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Herding Code 211: James Mickens on The State of Computer Security and Bitcoin and Thomas Jefferson and Internet of Terrible Things and Prawns and Oslo’s Terrible Secret

While at NDC, Jon talks to James Mickens about his terrifying computer security keynote presentation.

TLDR you are doomed.

Download / Listen: Herding Code 211: James Mickens on The State of Computer Security and Bitcoin and Thomas Jefferson and Internet of Terrible Things and Prawns Oslo’s Terrible Secret

Show Notes:

  • Hello
    • (00:24) All is lost. Listen to Danzig.
  • Stop putting your money in Bitcoin
    • (01:00) James says it’s not a good place to put all your money unless you want to be poor.
    • (01:42) Bitcoin is a commodity, not a currency. Investing in commodities is hard. It’s not a stable place to put money. When it’s going up, the smart people are taking money out.
  • The legal system – and specifically Thomas Jefferson – won’t help you
    • (03:56) Judges and lawyers are very far removed from modern technology. Analogies to older forms of communications doesn’t work.
    • (04:44) Emojis are not telegrams. They’re incredibly terrible, though.
    • (06:30) Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t help with issues relating to iPhones. If your phone broke, would you take it to a really old person for help? Because Thomas Jefferson is a really, really old person.
  • The Internet of Terror
    • (08:10) The internet of things is the new cool buzzword, but nobody wants to reboot their house.
    • (09:17) The security story for the internet of things world is cartoonish. When your refrigerator starts sending spam, James will laugh at you.
    • (11:52) The first several generations of IoT houses will be terrible. Things will get better on a relative scale, but will always be terrible on an absolute scale.
  • Node.js
    • (13:32) James knows he’s in danger for dissing Node.js, but he can’t help himself.
    • (15:08) We’ll see the rise of the JavaScript Full Stack Developer, which could be powerful, but it’s also what Sauron wants.
  • Oslo
    • (16:10) Oslo is a wonderful city. It never gets dark, which makes you feel safe but if James was a criminal he would be all over the extended working hours.
    • (16:54) Shrimps are prawns, and unlike American shrimp they have legs and heads.
    • (18:06) French fries cost approximately one mortgage payment.
    • (19:42) James speculates on whether Oslo harbors some terrible secret. The condos look like lairs for James Bond villains.
    • (21:11) Jon saw a building with a big sign that said Edderkoppen, which he had recently learned means The Spider. Perhaps that is Oslo’s terrible secret?

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