Congressman Markey,

While I'm not one of your constituents, your statements and actions often have an impact that reaches beyond your district. Yesterday you were quoted in several news media outlets as having called for the arrest of Christopher Soghoian, a PHD candidate at the University of Indiana Bloomington, because he created a web page that generates phoney airline boarding passes. As you are likely aware, your call was answered by the FBI who reportedly broke into Soghoian's house last night and seized all of his computer equipment.

I am a professional computer security researcher. I work for one of the worlds largest IT companies. My job involves finding vulnerabilities in software systems and getting them fixed. Responsible vendors are usually very responsive and willing to work with my team when we contact them with information about problems with their products. Through this process we are able to locate and repair vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure before the bad guys can find them and exploit them. However, there are always a few unsophisticated people who seek to shoot the messenger instead of dealing with the flaw.

Christopher Soghoian is one of the good guys. He is not a criminal and he is not enabling criminals. He did not create the vulnerability in the boarding pass screening process. This problem has existed for years, and it has been noted in other quarters, most recently by Sen. Chuck Schumer. However, the problem hasn't been fixed. Soghoian's website was intended to demonstrate how simple this is, and he has clearly and repeatedly stated that his intent in creating the site was to raise awareness about the problem so that it will be fixed. His website does not make this much easier than standard desktop publishing software available on anyone's personal computer.

Your call for his arrest, and the subsiquent events that have unfolded over the past 24 hours, have done serious harm to the national security of the United States. You could have simply contacted him, informed him of the legal problems that one could face for operating such a website, and discussed shutting it down. By choosing instead to prosecute him you are sending a message to security professionals in this country that if you observe a problem with national security policies or practices and make people aware of those problems in good faith so that they might be fixed, the government will treat you as an enemy and will prosecute you if possible. The inevitable result will be that people will hold their tongues, and problems will persist until they are discovered by someone who has malicious intent.

I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on this matter. The current course of action is not in the best interests of this country.

Respectfully,
Tom Cross

My Letter to Ed Markey

There are fried Twinkies and even fried candy bars.
Now, vendor Abel Gonzales Jr. has come up with a new artery-clogging concoction for the State Fair of Texas. It's fried Coke

Ok....now thats just filthy. Only in Texas:)

WFTV.com - Food News - Newest Fair Food: Deep-Fried Coca-Cola

whoa

WLWT.com - News - Carnivorous Plant Eats Mouse At French Garden

hehehehe....jello *is* mysterious.

Leftover jelly triggers German security alert?|?Oddly Enough?|?Reuters.co.uk

whoa...animatronic clothing....its totally awesome. Not work safe though...there is a nude model (because her dress turns into a hat!!!)

Boing Boing: Hussein Chalayan's awesome animatronic fashion

this applies to everyone here.

YouTube - White & Nerdy

Katamari Prince Crochet patterns....awesome

Craftzine.com blog: Crochet Katamari Prince

Tabjab is a powerful way to keep track of the interpersonal debts that often arise between friends, roommates, and coworkers. You can use Tabjab to send out bills for dinner debts, bar tabs, rent, utilities, entertainment, or any other expense that people share. These bills are delivered via email, and they are easy to consolidate when it comes time to pay.

My new project: TabJab

Acidus wrote:
Not 1, but 2 people told me about the Thin Mint Straw this weekend. I had never heard of before this weekend so I gave it a try.

-Take 1 Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookie
-Take 2 a small bites on opposite sides of the cookie. Just enough to get through the chocolate coating to the crunchy cookie
-Insert cookie into milk; use as a straw.

It sounds silly but you'll wonder why you never did it before.

Is this a new breed of engineering? What should we call it? Dessert engineering? Yummy engineering? or my personal fav....De-lic-ous engineering:)

RE: The Thin Mint Straw

Ok, the next time I do something klutzy, I won't feel so bad....because I will know that it could have been WAY worse.

Ouch...that has to suck