Friday, August 15, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 16 2025


 “The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.”

Winston Churchill, 1936

Churchill’s line is pure Adaptation-Guide energy — warning that dithering leads straight into disaster.


Thursday, August 14, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 15 2025

 

"The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe."
Albert Einstein, 1946

Swap “atom” for “artificial intelligence,” and it’s almost unnervingly exact for 2025. 


When AI Falls into the Wrong Hands: Welcome to the New Criminal Century


A new era of cybercrime isn’t “coming.” It’s here. And if you think it’s just shadowy teenagers in hoodies somewhere in a basement, you’re living in 2012. 

According to a bombshell report from the Texas-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, the so-called “AI revolution” — once hailed as a security dream — has instead become the ultimate weapon for the other side.

The Threat Hunting Report 2025 makes it plain: artificial intelligence hasn’t just reshaped how businesses operate. 

It has fundamentally changed how attackers think, plan, and strike. And the countries leading the charge aren’t guessing games: 

Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea — state-linked, highly organized, and moving faster than we can patch our defenses.


Generative AI as the Criminal’s New Swiss Army Knife


Forget the cinematic image of a genius hacker typing green code into a black terminal.
We now have AI that hacks for them.

CrowdStrike details how a North Korean-linked group used generative AI to develop and execute entire attack campaigns, from end to end:

  • Fake job applications so convincing they bypass human suspicion.

  • Real-time deepfake video interviews to impersonate job candidates — voices, faces, mannerisms included.

  • Task completion under stolen identities, making malicious activity look like normal workflow.

The result? 

In just the past twelve months, this single group infiltrated 320 companies. That’s not a typo — and they didn’t need a “super hacker.” Just the right AI model, applied without conscience.


The Next Battlefield: Your Company’s Own AI


Attackers aren’t just exploiting AI — they’re targeting the AI you thought was protecting you.
Autonomous AI agents — systems built to make decisions and act with minimal human oversight — are becoming prime attack surfaces. Hackers now hijack them, securing persistent access, stealing credentials, and planting malware inside the very brains of your digital infrastructure.

Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s Head of Counter-Adversary Operations, describes it bluntly:

“Every AI agent is a kind of superhuman identity — autonomous, fast, deeply integrated — making it a particularly valuable target.”

When the “identity” you trust most becomes the mole inside your own system, you’re not defending a network anymore. You’re defending a hostage.


Malware Without the Mastermind


The myth of the solitary genius building malware in a dark room is dead. AI can now churn out harmful code in minutes — no expertise required.

And here’s the kicker: 81% of cyberattacks now happen without malware at all. Instead of malicious software, criminals exploit human software — our emotions, trust, and mistakes.


The Human Weak Link: AI-Enhanced Voice Phishing


The hottest trend? “Vishing” — voice phishing powered by AI.
This isn’t some scammy robocall from an obvious fake number.
Attackers:

  • Clone voices and craft convincing identities.

  • Call help desks pretending to be tech support, bank reps, or government officials.

  • Trick staff into resetting passwords or bypassing multi-factor authentication.

In the first half of 2025 alone, vishing incidents have already outpaced the total for all of 2024 — and criminals are doing it faster. 

CrowdStrike notes one group pulled off a full-scale ransomware operation — from first breach to full encryption — in under 24 hours. That’s 32% faster than similar attacks in 2023.


The Cloud Is Now the Storm


Cloud environments — once seen as safer than on-premise systems — are now a favored target. In just the first six months of 2025, cloud attacks jumped 136% compared to all of 2024.
Chinese-linked attackers have become especially aggressive, with a 40% increase in their cloud-focused campaigns.


The Harsh Truth: We Gave Them the Tools


This didn’t happen because AI is “evil.” It happened because we built it without guardrails, gave it away, and assumed morality was a default setting

We’ve handed the digital equivalent of nuclear technology to people whose only mission is to weaponize it — and acted surprised when they did.

The uncomfortable fact? These attackers are only doing what any rational strategist would do when given super-capable, unregulated tools: exploit them.


What Needs to Happen — Yesterday

  1. Mandatory AI Attack Simulations — Every company using AI should be required to test how it can be turned against them. If you haven’t attacked yourself with your own AI, someone else will.

  2. AI Use Transparency Laws — Require disclosure when AI is used in hiring, verification, or communication. Deepfakes thrive in opacity.

  3. Kill the “Autonomous” Myth — No AI agent should operate without real-time human supervision and rapid shutdown capability.

  4. Voice Verification Protocols — If your systems can be accessed by a phone call, you’re in 1995. Secure every reset with multi-channel authentication.

  5. Global AI Crime Watchdog — If we can have nuclear non-proliferation treaties, we can have AI misuse pacts — backed by sanctions.


Final Word

This is not a “cybersecurity story.” This is a civilization story.
AI in the wrong hands doesn’t just steal your money. It can dismantle trust at the speed of computation.

We have two choices:

  • Keep pretending the genie will behave itself.

  • Or start building a world where AI’s worst uses are met with our best defenses.

History will not be kind if we choose wrong.


yours truly,

Adaptation-Guide

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 14 2025


 “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile—hoping it will eat him last.” — Churchill (1940)

“The weak get beaten.” — Stalin (1931)


Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 13 2025

 

"When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted, when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can't eat money."

Alanis Obomsawin, Abenaki filmmaker and activist

This quote carries the force of Indigenous prophecy and anti-colonial critique—an indictment of extractive capitalism and petrochemical greed that could not be more relevant to this moment.




Monday, August 11, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 12 2025


 "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

— Often attributed to Albert Einstein

It’s a perfect reminder that sleep, health, and well-being aren’t spreadsheets—they’re lived experiences.



Are Sleep Trackers Helping Us Sleep Better—or Just Making Us Obsessed?

The dark side of tracking, the myth of "perfect sleep," and what we really need to rest well


Welcome to the age of the quantified self—where every heartbeat, breath, step, and snooze is logged, analyzed, and optimized. 

From rings that hum data in your sleep to watches that vibrate with metrics first thing in the morning, sleep tracking wearables have officially made it into our bedrooms. 

But is this tech revolution actually improving our sleep, or just fueling a new kind of digital insomnia?

Let’s break it down.


Sleep Trackers Are Everywhere Now—But Who’s Using Them?


Recent national surveys show that about 1 in 5 people now use a wearable device to monitor their sleep

Unsurprisingly, people dealing with sleep disorders are among the most frequent adopters—likely because they want to take control of something that feels uncontrollable: their ability to rest.

And fair enough. When sleep becomes elusive, any promise of insight or control can feel like a lifeline.

But here’s where it gets tricky.


The Numbers Look Good... Kind Of?


Roughly 45% of wearable users say their device improved their sleep. That’s a decent chunk. 

But 4.5% say it made things worse—and behind that small number is a growing concern in sleep medicine: orthosomnia.

Yep, we’ve officially coined a new sleep disorder for people who are obsessed with sleeping “right.”

Orthosomnia is the modern twist on insomnia: anxiety not about work or life, but about your sleep performance itself. 

And ironically, this stress—often triggered by a watch or an app—makes it harder to sleep in the first place.


So… Are These Things Even Accurate?


Here’s the raw truth: sleep trackers are hit-or-miss.

Most wrist-worn or app-based trackers rely heavily on movement data—so if you’re lying still but awake, they may log that as sleep. 

If you’re reading in bed? Same thing. Stillness ≠ sleep, but many devices still treat it that way.

And when it comes to tracking REM, deep, or light sleep, things get even murkier. 

Those stages are defined by brainwaves, not body motion or even heart rate. 

So unless your wearable is reading your EEG (brain activity), its guesswork is just that—guesswork.

Heart rate sensors do help, since your pulse changes predictably through the night. 

But even those aren’t perfect, and optical sensors (like those used in most watches and rings) can be thrown off by skin tone, temperature, or movement. 

In fact, most devices were trained on healthy, young, white males, which means accuracy can drop off for women, older adults, people with darker skin, or those with irregular schedules (like shift workers or new parents).

So if you feel like garbage in the morning but your tracker says “Great Sleep!”—you’re not imagining it.


The Rise of Brain-Based Sleep Tech (AKA, the Good Stuff)


Here’s where things get exciting.

The future of sleep tracking lies in portable EEG devices—headbands and patches that actually measure brainwaves in real time. 

That means we can finally peek under the hood, not just guess from the noise outside.

These tools could revolutionize how we diagnose insomnia subtypes, detect sleep apnea, or even personalize sleep treatments based on your unique sleep architecture

Not everyone’s insomnia is created equal—and not everyone needs the same solution.


So When Are Sleep Trackers Actually Helpful?


It all depends on how you use them.

Research shows that using sleep data to find your ideal bedtime, or to connect sleep quality to things like exercise, alcohol, or caffeine, can actually help improve sleep. 

When used for awareness, trackers can empower.

But if you’re checking your stats at midnight, stressing about “not enough deep sleep,” or building your identity around sleep performance scores, you’re walking a dangerous line. 

That’s how orthosomnia starts—and it doesn’t end well.

Pro tip: Look at your sleep data in the afternoon, not at night. Use it to guide patterns, not control them. And take breaks from tracking if it starts stressing you out.


TL;DR – What You Actually Need to Know

  • Sleep trackers aren’t magic. They can be helpful for spotting patterns—but most aren’t accurate enough to rely on for diagnosis or treatment.

  • Don’t chase “perfect sleep.” Your body is not a machine. A “bad” night doesn’t always mean something is wrong.

  • If your tracker is causing stress, ditch it. Your sleep will probably thank you.

  • Feeling rested > data on a screen. Always trust how your body feels over what an app tells you.

  • Curious about the future? Keep an eye on portable EEGs—they might be the real game changers.



Sleep isn’t a math problem to solve. It’s a rhythm to reconnect with. So go ahead—track your steps, your macros, your REM cycles if you want. But when the numbers start running the show, take a breath. Put down the tech. Close your eyes.


And just... sleep.


Related Reads
🔗 Why the Quantified Self Movement is Making Us Anxious
🔗 The Dark Side of Sleep Tech
🔗 What Is Orthosomnia?


Want better sleep without obsessing?

Try a digital detox before bed.
Stop tracking for a week.
Listen to how your body feels.

And if you’re still struggling—talk to a sleep specialist. Not an app.


yours truly,

Adaptation-Guide

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 11 2025

 

"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled."

Cicero, Roman statesman, 55 BC

It’s a reminder that even two thousand years ago, wise people knew: if you keep spending what you don’t have, your institutions will rot from within.





Europe Is Not a Bank Machine: Time to Tear Down the EU and Build Something Better

By Adaptation-Guide



Let’s stop pretending the European Union is a united front. It’s not. It’s a collection of 27 member states held together with bureaucracy, duct tape, and wishful thinking. 

And when it comes to money, the illusion of unity vanishes faster than Brussels can print a white paper.

The latest EU budget proposal for 2028–2034 lays the crisis bare: €2 trillion over seven years—and no one’s happy. 

Some member states say it’s too much. Others say it’s being spent on the wrong things. 

And most are too busy safeguarding their domestic political survival to care about the bigger picture. 

But here’s the raw truth: the problem isn’t Brussels. 

It’s the member states themselves—parasitic, self-interested, and increasingly addicted to the idea of the EU as a bottomless Bancomat.


A Club with No Vision, No Backbone, and No Cash


The European Commission has tried—desperately—to draft a future-oriented budget that plugs the holes of past spending plans. 

But there’s no shared vision among member states. They toss out demands like a child scribbling on a restaurant menu. More money for defense. More for farmers. More for Ukraine. More for “cohesion.” But who pays?

Don’t expect the national governments to answer that question honestly. Their first priority is always their own political survival. 

Especially now, when right-wing populists are banging at the gates and farmers—those ever-reliable voters—are threatening to jump ship.

Yes, farmers. Because in 2025, nearly one-third of the EU’s budget still goes to the agriculture sector, a powerful political force that seems immune to austerity. 

Never mind that Europe’s economy now runs on services and tech, not hay bales and subsidies.


The EU Budget: A Dinosaur in an AI Age


Let’s be clear: the EU doesn’t operate like a real country. It can’t levy significant taxes. Its budget is mostly funded by contributions from its members, proportional to GDP. 

And yet, it’s expected to act like a superstate—handling border security, responding to crises, financing reconstruction, and now even defending a war-torn Ukraine.

That’s absurd. You can’t run a geopolitical union on 20th-century financing models.

And yet, the EU did the unthinkable during the pandemic—it borrowed €750 billion from the capital markets. Real money. Real debt. The NextGenerationEU fund was hailed as revolutionary. 

But now that the repayment clock is ticking (starting 2028), member states are nowhere to be found. No new revenue streams. No tax harmonization. Just political cowardice and finger-pointing.

Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz even shot down Brussels’ modest proposal to tax mega-corporations or impose a tobacco levy. 

So what’s the plan, Herr Kanzler? Let Brussels rot in its own debt?


The Free Lunch Is Over—Unless You're in Warsaw


Take Poland. Their finance minister boasted that Poland is the biggest beneficiary of the “largest EU budget in history.” Of course he’s happy—his country is cashing in, and the EU Commissioner for Budget, Piotr Serafin, is conveniently Polish. 

But Poland won’t be on the gravy train forever. When the EU expands to include Ukraine or the Western Balkans, Poland may find itself on the paying end. That will be a bitter pill for Warsaw—and no government there will dare tell voters the truth: you’ll have to give back what you’ve taken.

Meanwhile, the EU continues handing out billions in loans to Ukraine, without any plan for recovery. 

Everyone hopes—foolishly—that Ukraine will someday pay back the money. But no one knows when the war will end, and when it does, Ukraine will need hundreds of billions more for reconstruction. A country buried in debt cannot rebuild itself.


Europe Was Never Meant to Be This


Remember how it all began? The European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 was a peace project—a practical pact to make war “not merely unthinkable but materially impossible.” 

Then came the EEC. 

Then the Maastricht Treaty. 

Then the Euro.

That’s when it all started to go wrong.

The UK—perhaps wisely—kept the pound and opted out of the monetary straightjacket. Others didn’t. 

Southern Europe paid the price with austerity and stagnation. Germany benefited. France compromised. And the periphery bled.

And now? 27 countries. 27 languages. 27 competing interests. Hungary wants EU money but undermines EU courts. Poland wants funds but resents the rules. Serbia’s still flirting with the Kremlin. And everyone wants Brussels to pay for their domestic disasters.


Tear It Down Before It Collapses on Its Own


The truth is ugly but necessary: the EU, in its current form, is unsustainable.

It cannot expand.
It cannot finance itself.
It cannot defend itself.
It cannot decide what it wants to be.

And that means it’s time for something radical.

We need a new European club—one based not on fantasy unity but on fiscal realism, democratic accountability, and shared strategic priorities. 

A coalition of willing, capable nations who pay in, buy in, and commit to shared defense, shared tech, and shared governance.

How are you doing, Canada?

The rest? Let them form their own club. A two-speed Europe already exists in practice. Let’s formalize it and stop pretending Brussels can carry everyone.


A Warning to the Parasites


The EU is not your piggy bank.
Not your PR tool.
Not your bailout mechanism.

It’s a fragile system that—when abused—will break under the weight of your hypocrisy. 

If member states want Brussels to survive, they must pay for it. Otherwise, let it collapse—and let the europhiles weep at the funeral.

Because the "free lunch" era is over. And the bill is due.



Sources & Citations:

  • European Commission, Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034 Proposal.

  • European Court of Auditors Reports on Budget Irregularities (2023).

  • IMF: “Debt and Fiscal Risks in the Euro Area,” 2024.

  • Reuters: “Poland Welcomes EU Budget Proposal,” July 2025.

  • Financial Times: “NextGenerationEU Repayments Begin 2028,” April 2025.


yours truly,

Adaptation-Guide

Dear Daily Disaster Diary, August 19 2025

  “The greatest crime in modern times is the poisoning of the people in the name of profit.” — Dr. Royal Lee , early 20th-century nutrition...