It's hard to argue with results … and sometimes the answer doesn't have to be creative (it just has to work).
It's the same with modern computing. We can perform better and faster than ever before, and a lot of it is because of prettier code, and smarter tools, and more skilled employees. But, sometimes, what it takes is an elegant use of brute force!
With the Equifax breach, I was reminded of something else he told me.
"It's not whether or not you've been hacked … because you have … it's whether you've been targeted."
As data becomes more valuable, and IP more coveted, security concerns grow, but the biggest security concern isn't where you would expect it to be.
When people think of hacking they often think of a Distributed Denial Of Service (DDOS) attack or the media representation of people breaking into your system in a heist.
In reality, the greatest weakness is people, it's you … the user. It's the user that turns off automatic patch updating. It's the user that uses thumb drives. It's the user that reuses the same passwords.
via xkcd
Whether it's malicious or unintentional, humans are often the biggest security weakness.
As proof, watch the first few minutes of the video below to watch a social engineer find out this man's email and gain access to his cell phone account. She locks him out of his account at the same time.
I started the video at the interesting part so you don't have to search for it.
As for passwords … I recommend not knowing them. You can't disclose what you don't know. Consequently, I recommend a password manager like LastPass or 1Password.
How many cyber security measures you take comes down to two simple questions … First, how much pain and hassle are you willing to deal with to protect your data? And, second, how much pain is a hacker willing to go through to get to your data?
It doesn't make sense to put all your data in a lockbox computer that never connects to a network … nevertheless, it might be worth it to go to that extreme for pieces of your data.
Think about what the data is worth to you, or someone else, and protect it accordingly.
You probably heard that one of the biggest credit-reporting bureaus got hacked recently. It was pretty bad.
Equifax, TransUnion and Experian are the big three providers of credit scores (and other data, including: social security numbers, full names, addresses, birth dates, and even drivers licenses and credit card numbers for some) to potential lenders and consumers.
Hackers have had access to this information between May and July, and it's taken five weeks for the company to disclose the breach.
Regardless of whether or not you were affected, they are offering "Trusted ID Premier" monitoring free for a year as an extra layer of protection. But, beware, TechCrunch has pointed out that agreeing to their ToS seems to waive your right to sue Equifax.
Situations like this are reminders to pay even more attention to your own online security.
An ant is pretty cool. It can lift more than 50 times its weight and handle pressures up to 5000 times its weight.
But, what makes ants interesting is what they do when there's a colony (or swarm) of them.
An ant can only be "so" smart – their heads are tiny – but a colony of ants is a superorganism whose collective intelligence is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Ants release pheromones from glands all over their bodies that can tell their colony an array of things. It can tell them how many ants they need to accomplish a task, it can tell them where there's food or danger, and it can even be used to relocate their whole colony to a new geography.
Clearly, it can also be used to communicate that the best way to survive danger is to create a mass of each other and allow the most possible to survive … there's no fear or greed, only what's best for the colony.
In a very real sense, this is where technology and trading are starting to move. I say starting, but swarm intelligence has been an area of research in technology since the late 80's.
There are many simple applications of swarm intelligence in creating CGI crowds, telecommunication networks and more, but technological advances are drastically increasing the power and uses of swarms.
Using the communication of various systems in order to gain real-time data from their actions and interactions will create hidden opportunities that we couldn't capitalize on previously.
We're in a golden age of innovation … How cool is that?
The Teflon League: NFL Revenues and Viewership Are Up.
Currently, the NFL is the 11th most important private company in the USA according to Fortune, and has the highest revenue of any sports league worldwide.
While critics contend that something needs to be done about the various issues surrounding the NFL, it's hard to conclude that those issues affect viewership. The NFL currently dominates attendance per game, viewership, and revenue.
In an experience economy, the NFL puts out an extraordinary product.
In Part 2, I talked about normalizing your habits and picking consistent, normalized metrics. This doesn't just work at the gym; it applies to life and business as well.
Today, I want to explain how and why this helps. To do so, we will talk about controlling your arousal states.
Chemically, most arousal states are the same. Meaning, the same hormones and neurotransmitters that make you feel fear also can make you feel excited. They affect your heart rate, respiration, etc. … Though, the outside stimuli you experience likely determines how you interpret what is happening.
In most situations, a heart rate of 170 beats per minute is an indicator of extreme danger (or an impending toe-tag). If I felt my heart racing like that in a meeting, it might trigger a fight or flight instinct. I prefer conscious and controlled responses. So, I train myself to recognize what I can control and to respond accordingly.
One way I do that is by being mindful of heart rate zones during exercise.
My goal is to get as close to 170 bpm as I can, then stay in that peak zone for as long as possible.
Here is a chart showing a Fitbit readout of a recent exercise session.
As you can see, every time I reach my limit … I get my heart rate back down. It becomes a conscious and controlled learned behavior.
It's a form of biofeedback; it's not only gotten me better at controlling what happens after my heartrate reaches 170 but at identifying when I'm close even without a monitor.
Now, when my heart rate is at 170 bpm(regardless of the situation), I don't feel anxious … I think about what I want to do.
This is a very useful tool.
It's the same with trading … Does a loss or error harsh your mellow – or is it a trigger to do what you are supposed to do.
Getting used to normalized risk creates opportunity.
When you are comfortable operating at a pace, or in an environment, that others find difficult – you have a profound advantage and edge.
Even if I'm not an expert in a field, based on context and patterns, I quickly see the big picture – and recognize the bottlenecks and leverage points that impact transformative results.
A scrambled cube presents an insurmountable challenge to newbies. It almost seems that there are infinite possibilities … and most lead towards chaos and failure. In reality, a Rubik's cube is pretty easy to solve if you understand a few simple algorithms (and match the positions of a couple key blocks in relation to the decisions you need to make next).
As more people learn to solve standard cubes, the game evolves. There is new generation of "Cubers" that attempt to find new creative situations to add difficulty, solve it faster than the next person, or try crazy variations of the cube that barely resembles the original.
As a side note, I was a little surprised to see the "Internet" on the list as source itself. Darwin would be somewhat comforted to see that people don't trust everything they see on the internet.
The following chart is a bit outdated (it's from 2014), but it's a good study with diverse leanings. It presents the trust levels of various news sources by ideological group.
Which of your news sources do you follow? Were they as trusted as you expected?
Another question worth asking yourself is "Am I getting an idea of what the other side is thinking?" In trading, I always want to understand what the other side sees.
Finally, let me know if there are resources you think I should look at.
Could there be a second Cold War? Or, is there really a chance someone pushes the button?
Regardless, it's just another green tick mark on the doomsday clock according to the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" who post a yearly update to our doomsday clock (and have for 70 years).
The Doomsday Clock is a globally-recognized model of our planet's health and safety – but who knew it was an actual thing based off of a range of factors?
Now – they want you to donate, and so there's a level of fearmongering, but they do provide some solid data on nuclear stockpiles, global temperature differences and more.
You can see their full article on this year's prediction here.
And if you're actually worried about North Korea – even if they now have the ability to hit the U.S., I think we need to be asking if they have a real desire to do so?
North Korea thrives off of the status quo – keeping people placated with propaganda and love for their glorious leader.
Despite how it may seem sometimes – It's unlikely Kim Jong Un is trying to start a war with America. It just isn't smart.
But, we know that emotion is not often based on logic.
via xkcd
An ant is pretty cool. It can lift more than 50 times its weight and handle pressures up to 
via 
