Just a brief post to mark the passing of a true American hero, Norman Borlaug. Here are several links of interest…
New York Times Obituary
1997 Profile in The Atlantic
“Why Famines Still Exist” Video Interview from wsj.com
My 2008 Posting
I found this recent article in Slate fascinating. It draws on the research legacy of James Olds, who did some of the seminal experiments with electro-stimulation of the brain. He referred to certain reward centers for basic drives such as hunger and sex. These became known collectively as the “pleasure centers” of the brain.
Fine so [...]
Apple has finally adopted the bluetooth standard for stereo (called A2DP) in both its laptops and the iPhone. (This was a long time coming!)
I’ve been using this Plantroncs 855 headset for about a month. I’m generally pleased with it. The sound quality is reasonably good for music and great for voice, audio books, podcasts, etc.
The only [...]
I like to listen to audiobooks on my iPod. I have a subscription to Audible.com and buy one or two books a month. In the beginning things were fine, but about two years ago iTunes stopped remembering my Audible password. I get around this by double-clicking on any Audible file and put in my password [...]
The best passwords are completely random—strong but almost impossible to remember. This report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggests a better solution—long pass phrases.
Entropy is a measure of password strength. The more entropy a password has, the harder it is to crack. Many systems enforce dictionary and composition rules (numbers, mixed [...]
What science gives, stupidity and geopolitics may take away. Norman Borlaug is the (largely unknown) hero of the last half of the twentieth century. He is credited with saving the lives of millions by developing high-yield crops and other agricultural innovations. He is one of only five who have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the [...]
Just back from attending this short course by the master of “intelligent design” himself Edward Tufte. It was well worth the time and effort! I’d recommend it to anyone who prepares or presents information with a computer (ie, just about everyone!). His insights are numerous and often challenge conventional wisdom. His bottom line is to [...]
While I was in Philadephia over the summer I was amazed by the number of folding bicycles. About half of all the bikes I saw were folders. Of course they make eminent sense for urban dewellers. I’ve always been interested in “packable” bicycles, and have a thirty year old three-speed folder gathering dust in my [...]
This is one of the scariest books I’ve read in a long time—and it’s not fiction! Published in 2002, it chronicles the strange tale of Smallpox, its world-wide eradication, and the lingering threat of its return. Millions are alive today thanks to the efforts of D. A. Henderson (2) (who received the Presidential Medal of [...]
This Wired Article sums up Tufte’s analysis…
“Slideware may help speakers outline their talks, but convenience for the speaker can be punishing to both content and audience.”
His Cognitive Style of PowerPoint essay costs $7 and is essential reading for anyone who wishes to avoid the mind numbing effects of this invasive tool. An excerpt, PowerPoint [...]