Category Archives: Security

Sailing, Security

AC45 in SF Bay (Capsize)

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It was a fine day this past weekend as I set out on the water with the A-Class Catamaran to try and say hello to the big AC45 on the Bay. The gusts pushed upwards of 20 knts, confused chop from the tides rolled by and I quickly knew my place was not in the channel; I turned tail and had a wet ride back into the safety of flat water just outside the club.

Fortunately, video of the Oracle AC45s has been posted and shows the power of the big cats even with choppy seas. Their pair of boats are racing at high speed across the Bay until the leward bow of Coutts is caught by a wave and then…

Note that the crew are stuck to the windward aft hull like glue even though they’re hiking with just a strap over their feet at the 0:23 mark. I don’t see harnesses, only drysuits, lifejackets and helmets. Very different picture from the big comfortable pits with shorts and polo shirts of the old AC boats. Also note that as the rudders lose traction the crew has only a couple seconds to react — blow the jib and wing — before they’re over.

Update: At about the same time yesterday that I was commending Coutts and his team for saving the boat, he lost control, capsizing while bearing away and sending the trimmer through the wing.

For what it’s worth, bearing away is definintely one of the hardest moves on the catamaran. The pressure on the sail builds faster than the hulls want to move, forcing the helmsman and trimmers to navigate through an imminent tripping moment. The bear-away at windward marks is where most carnage happens in high-wind catamaran racing.

Key differences between the two incidents:

  • The water was only just to the forward beam and the boat was able to use its momentum to punch out of the water in the first video. The second video shows water far behind the beam — much deeper angle for the leward hull into the water — and the boat is almost entirely stopped.
  • The boat lost steerage as it was moving to windward in the first video. As soon as the leward aft hull touched the water it continued to track to windward and the sails could luff, dumping power aloft and bringing the windward hull down. The second video shows the rudders were turned hard downwind when steerage is lost — a reaction that stuffed the hulls hard into the waves instead of releasing pressure. There was no correction possible once the water flowed over the beam and pressure increased at the top of the mainsail.

If they keep sailing in these wind and sea-state conditions I may never get a chance to bring the A-Cat alongside. Perhaps the AC45 class should consider a max windspeed rule (e.g. 25knts).

At some point you have to wonder if it would be more fun to watch F1 cars try to race on smooth streets or on off-road rocky conditions. On the one hand it is great to see engineers try to work around the incredible risks of nature — build machines that can withstand anything — but on the other hand most high-speed endeavors use a controlled/planned environment to narrow their focus of investment.

Security

Sunscreen Hall of Shame

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The Environmental Working Group has posted a Sunscreen Hall of Shame based on analysis of ingredients in popular products.

The box’s directions tell users to “apply to eye area.” But read the fine print. It carries a warning that advises, “keep out of eyes.”

Why do sunscreen makers formulate products for use around the eyes that aren’t safe for eyes?

Because they can. There are no regulations to ensure that sunscreens are truly gentle to eyes.

Energy, History, Security

Railroaded

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Richard White, author of Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America will, next Thursday evening at Presidio of San Francisco, lecture about security and the history of transportation as a service.

One justification for federal funding of the transcontinental railroads was the need to save California for the Union, but by the time construction got underway, the Civil War was over and California was safe. The railroads were built ahead of demand, floundered in bankruptcy, and created political and economic problems that plagued the West for a generation.

Security

ATM Lie-detector in Russia

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I love news stories like the one in the NYT called “A Russian A.T.M. With an Ear for the Truth”

The machine scans a passport, records fingerprints and takes a three-dimensional scan for facial recognition. And it uses voice-analysis software to help assess whether the person is truthfully answering questions that include “Are you employed?” and “At this moment, do you have any other outstanding loans?”

Only an ear for truth? Now if they could add eyes to tell if a person is talking or just playing back a recording. How random are the questions? Would they prevent someone from using a replay of a stored voice signature?

Sberbank says that to comply with the part of the privacy law that would prohibit a company from keeping a database of customers’ voice signatures, the bank plans to store customers’ voice prints on chips contained in their credit cards.

Stored how, and for how long, and how do you update it?

And how would this work with someone who is mute?

Another interesting case would be for a relative or other accomplice to answer the voice tests on behalf of the applicant. Can the system detect a woman’s voice for a male applicant, an old voice for a young applicant…?

Perhaps the most startling aspect to the story is how the company working on the technology does not understand the privacy implications.

“We are not violating a client’s privacy,” [Mr. Orlovsky, the Sberbank executive] said. “We are not climbing into the client’s brain. We aren’t invading their personal lives. We are just trying to find out if they are telling the truth. I don’t see any reason to be alarmed.”

Privacy violations do not require “climbing into the client’s brain” and they do not require “invading their personal lives”. Those are bogus tests. They involve collecting personal information (i.e. a voice signature) and failing to protect it from unauthorized disclosure.