My Email to '24 Hour Fitness' Concerning the Implementation of Their New 'Cardless Check-in'

I am an active member of 24 Hour Fitness.  The last time I tried to sign into the gym, I was told by the associates at the front desk that I would have to sign-up for the Cardless Check-in system, which included scanning my fingerprints.
I have several concerns about a private company collecting and storing my fingerprint data.  Normally fingerprint collection is reserved for criminals that have committed a criminal offense, and not someone looking to exercise at their local gym.  The implementation of biometric technology does not just involve collection of information about the person, but rather information of the person, intrinsic to them.
I feel that the transition to this new system was not communicated to members.  Why could it not have been communicated to members via email, and/or letter mail? Instead it has been left to the people at the front desk of 24 Hour Fitness to try and explain.  When I asked why 24 Hour Fitness is suddenly changing the way a customer signs into the gym, they could only tell me that it was more convenient for the customer.  I hardly think this a rationale to start collecting the fingerprints of every customer.  I strongly disagree that this makes it more convenient for the customer.  I refuse to use this new system, and I have been told that if I don’t use the Cardless Check-in that I will have to present my driver’s license along with my membership card every time I sign-in.  This makes it very inconvenient for me.  I don’t usually carry my wallet into the gym, and now I have to risk storing my wallet in my locker where it can easily be stolen.
I sited my concerns to the employees at the 24 Hour Fitness counter, but none of them were able to answer them my questions and couldn’t tell me the real reason the sign-in policy had changed.  I understand how modern fingerprint biometric systems function.  I understand that the fingerprint is hashed and stored in a database and compared for reverification upon sign-in.  The fact that I know how this technology functions is what concerns me the most.  How do I really know what 24 Hour Fitness is doing with the fingerprint that is scanned in? 
Here are some of the questions I asked to the employees at the front desk and they were unable to answer.
1)   What type of network security are you employing in order to protect the Cardless Check-in system?
2)    What type of physical/anti-tamper mechanisms do you have implemented?
3)   What secure cryptographic algorithm is being used to protect customers fingerprints (i.e. the data at rest)?
4)   Is the fingerprint converted into a cryptographic one-way hash?
5)   If it is a one-way hash, which algorithm is being used and what is the strength (i.e. size)?
Before the Cardless Check-in system was implemented if I lost my plastic membership card, I could simply get a new one without harm.  With the Cardless Check-in system I am now putting a lifetime of trust into a private company.  If the scan of my fingerprint is lost because a disgruntled employee from 24 Hour Fitness decides to steal the information or someone hacks into the system my fingerprint identity is lost forever.  I have one set of fingerprints.  I cannot simply re-grow a new fingerprint.
When I signed my membership I did not sign up to have my biometric fingerprint data scanned into your database.  In my opinion by collecting fingerprint data, 24 Hour Fitness is starting a trend in America that undermines democracy, personal freedoms and free, open societies.  I refuse to have my biometric stored by your Cardless Check-in system.  I would like the Annapolis gym to allow me to enter by simply scanning the barcode of my membership card. I do not want to have to present my driver’s license or be forced into a program that I feel is intrusive, offensive, distasteful, invasive.  If you are forcing me to scan my fingerprints in order to enter 24 Hour Fitness then I would like to cancel my membership.
Thank you.

How to Replace Your Verizon FIOS Actiontec Router with the Router of Your Choice

If you have Verizon FIOS, you may have ran into issues with the small NAT table that overflows.  It is only 1kb in size, and there is currently update to repair this issue.  I also find that the router has a weak wireless signal.  There is a solution!
You can't directly replace the Actiontec router with a typical off-the-shelf router since Verizon FIOS uses MoCA to connect to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT).  However, you can bridge the Actiontec router with a router of your choice.

Steps
1) Connect an ethernet cable to the back of one of your open ports on the Actiontec router and the other end to a laptop/workstation.  This will ensure you have a hard connection to the Actiontec router.

2) Login to your router:
The default IP is 192.168.1.1 and the default username is 'admin'; password is 'password1'.  Technically the factory default password is 'password', but the Verizon technicians usually change it to 'password1' upon installation.

3) Reset your Actiontec router back to its original default settings:
Advanced -> Click 'Yes' when it asks if you want to proceed -> Restore Defaults
This will reboot your router and restore it to its default settings.  It will now ask you to create a password.  Put a password in of your choice (alpha-numeric) and login to the Actiontec again.

4) Disable Wireless:
Wireless Settings -> Basic Security Settings -> Turn Wireless On: Click the 'Off' radio button.

5) Release the ActionTec IP from the ONT:
My Network -> Network Connections -> Broadband Connection (coax) -> Settings
You will arrive at the 'Broadband Connection (coax)' settings page.  Copy down the grayed out password: in the textbox.
DHCP Lease: Click 'Release' and immediately perform the next step.
Internet Protocol: change to 'No IP Address'
Ensure Auto Detection is 'On'
Privacy checkbox: 'Enabled'
Input the password you noted in the 'Password' textbox
Click 'Apply' at the bottom of the page and click 'Yes' when it asks if you want to proceed.

6) Turn the Actiontec into a Bridge:
My Network -> Network Connections -> Network (Home/Office) -> Settings
You will arrive at the Network (Home/Office) settings page.
Bridge:
Broadband Connection (coax):
- check the Broadband Connection (coax) to enable
- check STP
Click 'Apply' at the bottom of the page and click 'Yes' when it asks if you want to proceed.

7) Disable the firewall settings:
Firewall Settings -> Minimum Security (low) 
Click 'Apply' at the bottom of the page and click 'Yes' when it asks if you want to proceed.

8) Verify that the Actiontec router no longer has a connection to the Internet:
The Actiontec should still have a connection to the ONT.
You can verify this by going back into:
My Network -> Network Connections ->
click the Full Status button at the bottom of the list.
'Broadband Connection (Coax)' should say it's connected still.

9) Disconnect all devices from the Actiontec:
Physically disconnect any devices from the back of the Actiontec ethernet ports, and setup the router of your choice.  Make sure your new router's IP address is something different from 192.168.1.1 or it will conflict.  Your new router should now DHCP an IP from Verizon without any issues.

Spectrum of Theistic Probability

There doesn't seem to be a true definition as to what it means to be agnostic. Maybe this will help.
Richard Dawkins has popularized the Spectrum of Theistic Probability. It is a way of categorizing yourself into 1 of 7 milestones.

1. Strong theist. 100% probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung, 'I do not believe, I know.'

2. Very high probability but short of 100%. De facto theist. 'I cannot know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there.'

3. Higher than 50% but not very high. Technically agnostic but leaning towards theism. 'I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.'

4. Exactly 50%. Completely impartial agnostic. 'God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.'

5. Lower than 50% but not very low. Technically agnostic but leaning towards atheism. 'I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be sceptical.'

6. Very low probability, but short of zero. De facto atheist. 'I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.'

7. Strong atheist. 'I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung "knows" there is one.'

Dawkins also notes that he would be "surprised to meet many people in category 7." Dawkins calls himself "about a 6, but leaning towards 7 — I am agnostic only to the extent that I am agnostic about fairies at the bottom of the garden."

I would have to say that I am in category 6. It's difficult to prove or disprove God. However, a majority of the evidence leans towards there not being one.
What category are you in?  Feel free to add a comment.

Richard Dawkins "What if you're Wrong?" Cartoonized by South Park

One of the most respected scientists out there on the subject of Atheism, Richard Dawkin's sums it all up very well in this video.  This is his actual speech that has been "cartoonized" by South Park.

Happy Darwin Day - Logic, Reason, and Science!

Darwin Day is the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin.  This year is the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.  Darwin was the first to propose the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection.  Darwin was a pioneer of his time, here are some of his major accomplishments:

• His theory of evolution by natural selection is now the unifying theory of the life sciences.  It explains where all living things came from and how they became adapted to their particular environments.
• He helped pave the way for a new branch of science called evolutionary biology.
• He was the first scientist to propose the mechanism by which the process of evolution takes place (i.e. transmutation of species).
• He was the first to propose the theory of evolution, which illustrated that humans evolved from apes.  The popular image below shows the theory of evolution.

All of these reasons are why Darwin is referred to as the father of evolutionary biology.  Without Darwin's intelligence, wisdom and passion for science where would we be today?
Happy birthday Darwin!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change” - Charles Darwin

Slingbox Solo Setup

I bought a Slingbox Solo yesterday so I can watch Canadian Olympic Coverage in the US.  More importantly I bought it so I can watch the Team Canada hockey games that are not televised in the US.  A Slingbox is a device that allows you to remotely view a cable, satellite or PVR program from an Internet-enabled computer with a  broadband Internet connection.  I plan to have the Slingbox located in Canada and stream it to my house in the US.

I went though the setup of the Slingbox last night and it wasn't exactly straight forward.  I wouldn't recommend it for the light-hearted.  It doesn't come with an instruction manual, which seems pretty typical for tech devices today.  I wasn't really too concerned with this since I don't usually use manuals, unless I absolutely need them.  After some tweaks and playing around with port forwarding settings on my firewall I was able to get it working.

My setup went as follows.  

1) Plug the ethernet cable into the Slingbox and the other end into one of the open ports on my Actiontec MI424WR router (yes the Verizon FIOS POS)

2) Plug the audio/video cables (component, composite or s-video) into the IN audio/video ports of the Slingbox, plug the other end of the cables into the OUT ports of your digital receiver.

3) Plug the AC adapter barrel into the Slingbox and the other end into an AC sources.

4) Wait for the Slingbox to fire-up.  Once it boots-up the 2 lights on the front of the front of the Slingbox should be solid red.

5) Once this is complete, your router should assign it an IP via DHCP.  You can verify this by logging into your router and noting the IP that was assigned.

6) Also make sure to enable UPnP on your router so the Slingbox can be easily discovered.

7) Setup port forwarding on your router, so that your Slingbox can use port 5001, using TCP.  5001 is the Slingbox default, but you can configure the Slingbox to use whatever port you would like.

8) Once I verified that my port forwarding worked I downloaded and installed the SlingPlayer software.  Note: I found that the Mac version of the software seems to be a lot different then the Windows version.

9) Once you install the software it will look for your Slingbox on the network.  If all goes well it should detect your it and run you through a setup wizard that will ensure the Slingbox TCP port is open and setup your remote control.
10) Once the setup wizard is complete.... voila!  You should be able to view whatever is being streamed from your receiver.

Snowmageddon in DC - NASA Satellite Image

Here is a satellite image of the snow storm that dumped 2 - 3 feet (61cm - 92cm) of snow on the DC region.  Obama dubbed it "Snowmageddon".  I have also heard Snotorious B.I.G., Snowpocalypse.  I am sure there are many more.  Notice how New York state and beyond looks much clearer.  How ironic, since the DC area rarely receives such large amounts of snow.  I have also heard that back home in Ottawa they are having really nice weather and you can see the grass in some parts.  That is not the case here.  I think it will be a week until we see the pavement.  It looks like the snow has followed me down here! :)

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