BSA in the Mideast

I just spent an evening sharing stories with a fellow Scouter who has served as scoutmaster to an enclave of American boys in the Mideast. Their troop is a "direct service" troop, which means they don't have a normal district or council. Instead, they work directly with a representative at the National Council office in Texas. Scouting is a bit different out there.

http://smat.us/2009/04/17/bsa-in-the-mideast/

2026 Renewals

Here are guidelines for completing your 2026 renewal. Contact the state treasurer at [email protected] if you have questions. Who needs to renew Renewal notices: paper versus email Fees to renew Self renewal Renewing two or more members Payments: mail or online Deadline and late renewals Life membership Who needs to renew Regular and junior members must pay renewal fees every year, unless they have purchased a life membership.

http://minnesotasar.org/2025/10/31/2026-renewals/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

2025 SAR Congress Report

I attended the 2025 NSSAR annual congress as our state's National Trustee and as a state delegate to the Congress. This year's congress was hosted by the Connecticut Society. It took place at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, operated by the Mohegan Tribe. This congress took place in mid-July, which is typical for NSSAR congresses. There is one National Trustee to represent each SAR state society or overseas society, plus others…

http://minnesotasar.org/2025/09/04/2025-sar-congress-report/

Grade School Crypto Videos

This is a short, gentle two-part introduction to basic cryptographic concepts using text-based crypto examples. Illustrates encryption, decryption, ciphers, keys, algorithms, code cracking, cryptanalysis, and letter frequency analysis. Full disclosure: I produced these videos over a decade ago. Now they are hosted directly on this web site as opposed to elsewhere. Here is a PDF built from the animated slide decks: …

http://cryptosmith.com/2025/09/02/grade-school-crypto-videos/

Revised MNSAR Web Site

The MNSAR web site now takes advantage of the latest Wordpress upgrades. We can now adapt the home page to highlight different aspects of the MNSAR. The latest version highlights the national SAR mission statement and logo, as encouraged by the national society. We also have two boxes to highlight our youth awards programs and activities in colonial uniforms. Two more highlight boxes will soon appear on the home page.

http://minnesotasar.org/2025/08/23/revised-mnsar-web-site/

Why Signalgate Matters

I found this in my files. I no doubt intended to publish it months ago and forgot to finish it and press the button. Senior government officials traditionally restrict defense-related conversations to special locations to prevent eavesdropping. The most secret conversations occur in places like the White House Situation Room or protected command centers in military sites. The officials also declare the conversation to be…

http://cryptosmith.com/2025/08/16/why-signalgate-matters/

Another Telephone Phish

A person called me on the phone a few moments ago claiming to be from US Bank. He said there was some fraud detected on my account: someone created a new checking account with my identity information. "So, you have my identity information?" I asked. "Yes," he replied. "Can you prove who you say you are?" I got the first 3 words out before he abruptly hung up.

http://cryptosmith.com/2025/07/31/another-telephone-phish/

Making Fun of Quantum Codebreaking

Quantum codebreaking uses a theoretically "large" quantum computer codebreaking. Today, quantum computers handle very tiny numbers. The most impressive examples deal with numbers less than 22. In theory, a “large" quantum computer could quickly crack codes we use every day to protect data.  I’ve been skeptical about quantum codebreaking for decades. I think it violates physical laws like conservation of energy.

http://cryptosmith.com/2025/07/21/making-fun-of-quantum-codebreaking/

Von Neumann Talks to the Navy

"Johnny" von Neumann was a mid-century giant in math and a respected advisor to the US government. On May 15, 1946, he gave a talk to the Mathematical Computing Advisory Panel of the Office of Naval Research and Inventions titled "The Principles of Large Scale Computing Machines."1 A year earlier von Neumann had scooped Eckert and Mauchly, developers of the pioneering ENIAC computer, by publishing…

http://cryptosmith.com/2025/07/08/von-neumann-talks-to-the-navy/