March 2009
2 posts
One-liners →
Command-line stalwarts by popular vote. H/T kottke.org
Minimal Effort Not Made →
Somebody does not seem to understand, or want to understand, why computer activity gets logged. Computers used in California elections did not log deletions, operator changes, or have correct…
February 2009
2 posts
International LXX Day →
February 8 is International Septuagint Day for those in the know. And now the rest of us.
Ishkabibble →
Ish, an excellent mouser, reigned supreme in the art of comfort, be it napping, eating (his or the dog’s food), or being petted. He was a hefty brown tabby when I met him at an adoption fair (Four…
January 2009
1 post
Link →
Multilingualism is coming to the web in many ways, reflecting its users:
Asia already has twice as many Internet users as North America, and by 2012 it will have three times as many. Already, more…
December 2008
9 posts
creative funding →
Creative Commons is flourishing.
Link →
Via kottke.org, a reprise of Consider the Lobster. If history and taste had gone a bit differently, we all could be thankful for lobster, instead of turkey on Thanksgiving. Some of us would be more…
Whoops →
Another day, another data breach: RBS WorldPay systems reporting a hack into its systems November 10 exposing a million and a half social security records and a million or so pre-pay payroll and gift…
Tsk, tsk →
Facebook ignored a nasty security hole for four-months, one of those that permits code-injection.
No questions asked →
It looks like another oops in the internets: low-assurance certificates for one domain can be easily snagged by another to, for instance, use in a man-in-the-middle attack.
“If you don’t play nicely with me, I’m taking my... →
Dogs demand fair play: dogs in the test refused to play if they received less valuable treats (or none) than other dogs. Theorizing, some scientists think fair play or social justice may underpin the…
Vista woes →
Ridding Vista of wireless connectivity, a sysadmin’s saga. Of course, running as a limited user is much simpler under Vista. The digital tv access is pretty sweet too. But as for the rest? Bah.
Judging covers →
Via kottke, best 2008 book cover designs.
Java Joe →
Coffee musings
October 2008
1 post
Good News →
The Codex Sinaiticus is digitized. (The less said about the BBC announcement the better.) It is believed argued to be the oldest extant version of the BIble, dating from about the 4th century.
See…
September 2008
3 posts
1542 →
No, not the year, but the number of over votes (a vote for more than one candidate in a given race) that appeared in the tallies for 13 separate District of Columbia primary races. Per the…
More on DC Voting →
The DC Board of Elections and Ethics blamed the overcounting of write-ins on a defective cartridge, while the manufacturer, Sequoia, said its equipment was not responsible to the Washington Post. The…
DC Voting Snafu →
The problem: a “bad memory cartridge” which counted a surprising number of write-ins In one precinct. At least it doesn’t appear to have affected the outcome.
August 2008
4 posts
Hairpulling IT Moments →
So an installation of OpenLDAP depends on Cyrus-SASL already being installed. So far so good. But Cyrus-SASL is looking to have an LDAP feature installed so it will work. What the ???
Seems like the…
Reducing PC Power Usage Doable, Not Simple →
Corporate PC Power Consumption Difficult to Reduce from Ars Technica.
The problem is enabling power-saving features at the hardware level, having the right drivers and settings at the software level,…
Frog Claws →
One of a kind: a frog with retractable claws of bone, not keratin, which pierce the skin.
Neat Old Toy →
What we know now about the Antikythera Mechanism and how it works (Video)
And still haven’t found much on the web in metatonic cycles.
July 2008
2 posts
Link →
Although e-voting machines still cause concern, in his interview with Good Gear Avi Rubin is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of safe e-voting following this year’s primaries. Such a…
Salmon Run →
While other parts of Alaska are seeing few salmon, Bristol Bay has more sockeye salmon than the canneries can process.
June 2008
2 posts
Overcoming Hard Drive Limitations →
It looks like switching to ferroelectric designs of hard drives may just overcome the physical limitations faced by the ferromagnetic hard drives now in use.
Bits are currently stored in the…
Salmon song →
No Sense in Counting on Salmon This Year You could count on the fingers of both hands — no thumbs needed — the number of spring chinook salmon that swam through Willamette Falls Fish Passage on May…
May 2008
3 posts
Missing the Point →
Yes, a lot of web discussions (and gopher discussions beforehand) feature more heat than enlightenment, and passionate debates often use raw language. But if, as Washington Post editor Jim Brady…
Aw hell no →
A nice bit of work honoring a woman who worked full-time to prevent others from making the same choice she did.
From Washington University’s Record
Six distinguished individuals, including a pioneer…
Link →
In White House Plans Proactive Cyber-Security Role for Spy Agencies Brian Kreb writes,
America’s spy agencies for the first time would be tasked with gathering intelligence on threats to the…
March 2008
1 post
‘Rithmetic →
Another example of how new voting machines are failing to do their basic job: record and count votes.
Apparently, Sequoia has failed to build a number of voting machine that can add correctly. In…
February 2008
1 post
Forget One Little Step and Suddenly YouTube is Off... →
Yes the temporary rerouting of YouTube raises concerns about censorship and international affairs, but really it just is yet another indication of the inherent vulnerability of this decentralized system to simple mistakes as well as to deliberate attacks:
According to wire reports, Pakistan ordered all in-country Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to YouTube.com, complaining...
January 2008
6 posts
I hate security questions →
Once every 4-6 weeks I faithfully call my bank to request a reset of the security questions as the years in which I attended high school escape me now, let alone what might have been a preferred subject (Did I type “q2;klnbdi;” in subject or for childhood hero? Capitalization or none?). I surely hope they […]
Petra →
More on Petra: Region inhabited since prehistoric times.
Nabataean Petra controlled trade through Jordan, the Red Sea, Damascus and South Arabia
Although Petra negotiated with the Romans, it erred in siding with Parthians, and Herod the Great, a Roman client, successfully grabbed territory in 31 BCE. Petra negotiated a deal whereby Rome would peacefully assume control of Petra […]
Link →
The first mention of Nabataeans in classical western history is in 312 BCE, although inscriptions attributed to this trading people appear in the Dead Sea and Arabah Valley area in the years after the 586 BCE Babylonian exile. They migrated as far south as the Gulf of Aqaba. Perhaps pirates initially, the Nabateans did found […]
Link →
Masada references: Herod the Great built a fortress atop a naturally fortified cliff, fearing revolt. Decades after the king’s death, Flavius Josephus reported that the Sicarii won the fort from a Roman garrison in 66 CE, holding it until 73 CE when an attacking Roman army successfully laid seige; according to Josephus, the occupants chose […]
Reliability, Voting and Democracy →
The NYTimes Magazine answers maybe, to its question, Can You Count on Voting Machines? Computers behave in predictably undesirable ways: they allow for fast counts and accessibility, but they lock up, they have bugs, and printers jam. And in close elections recounts may not be possible. Optical readers may be better because there is paper […]
Another Alphabet →
Hebrew Alphabet
Greek alphabet
August 2007
3 posts
On Blogging: Women Lead and Brits First
Guy Kewney, Register -
Here’s a quote from an interesting time in the past: ten years ago. You know, a decade back, 1997, when (It says here) ‘Jorn Barger, who started his Robot Wisdom weblog in 1997, is “regarded by many” as the “first blogger”.’
Was he heck
The first blogger was Rupert Goodwins. He started his blog […] (via carpe decorum)
UAT Instructor Creates Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic...
MarketWire -
TEMPE, AZ–(Marketwire - August 23, 2007) - University of Advancing Technology (UAT) instructor and senior web developer Joe McCormack has completed work on a web-based application that translates English words into cuneiform script from the Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian and the hieroglyphic script of Egyptian. The tool may be seen at his website, virtualsecrets.com.
(via carpe...
‘Ionic Wind Engines’ for chip cooling
Science Daily —
Researchers have demonstrated a new technology using tiny “ionic wind engines” that might dramatically improve computer chip cooling, possibly addressing a looming threat to future advances in computers and electronics.
(via carpe decorum)
June 2007
4 posts
Indeed
We all remember how many religious wars were fought for a religion of love and gentleness; how many bodies were burned alive with the genuinely kind intention of saving souls from the eternal fire of hell.
– Sir Karl Popper, twentieth-century British philosopher of science
(via carpe decorum)
Virtual Philanthropy →
MacArthur Foundation holds event in Second Life
10 network utilities →
Network utilities from Lifehacker
Polynesians Beat Europeans to the Americas →
14th century chicken bones prove Polynesians arrived at least 100 years in South America before the Europeans.
May 2007
15 posts
Broadband Faster than Electricity
At least in terms of market share:
Electricity reached one-quarter of Americans 46 years after its introduction. Telephones took 35 years and televisions 26 years. Already, in just six years, broadband has reached 25 percent penetration, according to McKinsey & Co.— Bruce Mehlman
Of course, compared to Europe and other places, the United States is slowing […] (via carpe decorum)
Googe Readers Grabs →
Look at cyberattack on Estonia →
Jose Nazario on the distributed denial-of-service attack against Estonia
Christianity, Islam, Nonreligious, Hinduism
Religions, ordered by share of adherents among the world’s population. Surprised by the third place, 16 percent, of the catchall category “nonreligious,” which I would not have assumed to be so large. The 2005 survey defined “nonreligious” as those who indicated no preference or described themselves as not religious; about half are theists.
(via carpe decorum)
13 Reasons to Typeface →
Aldo Novarese →
Typeface designer italiano que produziu alguns tipos «clássicos» do século xx. Foi um dos mais prolíficos desenhadores, tendo criado um total de 76 fontes, desdobradas em 218 cortes e pesos. Entre as mais usadas, estão fontes como a Eurostile, a Stop, e a ITC Novarese