Jan 23 2012 22:02:17 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.63.186.228 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 22:02:17 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.63.186.228 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 22:02:16 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.63.186.228 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 21:55:05 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.171.228.232 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 21:55:05 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.171.228.232 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 21:55:04 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.171.228.232 on interface outside
Jan 23 2012 21:45:58 brt-fw-01 : %ASA-3-313001: Denied ICMP type=8, code=0 from 69.63.179.30 on interface outside

That’s the trimmed output, but you can see a bigger set of logs if you’re interested.

So just who are these persistent pingers?

whois 69.171.228.232
#
# Query terms are ambiguous.  The query is assumed to be:
#     "n 69.171.228.232"
#
# Use "?" to get help.
#

#
# The following results may also be obtained via:
# http://whois.arin.net/rest/nets;q=69.171.228.232?showDetails=true&showARIN=false&ext=netref2
#

NetRange:       69.171.224.0 - 69.171.255.255
CIDR:           69.171.224.0/19
OriginAS:       AS32934
NetName:        TFBNET3
NetHandle:      NET-69-171-224-0-1
Parent:         NET-69-0-0-0-0
NetType:        Direct Assignment
RegDate:        2010-08-05
Updated:        2010-10-15
Ref:            http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-69-171-224-0-1

OrgName:        Facebook, Inc.
OrgId:          THEFA-3
Address:        1601 S. California Ave
City:           Palo Alto
StateProv:      CA
PostalCode:     94304
Country:        US
RegDate:        2004-08-11
Updated:        2011-09-24
Ref:            http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/THEFA-3

OrgTechHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
OrgTechName:   Operations
OrgTechPhone:  +1-650-543-4800
OrgTechEmail:  domain@facebook.com
OrgTechRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

OrgAbuseHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
OrgAbuseName:   Operations
OrgAbusePhone:  +1-650-543-4800
OrgAbuseEmail:  domain@facebook.com
OrgAbuseRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at: https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html
#

whois 69.63.186.228
#
# Query terms are ambiguous.  The query is assumed to be:
#     "n 69.63.186.228"
#
# Use "?" to get help.
#

#
# The following results may also be obtained via:
# http://whois.arin.net/rest/nets;q=69.63.186.228?showDetails=true&showARIN=false&ext=netref2
#

NetRange:       69.63.176.0 - 69.63.191.255
CIDR:           69.63.176.0/20
OriginAS:       AS32934
NetName:        TFBNET2
NetHandle:      NET-69-63-176-0-1
Parent:         NET-69-0-0-0-0
NetType:        Direct Assignment
Comment:        Contact abuse@facebook.com with issues.
RegDate:        2007-02-07
Updated:        2010-07-08
Ref:            http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-69-63-176-0-1

OrgName:        Facebook, Inc.
OrgId:          THEFA-3
Address:        1601 S. California Ave
City:           Palo Alto
StateProv:      CA
PostalCode:     94304
Country:        US
RegDate:        2004-08-11
Updated:        2011-09-24
Ref:            http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/THEFA-3

OrgTechHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
OrgTechName:   Operations
OrgTechPhone:  +1-650-543-4800
OrgTechEmail:  noc@fb.com
OrgTechRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

OrgAbuseHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
OrgAbuseName:   Operations
OrgAbusePhone:  +1-650-543-4800
OrgAbuseEmail:  noc@fb.com
OrgAbuseRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

RTechHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
RTechName:   Operations
RTechPhone:  +1-650-543-4800
RTechEmail:  noc@fb.com
RTechRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

RAbuseHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
RAbuseName:   Operations
RAbusePhone:  +1-650-543-4800
RAbuseEmail:  noc@fb.com
RAbuseRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

RNOCHandle: OPERA82-ARIN
RNOCName:   Operations
RNOCPhone:  +1-650-543-4800
RNOCEmail:  noc@fb.com
RNOCRef:    http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/OPERA82-ARIN

#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at: https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html
#

As you can see, both ranges are owned by Facebook. So the question of the day… Why is Facebook ping scanning me?!? Get your guesses in now, because I’m going to email their abuse address and see what they say.

1. If a new WordPress blog entry is posted, post a tweet to my Twitter account with the URL.
2. If a new WordPress blog entry is posted, post a tweet to my Facebook with the URL.

Those two rules look like this in their simple, graphical, rule builder:

The IfTTT Dashboard

And in the detailed task editor:

IfTTT Task Editor

I’m hoping this really simplifies the growing web of online services I use to communicate online! You can see the list of services they support on their website under the list of Channels. If you try it out, let me know how it works for you and what creative uses you find for it!

It is still for each Member State or airport to decide whether or not to deploy security scanners, but these new rules ensure that where this new technology is used it will be covered by EU wide standards on detection capability as well as strict safeguards to protect health and fundamental rights.

…

In order not to risk jeopardising citizens’ health and safety, only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are added to the list of authorised methods for passenger screening at EU airports.

If only TSA would accept that dosing people with X-rays and taking nude pictures of them isn’t actually necessary for security! Hopefully the new EU regulations will spur Congress to pass similar laws that protect the health and privacy of Americans. As Scientific American reports, the TSA is planning on deploying over 1800 scanners in airports across the country. Write your Representative and Senators now to encourage them to follow the EU’s lead in protecting citizens!

I hate to rain on their parade, but this is completely insane! If I came up to some parent and asked them “Hey, would you willingly let your kids put a biological fluid into their mouth if you saw someone offering to ship it to you on Craigslist?” I have to imagine they would say “NO!” (and probably call the cops on me). But as soon as you frame it as “do anything for the children!”, people’s brains turn off and crazy shit starts happening.

“Even in the best circumstances, exposing your children to a potentially serious or even fatal disease which is virtually, completely preventable by a really safe vaccine is inexcusable. Not even talking about the other accidental risks from shipping, other infections,” said the Tennessee Health Department’s Epidemiologist, Dr. Tim Jones.

Yeah, that’s a good point, Doctor. Not to mention the fact that shipping biological contaminants across state lines is kinda against federal law. Remember how popular the anthrax mailer was? Guess what Pox-Mom, you’re doing the same thing — I know, I know, it’s for the children. But you’re still breaking the law.

I hope it doesn’t happen in this case, but people can die of chicken pox (certainly not common, thank goodness). I would feel like a real ass if I mailed some parent a lolli-pox and then their kid (or their kid’s classmate) died of it. So good luck out there folks – maybe take some time out this holiday season to remember that just because something is “organic” and “natural” doesn’t mean it’s “safer” and “better”…

But one of the great joys and simultaneously great sorrows of being self-employed is that I get to handle my own insurance. I generally think this is a good thing as it allows me to make decisions that are best for ME and not for some company executive or shareholder. But it also means that I have to wade in and learn enough about things to make good decisions.

With most things, it’s easy to use a iterative try-it-and-then-fix-it approach. Having a few advisors handy (CPA, laywer, etc.) also helps a lot. But the key with any advisor is understanding enough to validate that the advice you receive is good advice. So while I’m not an expert at taxes or business law, I understand enough of the basics to have a framework. Then when my advisors tell me something new, I fit it into the framework and see how it works. If it doesn’t seem to fit right, I ask questions and read up on it until everything makes sense.

The fundamental issue then, in the insurance world, is that I just don’t know enough about the options to have a framework. So I guess the next few months will be filled with reading background material (Wikipedia, here I come) and talking to my insurance agent. Anyone else out there deal with insurance on your own? Got any advice?

• woke up in one city and ate lunch in another city 500 miles away – without breaking a sweat
• activated a new ATM card, opened a new bank account and transferred money – after business hours and without talking to anyone
• can type random thoughts into my lap – and anyone in the world can read them moments later

Yeah, we may have problems, but living in the future ain’t all bad!

The German publication Speigel has an article about the series of unfortunate events (to borrow a phrase) that eventually resulted in the leaking of WikiLeaks’ trove of US diplomatic cables. Reading over it, it’s striking how each event was just one more step down the primrose path to destruction. For those of us not involved, it’s a dramatic example of how hard it is to avoid unintended consequences while trying to keep information safe and secure. For the unlucky few who are named in the cables, this is a much more dangerous development.