Hi there. My name is John Hardin, and I guess I have collected enough useful stuff to warrant a home page...

(12/20/12) Larry Correia on the current wave of Gun Control hysteria. A must-read.
(02/04/12) New artwork: "Thank you" cards for a buycott of a carry-friendly (or carry-tolerant) retailer, such as Starbucks Coffee. Sized for 3x5 business cards per VistaPrint. Coming shortly: a sheet suitable for printing your own on card stock. Creative Commons licensed. Contact me for a commercial license if needed.
(11/04/11) New artwork, to balance out the "Gun-Free" Zone signs. Creative Commons licensed. Contact me for a commercial license if needed.	SVG source file
(11/14/08) My revision of Pastor Martin Niemöller's First they came poem: The lament of the AHSA supporter Gun owners cannot afford to fall for the divide-and-conquer strategies of those who would disarm the People.
(04/20/08) In response to the utter idiocy of the Eastern Tennessee State University administration, which thinks stickers will deter someone intent on murder: Large decals have been placed on the doors of every building to warn students of six years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $3,000 if a firearm is brought onto school premises. The decal also states that those who have the appropriate concealed handgun license are not excluded from those penalties. Although these are viewed as helpful and useful changes ... I've updated my Gun-Free Zone signs... Stickers are available on Zazzle. Creative Commons licensed. Contact me for a commercial license if needed.	SVG source file
(4/18/08) Ten inches of snow in one afternoon is not a big deal during winter most places, though in the puget sound we only get snow like that every few years. It is a big deal when the afternoon is in mid-April...
(2/16/08) Okay, enough gloom. We get beautiful sunrises here sometimes... Sorry about the bamboo obscuring the heart of the sunrise, the shot was kinda rushed.		click to enlarge
(04/26/07 - updated 2/16/08) My take on the VT tragedy, the shootings in the Westboro Mall, and other similar tragedies. The solution to violent gun crime is not victim disarmament. Creative Commons licensed.	SVG source file	click for CafePress t-shirt compatible image

(01/20/07) In response to Microsoft proposing their "Open" XML document file format as an ISO standard, I have written a letter of protest to the members of ANSI responsible for representing the USA to the ISO. See Groklaw and Andy Updegrove's blog at the ConsortiumInfo.org standards consortia website for more information about this blatant bid to corrupt the international standards process to protect Microsoft's virtual monopoly on office software.

(01/07/07) Yet more cat pix (from the archives): Kali Miao approves of the laser printer.

(12/15/06) I've updated my Scanner Tarpit HOWTO to reflect the work I've been doing with LaBrea to tarpit spambots and other spammers.

(07/31/06) More accolades for my wife's skills in paper-hole-punching-at-a-distance... A Good Day at the Range #3

(07/22/06) I took my sweet time writing these up...
A Good Day at the Range #1 and A Good Day at the Range #2
...wherein I brag about my wife's marksmanship.

(07/09/06) Per a request thrown to the winds on a.s.r: the OADS patch (visit the Anvil Chorus page for more images)

...and the patch on a mug, perfect for drinking coffee while negotiating with vendors or answering another annoying support request:

(06/30/03) Yet more cat pix: Ziba in her summer 'do

(05/27/02) Yet more cat pix: Cassiopeia being a ditz (yes, she really did look like that...)

(04/07/02) the Scanner Tarpit HOWTO

(01/01/02) Yet more cat pix:

(The Cat Vortex is what your cat is watching when she's staring intently at a blank spot on the wall. Cats find it fascinating, but humans can't understand what all the fuss is about.)

(12/15/01) Here's my letter to the DOJ about the proposed Microsoft settlement.

Security resources

the Email Sanitizer

Do you administer an email server? If so, you need a way to protect your users against worms, buffer-overflow attacks on their mailers, and social-engineering attacks on their trust. The Email Sanitizer installs on your Procmail-capable mail gateway and lets you detect and block these attacks. Don't rely only on the end user's virus protection, which is reactive (virus updates appear after the virus is already spreading) and may be out-of-date (or nonexistent).

Visit the Enhancing E-Mail Security With Procmail page. [ HTTP Mirror 1 (US: WA) | HTTP Mirror 2 (EU: NO) | HTTP Mirror 3 (EU: NL) | HTTP Mirror 4 (AU) ]

Linux Firewall and Masquerade resources

Linux 2.2 VPN Masquerade

[ HTTP Mirror 1 (US: WA) | HTTP Mirror 2 (EU: NO) | HTTP Mirror 3 (EU: NL) ]

Linux 2.2 kernel support for masquerading IPsec and PPTP Virtual Private Network traffic. Now you can securely work from home or from across the country via the Internet, while still allowing simultaneous Internet access for the rest of your local net.

IPsec
Client -.
        |
PPTP    |   Linux                                  IPsec or
Client -+-> Masq and --> Internet --> Firewall --> PPTP
        |   Firewall                               Server
Others -+
        |

The ipfwadm Dotfile Module

[ FTP Mirror 1 ]

A GUI front end for managing a Linux 2.0.x firewall for your home or small business network. Improve the security of your Internet access with minimal hassle.

Access the Internet from several computers at the same time through only one IP address and telephone line or ISDN/DSL/Cable Modem. Great for homes where two (or more) people want to surf at the same time, or if you want to telecommute while the kids play! You should also take a look at the Linux IP Masquerade Resource page.

System
One ---------.
             |
             |
System       |    Linux
Two ---------+--> Masq and ---> Internet
             |    Firewall
Other        |
Systems -----'

I used to produce the JMS CIS Digest.

My résumé in standard single-page format.

Other things I do:

Read SF - John Ringo especially, but also Lois McMaster Bujold, David Weber, Col. Tom Kratman, Michael Z. "Mad Mike" Williamson, Eric Flint, and of course Robert Heinlein.
Work (too much, lately)
Contribute to Apache SpamAssassin (my rules sandbox is here)
Collect fortune cookies. You can grab my collection if you're interested.
Accrete cats. "...and then there were five." (...and mourn their loss. We're down to ~~four~~ ~~three~~ two now. RIP OJ, 19 years old and sorely missed.) (...three - there will soon be a new kitten in the house!) (...two. RIP Cassiopeia, 14 years old and we miss her terribly. I find you can't really fill a cat-shaped hole in your heart with another cat.) (...one. RIP Kali Miao, much too suddenly and the cat-shaped hole grows.) (...maybe we have another, our neighbor's cat is now living on our front porch...) (Sigh. Outdoor cats disappear far too easily and unexpectedly. The cat-shaped hole grows again.) (...three - two new kittens!)
Waste far too much time playing Urban Dead (as "Constantine Bothari") and Quake III Arena (in the form of Urban Terror and Ultra Freeze Tag). For other Urban Dead players, here is my file of evidence against bad guys.
...Well, not so much, any more. Gaming has become less a part of my life as the character of my company has changed, and as how I want to spend my spare time has changed.
Occasionally play Full Thrust and Dirtside II ("Dammit, Sarge! The REMFs have dumped another green Second Looie on us!")
I hope to someday write a DS2 vehicle- and TOE-builder in C#.