Across the country, even in San Francisco, people are busy chatting. It should not come as a surprise, that Americans are the chattiest mobile phone users in the world. I guess it has something to do with cheap calling plans, free incoming and free calling on the weekend.

GigaOM : » Look Who’s Talking

The spammers apparently contacted BlueSecurity via ICQ with threatening messages, and may have even figured out how to specifically target BlueSecurity users for further harrassment. According to WSJ columnist and blogger Jeremy Wagstaff, BlueSecurity’s Eran Rashef is on the record as saying that he didn’t anticipate that the spammer would launch a DDoS attack on such a large player. “I didn’t think he was so crazy as to attack [Six Apart].”

Of course, no one wants to get caught in the middle when Russian spammers and Israeli security companies fight.

Next time, maybe redirect to Blogger? I hear Google has a Death From Sky Laser(tm) under development for such DDoS situations.

GigaOM : » The Day DDoS Brought Down Six Apart

Take a look at these two charts of Microsoft stock from 1996 and 2006. In December 1995 Bill Gates wrote the now famous Internet-or-nothing memo, and rest is history. Similarly late last year Microsofties got a Web 2.0 or nothing memo. History in the making?

GigaOM : � Microsoft, Return of The Beast

The furor threatened to ensnare the nomination of Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Hayden, director of the NSA from 1999 to 2005, led the agency when the database project was launched and built.

I've heard a lot more about Hayden as an Air Force General than that he was the long-time director of the NSA! I didn't think folks generally worked at the Director level for more than one major spy agency in a career. Yikes!

USATODAY.com - NSA secret database report triggers fierce debate in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers security clearance.

The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, sent a fax Wednesday to Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York saying it was closing its inquiry because without clearance it could not examine department lawyers' role in the program.

You're investigating us? That's great, good for you. Good luck with that. What? You want to see our files? They're classified. Yes, all of them. You want a clearance to see them? Sorry, you can't get that. Good luck with your investigation.

Good luck with that accountability thing.

(If anyone saw the Daily Show on Monday, they had a great Venn diagram to explain Bush's assertion that the CIA has a rich tradition of "Accountability and Secrecy": a yellow "Accountability" circle, overlayed with a dark eclipsing circle of "Secrecy")

CNN.com - Domestic spying inquiry killed - May 10, 2006

I tried Outlook first (copied about 250 email addresses into the CC box). Boom. What a mess. I confess I may have accidentally sent the same email to everyone on that list up to 3 times, as I tried to work through the pile of returned mail I got from various mail servers who couldn’t deal with such a long list of receipients in a single message. (Oh, and by the way, who the HELL thought of the ridiculously uninformative error messages baked into just about every mail server? Some of them aren’t even proper sentences and give me no clue as to what action [if any] the server took after the error. Were the messages not forwarded at all? Did it go to only some of the recipients? If so, which ones? Sheesh. Time for an upgrade guys!) That’s when my eyes were opened to the fact that you actually need specialized software to deal with email campaigns of more than about 25 recipients.

I've used a qmail server to send messages to 14 000 or so people, and it works -- but watching the logs is breathtaking.

Great Email Campaign Product: Campaign Monitor

Let's say you just bought a Mercedes S550, a state-of-the-art, high-tech vehicle with an antitheft keyless ignition system. After pulling into a Starbucks to celebrate with a grande latte and a scone while checking your messages on a BlackBerry, a man in a T-shirt and jeans with a laptop sits next to you and starts up a friendly conversation: "Is that the S550? How do you like it so far?" Eager to share, you converse for a few minutes, then the man thanks you and is gone. A moment later you look up to discover your new Mercedes is gone as well. Now, decrypting one 40-bit code sequence can not only disengage the security system and unlock the doors, it can also start the car--making the hack tempting for thieves. The owner of the code is now the true owner of the car. And while high-end, high-tech auto thefts like this are more common in Europe today, they will soon start happening in America. The sad thing is that manufacturers of keyless devices don't seem to care.

As the F-Secure blog put it -- you wouldn't dream of securing 100$K of information with a 40-bit encryption system, right?

And my first thought -- as in general with electronic locks -- is that as Matt Blaze has shown, analog keys are far worse. Look at your car key, or your house key -- how many real bits of information are encoded?

But the electronic start and everything else... it feels too clean. The advantageous property of analog cracking is that in public, it requires the criminal to act in some way that is different from a legitimate user. The scenerio presented was that I sit near the car or key holder for a couple of minutes -- no sign of entry -- and then to steal the car I just walk up to it, laptop in bag, like I had pressed the remote in my pocket, car starts and off we go.

Also, traditional lock-picking also requires the criminal to possess a skill that requires practice. With these electronic systems, people will download the right script... Script-kiddie car thieves?

Security Watch: Gone in 60 seconds--the high-tech version - CNET reviews

"With Italian models, all you need are scissors," he says.

But as technology increasingly countered traditional methods of car theft, the thieves themselves have had to adapt. "Now you need a lot more technology," Souček says.

Souček says he used a laptop that he modified to be able to disarm car security systems.

Fascinating about car theft rates in the Czech Republic.

Fascinating about how confident this well-known and outspoken car thief is that he'll get off. Because the Czech government requires the release of anyone held for more than a year without charge, and because they caught him with his laptop. His laptop with a comprehensive list of the cars he stole (connected to 150 cars in a six-month period)... and therefore the scope of bringing charges is so large.

The Prague Post Online

Pre-Op Panic

There appears to be a process that people go through with a major surgery and learning about it can help ease the nerves. Here goes my non-scientific take on the subject.

Once the emotional commitment is made to have the surgery there's usually a period of several months before the procedure can be scheduled. Preperation, a little anxiety, and a lot of 'what-if' thinking is common during this phase. It's very common to need feedback from your family and friends to confirm that your decision is sound, so go ahead, ask for it.

Then, about 1 or 2 weeks before the surgery will come the "Oh My G....!" feeling. This restarts the whole decision-making process, investigation, and questioning if this is really the best thing to do. Some people even decide to bail out and contact the Doctor's office to postpone or reschedule. Rationality usually triumphs as Doctors and family members apply reassurance. You're normal, celebrate.

Then, about 1 or 2 days before the surgery will come another period of panic, doubt and fear. This one is usually easier because you've been down the path before, but it's still very scary and can result in disrupted sleep, mild depression, and a loss of appetite. Exercise and staying busy helps a lot if you're able.

The last burst will come while you're in pre-op. For a while you'll be distracted by insurance paperwork, funny gowns, and endless questioning about what countries you've visted. After that, there's a calm time and the brain and emotions move in for the kill. "What have I done?", "Is this the right thing?", "Ok, I've changed my mind!". Don't worry, this is totatly normal. If you've decided to change your mind, you'll have several nurses and family members there by your side to convince you otherwise. I promise, you're not the first.

The uncomfortable waiting will be over when the anesthesiologist shows up and inserts the Cool-Aid. "Who cares", "do anything you want", and "whatever" will be your new mottos.

After surgery you'll give a sigh of relief. No more worrying about whether you should go through with it - it's over, done with, what was all the fuss about.
Oh......I feel terrible.....

The last phase happens in about 2-3 months. You'll be sitting there and realize that it's all behind you. All that pre-op worry was for nought. Glimpses of anxiety in your memory will seem silly.

You may or may not go through each of these phases, and you may have your own special phase or two, but for the most part we all go through this emotional act of self-defense.
Isn't it nice to know it's all perfectly normal?

Roger's MMA BiMax Surgery for Sleep Apnea Blog with Dr. Powell at Stanford

LONDON (Reuters) - Apple Computer has won its trademark dispute with the Beatles, part of a long and winding road of legal battles which may lead the band's famous songs to the door of Apple's market-leading iTunes Music Store.

Someone had too much fun writing a lede.

Apple Computer wins trademark dispute vs Beatles - Yahoo! News