CatSynth.com attacked!

On the afternoon of November 7, our site CatSynth.com suffered a major cyber-attack!
Everything was erased, all of CatSynth, my professional music website, the popular Mondrian Machine. Everything.

It is possible I can coax my service provider to restore things from a backup. Meanwhile, I have an older full-site backup, and I have recovered all the text and comments through Friday. So hopefully I will be able to restore the site with a few days to a week.

I have also been going over the logs (which were intact after the attack), and I have pieced together exactly when they got in, and to a certain degree, what they did. I would rather not go into technical details, but I can see a script being run, and after that all webpage access starting to fail with “404 not found.” I also found a piece of assembly code left behind. It looks like that was only for clean-up purposes after the deed was done.

As far as I can tell, the only thing done was getting in and erasing the site. There was no evidence that they used their access to send emails or attack other sites, or steal information. They just wanted to destroy the site. I can’t say whether it was a random act of senseless violence – there are people who just attack random sites for fun or bravado. But the timing and fact that all they did was destroy the site suggests it could have been deliberate. Possibly even political. We at CatSynth were outspoken in our support for certain people and issues, but in a mild low-key sort of way. But if an angry person was going through hundreds of sites looking for a vulnerability, we could have just been an easy target.

Dona Nobis Pacem: BlogBlast for Peace!

Wordless Wednesday: The Whole World is Watching, 1968 and 2008

Chicago, 1968

Chicago, 2008

Election Day

Well, Election Day is here.

Here is our sample ballot and voter guide for the City and County of San Francisco, California:

Yes, it is a tome! One actually has to read and study in order to do a good job with today’s civic duty. And maybe that’s not a bad thing. The rather large size is mostly because of all our local and state-wise propositions. We have 22 local propositions. Most are very mundane, but we have some “interesting” ones, like naming a waste-water treatment plant in honor of the outgoing president (yes, the “George W Bush Sewage Treatment Plant”).

We also have 12 state propositions, including the most profound:

Those of you with us here in California, please use to your sense of reason and fairness, rather the fear and prejudice, when you consider Proposition 8.

And of course we shouldn’t forget that national election today:

Luna is joining us in absentia:

[click to enlarge]

Her boarding place is not far from our polling place, so I’ll pay her a visit after voting…

Unlike many other civilized (and not-so-civilized) countries, Election Day is not a holiday here in the U.S., and so some of us have to go to work. That includes me, as well as the construction crew here at CatSynth HQ. Making Election Day a holiday one of those things we question every four years and then never do anything about.

UPDATE

Well, the deed is done. It was actually a long line when I arrived late this morning. It seems that they temporarily ran out of ballots. It was a chance to talk to some other people from the neighborhood while waiting. I think all of us in line nearby worked in computer software. And indeed most of the line appeared to be a “blue demographic.”

I did go visit Luna afterwards. It was a wonderful moment of peace and calm amidst the current intensity and excitement and anxiety. I will remember that as part of this day.

Now there is nothing to do except await the results…

Luna’s 2nd day away

I went to visit Luna at her temporary home this morning. She seems to be enjoying sitting in this alcove above her room:

She had a rather anxious day on Sunday, but today she seemed much more comfortable. Apparently she was charming the staff before I arrived.

Meanwhile, things are a bit lonely at CatSynth HQ…

Election fun, electronic music, and seriousness

Well, we’re getting close, and things are looking good:

(This is a live link, so it will show the final results, and we’ll see how “good” things really went.)

One delightful election story that is rather apropos of this site involves Brian Dewan. He was in the news this past Saturday because of his performances of historical political folk songs (think mildly irritating songs about Jimmy Carter, Nixon or Eisenhower), but Dewan’s true claims to fame are his unqiue electronic musical instruments, including Melody Gins and Dewantrons, and “Folk Synthesizers.” We at CatSynth are delighted to see politics and our own art form crossing paths in such a direct and public way. As for Dewan’s instruments – we want one!.

This reminds me of how electronic music crossed paths for me during the previous elections, when I attended ICMC in New Orleans in 2006; and in 2004 as well, when my fellow electronic musicians and I watched the defeat at a bar in Miami. Things are looking much better this time.

We at CatSynth have also been quite amused by some of the humorous and well-designed sites that have recently appeared, most notably PalinAsPresident.com. This Flash animation depicts Sarah Palin as President (presumably after McCain’s untimely demise) in the form of an interactive game where you click on different objects (it reminds my a lot of Myst series and similar games from the 1990s). Humor abounds, as you uncover stashes from huge shopping trips, make Palin say goofy things like “Where’s Russia” and variations on “Maverick.” It is being updated every day through November 4th, and it’s always fun to come back and see what’s new. Hours, or least minutes of quality entertainment.

One thing that is not so entertaining: a mailer I received, using Barack Obama’s image and words to support Proposition 8. He is officially against it – though he hasn’t been particular vocal about the issue, mostly because of cultural blackmail in certain regions and among certain demographics. Nonetheless, it is really troubling, hopefully it doesn’t sway anyone in this largely Obama-supporting state.

The ad seemed largely targeted at African Americans, given the images and quotes from black clergy. It made me wonder about my own ethnic hertiges and their support for marriage equality. In particular, the Indian side of my heritage. I did find this survey thanks to Prerna. It suggests a 47% vote against proposition 8, which is far higher than I expected. Given my own experience (as well as the stereotypes of Indian Americans), I would have expected far lower, as we (i.e., South Asians) have an embarrassing track record on social and cultural issues. So on that note, I am somewhat optimistic. But both Prerna and I agree, “We can do so much better.”

And that’s true for the country as a whole, we can do so much better. Hopefully, we will chose that option, both nationally and locally…

Weekend Cat Blogging: Patio one last time

This weekend we revisit Luna’s adventures on the patio, before the construction/destruction begins on Monday.

[click each photo to enlarge]

It is ironic how it was only after our move to the city that Luna got to enjoy time outdoors. Our patio is high above the ground and safely enclosed by high walls. The watery theme of the murals depict ocean, beaches, and all sorts of critters:

It will be sad to see it so badly damaged in the construction. Fortunately, we are going to have it restored in the spring. No two original works of art are ever alike, but the restored version could end up even better.

Another issue with the construction is that is isn’t a safe place for a cat. Luna will be checking into a great nearby boarding facility. She will be doted on and treated quite well. However, it is probably going to be a bit lonely here at CatSynth HQ.