Sigh…

Posted on by August 26, 2023

Security, lack thereof, one each…

Marco De Vincenzi, a researcher at the Istituto di Informatica e Telematica (IIT) in Pisa, Italy, is trying to bring attention to this issue. He and his colleagues led a discussion on EV security and privacy vulnerabilities at the 2023 IEEE 97th Vehicular Technology Conference. The results of their presentation are highlighted in a subsequent conference paper.

De Vincenzi notes that when people plug their EVs into charging stations, it’s not just power flowing through those cables. “These charging stations handle all sorts of data, from how you pay to your exact location,” he explains. “But here’s the kicker: The rules to keep this info secure? They’re like a door with no lock.”

Full article, HERE from IEEE Spectrum.

It is things like this that just set my teeth on edge, because this is NOT the first time hacking of ECUs has been brought up!

If I remember correctly, the whole hacking issue was identified well over ten years ago, and discussed in a number of different online car forums and it’s STILL going on!

I guess once the hackers start causing wrecks/killing people they ‘might’ decide to look at it…

GRRRR…

 

A little humor…

Posted on by August 25, 2023

If you grew up in the sixties and seventies…

You ‘might’ have indulged, maybe…

And sworn to NEVER EVER do that again…

(Not that ‘I’ know anything about that.)

What are we now???

Posted on by August 24, 2023

Are we still a constitutional republic or not???

Lawfare is being practiced at an alarming rate to shut down dissent, opposition views, and any ‘facts’ that don’t fit the agendas…

The definition of lawfare-

Lawfare is the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or delegitimize an opponent, or to deter individual’s usage of their legal rights.

This is playing out at the highest levels right now, but there is NOTHING that is stopping those who don’t like us from taking this down to our level.

What happened to the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Do they still exist for us peons?

And of course ‘we’ are now the bad guys…

Fifty years ago, far-left movements posed the biggest domestic terrorism threat to the United States, with some environmental, communist and animal rights groups taking credit for bombings, arson and vandalism at businesses and federal buildings across the country.

Full article HERE from the Early Bird.

I’m not sure anymore… sigh…

At least in Russia, you know what you get if you’re on the wrong side- DEAD!

Your comments/thoughts appreciated.

TBT…

Posted on by August 23, 2023

Aviation version…

There are things you just DON’T expect to see at little country airports…

These were spotted at Lampasas Airport in central Texas! Navions in the wild!!!

Two of these are being worked on, one getting a new engine, and one (the far one) being restored.

Thanks to Dot, it appears that Navion Customs has departed California for free America and settled in Texas!

And a little aviation humor…

  • Airspeed: Speed of an airplane. Deduct 25% when listening to a Navy pilot.
  • Bank: The folks who hold the lien on most pilots’ cars.
  • Cone of Confusion: An area about the size of New Jersey, located near the final approach beacon at an airport.
  • Crab: The squadron Ops Officer.
  • Dead Reckoning: You reckon correctly, or you are.
  • Engine Failure: A condition which occurs when all fuel tanks mysteriously become filled with air.
  • Firewall: Section of the aircraft specially designed to let heat and smoke enter the cockpit.
  • Glide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest emergency landing field.
  • Hydroplane: An airplane designed to land on a 20,000 foot long wet runway.
  • IFR: A method of flying by needle and ripcord.
  • Lean Mixture: Nonalcoholic beer
  • Nanosecond: Time delay built into the stall warning system.
  • Parasitic Drag: A pilot who bums a ride and complains about the service.
  • Range: Usually about 30 miles beyond the point where all fuel tanks fill with air.
  • Rich Mixture: What you order at the other guy’s promotion party.
  • Roger: Used when you’re not sure what else to say.
  • Service Ceiling: Altitude at which cabin crews can serve drinks.
  • Spoilers: The Federal Aviation Administration.
  • Stall – Technique used to explain to the bank why you car payment is late.
Posted in TBT

Anthology call!!!

Posted on by August 22, 2023

Folks, we’re doing another benefit anthology for our little local library to help defray the costs of the children’s summer programs.

And we need stories…

The premise is 1890-1930, stories about the oil patch, preferably Texas, but we’ll take anything, 5-8000 words, but if you come up short or long, send it anyway, we’ll take a look at it.

This shot is Kilgore, Texas in the 1930s!

Of note, this does NOT limit the type of story, it can be fantasy, supernatural, horror, love story, lawyers, or actual drilling/working on a rig. The ONLY limit is that it should be a good story!

The close date is 31 August, but if we get enough stories, we’ll do two, just like we did for the Haunted Libraries anthologies.

Send your stories to me at oldnfo at gmail dot com. I’ll forward them to the librarian who is compiling the book(s).

As I said, this is a BENEFIT anthology, so the only thing you’ll get is ‘exposure’… sigh… The money from Amazon will go to the library.

Back in battery…

Posted on by August 22, 2023

Welp, fun times are over, back to reality… sigh…

Four days of no internet, very little TV/news, decent food, and mainly hanging out.

Oh yeah…

And supporting other authors!

A bunch of us went down to San Antone to support Rob Hampson’s signing at B&N on Saturday, and Monalisa found that the B&N also had copies of Analog with her story, so a few of us got her to sign copies that we also bought.

Then we adjourned to a local restaurant and met up with a few more folks, ‘we’ sold a few books, ate, and had a good time (there were birthdays and cake).

Then it was back to the hotel, hanging out and just chatting into the night, then the same thing Sunday.

I got back yesterday, since I took a detour over to Austin to see some old friends, and then back to make a stop at Wenzel’s down in Hamilton for goodies…

It was great to see the folks that made it, and we really need to do that again!

And a good time…

Posted on by August 19, 2023

Was had by all!!!

We’re down in San Antonio supporting Rob Hampson’s book signing, which went pretty well!

And we had a little get together after that at a local restaurant, where us peons that are Indies could try and sell a few books…

And it was also a birthday celebration for a couple of folks, too!

And about 30 folks decamped to the hotel and we continued the ‘discussions’ and stories until late in the night…

On the road…

Posted on by August 17, 2023

Making a quick trip to San Antone to support Rob Hampson! Saturday at Barnes and Noble San Pedro/I-410 on Saturday Aug. 19 at 2pm! Book signing for The Moon and the Desert!

And a few of us will be doing an indie signing starting at 430… At a different location… 🙂

So if you’re down in the area, feel free to drop by and say hi (and you won’t hurt our feelings if you buy a book)! (Insert cheezy grin here)

 

Finally!!!

Posted on by August 16, 2023

One down, and a bunch to go…

After less than five years in service, the littoral combat ship Sioux City was decommissioned Monday in a ceremony aboard Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

It was the latest early retirement for the costly and troubled Freedom-class ships, vessels conceived earlier this century that officials now admit stand little chance of surviving a conventional battle against China or another nation’s navy.

Full article, HERE from Navy Times.

Suffice to say, the problems are legion, and the one thing that ISN’T mentioned is how badly beat up the crews were, because they were so short handed…

Good riddance, and the sooner ALL of them are gone, the better!

Book promo…

Posted on by August 15, 2023

Peter Nealen has a new Pallas Group book out, Frontiers of Chaos

As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

A killing in Seattle

A massacre in Northern California

A mysterious new client

In the aftermath of what appears to be a targeted killing, a mysterious billionaire approaches Pallas Group Solutions with a new job. He seems to be more interested in their intelligence gathering capability than security.

None of them are prepared for what they find.

In a whirlwind of violence and intrigue, the contractors of Pallas Group plunge into a world of human trafficking and elite capture.

And find themselves on the hunt for an underworld facilitator who’s closer than they expected.

It’s a pursuit from the Pacific Northwest to the Tri-Border Area of South America.

And as the bodies pile up, things can only get darker.

You’ll love this action thriller because it’s as fast and ferocious as a bullet! 

Alma is next, with a new book in her Familiars Generations series- Castles, Creatures, and Nights 

The blurb-

Strange things stalk the nights. Especially nights when the land remembers …

  • Christmas brings surprises both welcome and otherwise for Jude and Shoim. Can they survive the peak of baking season, or will Shoim finally end up in a pie?
  • Mike and Rich find themselves over their heads, assigned to observe delicate diplomatic negotiations in a haunted—perhaps—castle. Abyssal beasts might be easier to survive.
  • Deborah, Hiram, and Art try to prove that they are grown-up magic users. Their parents disagree.
  • How does a Hunter say what he cannot speak, mourn when tears are forbidden?
  • And more!

Jojn the next generation of mages, sorcerers, Healers, and Hunters on a wild trip through nights silent and otherwise.

And Raconteur Press has another 50 word story book out on Friday, Imagine That!

Note- The cover link takes you to the entire series…

No blurb yet, but they are damned good! You’ll enjoy this as much as the others! All based on the random picture you got for the story prompt!!!

And last but certainly NOT least, Monalisa Foster has a story in Analog, the magazine, out now!!! Her story is The Deviltree and it is EXCELLENT!

And the TOC-

And she was good enough to join us electronically yesterday on the youtube broadcast, HERE!

Go get all three, you’ll enjoy them!!!