesting one.
I remember reading an article about Everquest a while ago that said that the amount of trading in real money that went on within the EQ system made it a larger economy than that of several real-life nations. I can't remember the source of the article, unfortunately, so I can't check its accuracy. However, I think it is entirely possible when you consider that the number of players is certainly greater than the populations of some members of the UN (for example, Tuvalu, population approximately 5000).
I am sure that one day Internet societies will be demanding diplomatic recognition as states. Right now, you can already see some examples. Google for "micronations" and see what you get. The ones I've been involved with were all political simulations that did not claim any sovereignty or try to have any relationship with the real states, but there are some that do.
A virtual environment like the Sims is even closer to a virtual state than a micronation or EQ, because the Sims is all about simulating life. The title SimNation is relatively appropriate; you can think of it as a gigantic distributed simulation of a society. If there was a governmental structure, that would make it a distributed simulation of a nation.
Anyway, another site to check out is Active Worlds, a 3D virtual environment. It's not as good a simulation of human characteristics as The Sims, but it still is a good enough representation of real life that simulated virtual nations have been founded within it.
SIPRNET is a fair point. Note that I did say "with few exceptions." However, in the context of my overall message, SIPRNET does not really come into play - basically, my question is, why would you need a wireless network for classified computing? Is there any reason it would be better to have your SIPRNET box connected to a wireless network rather than just using CAT5 cable?
A lot of/. readers were posting saying that they wanted to buy such a system...and my point is that the fact that it is NSA-certified for SECRET information really shouldn't matter to them.
As to the people who have pointed out that you can use Linux, I'll definitely have to talk to Security about that. Thanks.
Yeah, I agree with you, and I think Linux should be approved for classified computing...but those decisions are made above my pay grade. In any case, most people in the modeling and simulation community use Unix when Linux isn't available. Much more control over the program.
We use MS for the systems that display the simulation, and Linux for the systems that do the actual simulating.
It's all very secure - after all, a machine that doesn't have a physical connection to the outside world can't transmit anywhere. If that's the case, the OS doesn't matter all that much, in terms of security.
What really worries me is that the Navy has started using Windows on their ships rather than Unix...*shudder*
To get something approved for processing at the SECRET level is a moderately big deal for those who work with such data. For the outside world, it's not the last word on the quality of the system.
You can't, for example, get a Linux box approved to process SECRET information (at least, last I checked). Windows is approved, however. Yet, for the commercial user, I would say that Linux is more secure than Windows. What matters is how the system is set up. I'm kind of surprised that there's any demand for wireless networking at the SECRET level. With few exceptions, a classified box has to be physically disconnected from all other machines and operate only from hard drives with no communications software on them. There was an article on cnn.com today about a hacker who got access to sensitive but not classified information on military networks. The reason he didn't get access to classified information is because of the way it's protected.
And forget about anything at the TOP SECRET level or above. We have a room at the office that does work at the TS level. If you bring a disk in there, you can't leave with it. If you bring a hard drive in there, it can't leave the room. Once a computer goes in there, it can't leave either. Well, that's not entirely true...security chops them up into little tiny pieces, waves magnets over them, and does some other magic to make them completely clean before they can leave. They're certainly never useable again. They even destroy the monitors before removing them from the room, in case an image might be burned into them.
Anyway. People who deal with SECRET information will probably be interested in this article, and I'm sure life will go on with no change for those who don't.
Ritter anticipates that encrypted instant messaging will appeal greatly to federal agencies that want secure, interagency instant messaging. "Our military and intelligence customers are more interested in the secure version," Ritter said.
This is certainly at least a little bit of an exaggeration. You can't put classified information on any system that has any kind of communications software or hardware on it. You have to physically disconnect all connections before starting in classified mode. The only exception is machines on a network that has only classified systems and uses some form of secure line for transport between the nodes in the network. There are only a handful of such networks, and you won't have one on your desk. There will most likely be only a few such machines per facility.
There already is a system for the transmission of classified data between different personnel in the government. It's called, to use technical terms, the "secure telephone." For documents, you can use a technology called the "courier" - an organic system that has advanced intelligence functions and is capable of defense through the use of an integrated firearm.
Much of the unclassified stuff is transmitted in the same way as classified information. There are also secure networks that are used for the transmission of unclassified but sensitive information.
If it's anything that requires encryption, it will be transmitted over a secure network, or will be handled through other procedures. This IM system really has no application to the military or intelligence communities.
Well, I don't know how to use CLIC, but I set up a cluster using some surplus P2s, RH 7.3, and openMosix.
For kernel 2.4.18, openMosix consists of two kernel patches - a kernel patch to actually do the clustering, and a kernel patch for administration. You patch your kernel, change a few settings (all documented on the site), reboot (gasp!), and you're done.
You can get more fancy with net installs, but you don't really need to for a small number of nodes. Anyway, I just used a Fast Ethernet switch - the boxes all came with Ethernet cards, luckily for me.
Mine is a pretty craptacular cluster, but hey, it's pretty cool to have one. The cluster behaves like one powerful computer in the sense that processes on one machine will migrate to another. However, in order to achieve any noticeable affect, the program has to take advantage of multiple CPUs. If you're going to program your own, look into forking, message-passing interface (MPI), and parallel virtual machine (PVM). Sorry, I don't have the addresses for them on hand, I think www.beowulf.org links to them.
If Verdi had a math fetish
This gives a whole new meaning to "NP-hard"...
For another related site about creating weird sounds, check out the CAITLIN project...it creates music out of code. I wish I could get my hands on a copy of their code, it'd be interesting to see what happened when I ran my programs through it...
Slashdot Mirror
I'm simply saying that life finds a way.
I graduated TJ a year before David - got a 1550 on my SATs (750 Verbal, 800 Math), a 3.5 GPA (which was VERY low by TJ standards...my advisor, the same Vicki Doff who was David Bahn's advisor, was always talking to me about that), and did original research in military simulation for the Department of Defense my junior and senior years. I also got my pilot's license during this time. I took 7 AP classes, and 3 tests I did not take the classes for.
I was rejected by Brown, Rice, and the University of Chicago. I was deferred (effectively rejected) by UVA. I was easily in the bottom quarter of my class at TJ.
Going to TJ does not improve your chances of getting into college...Princeton and MIT cannot accept 250 people from one school. UVA has even reduced the numbers of TJ students accepted in recent years. If I had simply been trying to maximze the best college I could get into, I would in hindsight not have attended TJ.
By the way, what David Bahn did - ridiculous by any standard. People thought I was crazy for having 39 credits coming in!
Creating another proprietary system isn't going to solve the underlying issues...people want ownership of the music itself, and the first service that does that is going to be rewarded handsomely by consumers.
If you order red meat, isn't that a sign that you're a communist?
Maybe EQ needs some kind of player-based political system to make such decisions...it could also add a whole new level to the game.
Hong Kong pirated the test model that is due for release in the United States in 2003...
In other news, Hong Kong is without power after a surge (ha, ha) of users immediately began swapping pirated software and movies...
If you want the full scoop on NCW, some DoD guys wrote an entire book on it.
Network Centric Warfare: Developing and Leveraging Information Superiority
I still don't understand it, though. I think the computer network analogy is a good one for conceptual purposes, but I'm not sure that's all there is to it.
Heh...I work at a defense agency that does military simulations, and sadly enough, there is in fact a guy who is getting paid to play EQ right now.
Um...where exactly do you get your information that Chuck Robb was a hardcore Republican? I volunteered with his campaign in 2000...he lost to George Allen, a Republican. Robb is most definitely a Democrat...maybe on the conservative side of the party, but he is not a hardcore Republican. Robb served on the three national security committees...so this would seem to imply that he would be well-qualified to deal with national security issues, such as the ones the DOD works with, thus a defense think tank such as MITRE would want to have him on their board. I don't see where the CIA comes in...
Also, in fact, only one of the trustees (the chairman, Dr. Schlesinger) has been Director of Central Intelligence. It is true that one of the others (Richard Kerr) was Deputy Director, but DCI and DDCI are different positions. Yes, four of the board members have worked for the CIA. Four of nineteen does not make a majority. The intelligence community and the DOD do, strangely enough, work together. Thus it probably makes sense to have a couple of people with experience at the CIA in MITRE. My guess (speculation, as I have no idea who MITRE consults for besides the DOD, which I'm told is at least 75% of MITRE's operations) is that MITRE does consult for the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology or perhaps the Directorate of Intelligence, but I doubt they work with the "spies" (the Directorate of Operations).
You've successfully proven that MITRE does in fact have some connection to the CIA. However, that's entirely different from being a "front" for the CIA. Everyone who works with the CIA is not automatically a front for them.
I suggest you read Inside the CIA by Ronald Kessler. Kessler is a journalist who has studied the intelligence community in detail. He has also written a fantastic book on the White House (Inside the White House). I haven't read his book on the FBI, but it's on my list to read.
MITRE is a corporation in the sense that it is private. However, it is a federally funded research and development center. While it does not have to, it takes instructions from and works entirely for the DOD. They do scientific research for and give advice to the DOD.
I really doubt MITRE is a front for the CIA. Yes, their campus in Virginia is in Langley, but is about two miles down the road from the CIA's campus. I've briefed MITRE people before, and they were perfectly willing to tell me their last names and give me business cards. The locks on the trash cans are standard for "burn bags," and anyone who works with classified material has access to one (at least as far as I can tell). Maybe you just went to a very secretive division.
Unlike most FFRDCs, you don't absolutely need a security clearance to work at MITRE. What's your proof of the CIA link, and not just that they do secretive work for the DOD (which everyone knows)?
Yeah, I think that's it. Mod the reply up, it has the important links!
Tom Clancy wrote a book about a virtual nation that existed entirely on the Internet of the future and demanded diplomatic recognition. The book was pretty bad, but the idea is an interesting one.
I remember reading an article about Everquest a while ago that said that the amount of trading in real money that went on within the EQ system made it a larger economy than that of several real-life nations. I can't remember the source of the article, unfortunately, so I can't check its accuracy. However, I think it is entirely possible when you consider that the number of players is certainly greater than the populations of some members of the UN (for example, Tuvalu, population approximately 5000).
I am sure that one day Internet societies will be demanding diplomatic recognition as states. Right now, you can already see some examples. Google for "micronations" and see what you get. The ones I've been involved with were all political simulations that did not claim any sovereignty or try to have any relationship with the real states, but there are some that do.
A virtual environment like the Sims is even closer to a virtual state than a micronation or EQ, because the Sims is all about simulating life. The title SimNation is relatively appropriate; you can think of it as a gigantic distributed simulation of a society. If there was a governmental structure, that would make it a distributed simulation of a nation.
Anyway, another site to check out is Active Worlds, a 3D virtual environment. It's not as good a simulation of human characteristics as The Sims, but it still is a good enough representation of real life that simulated virtual nations have been founded within it.
SIPRNET is a fair point. Note that I did say "with few exceptions." However, in the context of my overall message, SIPRNET does not really come into play - basically, my question is, why would you need a wireless network for classified computing? Is there any reason it would be better to have your SIPRNET box connected to a wireless network rather than just using CAT5 cable?
/. readers were posting saying that they wanted to buy such a system...and my point is that the fact that it is NSA-certified for SECRET information really shouldn't matter to them.
A lot of
As to the people who have pointed out that you can use Linux, I'll definitely have to talk to Security about that. Thanks.
Yeah, I agree with you, and I think Linux should be approved for classified computing...but those decisions are made above my pay grade. In any case, most people in the modeling and simulation community use Unix when Linux isn't available. Much more control over the program.
We use MS for the systems that display the simulation, and Linux for the systems that do the actual simulating.
It's all very secure - after all, a machine that doesn't have a physical connection to the outside world can't transmit anywhere. If that's the case, the OS doesn't matter all that much, in terms of security.
What really worries me is that the Navy has started using Windows on their ships rather than Unix...*shudder*
To get something approved for processing at the SECRET level is a moderately big deal for those who work with such data. For the outside world, it's not the last word on the quality of the system.
You can't, for example, get a Linux box approved to process SECRET information (at least, last I checked). Windows is approved, however. Yet, for the commercial user, I would say that Linux is more secure than Windows. What matters is how the system is set up. I'm kind of surprised that there's any demand for wireless networking at the SECRET level. With few exceptions, a classified box has to be physically disconnected from all other machines and operate only from hard drives with no communications software on them. There was an article on cnn.com today about a hacker who got access to sensitive but not classified information on military networks. The reason he didn't get access to classified information is because of the way it's protected.
And forget about anything at the TOP SECRET level or above. We have a room at the office that does work at the TS level. If you bring a disk in there, you can't leave with it. If you bring a hard drive in there, it can't leave the room. Once a computer goes in there, it can't leave either. Well, that's not entirely true...security chops them up into little tiny pieces, waves magnets over them, and does some other magic to make them completely clean before they can leave. They're certainly never useable again. They even destroy the monitors before removing them from the room, in case an image might be burned into them.
Anyway. People who deal with SECRET information will probably be interested in this article, and I'm sure life will go on with no change for those who don't.
Ritter anticipates that encrypted instant messaging will appeal greatly to federal agencies that want secure, interagency instant messaging. "Our military and intelligence customers are more interested in the secure version," Ritter said.
This is certainly at least a little bit of an exaggeration. You can't put classified information on any system that has any kind of communications software or hardware on it. You have to physically disconnect all connections before starting in classified mode. The only exception is machines on a network that has only classified systems and uses some form of secure line for transport between the nodes in the network. There are only a handful of such networks, and you won't have one on your desk. There will most likely be only a few such machines per facility.
There already is a system for the transmission of classified data between different personnel in the government. It's called, to use technical terms, the "secure telephone." For documents, you can use a technology called the "courier" - an organic system that has advanced intelligence functions and is capable of defense through the use of an integrated firearm.
Much of the unclassified stuff is transmitted in the same way as classified information. There are also secure networks that are used for the transmission of unclassified but sensitive information.
If it's anything that requires encryption, it will be transmitted over a secure network, or will be handled through other procedures. This IM system really has no application to the military or intelligence communities.
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!
Well, I don't know how to use CLIC, but I set up a cluster using some surplus P2s, RH 7.3, and openMosix.
For kernel 2.4.18, openMosix consists of two kernel patches - a kernel patch to actually do the clustering, and a kernel patch for administration. You patch your kernel, change a few settings (all documented on the site), reboot (gasp!), and you're done.
You can get more fancy with net installs, but you don't really need to for a small number of nodes. Anyway, I just used a Fast Ethernet switch - the boxes all came with Ethernet cards, luckily for me.
Mine is a pretty craptacular cluster, but hey, it's pretty cool to have one. The cluster behaves like one powerful computer in the sense that processes on one machine will migrate to another. However, in order to achieve any noticeable affect, the program has to take advantage of multiple CPUs. If you're going to program your own, look into forking, message-passing interface (MPI), and parallel virtual machine (PVM). Sorry, I don't have the addresses for them on hand, I think www.beowulf.org links to them.
Tried that. It doesn't work.
Maybe I'm missing something, but how is this different from MOSIX?
I have a small 6-node cluster of P2s running openMosix...
If Verdi had a math fetish
This gives a whole new meaning to "NP-hard"...
For another related site about creating weird sounds, check out the CAITLIN project...it creates music out of code. I wish I could get my hands on a copy of their code, it'd be interesting to see what happened when I ran my programs through it...