I think Schneier wrote this well before quantum computers were a reality - did he miss something fundamental in regards to them? Quantum computers are relatively new but the theory behind them is nearly a century old.

*One of the consequences of the second law of thermodynamics is that a certain amount of energy is necessary to represent information. To record a single bit by changing the state of a system requires an amount of energy no less than kT, where T is the absolute temperature of the system and k is the Boltzman constant. (Stick with me; the physics lesson is almost over.)

Given that k = 1.38×10-16 erg/°Kelvin, and that the ambient temperature of the universe is 3.2°Kelvin, an ideal computer running at 3.2°K would consume 4.4×10-16 ergs every time it set or cleared a bit. To run a computer any colder than the cosmic background radiation would require extra energy to run a heat pump.

Now, the annual energy output of our sun is about 1.21×1041 ergs. This is enough to power about 2.7×1056 single bit changes on our ideal computer; enough state changes to put a 187-bit counter through all its values. If we built a Dyson sphere around the sun and captured all its energy for 32 years, without any loss, we could power a computer to count up to 2192. Of course, it wouldn't have the energy left over to perform any useful calculations with this counter.

But that's just one star, and a measly one at that. A typical supernova releases something like 1051 ergs. (About a hundred times as much energy would be released in the form of neutrinos, but let them go for now.) If all of this energy could be channeled into a single orgy of computation, a 219-bit counter could be cycled through all of its states.

These numbers have nothing to do with the technology of the devices; they are the maximums that thermodynamics will allow. And they strongly imply that brute-force attacks against 256-bit keys will be infeasible until computers are built from something other than matter and occupy something other than space.*

I’m not a physicist but quantum particles were still considered to be matter the last time I checked.

Sounds like you’re looking for boots, not shoes. I hear you, I hate how I can rarely find a good pair of shoes and then when I finally do, they wear out in 1-2 years and anything remotely similar to them has been discontinued. I hate walking through a snowbank in winter and having it get wedged around my ankles. I hate stepping in a puddle and it turns out it’s deeper than expected and your feet get soaked. Fuck shoes.

Several years ago I got a pair of Redwing 4473 boots with the zipper insert (I’m too lazy to mess with all those laces) and they’re still my primary work boots. I just had them resoled for the 2nd time and they’re in excellent shape again. Awhile back I realized that they were by far the most durable, comfortable, and all around best pieces of footwear I’ve ever worn in my life despite a complete absence of cushioning, gel insoles, foam padding, etc. So I ditched shoes altogether and just wear work boots that can be resoled. I just don’t wear the nicer pair when I’m painting, digging, mowing, etc.

They don’t make the 4473 anymore and I heard the overall quality has gone downhill but I think you still need to research the individual boot model as much as the maker because some are winners and others are lemons. For my nice not-work boots I’m trying out the Solovair crazy horse gaucho 11 eye derby boot. A local cobbler installed a side zip on them for me for $70 because again, I’m lazy and don’t like to screw with boot laces. I won’t know whether they’re worth it or not for a few more years but I like how they look and they’ve been comfy enough so far. Pair some good leather goodyear welted boots that are properly broken in with a pair of wool Darn Tough socks and you’ll never go back.

I was wondering about this also when I tried to sign up to lemmy.world on Monday and it seemed like it just timed out while I was trying to register and login. It looked like they were getting some traffic but it shouldn’t have been enough to bring everything to a crawl like that.