Diary of a Network Geek

Would you like to play a game?

Have you heard of these things? Giant games that take place at least partially in the real world, that are a total immersive experience? They’re the latest thing. Okay, not the latest thing, since they’ve been around for years and they’ve been used to market everything from the video game Halo to the Steven Spielberg movie, A.I., but they’ve recently gotten popular again, thanks to Nine Inch Nails and Wired magazine. If you, like me, have gotten curious about them, the fine folks at the mental_floss Blog have a primer on them called A Beginner’s Guide to Alternate Reality Games.

I have to admit, I’ve never played in one, per se, but the Guide has a description of one that is very familiar from high school and college. Of course, we called the Assassination Game then, and these folks have added a twist to it by vastly enlarging the scale, but, still, it brings back the memories. Sure, it’s a geeky thing to admit to, but I can see how it’d be fun. And, a challenge on either side of the fence. Running a network of websites that dole out clues and cross-reference phone numbers and text messages and e-mail lists and all that, too. Wow. Hmm, in a slow year, maybe this is a new hobby people can use to distract themselves….

Well, in any case, no matter how geeky it may be, I think it’s worth checking out the article. It could be the Next Big Thing!

I finished Little Brother by Cory Doctorow this weekend.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is so, so worth braving the Young Adult section of the bookstore or library to get and definitely worth getting for your own young adults. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s geared toward a younger audience, because there’s actually a bit more sex in it than most science-fiction I’ve read this year! Seriously!
Little Brother, in short, is about the Department of Homeland Security. Not quite the way it is now, but where it might be going if we’re not careful. The story is about a somewhat precoscious teen named Marcus who’s a bit of a geek. He plays live-action role-playing games and works with computers and subverts his school’s security measures to get out of class to play alternate reality games. But, he and several of his friends get caught up in a bad situation while doing this one day. In the story, terrorists blow up the Bay Bridge in San Francisco while Marcus and his friends are skipping school. And, the DHS sweeps them up with other questionable people and interrogates them.
Frankly, the interrogation techniques are probably what you’ve read about already. Simple humiliation by not being allowed to use bathroom facilities, sleep deprivation, isolation, aggressive and extended questioning sessions, you know, the usual. The kinds of things that are used all the time to get information out of alleged terrorists. Only Marcus isn’t a terrorist and he hasn’t even been charged with a crime. The DHS is only questioning him because he seems a little suspicious and out of the ordinary. You know, the usual. The usual nightmare that anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time just being a regular, normal citizen might go through because we’re handing over our freedoms with the idea that we might gain security in exchange.

Well, they release Marcus and two of this three friends. Marcus got the worst of the questioning, but all of them are worried about their missing friend. Only Marcus, he’s gotten angry at how he was treated. Much the way I imagine many otherwise innocent people have gotten angry at how they’ve been treated or “questioned”. So, Marcus decides he’s going to get back at the DHS. And, thanks to his talents as a young computer hacker, he does.

I won’t ruin the story by telling you all that happens, but it is a gripping read, not lessened by the fact that it’s something which could happen right here in our country. In fact, some people feel it is happening. One of the many things I liked about this book was how accurate the computer security was. Doctorow really researched this well and even called in contacts like the infamous Bruce Schneier to help get it right. As a matter of fact, they get it so right that I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in getting the basics of computer security. They explain public key cryptography, protocol tunneling, and several other key concepts in modern computer security that, frankly, are somewhat hard to explain.
If you’re worried about the future of your country, or just the future of your children, I encourage you to read this book. If you want to encourage the next generation to be politically aware and have a good understanding of the issues, buy this book for them.

I may not always agree with Cory Doctorow’s political agenda, but Little Brother is a great book and will provide many topics of discussion for interested classes and families.
Read this book!