Monday, March 28, 2011
Jean Bartik
This week at Scientopia, I write about computing pioneer Jean Bartik, who sadly passed away last week.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Agent's Smith Registry
I have just discovered the joy that is comixed.com. This one is probably my favorite so far:
While we're talking about The Matrix, I just stumbled across this video of a recreation of a scene from the film in Lego. I somehow missed it the first time around when it came out in 2009, so in case you did too here it is:
* From now on I'm going to try to make my captions more accessible to readers who are blind and/or visually impaired. Please call me on it if I forget!
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| Image Description*: Panel 1: Neo says, "So you just keep duplicating your program over and over? Aren't you afraid of registry errors?" Panel 2: Agent Smith says, "Mr. Anderson...Do you honestly think that I would allow there to be any errors in my system's regist.." Panel 3: Hugo Weaving in drag with an outlandish orange and yellow costume. Panel 4: Agent Smith (I think?) with white light coming out of his eyes. |
While we're talking about The Matrix, I just stumbled across this video of a recreation of a scene from the film in Lego. I somehow missed it the first time around when it came out in 2009, so in case you did too here it is:
You can also watch the side-by-side with the original film. It's amazing.
* From now on I'm going to try to make my captions more accessible to readers who are blind and/or visually impaired. Please call me on it if I forget!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
RSA hack - Trouble with a capital T
It seems RSA was hacked today. This means, if you use one of those nice little SecureID fobs to connect to your corporate server or bank, it may have been compromised.
This is a big deal. Using two-factor authentication is an industry gold standard, and RSA is one of the most prolific manufacturers of such fobs.
Securious has a nice write up of the fact vs. fiction surrounding the attack, including a note that this was an APT attack, not some random script kiddie in Germany.
I'm not trying to stir up panic here, but if you work with sensitive data, this might be a good time to add another layer of encryption on it*. There are lots of free solutions, like True Crypt, or if you're on a Mac the easiest thing to do is create a password protected disk image. Remember not to use the same password for your encrypted disk partition that you use for anything else (logging in, email, etc.). But also don't lose this password - if you do then your data is "irrevocably lost". Whee!
* Obviously all the "check with your (IT) doctor" disclaimers apply here.
This is a big deal. Using two-factor authentication is an industry gold standard, and RSA is one of the most prolific manufacturers of such fobs.
Securious has a nice write up of the fact vs. fiction surrounding the attack, including a note that this was an APT attack, not some random script kiddie in Germany.
I'm not trying to stir up panic here, but if you work with sensitive data, this might be a good time to add another layer of encryption on it*. There are lots of free solutions, like True Crypt, or if you're on a Mac the easiest thing to do is create a password protected disk image. Remember not to use the same password for your encrypted disk partition that you use for anything else (logging in, email, etc.). But also don't lose this password - if you do then your data is "irrevocably lost". Whee!
* Obviously all the "check with your (IT) doctor" disclaimers apply here.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Finally, some useful internet activism
Great article in this Monday's Technology Review on different websites/apps set up to help people in Japan, such as Ushahidi, SparkRelief, and Hurricane Party.
I was happy to read about these efforts, and encourage you to participate with them and/or donate on your own.
For monetary donations, InterAction has a list of verified charitable organisations who are accepting donations, which also describes how they will use the funds. Definitely check InterAction or with the Better Business Bureau before donating - there are a lot of scams out there.
For non-monetary donations, you can donate frequent flyer miles, socks, or send hopeful letters. (The sock guy mentioned letter writing as a thoughtful gift the Japanese will appreciate, which I think sounds like a great idea).
I was happy to read about these efforts, and encourage you to participate with them and/or donate on your own.
For monetary donations, InterAction has a list of verified charitable organisations who are accepting donations, which also describes how they will use the funds. Definitely check InterAction or with the Better Business Bureau before donating - there are a lot of scams out there.
For non-monetary donations, you can donate frequent flyer miles, socks, or send hopeful letters. (The sock guy mentioned letter writing as a thoughtful gift the Japanese will appreciate, which I think sounds like a great idea).
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Channeling Ledisi
I've always been a big fan of Motown, so I was really excited to learn that for Black History Month the White House hosted a special Motown concert, broadcast by PBS last week. They had the greats - Smoky Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and some newer musicians who are incredibly talented, like Amber Riley and John Legend.
If you like Motown, check it out, absolutely worth an hour of your time. But the thing I want to highlight for this post is the difference in stage presence between two of the performers.
Now, keep in mind, this is a small venue, with chandeliers and pictures of George Washington in the background, an unusual repertoire for some of these artists (poor Seal), and a very lackluster sound engineer. Oh, and - performing in front of the Obamas. It's enough to make anyone nervous, even the big stars.
In the video, go to Chapter 9 (around 29:05), and watch and listen to a minute or two of Natasha Bedingfield's performance.
Now, skip back to Chapter 5 (around 15:14) and watch and listen to some of Ledisi's performance.
Spot a difference?
Ledisi is so relaxed in the music and the song and herself. She's not in any rush, she's not trying to be something she's not. She's just there, singing. As a result, I think the audience feels relaxed, and in sync with her.
I think this is something to aim for when interacting with people - when giving talks, interviewing for jobs, networking at conferences, teaching, whatever. When you're comfortable and at ease with yourself it shines through to others. The people who try too hard, you can spot them a mile away.
So my personal aim for the spring is to channel Ledisi. Because she's just made of awesome.
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| The Supremes |
If you like Motown, check it out, absolutely worth an hour of your time. But the thing I want to highlight for this post is the difference in stage presence between two of the performers.
Now, keep in mind, this is a small venue, with chandeliers and pictures of George Washington in the background, an unusual repertoire for some of these artists (poor Seal), and a very lackluster sound engineer. Oh, and - performing in front of the Obamas. It's enough to make anyone nervous, even the big stars.
In the video, go to Chapter 9 (around 29:05), and watch and listen to a minute or two of Natasha Bedingfield's performance.
Now, skip back to Chapter 5 (around 15:14) and watch and listen to some of Ledisi's performance.
Spot a difference?
Ledisi is so relaxed in the music and the song and herself. She's not in any rush, she's not trying to be something she's not. She's just there, singing. As a result, I think the audience feels relaxed, and in sync with her.
I think this is something to aim for when interacting with people - when giving talks, interviewing for jobs, networking at conferences, teaching, whatever. When you're comfortable and at ease with yourself it shines through to others. The people who try too hard, you can spot them a mile away.
So my personal aim for the spring is to channel Ledisi. Because she's just made of awesome.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Happy Pi Day!
Happy Pi Day!
Today is March 14th, or 3/14, and in geek culture we celebrate today as Pi day. Usually by wearing Pi T-shirts, baking pies, ordering pizza, and other such things.
I'm sadly too busy with deadlines and travel to cook, and don't own any Pi t-shirts, so instead I thought it would be fun to post some incredibly corny filk, complete with wonderfully punny pictures. Enjoy!
(cross-posted to Scientopia)
Today is March 14th, or 3/14, and in geek culture we celebrate today as Pi day. Usually by wearing Pi T-shirts, baking pies, ordering pizza, and other such things.
I'm sadly too busy with deadlines and travel to cook, and don't own any Pi t-shirts, so instead I thought it would be fun to post some incredibly corny filk, complete with wonderfully punny pictures. Enjoy!
(cross-posted to Scientopia)
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