A friend of mine is heading to Ukraine for a few months as a visiting professor. They’re fairly tech-savvy but aren’t looking to dive into complex anti-surveillance tools or manage heavily secured systems. Since they’ll mostly be using standard office software and aren’t dealing with sensitive data, I put together some straightforward tips that offer reasonable protection without going overboard.

A Solid Starting Point

I recommended they begin with the “Journalist Security Checklist: Preparing Devices for Travel Through a US Border” published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF). Even though it’s geared toward journalists crossing borders, it also provides a good starting point for an academic working abroad.

Surprisingly, the guide doesn’t cover one of the most important decisions: what hardware to bring (or not bring). I believe the best approach is to minimize what you carry across borders — ideally, using new, clean devices that contain only what you need while traveling.

Recommended Travel Kit

Here’s the gear and setup I suggested to help reduce surveillance risks and protect personal data:

1. New Phone with Minimal Setup

• Buy a new phone with an eSIM and a new number.
• Only install the apps and data you’ll need for the trip.
• Forward calls from your regular number to this new one, but keep in mind SMS (especially for login codes) may not forward — plan accordingly.

2. Dedicated Travel Laptop

• Use a low-cost laptop just for the trip. It doesn’t have to be fancy.
• Load only the apps and files you’ll need. This avoids having to sanitize your main laptop.
• Wipe the device completely when you return.

3. Keep Devices Updated but Simple

• Update the operating system and apps on both the phone and laptop with the latest security patches.
• Otherwise, keep them as close to their factory default state as possible to reduce their digital “fingerprint.”

4. Use Trusted VPN Services

• Install a secure VPN (like ProtonVPN) on both devices.
• Always use the VPN for online activity.

5. Secure Communication Tools

• Install Proton Mail and Signal, using your new number to create new accounts for each.
• Add key contacts to each client (e.g. family, employer, legal advisor, etc.).
• Let your contacts know how to reach you via these accounts while you’re abroad.

6. Cloud Backups for Safety

• Set up a new cloud account (e.g., Google Drive or OneDrive) for automatic backups.
• If your laptop is lost or stolen, your files will still be accessible and scanned for malware.

7. Reliable USB Flash Drives

• Buy a few brand-name USB drives from reputable stores (e.g., SanDisk from MicroCenter).
• Only use them if you must transfer files from an unknown computer — cloud transfers with malware scanning are safer.

8. USB “Data Blocker” Adapters

• Consider getting USB data blockers (“USB condoms”) that let you charge devices without allowing data transfer.
• This protects against rare but possible “juice jacking” attacks from public USB ports.

Final Advice and Best Practices

Assume Devices Can Be Compromised

No setup is foolproof. These steps reduce your risk, but you should always act as if someone might be watching. Be cautious in how you use your devices.

Secure Your Phone — It’s the Key to Everything

• Use a strong PIN, not something easily guessed (like your birthdate).
• Keep your phone with you at all times.

Power Down When Not in Use

• Turn off your phone and laptop when not using them.
• This forces a login (using a PIN or password), which law enforcement can’t compel you to enter in many jurisdictions — unlike biometric methods (e.g., fingerprint or face unlock).

Limit Account Logins

• Don’t access personal or sensitive accounts from your travel devices.
• Always log out after each session to avoid leaving access open.

If You Must Transfer Files From Unknown Devices

• First, try to get the file sent via email or upload it to your cloud storage.
• If you must use a USB drive, only use ones you purchased yourself — never accept unknown drives.

Use Cloud Services That Scan for Malware

• Google Drive and OneDrive scan uploaded files, so your synced documents are likely to be safe.
• iCloud, however, doesn’t appear to offer this protection.

Stay Smart, Stay Safe

With this setup and the EFF / FPF checklist, you’ll be well-prepared to stay secure and productive abroad — without having to become a cybersecurity expert.

Good luck and safe travels!

We were sitting by my Dad’s side as he passed away on June 25, 2023, just shy of his 84th birthday. Surrounded by family, he opened his eyes and pushed himself up from the bed. He looked at us and clearly said, “Goodbye.” Then he lay back against his pillows for the final time, and he was gone.

Gone… but by no means forgotten. This, then, is the tale of how I produced “The Ballad of Bob” to honor his immortal legacy.

What set the ball in motion was the process of collaborating with the family on his obituary for his hometown newspaper. The result was a perfectly reasonable summary of his life, as good as any obituary.

Robert “Bob” James Adams passed away on June 25, 2023 at Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, NC from complications due to pneumonia. Bob was born on the Fourth of July in Colorado Springs, CO, to Alan James Adams and Margaret Virginia Adams, making him a second-generation Colorado native. He was the second of their four children, with sisters Esther Irene Adams and Margaret Ann Lyman, followed by brother John Alan Adams… etc…

You can read the full text, and it’s fine as far as it goes… But I felt it was missing something. The perfunctory obituary style didn’t really convey the meaning of his life, the emotion of the moment, and was bereft of spirit.

So, I did what anyone in this day and age would do… I turned to ChatGPT for help sprucing it up. One of my favorite uses of the tool is to turn email I write into pirate speak… I don’t know why, other than I think it’s kinda’ fun. And for no reason other than that, I ran the obituary through with my standard “Speak Like a Pirate” prompt. And, as I had expected, the pirate version was much better!

Arr, listen up, ye scurvy dogs! Robert “Bob” James Adams be takin’ his final breath on June 25, 2023, at Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, NC, from the cursed complications o’ pneumonia. Bob, a true swashbuckler, be born on the Fourth o’ July in Colorado Springs, CO, to Alan James Adams and Margaret Virginia Adams, makin’ him a second-generation Colorado native. He be the second o’ their four scallywags, with sisters Esther Irene Adams and Margaret Ann Lyman, followed by brother John Alan Adams… etc…

And the fact that Dad was proud of being in the Navy (and we frequently joked about pirates), I could feel his spirit start to flow into the text. That kicked off the next synapses to fire as I started thinking about how sailors celebrate the lives of crew-mates lost at sea. I could imagine them raising a flagon o’ rum, singing well-known ballads late into the night… and, as easy as that, I realized we needed a rousing shanty! So I prompted ChatGPT to “Write the obituary as a sea shanty,” and seconds later:

In the land of Hendersonville, ol’ Bob met his fate,
On June twenty-five, two thousand twenty-three, the hour late,
From pneumonia’s grip, he couldn’t escape,
Pardee Hospital claimed his soul, sealed his fate.

Hey ho, on the land and sea,
It’s where we go for memories made,
Through the years we’ll be set free,
Bob’s spirit is his legacy!

Oh, Bob James Adams, a Colorado-born son,
Sailed the seas of life, his journey now done,
Born on the Fourth of July, proud and true,
To Alan and Margaret, his parents, he drew.

.. etc…

Boom! A full set of lyrics emerged (nearly) fully realized. All I had to do was tweak the chorus a bit, and voila! I am by no means a lyricist, so there’s no way I could have written the song if left to my own devices… chalk up another win for the ‘bots! And since I can’t stop until I see the project through, I’m sure you can see where this is going. The obvious next step was to figure out how to get the song made!

Knowing that I have absolutely zero musical talent, and (sadly) there isn’t a SingGPT AI (yet), I reached out to another of my favorite online resources… Fiverr. Yup, the same place where Griffin and I commissioned some artists to whip up the “Going Full Iron Man” design for our t-shirts.

I put out a call for bids on the work along with a pretty simple description:

Looking for someone to compose the music and record a song written to celebrate the life of Robert “Bob” Adams, a proud Navy sailor. The goal is to produce a song that can be played at his wake as an entertaining way to share his long life with gathered friends and family as they raise a pint of beer, mead, or grog (and, perhaps after a few pints deep, they can join in the chorus).

I also included a few examples such as the “Sea Shanties Medley”, “Wellerman”, “The Last Shanty”, “Irish Pub Song”, “Don’t Forget Yer Old Shipmate”, and “Leave Her, Johnny” with a flavor of heavy drums like those of Clanadonia. Further, I asked that the tone and feel should be upbeat and celebratory and use instruments such as the fiddle flute, whistle, uilleann pipes, accordion, concertina, mandolin, or Bouzouki.

With that… I sat back to field the responses as they came in. I didn’t have to wait long… as within a day I’d received a half dozen responses interested in bidding on the project. Glancing at a few of their descriptions and sampling the examples of what they’ve done I narrowed the field to three potential options… but wow… they were all so talented that there was no way I could pick just one. So, I decided to hire ’em all!

What really sold me was that they were all from different parts of the world and promised to bring their own region’s sound to the ballad. In my mind I could hear each version of the song, as if it was a true ballad that had sailed the seven seas, learned ship-to-ship in ports around the world. And, honestly, I could NOT be more pleased with the results!!!

First up was the recording by Matt Sky hailing from the UK. He even sent me a custom sample before I’d even hired him which was a great way to hear what he was thinking. We also discussed how much leeway he had in massaging the lyrics to make a more traditional song. I gave him full reign, believing that he would do the piece justice in his own voice. And wow… it was brilliant! I ultimately selected his version as the track used in the video remembrance. The pacing, the energy, the layered performances all come together for the win!

Next was the take on the ballad performed by Olga Gorbenko, an amazing artist from Ukraine. I loved her sound and, honestly, I’m a sucker when it comes to funding folks in Ukraine at the moment (for obvious reasons). I was also heartened when I signed off one note to her with “slava Ukraini” and she immediately responded with “heroiam slava!” Then, when her version came in, it was crazy cool to hear the Eastern European flair in the sound she created. As a bonus, I loved how she introduced the sound of seagulls in the intro and outro. Chefs kiss!

Finally, Marvin Fockens sent his recording from his studio in the Netherlands. Not only did he bring a distinct sound to the project, but he introduced a fantastic bagpipe interlude to the song. He could have easily just performed the song as written, but he took the time to step back and consider the build and pacing. In fact, you’ll hear in his version that he builds energy up to the rousing interlude (just listen to the grunts of the drummers giving it their all), and slowly releasing the energy. Masterful!

You really have to experience all the versions back-to-back to tease out the details of how each one brings something magically unique to the song. So, to hear the all together, I created a “The Ballad of Bob” music player. You can play each version individually or one after the other, and also download the MP3 for the UK Edit (from Matt), Ukrainian Edit (Olga), and Dutch Edit (Marvin) separately. Feel free to add them to your personal music collection… and remember to add them to your Fourth of July playlist as the rum is poured!

And yes… I used Midjourney to create the “singing Bob” on the album cover. I first generated a singing pirate, then merged the result with a modified photo with Dad to create the final image which was then expanded to the wider version. And Bob’s yer’ uncle! :)

Now, raise yer flagon ‘o grog and sing along to the memory of good ‘ol Bob!

It sounds like a movie pitch, but it’s all true. These Analog Astronauts are truly driven to expand our understanding of human space exploration. I’ve rarely met a more amazingly diverse, intelligent, and dedicated group of individuals passionately chasing their dreams. More than that, though… their dreams are fueling our future reality.

As tightly-knit as the community is, they’re physically distributed all over the globe. They’re engineers, scientists, students, educators, and artists working at universities, aerospace companies, research labs, and everywhere else you can imagine. They remain in contact online, bumping into each other at related conferences, or occasionally sharing an Analog Mission together. For the first time, they gathered together in Arizona for 3 days of presentations and working sessions where they could share and celebrate their accomplishments.

I’m thrilled that Cosmic Perspective was able to help support the amazing event. It was as if everything in the solar system aligned so that we were able to step up as the title sponsor. And even more than that, we were able to introduce them to Annu’s unique blend of music, storytelling, and science. On the opening night of the conference, we presented the North American debut of her new show, “Humanity in the Stars.”

The planetary alignment began back in January when Dr. Sian Proctor (scientist, educator, artist, and astronaut) introduced me to the Analog Astronaut Community. She and Jas Purewal founded the community and brought them together for a conference last year (though it had to be virtual). When I expressed my interest in learning more about what they’re up to, Sian reminded me that I already knew an analog astronaut: MaryLiz Bender, co-founder of Cosmic Perspective. She was a member of HI-SEAS Volaria Mission I, where she began composing some of the music that would fold into the burgeoning work of Annu.

Then Sian told me about their upcoming conference. This time around the sun, with travel opening back up, the Analog Astronauts would be meeting in person. And the roster of sessions was nothing short of extraordinary, including keynote presentations by Frank White, author of “The Overview Effect”, along with astronauts Nicole Stott and Sian. Tim Ellis and Richelle Gribble were also teed up to give a tag-team talk about how art infuses the work at Relativity Space. But beyond the star power, there were incredible sessions on the agenda spanning the gamut such as lessons learned from previous experiments, to analog space suit design, and calls to apply for upcoming missions.

And when I heard it was to be held at Biosphere 2 in Arizona, the conjunction came into further alignment. There was no way I was going to miss the event, so I immediately registered and booked my trip (and I dragged my 15 y/o son along for the experience).

For context, the last time I visited Biosphere 2 was in 1993 while I was collecting data at Kitt Peak Observatory for my astronomy thesis. It was toward the end of the first Biosphere 2 mission, and we were only allowed to look in at the crew, as we dreamed what it’d be like on the other side of the glass. Hearing that the Analog Astronaut Conference would be held there, with sessions taking place within Biosphere 2 itself. Well, I couldn’t sign up fast enough to attend the conference.

Those who know me will likely agree… I don’t go in for half measures. Now that I’d decided to attend the conference, I wasn’t just going to sit quietly in the audience taking notes. I began looking into how I could actively participate and contribute. It was through a series of conversations with Sian, Jas, and MaryLiz that I found a way to support the community that aligned perfectly with my role as Executive Producer for Cosmic Perspective.

MaryLiz, performing as Annu, had just returned from being an artist in residence for Habitas:AlUla, where she developed the music for “Humanity in the Stars.” And it was clear as a spiral galaxy seen from Hubble… her show aligned perfectly with this year’s conference theme: “Learning from Space to Improve Earth and Humanity”. With that bolt of inspiration, we signed up as the title sponsor for the conference with MaryLiz performing opening night.

Even now I get chills as I recall the power of her show, as she struck just the right chord with the perfect audience. Projected rockets leaping toward the stars electrified the night, while Annu shared her unique multimedia experience, seamlessly blending music, storytelling, and song. She weaved everything together with ballet-like grace via her Mi.mu gloves, the screen filled with video shot by our incredibly talented team of rocket chasers. My words simply cannot do the performance justice; It was awe-inspiring.

We’re working on a video to share the performance with you, but it is a show you must experience in person. If you visit Rocket Ranch near Starbase in Boca Chica, TX, you might be lucky enough to catch a performance. You may also want to consider booking a stay at Habitas:Talum, where Annu will be the artist in residence for the month of June. All of her performances are interactive, as she encourages engagement with the audience as she continues to develop and refine the living work.

Finally, as might be expected, my involvement in the Analog Astronaut Community didn’t end with the conference… I took a handful of action items that I’m following up. There’s a really creative open source space suit project that is looking for help. Sign me up. There’s also an opportunity to support the first field tests of the new Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) habitat being built at Biosphere 2. Send me in!

There’s so much energy buzzing around the community, I’m tingling to explore our next collaboration between the Analog Astronaut Community and Cosmic Perspective.

J. Trent Adams is the Executive Producer for Cosmic Perspective, and a version of this post was also published on their site.

I’m sure we all have our “when I first got email” story… mine starts back in 1985 soon after I got my hands on a modem. It was a blindingly fast 300 baud box I’d borrowed from a friend and connected to my beloved Apple IIe (I’m pretty sure I returned it… right?). Anyway, after spending a couple weeks dialing into local BBSs, I started wondering what else I could do with it.

Enter (person who shall remain nameless) who shared a dial-in number for their college’s library VAX. After noodling around as a “guest” in the system for more hours than really makes any sense today, I asked if there was anything else I could do while connected. They then gave me access to someone’s (likely purloined) account, and I began my indoctrination into the mysteries of UNIX.

A couple days (weeks?) later, and every day after school (did I mention I was only 13?) I was logging in and learning more commands each time. Frustratingly, though, I was always waiting until a “users” command told me my friend was online so I could ask more questions. But then they said, “Dude, just send me email.”

What was this magic?! They explained how to send a bang!path addressed message to their specific @ account. That way, I could write my questions and drop them into their directory so they’d see ’em when logging in and can toss back a reply to the account I was using. Wow. It was like a single user BBS!

And that’s how it started… Email has been part of my life ever since. In those early days, I totally abused it by asking endless questions about how to manipulate my environment variables and use Emacs (’cause VI is for chumps). But most importantly… we used email to coordinate when we’d log in at the same time to play our favorite MUD.

Little did I know that 36 years later I’d be working for Proofpoint and collaborating with the likes of Messaging, Malware, Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group on email security technologies standardized by the IETF. But here we are, as a recent inductee into the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) hall of fame for my efforts!

And it’s all thanks to Ray playing around in his spare time coming up with an easier way to communicate. Huzzah! … But if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to relive my youth by logging into a game of Darker Realms. :)

The Adventure Continues (… and begins…)

They stepped off the starship platform and the rangers turned to face the hills unfolding below them. As a high-pitched whine came from overhead, Ensign Dodd looked up in vain as he tried to pierce the inky night.

Captain Bender told him, “That’s just the next airship drop with weekly supplies for the camp.” This was the Ensign’s first tour on the range, and she knew the greenhorn still needed reassurance.

Their last planet fall was successful, but it was easy to track the smugglers hiding among the homesteaders on Delta Zeta. The uncharted frontier of Tau, on the other hand, is a much tougher crowd.

The rest of the hike into the valley was in near silence. They’d doffed their helmets to breathe the alien air, puffing heavily as they ported their gear. What lay ahead set the Ensign’s nerves jangling, while the Captain thrived on the excitement of the unknown.

… that’s just a snippet of a part of one possible version of the imagined story… what happens next? What came before? Join the party and help flesh it all out!

Call to Action

This is a signal flare sent soaring up from Starbase out into the creative cosmos, calling for collaborators to help make “Rocket Patrol Book 4: Cosmic Rangers” a reality! We’re looking for anyone and everyone who yearns to travel the stars, is watching as space exploration again takes center stage, and has the soul of an artist looking for their muse.

In short… if you’re interested in joining a group of writers, illustrators, and space enthusiasts… we want you!

We’re building a creative community to collaborate on a book series that speaks to that spirit of adventure and mystery not felt since the early days of space exploration codified in the ’50s and ‘60’s… the days when pulp science fiction paperbacks teemed with stories that defined a generation’s interest in reaching the stars.

Background

One fateful day back in August, 2021, MaryLiz Bender was riding the range near Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, when she was photographed in front of the latest iteration of the SpaceX Starship prototype. As soon as the photo was posted on her Twitter account, the die was cast. It was clearly emblematic of the new age of space exploration, marrying the past of a bygone era imbued with the sense of adventure and mystery promised by an unknown future… It demanded to be made into a pulp sci-fi book cover.

Thinking about the composition for a couple days, I sketched out some thoughts, and then got to work pushing the pixels around. About an hour or so later, I had created what I thought was a reasonable enough recreation of a retro sci-fi paperback cover. I published it to Twitter (both in response to the initial tweet, as well as to my own feed), and I was heartened by the positive response!

I periodically hack these types of things together, primarily as a way to amuse myself. As usual, I assumed this was just part of my little creative outlet… until replies started to come in from folks with encouraging words about actually wanting to read the imagined story promised by the cover. That’s when I started to think there might be some energy building to bring the art to reality.

The Rocket Patrol Lore

While it’s understandably just a spark for what the community will ultimately develop together, perhaps it’d help to share what I was thinking when creating the book cover.

First, I wanted the book to be more than just a single story, clearly identifying it as part of a series. The idea for “Rocket Patrol” was to envision a time in which humanity is spreading out, finding new planets to explore similar to the expansion into the American Old West in the 1800’s. There are “Astro-Adventurers” out there, riding the celestial range, homesteading, and generally seeking their fortune.

Of course, that means that we’ll need a new breed of peace-keepers tasked with keeping the space-faring pioneers safe. Each book follows a tour of duty in the Rocket Patrol as they travel known space tracking thieves, smugglers, murderers, and other ne’er-do-wells.

Some units of the Rocket Patrol are detailed to protect convoys as they travel through potentially hostile territory. Others are sent to rescue stranded ships and colonies. Each book in the series focuses on one of the units, following a particularly dangerous mission.

I imagined Book 4 focusing on the Cosmic Rangers. They’ve been deployed deep into the frontier on a mission to investigate the apparent sabotage of a robot manufacturing outpost. Someone (or something?) is causing the machinery on the planet to malfunction, requiring the Rangers to rely on their ingenuity to find the culprits (and survive).

Why start with “Book 4” you ask? Well, it gave me a feeling of New Hope. ;)

Finally, I’d envisioned a mix of a western-themed adventure story in a retro sci-fi universe, all while the Rangers try to unravel the mystery. Hence the western/sci-fi/mystery mashup!

While my favored flavor of sci-fi is distinctly of the “hard science” variety… I think that the retro-pulp style of the 50’s and 60’s is the right fit for this work.

… with all of that said… everything’s up for debate! I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

On Community Collaboration

There is something undefinable, yet strangely empowering about a community that comes together to collaborate on something that’s bigger, brighter, and more everlasting than what can be developed alone. The energy found in creating something together through shared passions can be oddly intoxicating… and it’s that spirit of “building the barn” together that we hope to harness as part of this project.

You can read more about my background on my personal site, other pieces I’ve written on Medium, or even peruse my LinkedIn profile. But the TL;DR version is that I’ve spent nearly 30 years building and supporting communities in one form or another. I have been a TV and film producer, early Internet pioneer, and shepherded a number of technologies through the (relentless) standardization gauntlet. What all of these activities have in common is that they succeeded due to hundreds of incredibly talented people working together, all pulling toward a common goal.

It is this collective spirit and drive that I see in the community forming around a renewed excitement in space exploration. And its through this crazy idea to bring to life an imagined narrative that I’m looking forward to helping shepherd and nurture this collaboration.

In the end, the book will end up being defined by the collaborators. Perhaps folks will want to join together and write one long coherent story. Maybe each person will want to author a separate chapter (or book). Others may want to provide the illustrations (or just character sketches). It’ll be through the conversations we have that will define the end result.

Sounds Fun! How Can I Join the Party?

To register your interest and join the conversation, send an email to:

• rocketpatrol@mediaslate.org

We’ll add you to the discussion list and other collaboration tools so you can help bring the Rocket Patrol to life!

We have an agreement at Unicorn Manor (yes, that’s the name of my house) that you must always be reading. In this case, my son was diligently devouring “The Martian” by Andy Weir. And every day he’d share another delectable phrase spoken by the irascible Mark Watney. This time, it was when he wanted to “go Iron Man” during the final climax. This line was further refined in the Ridley Scott movie as “I’m going full Iron Man.”

We loved the line, and decided that we needed a t-shirt with the iconic phrase. There’s no way that it didn’t already exist. But, low and behold, we couldn’t find one. We looked everywhere, and came up empty… so, we did what only seems reasonable: we designed our own.

I pulled out my sketchbook and quickly whipped together some basic layouts for the phrase that might look good on a shirt. Once I had sign-off from the client (i.e. my son), I spent some time on a more detailed version of Watney jetting around. Even though it looked reasonable enough, we knew we needed to engage some professionals… enter Fiverr.

I’d engaged some folks on Fiverr for other projects, and knew that amazing talent was only a few clicks away. So, we scanned the sketches and uploaded them to the site looking for artists that might be able to hit the right notes for the design we had in mind. Once we had the short list of about 7 artists we liked, we sent them proposals with the sketches.

A few days later, and we had three artists who agreed to take on the challenge. So, with each artist charging between $30 and $100, we engaged all of them, thinking that it’d be fun to see what each did with the initial sketch. And boy… we were not disappointed!

Each artist, from Argentina to Indonesia to South Africa, delivered print-ready images that we could use. So, the next move was to find the best place where we could upload them to be printed. And, amusingly, one of the PAs on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” clued me into RedBubble… so that’s where we went next.

We uploaded the images, and customized the products that could be printed using them. It took some tweaking, but we finally found what we think is the optimal print placement for each product. And now, anyone can print t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, mugs, and even gym bags with the logo we designed!

But sure… uploading an image to an automated system can look great in their interface… but how do the final products actually look when printed?

So, once uploaded, we had to order some examples from them. With a few more key-clicks, we’d filled our cart with some t-shirts and stickers to test the output. The question was whether or not the output would match the designs… and how we imagined that they would look.

Again, as must be obvious by now… we were not disappointed. A week or so later, and we received the first printed shirt. And, honestly, I don’t think Griffin has taken it off since it arrived. Well, he did take it off at night (but only so it could be washed for the next day).

Soon after the shirt arrived, we also received the stickers from each of the logos. And, again… they far exceeded our wildest expectations. There’s no surface we can imagine that shouldn’t be festooned with “I’m Going Full Iron Man” stickers. So far, we can confirm they look great on water bottles, laptops, and notebooks… but we’re definitely putting a new order in so that we can figure out where else they belong.

And with that… we’ll toss the ball into your court… what would you like to decorate with an original “I’m Going Full Iron Man” design?

Head over to our shop on RedBubble, and you can make the magic happen! …and remember to send us a snap of what you get!

Below is a short story written by OpenAI, the artificial intelligence system founded by (among others) Elon Musk. The story is the output from Talk to Transformer, set up by Adam King as an example interface to the GPT-2 version of the OpenAI system. And it all started by simply entering the first sentence. Enjoy!

There were only a handful of things that I needed to know before starting the journey down the path to my final goal. Most of which, I figured out pretty quickly after running my first marathon last year.

I wanted to run the race. I also wanted to do it without lots of distractions such as friends and family, and I didn’t want to be someone who was constantly behind everyone else and looking for reasons to get started. That being said, I did still need to know where I was going before I left for the race. The official race website said I would meet up with my support crew, and once I got to our hotel I would contact them, check on my workouts, make some final connections, and then my first day I wasn’t in front of a room full of people, but I was sure that my opinion would be heard. I had a volunteer come up and explain why and I felt more positive. I remember the trust I placed in her. I didn’t know what to expect.

Later, on the Q&A portion, I was asked if there was a point at which I was like, “This is ridiculous.” I wasn’t given a chance to really say it in full before I was asked by the committee to back away. All of us agreed it would be inappropriate to attempt to share our views on such a sensitive and public issue.

I think my nerves were a bit soothed by the fact that I could lay back and look them in the eye, knowing that I had told them nothing. If I had wanted to go through this alone, the option was always there. At least, I think so.

“You never want to be alone with your most awful memories.”

It wasn’t particularly convincing. It didn’t convince me at all. But maybe I was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling at first. Maybe I was staring at her, watching her out of the corner of my eye, thinking about those beautiful blue eyes.

Eventually, though, I realized that all I was doing was thinking about her in her bathrobe. In my mind, the beige-striped robe of the sculptor covered me like the fallen leaves of a tree, hiding me from my best friend. I was embarrassed by my thoughts and heart was in a state of grief.

“That’s enough of that,” I ordered, making no effort to mask my anger.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I sighed. “Fine. Let me go to hell.”

The woman sighed in acceptance. “It’s a beautiful hell.”

The heat within me blossomed as I was drawn away from the anguish.

The woman looked at me and nodded. “We’ve lost track of your family, didn’t we? Unless… they’ve all run away. Unless you’re the only survivor?”

“Yes,” I answered slowly. “I’m the only survivor. I came here to warn you, but my purpose in coming here was to buy you time to save me. Now that we know where you are… I hope that you’ll consider my offer. I ask that you honor it with some sort of payment, so that we can all go home and look for my family, and to recover the records of the expedition that you tried to carry out.”

I closed my eyes. “Perhaps, dear father, the price would be my father’s life,” I said. And I found my lips moving before the rock. “No!” he said. I felt a pang of despair. “No,” he repeated. “No, of course not.”

A dark smile came over my father’s face as he said, “Oh, really?”

“How?” I asked. “When I left my previous family, how did you know that I would return to it?”

“I have been talking with Mother, but she seemed to be mystified, and explained to me that I must have some birthmark.”

There was little left to be said as we moved away from the secluded countryside. I turned, feeling my eyes sting with tears. I looked down at my feet. At the empty asphalt. It was as if I had climbed a mountainside. I looked back up, and was the first to realise that I was crying hard. Here. To do this. “The first thing I’ve done today,” I said, looking up at him, “is cry.”

A man picked up his belongings from the dusty ground.

“You’ve just started your operation,” I said.

“Right,” he said, walking away as he put his belongings into his rucksack. “Of course I am.”

It was at that precise moment that the boulders flowed down the mountain like water.

And within them, 4 humans were being crushed to death by the sheer weight of the boulders. The experts that were looking on in terror suddenly became even more panicked when they witnessed such a scene.

Following the reaction, it was the most common reaction among the martial artists.

“Zheng Gong Wei! Move!”

Sungchul’s eyes were fixed on him, as if he was looking at something impossible to comprehend.

However, a few long and graceful strings of martial arts expression that was expressed in the slanted eyes of the exhausted Shen Jingbin caused the swordsman to throw up a towel that had been pressed to his head.

“I am forever indebted to you,” he said, laying down his sword forever.

That definitely tended to drift a bit, but it seems like a reasonable place to end… though maybe I should feed it back in and continue. What do you think?

[NB. The following was later added to the above story by Sudowrite. I simply pasted in what was previously written by the Transformer, and this is what it spat out…]

With a dramatic swoop of her hand, Mother spoke.

“I’ll get to that,” she said cooly. “But first, why did you decide to become a sculptor?”

I looked at her blankly. “Is there something I should know about?”

Mother’s expression hardened. “You’re behaving like a child. You know what you need to do.”

“Yes,” I said. “There’s no need for you to say it.”

Mother failed to respond to my words.

I felt a sense of loss. “Do you remember what happened during the week that you were here?”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. “Not only did I remember the words they said, but I also remembered their tones.”

“Then it should be that you understand what I’m saying now.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“I used to think I was a good man. I thought I would live my life in peace and die a good man. But now, I know I’m not a good man. I’m not a bad man, either. I’ve never been a bad person, and I’ve never killed anyone.”

“But you have killed someone. In fact, you have killed many.”

The eerie silence that had been hanging over the ruins of my family house was broken by the subtle crackle of the fire.

The flames from the fire rose into the air, spiralling ever upwards. It seemed to grow in intensity as the roiling clouds above parted, revealing the starless black void that was the night sky. It was as if Mother Nature herself was looking on with bated breath. She gazed down on the drama unfolding in front of me as though she was awaiting the outcome of a play.

“No one is ever entirely innocent…”

I only realised that I had been holding my breath when I felt my chest tighten. I waited for Mother to continue.

The flames danced in the air, shedding their brilliance on the surroundings, like a wandering star. From the scene in front of me, it was as if the flames were reaching out towards the heavens.

The wind blew fiercely from the darkness, bringing with it a hiss of doom. Mother’s eyes were closed, but she opened them again. She was still smiling. Her mouth was still curled in the most terrifying smile I had ever seen. I swallowed.

The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

“I want you to kill me.”

“Mother…”

“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I don’t want you to kill me just because I want to be killed. I want you to kill me because I’m proud that you’re the one who’s going to kill me.”

“What are you talking about?”

The smile on her face grew even wider. “I’m talking about trust.”

“Trust?”

“That’s right. I trust you.”

It was trust like the country with a single ruler that Mother had once mentioned, where the dictates of the queen were absolute, where no one had a voice but her’s, and where people never said anything unless a rule required them to say it. I could only nod.

We start thinking about Halloween early, and when I asked Griffin what he wanted to be back in August, he immediately said that he’d seen a “Stilts Spirit” costume on YouTube that he wanted to build. So, that’s what we did (and we’re glad that we started as early as we did… since we just barely finished it the weekend before Halloween). Check out the video below for a quick overview, and read through how we made it.

Once he had the basic idea, Griffin found a few other YouTube videos about folks who made something similar. From there, we had a general idea where to start. We also purchased the PDF “how to” available on Etsy by Mel2DaIssa to use as a general guide (it was well worth the $10). After reviewing everything, Griffin got to work designing the version he wanted to build and making a list of what we would need.

Starting things off, we went to the local fabric store, Colorado Fabrics. Griffin wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted, so we just wandered around, allowing what we found to inspire us. We ended up with a bolt of basic black (always a good bet), along with some interesting netting and a yard of absolutely amazing faux fur. (Of course, we also came away with some great, fuzzy fabric that Madelyn used to make an incredibly warm blanket… but that’s another project altogether.)

Sadly, while writing this, I just learned that Colorado Fabrics went out of business and closed down last week! What a shame… we’ve spent countless hours there over the years, picking through their amazing inventory for hundreds (thousands?) of yards of fabric for various projects. They’ll most definitely be missed… now I wish that their prices weren’t so much lower than the chain stores, I would gladly have spent more to know they’d remain in business. :(

With the basic design in mind, and the fabric in hand to guide us, we started gathering the rest of our supplies. Key to the overall look was the simple white mask which we picked up from the local Michaels. While we were there, we snagged some upholstery foam similar to what we’d seen used in previous builds (the four rolls we picked up cleared out their inventory, and we ended up going back a couple more times for more).

Then we began thinking about the stilts we would need. Rather than build our own stilts (which seemed like a daunting task), we opted to order a pair of drywall stilts and forearm crutches from Amazon. While we were at it, we upgraded the drywall stilt straps (as we’d read various reviews that said they were much better than what came with the stilts). Griffin was glad we did, as the additional support they provided turned out to be great.

When they arrived, Griffin just couldn’t wait to try them out. Before I knew it, he had them on and started wandering around. Looking back, I’m glad that he did that as it’s clear how much skill it took for him to master walking on them, and it was much easier without them being encased in the full costume. It took a while to learn how to mount them and learn how to move his extended limbs safely and, eventually, gracefully.

Once he (finally) got off of them, it was back to work on the design. Taking the inspiration from his research, he laid out the crutches and began building the basic structure around them in foam. He laid them out and started to sketch, then cut the outline for the arms. After a few false starts (early efforts didn’t result in the look he wanted), he finally had an outline he liked. Once the arms were all cut out, and following the suggestions we’d seen in Mel2DaIssa’s tutorial, the sides were sewn together using yarn anchored by buttons for strength. A similar process was followed for the legs.

Once the arms were constructed, it was back outside for another run up and down the street. Honestly, Griffin took any chance he could to get on them and strut around. It turns out that was a great idea, as each time he got back on them, the more adept and confident he became at using them.

It was also at this point that we found the upper part of the arms weren’t very stable. We had added a wire frame around the edge (the same 12 gauge galvanized wire I’d used to make Griffin’s chain mail) to provide some stability, but it wasn’t strong enough. The wind blowing that day made it clear that we needed something stronger. So, Griffin came up with the idea to insert a simple PVC frame within the arms. While it did add a bit more weight, he was much happier with the stability.

Once the arms and legs were assembled, they were spray painted with a black undercoat. From there, Griffin added some gray and moss green to give them a bit of variation. It was quite a learning curve to get a sense for what worked, but in the end it seemed that we wouldn’t need to encase the arms and legs entirely in fabric as we’d expected. His paint job looked fantastic on it’s own.

So, it was on to building the body itself. A lot of thought went into how he could get into and out of the costume easily, so we settled on building the torso onto a hoodie. That way he could attach the mask to the top of the hood, a large structure onto the back, and still be able to zip in and out of it without any trouble. Off to the local ARC thrift store and we picked up a perfect pair of hoodie and sweatpants for less than $10.

Griffin attached the mask to the top of the hood with hot glue and began to construct the framing for the back. The goal was to create something that provided bulk and didn’t just look like a kid hunched over. This is where the additional foam came in handy. It took a bit of experimentation, but the structure came to life with extensive use of clothespins. Given how heavy the faux fur would be on the top, it became clear that some sort of central support would be necessary. Once happy with the overall structure, Griffin used spray adhesive and duct tape to keep the pieces in place.

An innovation that Griffin brought to the design was the introduction of spikes down the spine of his creature. He used a heated knife to shape some basic styrofoam cones from Michaels, and painted them. The idea was to create bone-like spikes that were poking out of the fur along the creature’s spine. It took a few back-and-forth tries to get both the shape and paint job that he liked, and the end result is definitely worth the time and effort. Once complete, slits were made in the fur back for them to poke through, then everything was glued onto the hoodie.

For the legs, Griffin came up with a way to use the black fabric to extend the legs of the sweatpants so they would cover the legs. This required careful measuring, cutting, and sewing to both make them work aesthetically as well as functionally. Attaching them to the legs also meant adding tabs of velcro to various locations, sewing them carefully into place so that the entire outfit could be donned and doffed with ease.

Finally, Griffin dressed the arms and legs with netting using hot glue, and added a balaclava to cover his face. The end result was a fantastic costume that he could easily get into and out of multiple times during Halloween night. He would suit up and then go out for about 45 minutes, come back in to relax for a bit, then go back out without much effort.

It was incredibly gratifying to see all of his hard work and dedication to the project (nearly three months) pay off. He would go outside Halloween night, stand still for a few minutes, and then slowly interact with the kids coming to the door. Most of them assumed he was just a decoration until he would move his head. Then, when they’d look more closely, he would take a step forward, walking toward them in a carefully choreographed way that he felt worked for the Spirit Walker character he’d designed. The reactions ranged the gamut from surprise, to fear (with some older kids running away screaming and giggling with their friends), and usually resulting in appreciation for the obvious effort and uniqueness of the costume. Many folks even took videos and selfies with him, a clear sign that he’d made a great custome.

If you haven’t already watched it, I suggest checking out the video of this we put together. And if you’re interested in more about this fun project, let us know. In the meantime… we’ve moved on and are starting to build an inflatable playhouse for the backyard. More on that as it happens.

Recently a few friends who run small businesses asked for help understanding PCI compliance requirements. They are all brick-and-mortar stores, selling merchandise or services (or both). When looking at the material they’ve been provided, I was shocked at how poorly the self-assessment questionnaires are written. There’s no way that a typical small business owner can be expected to parse the questions full of unfamiliar terms and acronyms, let alone understand how to answer correctly (and honestly).

After a dozen or so conversations with these smaller merchants, here is what I took away from the experience:

1. The PCI DSS self-assessment questionnaires are not written in a way that small business owners can understand.
2. The questionnaires being provided to merchants are in some cases technically incorrect (or at least out of sync between DSS versions).
3. Small business owners, who aren’t security professionals, require expert guidance in order to answer the questions honestly.
4. Merchants are incentivized to “guess”, which can put them at odds with answering honestly.
5. In some real-world situations, PCI DSS comes into conflict with HIPAA requirements.
6. It seems as if the intent of overly complicated technical questions posed to small businesses is to scare them.

To begin exploring these issues, take a look at some of the more technical questions. In one case, the owner of a local health and wellness business was expected to understand this statement from the 2018 PCI DSS questionnaire:

“Are strong cryptography and security protocols, such as SSL/TLS, SSH or IPSEC, used to safeguard sensitive cardholder data during transmission over open, public networks?”

Setting aside that this question is from an outdated version of the standard, there’s no way that she could be expected to understand what was being asked of her. Then the situation is made worse with the following reference:

“Note: SSL/early TLS is not considered strong cryptography and may not be used as a security control, except by POS POI terminals that are verified as not being susceptible to known exploits and the termination points to which they connect.”

The note is intended to help clarify the statement, but only serves to further confuse the situation (not the least of which is because it’s from a different DSS version than the question itself). And while I have personally worked with both “SSL/early TLS” and the more modern versions (e.g. TLS 1.3), the defining line is left up to interpretation by the reader (who wouldn’t know what SSL stands for, let alone the differences between SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0, or that RC4 was deprecated in RFC7465).

Fortunately, I understand and am conversant with transport layer security (as well as the rest of the overly complicated questions being asked). So, I was able to cut through the chaff and explain everything in a way that they could understand and answer the questions honestly. In most cases, these merchants really want to comply, but they simply need help understanding how to do so.

Unfortunately, I also came to learn that some merchants simply try to guess at the right answers. They tick the boxes that seem to be the “right” ones, regardless if they understand what’s being asked. Making things worse, they may knowingly answer in a way that isn’t accurate. Their perception is that answering “wrong” could put their ability to handle credit cards in jeopardy, a fate they can’t afford.

From this point of view, I think I’ve uncovered the true intent of the PCI DSS questionnaires directed at small businesses. On the surface it would appear that they’re asking merchants for honest answers about their data security, but I have a feeling that the goal is something else entirely. It’s as if the goal is to scare the merchants into thinking more about the sensitivity of the data that they’re handling, regardless of their actual answers.

Honestly, that isn’t necessarily a bad goal. Even though they don’t understand what’s being asked, the exercise did force them to think carefully about the process and technologies they use to handle payment card data. In most cases, my conversations with the merchants resulted in them materially improving their security. Most notably, they now have much more robust policies and procedures in place that address real-world shortfalls (e.g. more diligent vetting of which employees have access to what data).

But the improvement wasn’t due to the PCI DSS program itself. It was due to an experienced information security professional spending time with them. I had to clearly explain what was being asked, answer questions, and provide real-world suggestions for improving their data security. All of this was tailored to their level of comprehension and business reality.

Finally, in some cases, the businesses I was dealing with must also be compliant with the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Interestingly, there are a few PCI DSS requirements that, in real-world practice, are at odds with what’s required to be HIPAA compliant. For example, it’s not uncommon for small businesses to terminate their network in their office where they store patient records. This leads to an issue where PCI DSS may require video surveillance of the same room where clients could be recorded (a HIPAA violation). Of course this could be solved with two separate rooms, but that’s not always practical (even if they understood the issue needing to be addressed).

Primarily to feed my curiosity, I then looked around for agencies that provide professional guidance in responding to the PCI DSS self-assessment. And while they do exist, they are effectively priced beyond the budget that a small merchant can easily afford. Further, some of the firms I evaluated are clearly designed to lock a merchant into a lot of additional expenses they may not need (e.g. pen testing, log monitoring, security alert feeds, etc.). And while I’m sure they exist, none of the ones I found specifically mentioned they addressed the complication with HIPAA compliance.

In short, while the PCI DSS model is a vital tool in helping to secure data on the fringes, the support resources are falling short of reality. And, unfortunately, the only solution I see is increased staffing of seasoned (expensive) security service personnel (who are already in short supply). In all practicality, this isn’t a solution that small businesses can afford.

Then again… perhaps I simply didn’t find the magic solution. I’d be happy to hear if you have found a reasonable way for small businesses to comply with the PCI DSS (and HIPAA) requirements.

As Director of the Ecosystem Security team at PayPal, I’m often asked what we do. Basically, the team was founded by Michael Barrett in 2009 with the understanding that there are security issues that can only be addressed as a community. Essentially, we recognize there are security gaps that can’t be filled by a company on its own, or hiring a vendor to lock them down for you. With that in mind, the mission of the team is to tackle Internet security issues with a mix of technical standards along with industry and regulatory policies. To accomplish such a lofty goal, each member of the highly experienced team is either a lead, co-author, or close collaborator on world-changing specifications that make the Internet safer for everyone (not just PayPal customers).

Technology

Some of the technical specifications we’ve helped to create include:

• Content Security Policy (CSP) — A policy layer added to web pages that specify authorized sources for embedded content.
• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) — A declarative to browsers that content must only be served via secured resources.
• Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, & Conformance (DMARC) — An email authentication and reporting mechanism that prevents domain spoofing.
• Fast Identity Online (FIDO) — A technology that replaces passwords with a method of privacy-respecting, scalable online authentication.
• Web Authentication (WebAuthN) — An API that enables web pages to invoke stronger authentication (e.g. FIDO).

Research

An important aspect of security is continual research in order to stay ahead of malicious actors. We lead or partner with other organizations in order to test assumptions and explore new ideas. DMARC, for example, started as a research project in conjunction with Yahoo in which we tested various combinations of email authentication technologies in order to shut down spoofed domain attacks. To determine the the effectiveness of visual trust indicators, we partnered with Seznam to run A/B tests across their entire set of users. The team also set up an Advanced Security Lab in conjunction with Singapore University that was initially tasked with running TLS 1.3 through it’s paces in order to identify weaknesses (and how they can be exploited). After determining the technical limitations of dynamic DH key exchanges, the team is refocusing on new areas for exploration.

Organizations

We often work within various organizations such as the IETF, W3C, M3AAWG, APWG, and OASIS. We will also stand up entirely new organizations when necessary to support their development and adoption (e.g. Fido Alliance, DMARC.org). And when others on the team shoulder the deep subject matter expertise, I play the role of a flywheel to keep the work moving from conception all the way through to adoption. Also, as was the case with DMARC and FIDO, we’ve played an operational role in conjunction with the technical deployment teams.

Regulatory Policies

To ensure a thorough understanding of and reliance on effective technologies, we also engage with various regulatory organizations. For example, we’ve worked with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the HMRC in the UK (the equivalent to the US IRS), the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), and the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA). While the Ecosystem Security team doesn’t typically engage directly with governments, we often provide guidance to those who do. The end result is that we’ve seen positive changes in legislation, policies, and regulations when those crafting them are well informed about the technical details of our work.

What’s with the logo?

Beyond the questions about the Ecosystem Security concept itself, the next question is often about the logo I made for the team. The multiple arms are meant to symbolize the complex interconnections between all the different aspects of the Internet ecosystem. And the dual-colored shield represents the non-uniform nature of the defenses that are required. Whenever I develop a new project, I typically work on a logo to help build team cohesion and tie everything together. In this case, it has served us well for nearly five years.

Global Impact

Overall, I’ve been incredibly impressed with our impact on users of the Internet. Through the work of the team, everyone using a web browser or sending email can feel more confident that their online interactions are secured. We’re also incredibly humbled by the impact our small team has had on the world. Over 2 billion people are demonstrably safer due to the technologies we’ve developed. We’re looking forward to expanding on our work and continuing to develop global security technologies for decades to come!