] Thursday : Lingering showers throughout the day. Chance
] of rain 800 percent.
]
] Friday : Moist. Damp. Sodden.
]
] Saturday : Rainish. Showery. Precipitacious.
]
] Sunday : Light rain followed by heavy rain followed by
] pouring.

Okay, why is this in the cryptography topic? It's because I think I have a good lead on solving the Kryptos sculpture at CIA HQ, but I'm being prevented from following it because of bad weather on the East coast.

For a quick summary: most of the encrypted text on the CIA's Kryptos sculpture has been solved, except for 97 or 98 characters down at the bottom, which have withstood extensive cryptanalysis for over 10 years.

The tack that I've been taking on cracking it, is to research the heck out of the sculptor, Jim Sanborn. I've learned that he's got some other sculptures out there that also have codes on them, such as the Cyrillic Projector at the University of North Carolina (which has also withstood cracking for many years).

More recently, I've discovered that Sanborn has another crypto-sculpture called "Antipodes", which is at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC. From the few pictures I've seen of it, it seems to have every single character that's on the Cyrillic Projector, *and* every character that's on the CIA's Kryptos sculpture, *and* an additional 20% of encrypted text down at the bottom which is on none of Sanborn's other sculptures (that I know of).

So my current theory, is that perhaps the reason that the bottom of Kryptos hasn't been cracked, is because it's an incomplete fragment -- only the top part of a larger code, and that the intent was that some footwork and intelligence-gathering was required to obtain the full text. This would also tie in to the "whirlpool" fountain at the base of Kryptos, which may have "sucked away" the rest of the code.

I've spent the last month trying to work with museum curators, Sanborn's agent and primary galleries, and others, trying to get pictures or a transcript of Antipodes. They have all refused though, citing either lack of time, or concerns about intellectual property issues. About a week ago, I found someone in the DC area who *is* willing to go take pictures of the thing, but every single day they've attempted to visit the sculpture since then, it's been RAINING, and since the sculpture is in a semi-outdoor area, this prevented the picture-taking.

So, as soon as the weather actually clears, the pictures will (hopefully) be taken, I'll make a transcript, and we may get this thing cracked. But so far, the weather reports don't look good. Gah, the suspense is killing me . . .

More information on the above:
Kryptos: http://www.elonka.com/kryptos
Sanborn: http://www.elonka.com/kryptos/sanborn.html
Cyrillic Projector: http://www.elonka.com/kryptos/cyrillic.html
(tiny) pic of Antipodes: http://hirshhorn.si.edu/images/collection/img_low/98.22.jpg

Rain Rain Go Away!

] Le chiffrement dans l'histoire. De 4 000 ans à nos jours,
] du Carré de Vignére à la PGP

Translation: Cryptography in history, from 4000 years ago until today, from Vigenere's square to PGP.

Even though it's in French, I'm linking to this site because they have a nice example of an "auto-key" table, which is another system created by Vigenere (and may help with cracking Kryptos...)

Vigenere Auto-Key System (in French)

] Noted Washington, DC artist Jim Sanborn worked in
] collaboration with the designers to create innovative art
] installations for Zola. His elements begin at the door
] with international espionage texts that glow on backlit
] acrylic panels lining the entrance corridor. Showcased in
] the back bar and private dining rooms, Sanborn's
] trademark paper works made from shredded CIA documents,
] are molded to reveal tiny traces of readable words.
]
] Similarly, Sanborn has taken KGB documents and turned
] them into brass sheeting. Lighted from behind, the
] screens become sconces, subtly projecting texts in the
] bar area. A grid of declassified intelligence documents
] from around the world hangs in the historic stairwell.
] The documents, in several languages, but showing the
] evidence of a censor's heavy black pen, are sandwiched
] between plexiglass panels and connected by steel wire to
] make a significant statement. Sanborn has numerous museum
] and gallery shows to his credit as well as public art
] commissions across the country, and notably, at CIA
] Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

This restaurant next door to the Spy Museum in Washington, evidently has more work by Jim Sanborn, the sculptor who also created the Kryptos sculpture. I wonder if he used any of the same techniques, and might have left some Kryptos clues there?

Zola - Spy Museum Restaurant