Quote of the Day

We have been assimilated

I'm thinking about computer security, so I go visit Schneier on Security where I find a a story about Malware being hidden in images. I follow a link to Slashdot where I find this comment:

First of all, Jesus H. Chist, I'm continually amazed at the lengths people will go and the sheer brainpower employed in malware and hacking generally. I've gotten to the point where I go to hang a towel over the mirror in the bathroom because I'm worried someone has hacked the mirror and then figure, fuck it, they probably also hacked the towel.

I don't think anyone is close to being able to pull images off of a towel, but NASA just put up some satellites that can tell how powerful a hurricane is by looking at the GPS signals being reflected off the of waves underneath the clouds, so, hell, yes, maybe they have hacked the towel. Our commenter continues:

Secondly, is this level of malware sophistication evidence that there's economic stagnation?
I'm assuming this is software designed to create botnets or measly bank account info or whatnot and the author(s) make some money but not griping about the lack of space for their megayacht next season at Monaco kinds of money.
Is the fact that people do this kind of really clever shit for more or less ordinary income, is it proof that the economy is in some way broken? I would think that people this smart, in a functional economy, would be in real demand to do productive economy kinds of things.

I don't know about this, but then again, maybe I do. I like to think I am fairly talented in the computer programming department, but I seem to have a hard time finding a job. One part of it is the unholy crap-infested barriers that the human resource departments put up. I don't know what it is, maybe they are looking for obedient drones, people who will jump through any number of hoops just to have a the slightest chance of landing a 'good' job. Or maybe it's the ridiculous job requirements they post. It's like they write down all the qualifications of the last guy to hold that job and they want someone to replace him, someone who has exactly the same set of qualification. Problem is, that person was the only person on the planet with those qualifications. You aren't going to find another one. If you are that persnickety, you should just go hire that guy back and not bother the rest of us. Of course, HR, doesn't work like that, they are only trying to minimize their own workload, or make themselves look busy or something. They are not really looking for talent. No surprise there, they wouldn't recognize it if it hit them over the head.

So we a have struggle between obedience and freedom. Some people just can't abide living with the bullshit that comes with a 'good' job, they would rather be broke but free. But this world runs on money, and if you are not going to be a good corporate drone, you need to find some other way to get money. Perhaps this is where malware comes from, people who have not been assimilated by the great democratic hive mind.