John Green's Blog, page 49
August 16, 2011
Hank and John LIVE TOGETHER
Preorder TFiOS: http://dft.ba/-tfios
Listen to Ellen Hardcastle: http://dft.ba/hardcastle
August 15, 2011
HANKLERFISH!
Preorder The Fault in Our Stars: http://dft.ba/-tfios Hank and John play FIFA: http://dft.ba/-badfifa
In which John and Hank reunite in beautiful Missoula, Montana in order to discuss punishments, gallbladder removal, video games, and Hanklerfish.
You can also preorder TFIOS at Barnes and Noble: http://dft.ba/-D3N and at your local independent bookstore: http://dft.ba/-tfiosindie
August 12, 2011
The Fair: Testacular!
In which Hank enjoys the Western Montana Fair, then talks about ReadIt1st.com, brain crack, and a secret project (for John!)
http://www.nerdfighters.com - sign up here!
My twitter is http://www.twitter.com/hankgreen
and my tumblr is http://edwardspoonhands.tumblr.com
August 10, 2011
Understanding America's Debt Problem
In which John discusses the U.S. public debt, our dangerously high debt to GDP ratio, the S&P's downgrade of America's credit rating, and why our debt may not be as unmanageable as it seems. There's also some general discussion of economics, currency, the gold standard, and the worldwide financial system's dependence of the American dollar.
My tumblr: http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com
Hank's tumblr: http://edwardspoonhands.tumblr.com
My twitter: http://www.twitter.com/realjohngreen
Hank's twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hankgreen
When I am not an amateur economist, I write novels. You can preorder The Fault in Our Stars at http://dft.ba/-tfios
August 8, 2011
Hackers, Cyber crime, and a New Kind of War.
In which Hank talks briefly about the fundamental shift in espionage, warfare, crime, and activism that may re-define our age.
More about Stuxnet here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0pi4...
with a pretty in depth article here:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/articl...
Hackers have been mounting increasingly sophisticated attacks. Billions of dollars have been stolen, and even more has been lost in the form of stolen intellectual property and infrastructure damage. Stuxnet proved that a computer hack can do real-world damage, and if it can be done once, I doubt we will be able to stop it from being done again.
Unlike traditional warfare, we frequently don't know where cyber attacks come from. And with the right team of people, an attack could be pulled off that could destabilize the entire world. It's pretty scary stuff.
On a lighter note...I've started up my gaming channel again: http://www.youtube.com/hankgames
TOBUSCUS POSTER: http://www.forhumanpeoples.com/
DEFINITIONS:
Hacker - a person who can manipulate computers and technology, but more usually a person who breaks into computers that they should not be inside of.
Vulnerability - a problem in software that can grant access to data and processes that should be kept secret, like passwords or credit cards or the controls to a nuclear power plant.
Exploit - Software or procedures that allow people to take advantage of vulnerabilities. This will often come in the form of a simple script that anyone with even basic computer knowledge can run.
0-Day Exploit - An exploit that has not been released into the wild. Only the hacker, and possibly his or her close associates, know about the security hole at this point. A 0-Day exploit for an operating system can be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
White Hat - A hacker who uses his skills for good, informing organizations of security holes in their software, often these people are just referred to as security experts.
as ooposed to:
Black Hat - The sort of hackers that we generally call to mind when we hear the word Hacker.
Patch - Software update that fixes the vulnerability. Often patches are not applied and exploits remain in-use for years.
Script Kiddies - Armies of unskilled, usually young people who just run scripts that hack targets for hackers above them in an organization. Occasionally they also operate on their own.
Cyber - A prefix that I hate, but am unwillingly using because it has become the standard because old people who read newspapers and watch cable news feel comfortable with it. I love William Gibson though!
Own: To take control of. An owned computer or server (or zombie) is controlled by hackers. This is where pwn comes from, by the way.
Anonymous: A loosely organized group of individuals identifying with a certain weird bunch of values like anarchy and "don't mess with us." They hack things that piss them off.
Stuxnet: The most advanced piece of malware ever created which caused the shut-down of Iran's nuclear refinement program.
42: HHG2G reference, which are common in hacker culture.
August 6, 2011
Signing Saturday
Preorder The Fault in Our Stars: http://dft.ba/-tfios In the UK: http://dft.ba/-tfiosUK
August 5, 2011
Vidcon: Thoughts from Places
Hank's music: http://dftba.com/artist/15/Hank-Green
Meghan Tonjes' (awesome!) album: http://dft.ba/thisyear
Driftless Pony Club: http://dftba.com/artist/13/Driftless-...
In which John writes a love letter to vidcon 2011 and his brother Hank. Thanks for making so much awesome stuff for us, Hank.
If you want to preorder my new book, The Fault in Our Stars, you may do so at http://dft.ba/-tfios
August 3, 2011
I Love My Brother
Esther Bracelets: http://dftba.com/#!/product/wv/This-S...
In which Hank puts off the inevitable but then just tears off the band-aid. No talk about VidCon...Esther day only comes once per year! Looking forward to your punishment suggestions...to those reading this, think more "challenge" and less "horrible death-defying punishment."
Signing Books Post-Op
Preorder The Fault in Our Stars: http://www.dft.ba/-tfios
July 27, 2011
150,000 Autographs
Preorder The Fault in Our Stars from B&N http://dft.ba/-D3N or Indiebound http://dft.ba/-MeM or Amazon: http://dft.ba/-tfios
Vidcon 2012: http://www.vidcon.com
In which John announces that thanks to the awesomeness of nerdfighteria, his book The Fault in Our Stars will be published sooner than previously thought: January 10, 2012. Also, I'll be signing every copy of the 150,000 first printing, which is gonna take a while. But thank you for your support, nerdfighters. You're made of awesome.
