May 27, 2012
It must be Jello, cause jam don't shake like that.
Stan's Report
Stan's Report (a short story). Stan waited for me to ask him a question, hoping to tease some curiosity out of me, I suppose, though I don’t want to make assumptions about Stan’s intentions. Whatever his intent, I chose not to ask anything about it, not wanting to start my thinking down that road. It wouldn’t have been fair to B. to talk about him and what he said or meant since he wasn’t there to defend himself or to amend the tone or the full context. I preferred to turn my attention to my e-mail, but I didn’t want to ignore Stan or imply that I disapproved of his interest in sharing his news with me. He had a right to say whatever he wanted and it was up to me to choose how I’d deal with it.
Cyberwar: China's move discovered
Revolutionary hardware backdoor discovered in China-made military-grade FPGA chips. Claims were made by the intelligence agencies around the world, from MI5, NSA and IARPA, that silicon chips could be infected. We developed breakthrough silicon chip scanning technology to investigate these claims. We chose an American military chip that is highly secure with sophisticated encryption standard, manufactured in China. Our aim was to perform advanced code breaking and to see if there were any unexpected features on the chip. We scanned the silicon chip in an affordable time and found a previously unknown backdoor inserted by the manufacturer. This backdoor has a key, which we were able to extract. If you use this key you can disable the chip or reprogram it at will, even if locked by the user with their own key. This particular chip is prevalent in many systems from weapons, nuclear power plants to public transport. In other words, this backdoor access could be turned into an advanced Stuxnet weapon to attack potentially millions of systems. The scale and range of possible attacks has huge implications for National Security and public infrastructure.
A modest tax proposal.
Kansas passes Tax Act meaning that business owners are not taxed at all on income derived from business profits.
"Who will still be paying Kansas income tax? Only three groups: 1) employees, 2) some retirees and 3) individuals whose investments are so modest that they cannot afford to create a trust or partnership to shelter their investment income." The $3.7bn pa cost of the tax cuts is said to create the risk of a $2.5bn pa deficit by 2018.
Haneke wins Palme d'Or
The great Michael Haneke, director of disturbing gems such as Caché, Funny Games, and Funny Games, has won his second Palme d'Or at Cannes, for Amour.
SKA, music to an astronomers ears
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organisation recently announced a two site approach, in Australia-NZ and Southern Africa, a move that was applauded by the Australian team. Once fully operational in 2024, SKA's one square kilometre collecting area should lead to major advances in astronomy. [more inside]
"The Naghol is Pentecost's culture in its most daring form—men defying death in an unusual and spectacular way."
Naghol (or land diving) is a ritual performed by the men of the villages of Loltafala on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. The ritual entails jumping off 25 to 30-meters high tower with vines tied to the feet, skimming the soil with the crown of the head. It is dangerous but deaths are rare, though a man died in front of Queen Elizabeth II in 1974 when performing a land dive in her honor. You can watch a short National Geographic documentary on the Naghol here.
Christine Lagarde "I think of little kids in Niger"
"So when she studies the Greek balance sheet and demands measures she knows may mean women won't have access to a midwife when they give birth, and patients won't get life-saving drugs, and the elderly will die alone for lack of care – does she block all of that out and just look at the sums?" [more inside]
A year later
"It sounds like a great idea...."
WHAT (AND HOW) TO EAT NAKED: Geoff Nicholson explains what to do if you should suddenly find yourself naked and insatiable…for food (what else?). PUBLISHED IN GOURMET LIVE 05.16.12
Nocturne
We love Cascadia! Oh yes we do!
The latest match in North American soccer's Cascadia Cup was played yesterday between the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the atmosphere was amazing. [more inside]
Canadian Ryder Hesjedal wins Giro D'Italia
Canadian Ryder Hesjedal is cycling’s rising star Like many "rising stars" Ryder Hesjedal has been struggling for many years to attain this honour. Today his efforts are realized with his win of the Giro-Ditalia.
I just wanted us to be safe
Spoiler.
The zombie apocalypse happened -- and we won.
But though society has recovered, the threat of infection is always there -- and Los Angeles coroner Tommy Rossman is the man they call when things go wrong.
The zombie apocalypse happened -- and we won.
But though society has recovered, the threat of infection is always there -- and Los Angeles coroner Tommy Rossman is the man they call when things go wrong.
Moments in Time
Dominic Wilcox watch sculptures combine vintage timepieces with miniature figures to create unique animated scenes. [via]
I want 2 debate issues
"You want to be a pitchman for warlords? You want to carry the Devil's water in Washington? Go for it. But just don't tell me how to fucking talk" - Jon Lovett responds to Lanny Davis, in the aftermath of the Corey Booker's comments defending private equity
Olivier Messiaen's organ music
The irony in a way is that Messiaen used this great romantic organ for his most modern experiments. For Messiaen, this was a great sort of sonic paintbox, if you like, and he would come here and experiment with the extraordinary sounds that he could conjure out of this amazing instrument. [more inside]
We Bond Ionically - A Love Story
Good Chemistry. [SLYT]
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