Matt Blaze

The composition plays with the contrast between the ambitiously-sized sign and the humble, rustic old store. The photo is about shapes and scale.

This is also a bit of a nod to Grant Wood's famous 1930 painting, American Gothic. (See https://www.artic.edu/artworks/6565/american-gothic). Wood's […]

Captured with a small mirrorless camera and 21mm lens, on a compact travel tripod.

This was a case where I hadn't really planned to make formal architectural photos and so had only a small camera with me, with no shifting lens. I made do by shooting wide with the camera level and cropping […]

A small, vacant, clapboard store in a rural setting. It is surrounded by weeds. To the left is a disproportionately large Googie-style arrow-shaped sign on a pole.

Vacant Store, BZ Corner, WA, 2011.

All the pixels, marked down for a going out of business sale, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/6110374799

#photography

@keithpjolley Likewise (on every point).

Waiting at the Apple store for my phone to be repaired, watching on of the staff patiently and kindly explaining to an older customer about SMS phishing scams.

The effect is that there aren't enough of these people to completely ruin things, but enough that you get a little knot in your stomach every time a stranger approaches you, knowing that there's a 1 in 20 chance that they're one of the Magic Truthers, looking to expose your malicious lies.

Imagine you're a professional magician at a magic conference. 95% of the attendees are other magicians, looking to improve their craft and learn new ideas.

But 5% of the people there are self-appointed "investigators", seeking evidence that magic involves *actual* supernatural powers. To them […]

The composition plays with the contrast between the ambitiously-sized sign and the humble, rustic old store. The photo is about shapes and scale.

This is also a bit of a nod to Grant Wood's famous 1930 painting, American Gothic. (See https://www.artic.edu/artworks/6565/american-gothic). Wood's […]

Captured with a small mirrorless camera and 21mm lens, on a compact travel tripod.

This was a case where I hadn't really planned to make formal architectural photos and so had only a small camera with me, with no shifting lens. I made do by shooting wide with the camera level and cropping […]

A small, vacant, clapboard store in a rural setting. It is surrounded by weeds. To the left is a disproportionately large Googie-style arrow-shaped sign on a pole.

Vacant Store, BZ Corner, WA, 2011.

All the pixels, marked down for a going out of business sale, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/6110374799

#photography

Still Covid negative one day post DEF CON. Yay!

Day 3 of Voting Village 2025! We had a great talks program Friday and Saturday. Stop by W222-223 this morning to play with voting equipment, buy a shirt, or just say hi before we pack up.

Also, huge shoutout to the @defcon security goons, who have gone out of their way to help keep our village […]

A CO2 meter showing 386ppm in an indoor space.

So far (before the hordes arrive, at least), excellent ventilation in the Voting Village suite at DEFCON!

Come join us in W222 at 10am for fresh air and election security.

Seriously, come to the Voting Village! We’re really excited about the program this year. And we have stickers. And t shirts. Maybe hats, too.

We can make our elections trustworthy in spite of the inevitable security weaknesses in equipment!

How? By using an architecture that *tolerates* security flaws instead of requiring you to eliminate them. This is called "Software Independence", formalized by Ron Rivest (the R in RSA) about 15 […]

Anyway, if you're interested in actually learning about this this stuff - which is interesting and important - and you're coming to DEFCON, come join us at the Voting Village!

https://www.mattblaze.org/papers/VV2025-schedule.pdf

@RecoveredExpert beautiful place!

@paco @heidilifeldman thanks for the kind words!

Captured with the Rodenstock 70mm/5.6 HR Digaron-W lens (@ f/6.3). Phase One IQ4-150 digital back (@ ISO 50, 1/30 sec), Cambo WRS-5005 camera (shifted vertically -10mm).

Red Rock Canyon is just 45 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, but completely lacks slot machines, neon signs, B-list […]

Sandstone hills, showing different shades.

Sandstone, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, 2025.

All the pixels, no exposure to nature required, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54702804473

#photography

@heidilifeldman blushing now

Captured with the Rodenstock 70mm/5.6 HR Digaron-W lens (@ f/6.3). Phase One IQ4-150 digital back (@ ISO 50, 1/30 sec), Cambo WRS-5005 camera (shifted vertically -10mm).

Red Rock Canyon is just 45 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, but completely lacks slot machines, neon signs, B-list […]

Sandstone hills, showing different shades.

Sandstone, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, 2025.

All the pixels, no exposure to nature required, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54702804473

#photography

Seriously, come to the Voting Village! We’re really excited about the program this year. And we have stickers. And t shirts. Maybe hats, too.

Once again, I'm not going to link to this BS, which deserves no oxygen. However, in case you come across it, you should know that:

- The NSA, a branch of the US Department of Defense, isn't involved in any way in US elections, which are run by states.
- The NSA doesn't audit elections, or […]

Captured with the Rodenstock 40mm/4.0 HR-Digiron-W lens (@ f/6.3), Phase One IQ4-150 back (@ ISO 50), Phase One XT camera (vertically shifted -12mm).

White-Gravenor Hall, completed in 1933, represents Georgetown trying its best to look like Princeton, which, in turn, tries its best to look like […]

Entrance of an aggressively gothic academic building

White-Gravenor Hall (Main Entrance), Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 2025.

All the pixels, none of the learning or research, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/54481192198

#photography

@thedarktangent Hmm. Must be some sort of convention in town. Maybe COMDEX?

@thedarktangent Hmm. Must be some sort of convention in town. Maybe COMDEX?

We can make our elections trustworthy in spite of the inevitable security weaknesses in equipment!

How? By using an architecture that *tolerates* security flaws instead of requiring you to eliminate them. This is called "Software Independence", formalized by Ron Rivest (the R in RSA) about 15 […]