The “Where there’s smoke” Edition :: Rusty’s Electric Dreams, Issue #153

On Sunday night I woke up to the sound of trees rustling loudly and my curtains flying open. Then I smelled smoke. I had a moment of panic…


Rusty's Electric Dreams

Rusty’s Electric Dreams, an inbox zine from the curious mind of Rusty Blazenhoff
Issue #153 :: The “Where there’s smoke” Edition :: 10:11:2017

Where there’s smoke…

On Sunday night I woke up to the sound of trees rustling loudly and my curtains flying open. Then I smelled smoke. I sat straight up and panicked that the house was on fire.

It wasn’t. But there was smoke filling my house.

I closed the windows and looked at Facebook. There were fires north of me. I went back to sleep. I was lucky that I could.

Since early Monday morning I’ve been hearing how friends (and friends of friends) lost their homes to the fires. There has been a lot of property damage but so far (knock on wood) no loss of life. We did, however, lose the Hacienda.

The Hacienda del pinto was a magical, massive home in Kenwood, California that our Community used for events from time to time. According to a friend who used to be its caretaker, it just sold two weeks ago to a couple who wanted to fix it up.

Now it’s gone.

Before:

After (another part of the property, I believe):

so heartbroken. We had good times there. One fond memory from the Hacienda…  SJ riding by me on a horse with a big grin on her face.  She was 10 or 11.

I hope everyone who is reading this is safe and not in fear of evacuation (or worse). 

–Rusty Blazenhoff
P.S. My friend Amani asked friends on Facebook to show their “bug-out bags.” I had never heard of that term before. It got me thinking about making one… stat.

This space intentionally left on fire

As seen on the Internets

 

Church of the Subgenius documentary

SLACK: There’s going to be a Church of the Subgenius documentary !

:: This is OK Go-level stuff
:: https://boingboing.net/2017/10/06/this-band-used-facebook-live.html

:: Gaslighting techniques for the workplace
:: https://medium.com/conquering-corporate-america/gaslighting-for-beginners

:: “The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz” Thanks, Tim!
:: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/the-secret-agenda-of-a-facebook-quiz.html

:: Redesigning braille
:: https://www.fastcodesign.com/90136975/the-complicated-quest-to-redesign-braille

:: Douchebags Thanks, Frank!
:: https://douchebags.com

:: How to actually learn a language
:: https://betterhumans.coach.me/michel-de-montaigne-on-how-to-learn-a-language-effortlessly

:: “The New Midlife Crisis” (for women)
:: http://www.oprah.com/sp/new-midlife-crisis.html

:: Swedish death cleaning
:: http://www.whimn.com.au/live/home/the-new-decluttering-trend-is-called-swedish-death-cleaning-and-we-tried-it/news-story/7d757c405fefdd1d1c021c870aef34d3

Real book you can actually read: yay!


So many friends are writing books these days:  My friend Heather Vescent has co-authored the Cyber Attack Survival Manual. How cool is that?

I asked her how she got to co-author it. This is what she told me:

“My co-author, Nick Selby, is a cyber-crime investigator and I’m the technology futurist. I started out writing about the darknet and the Future of Money, but it snowballed into writing about the Internet of Things, gamergate, online harassment, the dread pirate roberts and sex and love.

While researching the sex and love chapter, I spent time on craigslist and in reddit channels I wouldn’t normally hang out in. Turns out, I have boring porn habits, but I have a lot of friends who like to talk about their sexy, kinky, online experiences. All the stories in chapter 10, from revenge porn to being hacked by your angry x (page 141), are true.

While writing the future of money chapter, I re-connected with some of my more nefarious friends to understand just how easy it is to launder money using bitcoin (page 121).

The Cyber Attack Survival Manual includes easy-to-read chapters on kids, viruses and malware, phishing and other scams, and how to react when your data is breached. Each chapter features friendly illustrations and easy-to-use charts, and each has sections on protecting yourself – for the everyday user, the power user, and members of the ‘Tin-Foil-Hat-Brigade’ – the ultra cautious user.”

Fun Fact: Like me, Heather legally changed her name to her internet name. She is now officially “Heather Vescent.” I looked at her license and everything.

Cyber Attack Survival Manual: From Identity Theft to The Digital Apocalypse and Everything in Between is available now in paperback.

Ms. Vescent (I just wanted to use her last name) will be speaking about “Surviving the Cyber Apocalypse” and signing books at the next dorkbot in Oakland on Wednesday, October 18.

Featured events

 

Mid-Century Supper Club Halloween potluck

Alameda, California

[10/21] Mid-Century Supper Club Halloween Potluck, at the Eagles Hall, 5 PM to 10 PM, Tickets

My pals Karen Finlay and Jennye Garibaldi host this swell soiree. I’ve gone several times and it’s a lot of fun. I just wrote up an article about it on Boing Boing. That’s here

Current mood:

Rusty’s Electric Dreams is a weekly inbox zine from the curious mind of Rusty Blazenhoff.

Described as, “One of the most inspiring, weird and off-kilter collections of curated kitschy ephemera for the big-brained.”

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