Archive for July 24th, 2012

I have no joke here, I just like saying…

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

…”smothering ocean of high-pressure meat“.

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-1 day DEFCON 20 notes

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Lawrence observed yesterday:

Save a mention for the serial number hacking panel, I’m sort of surprised there seem to be no Apple products on any of the panels this year.

So this is interesting:

…Dallas De Atley, manager of Apple’s platform security team, is scheduled to give a presentation on key security technologies within iOS, the operating system for iPhones and iPads.

N.B.: This is at Black Hat, not DEFCON. For those who might be confused, I like Borepatch’s description of Black Hat as “more corporate and buttoned down”: basically, they are different conferences, but with considerable overlap. Looking further into the Black Hat schedule, though, it looks like De Atley’s presentation isn’t the only one on IOS security issues.

My understanding is that the organizers try to keep a certain level of separation between Black Hat and DEFCON: why pay $1,500 for Black Hat if all the panels are duplicated at DEFCON for less? Not that there aren’t panels common to both, but it seems that your presentation has to be pretty high quality, sensational, or both in order to get accepted to Black Hat and DEFCON.

Which in turn makes me wonder: given the popularity of IOS devices, did the organizers segregate all the Apple panels at Black Hat, in an attempt to give folks more of an incentive to attend?

I don’t know: this is all purely speculative, and there’s nothing wrong with it anyway. I’m just wondering…

Posted in Apple, DEFCON 20, Geek | Comments Closed

Random notes: July 24, 2012.

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Obit watch: Sally Ride.

Previously noted, but bears repeating: The Lustgarten Foundation for pancreatic cancer research.

Noted without comment. (See also.) (See also.) (See also.)

Faced with a crippling combination of low revenues, high labor costs and decreasing funding from the state, El Monte is moving to declare a fiscal emergency and seek a tax on sugary beverages sold within the city.

More:

El Monte officials said they are not at the edge of bankruptcy but need the sugary drinks tax revenue as a protection against insolvency down the road.

I’m fascinated by the events in Anaheim, but I don’t know what to make of them right now. (More here.)

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law, Obits, Politics | 1 Comment »

Art, damn it, art! watch (#31 in a series)

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

This story has gotten a fair amount of attention elsewhere, but I want to highlight one aspect of it.

Ileana Sonnabend was a noted NYC art dealer who passed away in 2007. Her children inherited her art collection, which was valued at $1 billion. So far, her heirs have paid $471 million in estate taxes on the collection, selling off a large part of it to do so.

One of the pieces in the collection is a Robert Rauschenberg piece called “Canyon”.

Because the work, a sculptural combine, includes a stuffed bald eagle, a bird under federal protection, the heirs would be committing a felony if they ever tried to sell it. So their appraisers have valued the work at zero.

The IRS values “Canyon” at $65 million, and wants the family to pay $29.2 million in tax.

“The ruling about the eagle is not something the Art Advisory Panel considered,” [Stephanie] Barron [senior curator of 20th-century art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art] said, adding that the work’s value is defined by its artistic worth. “It’s a stunning work of art and we all just cringed at the idea of saying that this had zero value. It just didn’t make any sense.”

But doesn’t the fact that the work can’t be sold make it of zero value anyway? Sort of by definition? And is Ms. Barron confusing aesthetic value with market value?

[Ralph E.] Lerner [lawyer for the heirs] said that since the children assert the Rauschenberg has no dollar value for estate purposes, they could not claim a charitable deduction by donating “Canyon” to a museum. If the I.R.S. were to prevail in its $65 million valuation, he said the heirs would still have to pay the $40.9 million in taxes and penalties regardless of a donation.

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