Securing the Internet of Things

ECN just published an article of mine highlighting some potential dangers of Internet-enabled devices - fridges used to produce spam (and not the edible kind)....

http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2014/03/securing-internet-things

March 20th is the International Day of Happiness

Today we at Saelig celebrate the International Day of Happiness!  Enjoy these best jokes: 

How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A fish                                       

 How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles.

Two antennas met on a roof. They fell in love and got married.  The ceremony was rubbish - but the reception was brilliant

Why was the mortgage so upset? Because it was a loan                                                          

Why was the horse so happy? Because he lived in a stable environment

Do you want to hear two short jokes and a long joke? Joke, joke, jooooooooooooke.

The Beach Boys walk into a bar. One says to the other “Round? Round? Get a round? I get a round?”

Two dogs are walking along a street. They are passed by a third dog driving a lorry load of logs.
One turns to the other and says: “He started fetching a stick and built up the business from there.”

Two cannibals eating a clown, one turned to the other and said: ‘does this taste funny to you?’

What do you call a Frenchman wearing sandals? Philippe Philoppe    
                                  
Did you hear about the magic tractor? It turned into a field.

I have a gravel path in my garden while my neighbor's is concrete. I think mine wins on aggregate.
 
Old Tommy Cooper joke:  ‘So I went to the dentist. He said 'Say Aaah.' I said 'Why?'  He said 'My dog's died.'

A Higgs’ Boson walks into a church.   The priest says, “We don’t allow Higgs’ Bosons in here.”
The Boson says, “But without me, how can you have mass?”

Why was the writer in agony?                Because the sub-editor had removed his colon.
 
What do you get if you cross The Godfather with a lawyer? An offer you can’t understand.

A Centurion walks into a pub and asks for a Martinus. “Don’t you mean a Martini?” says the barman. “No,” says the Centurion, “If I want a double I’ll ask for one.”

 

The barman says: “We don’t serve faster-than-light particles here.” A tachyon enters a bar.

A Roman walks into a bar,  holds up two fingers, and says:  “Five beers, please.”

A police officer on traffic duty flags down a car.  “Sir, you appear to have 12 penguins in the back of your car.”
“That’s right, officer, I do.”
“Well that’s ridiculous – take them to the zoo straight away.”
“OK officer.”   And the car drives off.
Next day, the same policeman in the same spot sees the same car drive past – with the penguins in the back. He flags him down again.
“I thought I told you to take them to the zoo…”
“Yes, officer, and it was great – today I’m taking them to the cinema.”

A photon checks into a hotel and the porter asks him if he has any luggage. The photon replies: “No, I’m traveling light."

A classics professor goes to a tailor to get his trousers mended. The tailor asks: “Euripides?” The professor replies: “Yes. Eumenides?”
  
Met a Dutch girl with inflatable shoes last week, phoned her up to arrange a date but unfortunately she'd popped her clogs
 
They say being a hostage is difficult - but I could do that with my hands tied behind my back.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happ Pi Day! (Get it? 3.14??)

Pi Day and Pi Approximation Day are two unofficial holidays held to celebrate the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, or in the month/day date format as 3/14; since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of pi. March 14 is also the birthday of Albert Einstein so the two events are sometimes celebrated together. Pi Approximation Day is held on July 22, or in the more common day/month date format as 22/7, which is an approximate value of pi.

Pi Day is observed on March 14, because of the Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes' first rough approximation of pi as being 3.14. (A few years later, Archimedes was able to calculate a much better approximation of pi.) However, 22/7 is actually a closer approximation of pi than 3.14 is. Thus, a more "accurate" Pi Day could be found in the more common calendar, 22/7, or July 22.

Sometimes the so-called Pi Minute is also commemorated. This one occurs twice on March 14 at 1:59 a.m., and 1:59 p.m. If pi is truncated to seven decimal places, it becomes 3.1415926, making the Pi Second occur on March 14 at 1:59:26 a.m. (or 1:59:26 p.m.). If a 24-hour clock is used, the Pi Second occurs just once yearly, on March 14 (3/14) at 1:59:26 in the morning.

There is a large variety of ways of celebrating Pi Day and most of them include eating pie and discussing the relevance of pi. Pi Day is often celebrated with pies, given that pi and pie are homophones. The first Pi Day celebration was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, then consuming fruit pies. The museum has since added pizza to its Pi Day menu. The founder of Pi Day was Larry Shaw, a now-retired physicist at the Exploratorium who still helps out with the celebrations. (From: Wikipedia)

New at Saelig: EMI enclosures from USA-based Sword Inc.

Sword Inc. is a service-disabled, retired veteran-owned and operated business with DIS clearance that specializes in the development and fabrication of electromagnetic warfare and cyberspace-secure, man-portable deployed counter-measure systems. Their custom design and fabrication techniques produce custom enclosures using electromagnetic shielding woven textiles and composites for E3 (Electromagnetic Environmental Effects), Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), Chemical Biological Containment (CBC), Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO), Reliability/Availability/Maintainability (RAM), High Power Microwave (HPM) and pre-compliance testing requirements.

Their portable RF shielded enclosures provide superior RF shielding in fabric-based structures which attenuate RF signal emanations from electronic equipment, eliminating electronic eavesdropping possibilities with shielding effectiveness to 100 dB. Their extremely portable (one-man operation) enclosures feature expandable aluminum or air-inflated supports, set up in as little as ten minutes. With each enclosure being custom-made, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, power and signal entry panels can be configured to suit individual needs. Durable ballistic cloth bags are provided for transport and storage, or hardened cases for secure shipping.

 http://www.saelig.com/category/MFR00146.htm

‪#‎emc‬ ‪#‎emi‬ ‪#‎compliance‬

Avoiding entrepreneurial mistakes

StartupNation today posted a useful list of things to be aware of when running a business:

http://www.startupnation.com/articles/dont-make-the-same-mistakes/

Forgiveness - An important Topic ...

I like to read what Dani Johnson says.  Quite the entrepreneur, she has literally gone from rags to riches and absorbed wisdom on the way.  Here's today's gem:  http://www.danijohnson.com/2014/whos-manning-the-controls-in-your-life/

Her free book is well worth reading: http://www.danijohnson.com/offers/solutions/first-steps-to-wealth/?sig=97&utm_campaign=FSTW&utm_medium=banner_fstw_300_1

(BTW - I don't get anything out of this apart from the joy of sharing a valuable resource)

WIZnet Connect the Magic 2014 Design Challenge

The WIZnet Connect the Magic 2014 Design Challenge launched on March 3. Compete against designers from around the world for a chance to win a share of $15,000 in prizes and international recognition from Elektor International Media, Circuit Cellar, and WIZnet! Implement WIZnet’s W5500 chip or WIZ550io Ethernet module (includes W5500 TCP/IP-hard-wired chip and PHY, transformer, + RJ-45 connector) in an innovative electronics design, document your project, and submit your entry.   Eligible entries will be judged on their technical merit, originality, usefulness, cost-effectiveness, and design optimization. Challenge rules & details: circuitcellar.com/wiznet2014/

 
 Request a free WIZ550io Ethernet controller module from this website: circuitcellar.com/wiznet2014/samplerequest