SSH It!

I've been doing a lot of crypto stuff lately.
When I say 'a lot' I do mean literally hours upon hours of internet research and reading which then turns into hours of practical experimentation. Sometimes I just get it and sometimes what I'm reading makes no sense at all so I have to break things down and take baby steps.
The latest problem I've been working on is how to, without an air-gapped machine, write a text file, encrypt it and then send it to a desktop machine for further processing. So far I can do that. The vulnerabilities are plain to see. I could be hacked on any network. There could be a key-logger installed on the first machine which compromises everything. Or maybe my end machine could be monitored. Where there's a will there's a way.
Unless someone is actually on my case I've come up with a reasonably secure method which involves the use of SSH. I can switch my Android phone into Aeroplane Mode, write and encrypt and then send by SSH to a machine anywhere in the world once back on the network.
Of course there's still work to do. I can build upon my security which at the moment is OK but not great. The nice thing is that having started this I know where to look and I'm a little wiser to the terminology.
I'm not quite there yet.

All Day Cat

It's been an interesting day.
I spent the morning in Nottingham City Hospital taking part in medical research. There's lots I could say about what happened, but as the research isn't published I think that on this public forum I shouldn't say much. What I can say is that my heart monitor kept reporting me as dead and that I had a CAT scan. The conclusion of my taking part is that I maybe a dead cat.
You can call me Schrodinger if you like.
The afternoon was spent writing not one but two shell scripts. They'll be useful to me in the coming months and years. I used the 'cat' command quite a lot.
It's been a cat kind of day.

I'll Be Too Old When...

I bought a skateboard today.
I'll give you a few reasons as to why.

1. Locking up my bicycle and removing all the luggage every time I want to stop on short journeys is a pain.
2. Since getting knocked off my bicycle a couple of years ago my knee injury isn't making hill climbing any easier.
3. It's faster than walking.

I am actually thinking practically.
Skateboarding is both convenient and sustainable. Should I wish to use public transport I can take my deck with me and skate the rest of the way. I can stop anywhere, have a rest, enjoy the view, have a coffee and then be on my way. The only downside is that they're not so good in wet weather, and this is the UK. The thing is that I probably wouldn't want to walk or cycle in the pouring down anyway.
My skateboard is a 'Cruiser' and made for travel rather than tricks although I will have to relearn to Ollie but that's about all. It was bought locally at MagicToast where Joe did a fantastic job of assembling the components that I wanted. He also did a fine job with the grip tape.
The deck itself is a Grizzly with the Spider-Man design.
So at nearly fifty am I to old to ride?
I'll be too old when I'm dead.

Starting Over

It's been a very long time since I've coded HTML.
So long that I cant remember most of it. The basic structure of a site remains in my head but the intricacies are gone. So I'm starting over again. I'm reading up on HTML5 and CSS. It's suprising what comes back. I'm only building a simple site, very simple in fact but I still want it to look, behave and feel right when it's online.
I've downloaded a few PDF's on the subject, there are lots of good free ones around.

When I first learned HTML many moons ago I hand coded in a text editor. I eventually moved to a piece of software that checked the syntax for me.
This time around I'm on Ubuntu Linux and I've chosen Bluefish. So far so good.
If you discover the new site one day I hope you'll appreciate that it was made properly. Even if the content doesn't interest you at all.
The content? That's another story.

New Life

The last time I booted my RPi it failed to load the Debian OS.
I'd long suspected that the Micro SD card was problematic when I couldn't get Mate to work on it. The only thing that would work was Debian. It's OK as far as it goes. There are lots of things you can do with it but having been on Linux for over a year it's just not geared to the way I work.
I decided to invest in a brand new Micro SD and try Kali.
It went onto the card without a problem and booted first time in the RPi.
I'd like to keep it air-gapped but I imagine there will come a time when I need to add a few bits and bobs that make crypto stuff so much fun.
Until then I'm very happy.

The Crossing

On days like today when the weather isn't so good and I'm stuck indoors and I need space to think, where do I go?
Everyone needs a change of scenery once in a while to help their thought process. A place where one is away from the distractions that clutter thought. When I'm stuck at my desk I disappear to the location in the picture. Virtually.
It's a live stream on YouTube of a railway crossing in the Netherlands. It's a perfect snapshot of Dutch life. Bicycles, people, scooters, cars and trains all visit this spot. I can lose hours gazing out of my virtual window. It's a place to observe and to daydream and to think. I can mull over the obstacles to solutions and then get back to work. There's all the time in the world at the crossing.
Maybe you'll find it. It might be the escape you're looking for. A place to go in inclement weather. It might provide a solution. Who knows?
You might even bump into me there.

Pushing It

It turns out that my rucksack was only 15kgs.
I thought it was much more. By the end of the 12 mile trek it certainly felt like much more.
I had a wonderful day exploring the Leicestershire countryside. The highlight was the Shaggy Ink Cap fungi above. It was absolutely stunning in its location. A real treat of a find.
More walks are planned.
Bed now. I'm as swollen as a balloon.

Small Victories

Sometimes finding the right command in Linux shell can be an uphill struggle.
I seem to spend hours at a time looking for a simple and elegant solution to a problem only to find long winded articles on how to achieve the result I'm looking for. Today was one such day.
All I wanted to do was re-arrange a list in a random order. There were plenty of articles on how to choose a single item on the list randomly but nothing about my particular problem.
Then I came across the shuf command. There were a few solutions that were close but not quite what I wanted. This is where man pages come into their own. The man page for shuf is short and sweet and all the options I needed are right there on the page. After a little trial and error I wrote a short and elegant command (see above) that does exactly what I want.
How does it work?
I make a list with each item on a different line in a text file and the command writes another text file with the same list but in a random order. Simple.
One more Linux victory under my belt.

Free Speech

There are some people that do bad things. Very bad things.
The people that do bad things like to communicate in secret. The UK government would like to stop the bad people doing that and so they want to compromise the tools that the bad people use.
That's all well and good but there's a problem. The good people use the same tools. The good people don't use those tools for bad things, they use them because their friends use them. That's a lot of people using the tools. Mostly for good.
If the government compromise the tools to catch the bad people, they also compromise the same tools for the good people. If the government can get in on a conversation so can other people. The other people that can get in might want to ruin the good people's experience of the tool and might go beyond that and ruin a lot more.
I'm not saying anything new here. It's well known that in the past various services have been compromised by government agencies and that beyond that people who don't work for the government have got hold of the methods and used that information to exploit any amount of innocent people.
It's been said thousands of times. One must learn to protect oneself.
Linux distributions are FREE! The distributions come with encryption built in and other tools are free also. These can be easily added. The whole Linux experience can reside on a USB stick, 8GB is fine, and cheap. You probably have one in a draw that you're not using because by today's standards it's a bit small for your storage needs.
Google searches for "Linux cryptography" or "Linux steganography" will keep you amused for hours. Linux is easy to get to grips with. If you start with Ubuntu you'll be up and running in no time. There is obviously some learning to do but not a great deal. YouTube is full of 'getting started' videos.
The choice is yours. Be prepared for an onslaught against your privacy or keep your fingers away from your computer or mobile device.

Listen With Other

Normal

In case you ever wondered...
Why I upload and then re-edit.
Some things I say are for public consumption over a limited time scale. Like most people I feel constrained by standards.
Sometimes I just talk utter rubbish and I should sensor that. In fact maybe I should sensor everything I say. It's not a bad idea and I've been thinking of doing that for a while. If for no other reason to test a theory.
So this is it. The last plain English post that I have for you. If you're not following events then you'll hit the middle of a muddle.
To the people that follow this blog:
Instructions follow.
After that. Nothing will be the same again.
z2300

Neville

It's nearly 19 years since I welcomed Neville into our family. Today he died.
Neville
July 4th 1998 - April 17th 2017.
The original "Mr Green".

I love you. Thanks for sharing you're time with me. I learned so much from you.

I'm in limbo emotionally. I have cried on and off all evening. I'm trying to get myself together. I can't.
Mr Green has left behind two brothers, Bailey and Paul.
Paul is taking the news badly.
If there's one thing I know, it's that humans have lost our ability to instinctively know when things have changed. Spend some time around cats and you'll understand. We have so much to learn from our friends, especially the ones that interact with us on a daily basis.

I look forward to sending my life force out to someone special when I die. No gods, no angels, no religion. Just something beyond what I know or that humans may ever have the capacity to understand.

Stunned!

A few weeks ago my trusty Too Much Coffee Man mug retired with a broken handle. It had seen thousands of fills and enough caffeine to keep a city awake for a decade.
I tweeted the sad demise to Shannon Wheeler, the creator of TMCM, just in case he had ever wondered what happened to the mugs once he'd posted them. In all honesty I thought that would be the end of the story.
As you might have guessed by now it wasn't. I got a reply saying that if I paid postage Shannon would replace my mug. I was gobsmacked and of course I took him up on the offer. I received my parcel yesterday but I had to wait until today until I got home to open it up.
Inside was not only a shiny new mug but an original Too Much Coffee Man artwork, a book of Shannon Wheeler's Postage Stamp Funnies and a numbered and signed print.
I know I'm sitting here writing this but what can I say? I'm stunned, really stunned.
(Gets a bit gushy here.)
For the creator of my favourite comic strip to replace my mug is really kind, but to include the extra art is beyond generous. It really is. I'm grinning like an idiot and will be for the next week at least.
Thank you Shannon Wheeler. You really are the best.

CSPRNG

691744041273767454433090531841829984348529380386183234406547594812117154362453
727217108488185787414332312214216223290123971891396679580268106293298273263230
604451610115915610809408599283497456303580977013279399511571414017137077865652
370415358169145800455613913019914353816629262491890422011465369942956450920723
801641590590459206436260302304998156854117528277926752497600363462778264406975
155521437127719931533725029343352794331062741669308080055554661484253897500717
573216396494440714538231332357609748334310692175864157463744056439304349509993
859232469977823829696139775882364988078950561072640645004020090413045549633605
344544402704005618531418244135340909466863805232840398486115368415282938938392
023545101312507745338314390085170078356828264369990195470213602897669401652935
589726581022189372552639184147481999491441533045908416494735193333649638947308
959177064498107333571456190117828249604645315712219672446046272693675812198378
099858969712293450416292611070719551550994359766760867139270858690956667040647
304189871059667907454757351457638634591167465028712357565657170040587616209113
381195591269349943362209781509840767676727834724849009619456262504917072905976
950968459088604474637989071278110486368343045592237485461908496498556355816969
911792936421051131623030765409351009559807765052555870792530112773439788179026
151746984633319051062406748906011976581957185290852310899826601313999021035590
796983942380905253739581875297762224442842301601976997346247087728591004540991
357510976114165878113958154813938983040152480519183576310126943602961138081373
401285146611512195643921106824246249138641826520165275768283647048368197734766
898476445561158246104874880142099286747231267756078135296091570737543677552807
293208745051584628388771894944662096161872611443144572774008191526215696821781
535266728984177011992126934086539874666489576753202710796467561616375166823214
105661619429750330991294605144136535887147415174648337792462054588016477513505
351684492916618869137007258185923677564062071718012225188929879081534315015343
239003428933072201769341539596648997669098511483923566565249924449980864670598
137552004845078646492898143111366058120281452140529360255484638969015718994606
954597700573029519218115169491629238787073240626818361554660964540073270966632
978308609094621064956443965259972731991542177269581760613600923903258435354241
694334906420991191660510432674082269190416272443352747227782446179576665178365
022661927420270373743641288726926239051379557169008772701124971614214511205831
293001882684268365663203034366375841789025993368263000036305055978741128552509
600771845358937486939834048879727619554868834201454447093877903253653883172655
583474372312247087167903908675468264384882953000389348673109276203662763871080
013027191268131545705052132548214456792778604558067671248899051524487337640547
468252137222671674950247395144194343783555172431754399346330015790117514314156
550159523148103768171600287646173273727274876821901283494532808852210053283738
834663863715796896612709216395354115714246617674889393929527072115236398568935
167834571356432024447372856454630216948463763759713519698507106524855406767904
749438900010680981377315357677602277572887928316481743676462026384269993584979
881992440572446619493612083521906032377426764222646113456693270824316467078515
412905908189924912205431832493947487877111974433340276658602662841546045040842
188227167216558728731589045697268300210650228716588915497119390481443769261617
063732625469476141001592243730602813142222739111205221734209451253702254173813
424703979632932057163070545711634435014065876301034830439475933579317815779468
039334365266328434602440789959931226303063341264966145347339570113183527424650
738659413793091719858757863537290720282574434825225923736249423632139509225894
231684681384792518145705717906834676483388267038632977678947709252292314896034
573981897294914415166325457145440277026811427121310139252021384937515605347659

Joy In Looking

0081835335653173214339478422687649709882089954900309903990518544
9744055167436544002495150723021812637848833134835055453597992199
4846879874598376164959200061743777927484738031237552069317040684
7870647166205778949734945647368254307405324304181865437061181285
3900323089890102568933993745797732059677199705667626435891662417
1174144650151115842341122628118270337603307470204534816509264679
9197472254109422620030290628704626447751330188021175239562807970
6039191064448852104521471094156516670442714792506172938209655668
5483182218699395014533917726421277071559815890303578582857735856
8160055913744335338882237850324770115471160701724503312556616491
1390618690773197333887931524726947060216367155559842585670550482
8000564727661632438099749733331196010952764198150113894890849798
5151500075092826104525599576906836932488371271781608442557917681
1622697411886367338225042183542952452284936540361991137255888734
8864310528771740875425733416520478993853144554342018415715526598
8731061659370586928242218497686536271327291255302769122275098765
2176413446281684747091673546537863787651358078590071126152812778
4284658648322115003699808941893146306067312379460190540566836753
9795046394343622084659970664549966047492101515962423369270637832
3072862672681019693844205541733225481592883476962644445960999638
1583437934114667880875686071822969711790146366846789465843071696
4351321121123160210289159414391533415337247377754785355578727918
0968743492113555600344690351911449634656175755613897243760481000
0651700905984780095029423378695297322225430160931443010276625535
9716233686199457203223188641280605910527950563143406542561451058

Today For No Other Reason

Today, for no other reason than I want to learn the Python programming language I made my first tentative steps into a world many others inhabit.
While day one was easy I know that what comes after becomes increasingly difficult until that day when it all just makes sense. It was the same when I learned HTML, days and weeks of staring at Notepad, stealing and adjusting code. Bit by bit it began to sink in and then one day it clicked. I could knock up a decent web page in minutes without looking at a reference book.
That Python day is maybe years ahead of me but I'm looking forward to getting there.
Hello Python world!

My Move

About 20 years ago I used to play a lot of chess.
On a table in the living room was a chess board with cheap Staunton pieces and a Gary Kasparov chess computer. Both sets would be playing the same game. The idea behind having a real chess board was that I could study my moves for a long time without running the chess computer's batteries down. I could also study the game from both perspectives. And besides, real chess pieces are tactile.
Over time I've played less and less. Despite thinking I should play more I never quite get round to it. Now I'm using the excuse that it will help with my computer's entropy. It's a good excuse and I'm sticking with it.
I've downloaded PyChess. It's a good piece of software and I can export .pgn files to Droidfish on my android phone. I'm going to be playing very slow games so I need to be able to view them on any platform.
The above picture is from a game I've just started.
I'll let you know when I'm done.

Our Man Inside

Just over a year ago Documentally suggested that I might like to make an ident for his new Backchannel newsletter. I did, it was fun.
Backchannel has now morphed into Our Man Inside! so I was once again asked to supply an ident. Something different to reflect the change. Here's the thought process:

I wanted the typewriter sample in there to represent Christian hammering away on his keyboard. The 3+3+6 rhythm spells out Our Man Inside. I used a sample of Christian's voice as a musical note to add chords but the tuning was a nightmare so while playing with various delay lines I happened on the rhythmic middle two bars. Christian spells out O M I and the echo repeats his voice in different ways which mimics the formula of the newsletter.
Christian finally says Our Man Inside! I added plenty of reverb to this to make him sound like he was inside something large. The vast space he is inside equals the vast range of subjects covered in the newsletter.
There's a secret bassline which bounces around the note C. This is my secret nod to (Sea = A boat show has been covered in Backchannel) and (See = There's always plenty to look at).
I hope you're intrigued enough to subscribe to this once a week publication.

Subscribe to Our Man Inside!

All New Old Style

I'm doing something I haven't done in a while tonight.
That something is trying to piece together a musical composition. Well, it's a composition of sorts but more on that at a later date. Hopefully by the end of the week.
The interesting thing is that for the first time I'm using native Linux music and audio tools. Last time I did this I just loaded FL Studio into Wine and worked that way. The thing is that FL Studio and Wine are uneasy bedfellows. I really could do with a dedicated Windows music PC just for FL Studio.
Because I don't own a Windows machine I thought I'd just work in Ubuntu and see how it went. Very well is the answer to that. Above is a work in progress inside Audacity. I bought a book about using Audacity and it has served me well. No more messing around, I'm nearly a power user, sort of.
There's a good chance I might get back to writing some music one of these days. I do have a lot to be getting on with but I'm sure there will be some spare time to get back to what I enjoy.
Fingers crossed.

A Slice Of Air

Last week I very nearly bought a Raspberry Pi3.
The reason I didn't was because I couldn't think of anything to do with it other than mess around a bit.
This week while installing some excellent cryptography tools on Ubuntu I realised the a Pi would make an excellent air gap computer. Of course there would be a bit of work to do, ie disabling wifi (why not buy a Pi2?) and finding a decent way of getting uncompromised software onto the board. The latter I'm still working on but making sure checksums are intact might be a good start.
If you're interested in what I've been playing with start at privacytools.
I'm also using VeraCrypt, Encryptpad and a useful web notepad called Protected Text.
I'm sure there's enough there you keep you occupied for a while.

Balancing Fruit

I've been trying to quit smoking, as a regular pursuit, for a while now.
I have no problem with my nicotine addiction, I don't want to give that up. There's no need to and I enjoy it.
I like the odd pipe bowl especially with a good coffee. What I don't like anymore is smoking roll-ups as my only nicotine source.
I started vaping a couple of years ago but it wasn't a satisfying experience and I went back to smoking again after a short time. In the last six months I've been getting into some nerdy vaping stuff. You really don't want to know the details but what can be achieved is more akin to the experience that is smoking.
Add to the above a pinch of snuff when I need a quick boost or top up and I really think that I can substitute the roll-ups for eliquids and powder.
I'm currently into fruit flavours. Strawberry eliquids and raspberry snuff.
It's all rather pleasant.