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I somehow managed to get the PIC programming method described here to work, and now I have incorporated a PIC16F1455 into my random number generator circuit. I added a header to enable programming of the PIC from within the main circuit, and the setup looks like this. Schematic here. Now I need to figure out how to write the firmware for that PIC so that it will look like some kind of USB device when I plug it into a PC, and it can feed all of that random bit data coming in through RC3 (Pin 7) over the USB interface. Github project here. Looks like this is going to be a much more complicated business than designing and building the circuit in the first place!

I found a few resources on the USB programming aspects here, here, here, here, and here. I would like to avoid using the XC8 compiler or any of Microchip's proprietary libraries as far as possible, and build the project entirely using SDCC and Free Software libraries only.

The success of Andy Rubin's Essential Phone may depend on carriers

Android Co-Founder Introduces Essential Phone: S835, Slim Bezels, Dual Camera

The hardware inside the Essential PH-1 is what you would expect for a premium phone: Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. It comes with the latest connectivity options too, including 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFC, and a Snapdragon X16 LTE modem that makes the phone compatible with all US networks. However, a few items some people find essential are missing; there’s no microSD card support for storage expansion, no support for dual SIMs, and no 3.5mm headphone jack (it will come with an adapter). The 3040 mAh battery, essentially the same capacity as the Galaxy S8’s 3000 mAh pack, should be adequate for most people, but power users will likely find themselves using the Essential’s 27W quick charge feature.

No thanks.

UPDATE: Intel Announces 4 to 18-Core Skylake-X CPUs

Previously, rumor had it that Intel would pit 12-core Skylake enthusiast processors against AMD Ryzen chips with up to 16 cores. Now, a new rumor/leak adds 14, 16, and 18 core chips to the Intel lineup. They don't appear to be Xeons either.

This isn't substantial enough for me to make a submission for it, but it's interesting. Of course, while this may be a bit of a slap in the face to AMD, it's not like Intel hasn't made 18-core (Xeon) chips before, and pricing for the 18 core, 36 thread chip could be outrageous (do I hear $2,500?).

$2,500 is just a guess, but I checked and the Intel Xeon E5-2697V4 Broadwell with 18 cores has an RCP of $2,702 and is $2,799.99 on Newegg.

I'll predict $1,250 for an AMD Ryzen 16-core.

(oblig)

A recent investigative study by the Citizen Lab connects Russian actors to the practice of stealing, negatively altering and then releasing documents in an effort to damage the personal reputation of government officials, candidates and journalists in dozens of countries.

—SC Magazine

New evidence of a global espionage campaign involving email phishing attacks and leaked falsified documents emerged on Thursday, with clues suggesting the Russian government might have been involved.

[...]

In the incident Citizen Lab examined, documents obtained through a phishing operation in October 2016 that targeted the email account of U.S. journalist David Satter were selectively modified in an apparent attempt to discredit Satter and his work and then posted online. Satter has reported on Russia for decades and was expelled from the country in December 2013.

—CBC

On October 7, Satter received a phishing email designed to look like it was coming from Google, claiming someone had stolen his password and that he should change it right away.

As with seen with other phishing attacks targeting people affiliated with the Hillary Clinton campaign that led to the DNC leaks of last year, the email, however, didn't come from Google. It was actually from a group of hackers known as Fancy Bear, or APT28, whom many believe work for Russia's military intelligence, the GRU.

—Motherboard

The operation against the journalist led us to the discovery of a larger phishing operation, with over 200 unique targets spanning 39 countries (including members of 28 governments). The list includes a former Russian Prime Minister, members of cabinets from Europe and Eurasia, ambassadors, high ranking military officers, CEOs of energy companies, and members of civil society.

[...] we considered the Tiny.cc shortcodes found in the October 5 and 7 phishing emails sent to David Satter. Using these as a starting point, we enumerated approximately 4000 adjacent shortcodes for each, and then examined the target web addresses to which these short links redirected. From this large list, we extracted all of the associated destination links [...] which redirected to the malicious phishing domain [...]

—the report

additional coverage:

• Citizen Lab blog
• Hack Read
• Just Security
• Wired
• Valley News

related stories:
Bellingcat: Russian Military Involved in Downing of Flight MH17
A One-Man Intelligence Agency

I'm no longer homeless - I've been in a subsidized apartment for a year.

The program is called "Permanent Assistive Housing". That means I could live here for the rest of my life without paying a dime. Ultimately the cost is borne by the American Taxpayer through the Federal Housing And Urban Development Administration.

However I have a really good consulting client. I cancelled my food stamps a couple months ago. I no longer have Medicare - last month was my first month of paying for Obamacare.

Because my income is very uneven, the agency which got me the housing - Community Services Northwest is waiting until August before I'm responsible for paying the rent.

Should I be out of work again, the American Taxpayer will pick up the tab.

I presently have five grand in the bank. I figured I'd spread the love by subscribing here. I'm also going to subscribe to Radio Paradise.

I expect to donate some to the Portland homeless shelters that kept me out of the rain and snow, but haven't decided yet how much to give them.

Unfortunately I've got to find a new shrink. Molina's health insurance won't pay for CSNW's Program for Assertive Community Treatment. My understanding is that the PACT Team is for the extra-special crazies. I've always wanted that feeling of belonging to something.

I expect Molina will cover a once per month visit to a psychiatrist. I'm doing well these days; once per month for a medication adjustment should be just fine.

Fight club: Russian spies seek EU recruits

Russian intelligence services are using martial arts clubs to recruit potential troublemakers in Germany and other EU countries, security experts have warned.

The number of clubs is higher than previously reported and the “sleeper cells” could stage violent provocations ahead of the upcoming German elections, they said.

[...] The martial arts clubs, which teach an offensive style called “systema”, all have “direct or indirect” links to the GRU military intelligence or FSB domestic intelligence services in Russia, according to Dmitrij Chmelnizki, a scholar of Russian espionage who lives in Berlin.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to give Wikimedia a chance to legally challenge the NSA’s mass surveillance as being unconstitutional. The government has previously argued that the NSA’s Upstream warrantless spying is authorized under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. [...]

The ruling yesterday reversed a lower court’s ruling which found Wikimedia, which publishes the internet behemoth Wikipedia, couldn’t prove the NSA’s “Upstream” surveillance program was secretly monitoring its communications, vacuuming the communications right off the internet backbones – even with leaked Snowden documents showing Wikipedia as an NSA target.

[...] due to the sheer size of Wikimedia, the judges found that the NSA probably had seized at least some of their communications.

—Computerworld (hyperlinks in original)

“Wikimedia has plausibly alleged that its communications travel all of the roads that a communication can take, and that the NSA seizes all of the communications along at least one of those roads,” U.S. Circuit Judge Albert Diaz wrote. “Thus, at least at this stage of the litigation, Wikimedia has standing to sue for a violation of the Fourth Amendment. And, because Wikimedia has self-censored its speech and sometimes forgone electronic communications in response to Upstream surveillance, it also has standing to sue for a violation of the First Amendment.”

—Courthouse News Service

further reading:
Wikipedia article on Upstream
Wikipedia article on Albert Diaz

additional coverage:

• Just Security (opinion)
• New York Times
• Just Security
• EFF press release (EFF is one of the plaintiffs)
• Ars Technica
• The Hill
• Associated Press via The Telegraph (Macon, Georgia, USA)

previous stories:
US Spies Still Won't Tell Congress the Number of Americans Caught in Dragnet
Judge Tosses Wikimedia’s Anti-NSA Lawsuit Because Wikipedia It Isn’t Big Enough
Wikipedia's Lawsuit Against NSA Internet Vacuum has First Day in Court
Deeper Dive into EFF's Motion on Backbone Surveillance

[...] As the time for the interview neared, Gianforte came into the room. We exchanged pleasantries and made small talk about restaurants and Bozeman.

During that conversation, another man — who we now know is Ben Jacobs of The Guardian — walked into the room with a voice recorder, put it up to Gianforte's face and began asking if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act. Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon.

At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter.

—Fox News (archive link)

26 May 06:12 GMT update:

"When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. That's the Montana way," Gianforte said. "Last night, I made a mistake, and I took an action that I can't take back, and I'm not proud of what happened. I should not have responded in the way that I did, and for that I am sorry."

"I should not have treated that reporter that way. And, for that, I'm sorry, Mr. Ben Jacobs," Gianforte said [...]

—Business Insider

additional coverage:

• The Guardian (see Youtube link for audio)
• NPR
• USA Today
• CNN
• The Virginian-Pilot

related stories:
FCC Guards Eject Reporter
Reporter Arrested for "Yelling Questions" at HHS Secretary Tom Price

It's Polyamorous Polysaturation — Unconventional Relationships Abound On TV

Listened to a bit of it on the radio, found the text version.

Statement on coverage of Seth Rich murder investigation

Published May 23, 2017 Fox News
On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.

We will continue to investigate this story and will provide updates as warranted.