I came across a fascinating thing the other day. It’s about lava lamps. Ever since lava lamps came out I loved them. We have four of them in our bedroom which provide us with all the lighting we need at night (subdued). Each one uses a 25-watt bulb so little juice is used to light our bedroom at night.
Well, it turns out that a whopping 10% of everything in the cloud is protected by lava lamps. WTF? Yes, lava lamps are used to create the encryption that protects whatever is in the "cloud" of San Francisco company CloudFlare.
Cloudflare covers about 10 percent of international web traffic, including the websites for Uber, OKCupid, and FitBit, for instance.
Since normal encryption is done by computers, it is potentially hackable. The reason is computers use logic to create algorithms that then create encryption. Due to that fact, all computer generated encryption schemes are actually hackable given enough time. How do you suppose everything in the world has been hacked? How do you suppose Putin and Wikileaks hacked the DNC?
One hundred lava lamps create 100 different totally random patterns of “lava blobs” blooping up and down. Cameras watch these lava lamps and record the random patterns then use that info to create encryption. So cool!
(I’m going to go beyond the three-paragraph rule and post five paragraphs from the article. Sue me.)
As the lava lamps bubble and swirl, a video camera on the ceiling monitors their unpredictable changes and connects the footage to a computer, which converts the randomness into a virtually unhackable code.
Why use lava lamps for encryption instead of computer-generated code? Since computer codes are created by machines with relatively predictable patterns, it is entirely possible for hackers to guess their algorithms
And if you think CloudFlare is one bit concerned that you know this, think again. They not only allow you to come and visit their wall of lava lamps, they want you to. Why? It adds to the randomness of the encryption. Cool! Now you can be part of the entire internet and be 100% encrypted at the same time.
While you might think that such an important place would be kept in secret and locked off from the public, it’s actually possible for visitors to witness these lava lamps in person. Simply enter the lobby of Cloudflare’s San Francisco headquarters and ask to see the lava lamp display.
It may seem bizarre that Cloudflare would allow average people to affect the video footage, but that’s actually intentional. External disturbances like human movement, static, and changes in lighting from the adjacent windows all work together to make the random code even harder to predict.
www.atlasobscura.com/…
I was quite impressed by this and the lava lamps they use are the same cheap $15 ones we have in our bedroom. Hey, I suppose even our four lava lamps could provide the basis for some damned good encryption. What do you think? Does this surprise you? I’m amazed. Hippies are really cool.
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RSVPS
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WOMAN'S MARCH NYC 2017
Footage compiled from the 2017 Woman's March on New York City, directed by Joan Brooker, with support from the SVA community.
Organizers, remember to choose a place to meet in advance and that cell phone service will shut down before the events get started. Consider a sign to hold up above the crowd for people to find you with. Check with your local march organizers to find out what materials are not permitted, such as balloons or sticks.
NEW YORK RSVPS
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2. belinda ridgewood
3. gchaucer2
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LONG ISLAND RSVPS TO RALLY AT THE INTERSECTION OF RT. 112 AND 347 IN PORT JEFFERSON STATION AT NOON
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RSVPS
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Netroots Nation 2018