August 8, 2012

Symmetric Crypto with PyCrypto, Part 3

Now that we have a grasp on how encryption works (from a high-level black box perspective, at least), we concern ourselves with how to generate cryptographically strong keys. I highly recommend reading Part 1 and Part 2 first.

June 23, 2012

Raspberry Pi Serial Console in Linux

My Raspberry Pi arrived in the mail earlier this week. However, work, family, and other commitments meant that tinkering with it had to wait until the weekend. Until today, all that I managed to accomplish was to download a Debian-based OS image, flash it to an SD card, hook the board up to my TV, and squeal with joy as it booted.

Now I'm ready to dig into this diminutive computer and see what's going on inside, but I have a slight problem. The Pi has only HDMI and composite for video output and it turns out that I have nothing in my office which can display video from either of these. (You can supposedly buy an HDMI to DVI adapter, but I don't yet have a DVI-capable monitor either.) This basically leaves me with two choices: Log into the Pi via SSH over ethernet or connect a serial console.

March 12, 2012

How to Sell a Motorcycle on Craiglist

Or more precisely, how not to sell one.

To get a feel for the market and what kinds of bikes are available, I've been scanning advertisements from a variety of sources. The most prolific--and consistently hilarious--has been Craigslist.

Craigslist is a wonderful invention. It allows people in a community to connect so that they can buy, sell and trade all manner of goods and services. The best thing about Craigslist is that it allows anyone to post an ad. However, the worst thing about Craigslist is that it allows anyone to post an ad.