About this Blog
Hacker, a label that carries a prestigious history in the tech world, has been tarnished by recent security breaches carried out by those who would use technology to hurt people for their own selfish gains. Now, when people hear the term “hacker” they typically think of an unflattering hooded individual in a dark room illuminated only by the light of their computer screen breaking into the NASA network to release our social security numbers to the Illuminati. However, to be called a Hacker ought to be a badge of honor for anyone interested in the development of technology.
Folks like Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace were Hackers for prototyping mechanical contraptions that could compute numbers or make music (who could imagine such a thing!). Grace Murray Hopper was a Hacker for being one of the first few people to believe that computers could use code instead of mechanisms to build logic. The legacy of Hacking has continued with leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Mark Zuckerberg, and the countless number of smart people that made up the teams these leaders represent. Now, Hacking has even made it into the hearts of households with the Maker and DIY movement, where people have taken the power technology into their own hands when it comes to consumer products.
This blog is about reminding people how great Hacking is.
About me
My name is yan vologzhanin. I sit in between a lot of weird places.
I’m Russian enough to have a citizenship, and to be considered “the Russian” in my group of friends and my signature is my first name in Russian. But I speak so little Russian that I’m instead considered “the American” with my very Russian family, and I’m too American to be good at Counter Strike (My silver IV rank brings great shame to the Motherland).
My confused heritage isn’t helped by the fact that I have moved a few times before heading out to university: from Moscow to Fort Worth to St. Louis to Cincinnati, and that makes answering “where are you from?” a lot more complicated than it should.
My education isn’t any less muddy. Right now, I study at the Ohio State University, where I am studying both Computer Science/Engineering and General Business through the IBE program. I am also aiming to fit a philosophy major since there is so much cool stuff to learn and the humanities have been underrated lately(fingers crossed it fits in!).
Oftentimes, it sucks not being able to sit in one place and fit in, and it doesn’t help that it is a cliche problem to have. However, it gives me a chance to make a bunch of connections that some people miss, and I hope to be able to bring traditionally disparate groups together as I can draw from the wide variety of material that I have gone throughout the years. Hopefully, you’ll bear with me when I go on weird tangents.
About this Blog
I am still in the process of learning about Info Security (so I guess that makes me less a “Hacker” and more of a “hack”…), so part of this blog will be dedicated to process of becoming a technomancer with projects, thoughts, and lessons I learn along the way.
As you may have already noticed, in addition to writing my own thoughts on the matter, I love to link to external material that I find in my search or just stumble in my free time. I hope that anything I write can act as an intro to spark your own interest and give you the resources to explore more on your own. Any links I place are less a citation and more an invitation to explore on your own.
I’m not affiliated with any of the links I post, and I will make sure to give a heads up if that ever becomes the case. I just like to show cool stuff I find online and connect it all together.
As for upload schedule, there is none. This is a sort of “when I feel like it” kind of project. Maybe that will change in the future.
What you can expect to find
I like to write about whatever topic that interests me. However, I will usually write about Info Security/Cyber Security, Technology, Video Games, Philosophy, and Maker related stuff, simply because those are my main topics of interest.
More About Me
When you call yourself the “Gentleman Hacker”, you’re pretty much setting yourself up to get doxed as a challenge. Therefore, I can plug myself here and save time for any would be hackers with some links here. It’s a win-win!
Github: https://github.com/yanvolo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yan-vologzhanin-83682aa2
Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Yan-Vologzhanin
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Zq7e5KzUHfzS9Y_Tp-U-A
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yanvolo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yanvolo
Actual Bird Signal: Chickadee
Smoke Signal: Up
Radio Frequency: 91.7 kHz
Telekinetic ID: You already know.
