AJ Van Beest
theaj42.bsky.social
AJ Van Beest
@theaj42.bsky.social
The wilderness calls. #resist #NoDouchebaggery #spicy

Makes coffee for @chicagomom when not raising heck or securing the cyberz.

CISSP | GPEN | WTAF
I work in cyber security (private sector). The Russian cyber threat is as real as ever.
March 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
If you're interested in chatting about socially-responsible uses of AI, I'd be happy to show you how I got Claude to draw up impeachment papers for Trump, or even share the prompts above.

My DMs are open.

Except for RFK. Fuck that dude.
February 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
So _all that_ to say:
1. Fuck you, you fucking fuck, RFK.
2. Behold my outsourcing of metadata creation and verification to our robot overlords.
February 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
However, the spicy parts of my brain are MORE THAN HAPPY to find creative ways to pass that kind of work off to robots. And also to find innovative ways to work "Fuck you, RFK" into a whole long-ass series of social media posts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
February 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Remember the part where I mentioned "neuro-spicy" (and also suggested that RFK fuck right off)?

That part of my brain just. fucking. can't. with long checklists like the one from MIT, no matter how much the rest of me wants to do it.
February 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
While generating awesome, accurate metadata is _important_, it's not as *sexy* as, say, figuring out a bash one-liner that pulls down a mathematically-verifiable archive-ready copy of every. single. goddamn. file. on any given webserver.

Meeeeow! I need a sec to cool my jets.

Fuck you, RFK.
February 21, 2025 at 12:38 PM
"And what," I hear you ask, with a long-suffering sigh, "Does any of this have to do with early-morning nerdery? (But I do agree that fuck RFK.)"

Good question!

To make this data useful, it requires *metadata* so that researchers can find, verify, and better understand the data we saved.
February 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Some of those amazing humans are:
- @datarescueproject.org
- @archive.org
- @harvardlil.bsky.social

Some excellent resources to learn more are:
- www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/de...
- www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/
- warrior.archiveteam.org

RFK is a fucking joke. Seriously: fuck that guy.
Start Sharing Data | Deposit
Deposits should include all data and documentation necessary to independently read and interpret the data collection:
www.icpsr.umich.edu
February 21, 2025 at 12:33 PM
There is a glorious, diverse, competent group of Most Excellent Humans that are working overtime to coordinate efforts of foul-mouthed nerds like me (and other flavors of humans, too) and help us make sure that we save everything we can.

Except that RFK guy; fuck him.
February 21, 2025 at 12:24 PM
"But AJ," I hear you ask. "Doesn't the US government have a lot of data? More, even, than can fit in a golden Florida bathroom?"

Why yes, my padawan. You are absolutely right. Fortunately, neither you nor I need to store it all. Only a little bit, and only for a little while.

Hey RFK! Fuck you!
February 21, 2025 at 12:22 PM
So what is this "Data Hording?"

It's the process of identifying data (currently, my focus is on US federal data) that is at risk of disappearing, or being "altered in unpredictable ways that don't align with a common understanding of fact."

ie. "Fucked with"

Fuck you, RFK, you worthless piece of
February 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Enter "Data Hording."

Or, as I like to call it: "No, actually fuck *you* you fucking oligarch scumbag mother-fuckers. You fucking don't get to steal my fucking country, erase our fucking history, and try to negate the existence and experience of my fucking people."

Also, fuck you, RFK.
February 21, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Now, with this more-literal-every-day-Mad-Max-cum-Highlander-political-hellscape-shitnado in which we all coexist, I still have to find the phish, but my Boyscout heart (honest, brave, loyal, trustworth, fuck you, RFK) requires me to turn my keyboard in a different direction in my "spare time." lol
February 21, 2025 at 12:14 PM
I like Big Data and I cannot lie.

In the Before Times, I would spend hours a day swimming in the sweet, sunshine-drenched waters of my comapny's datalake, my only goal being to identify interesting, intriguing new methods of cyber-fuckery.

Speaking of fuckery... Fuck you, RFK.
February 21, 2025 at 12:10 PM
And before I go any further in my little story, it's time for a word from this episode's sponser:

Fuck you, RFK.
February 21, 2025 at 12:08 PM
The process may be simple. Easy, even. But if it's not also *interesting,* well, again, fuck you, RFK.
February 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM