I learned to canoe in Northern Minnesota and the BWCA. I recently returned for a five day trip with an old friend. We went to the extreme northeast corner along the Canadian border. The lakes in this area are mostly long and narrow, running west to east between steep hills. The water clarity was remarkable. We saw bear, beaver, loon, eagle, osprey, and many smaller birds. Our route included the Royal River, which was beautiful and very different from the large lakes. Wild rice was falling into our canoe as we passed. At one point we even had to pull over a beaver dam.
Year: 2008
Better Passwords?
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 case, punctuation) on short (less than ten character) passwords. This graph on page 23 of the NIST report shows that dictionary rules do not improve longer passwords, and the boost from composition rules is fairly small. A simple twelve character pass phrase (a-z plus spaces) is as strong as an eight character rule-based password, but can be much easier to type and remember. Throw in one digit and you’ve got a very strong credential indeed! I’ve written a quick three step approach for the UF campus system (which unfortunately does not allow spaces).
Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo
In 1972 the musical prodigy Frank Zappa released two amazing records with two amazing title cuts. Both feature large ensembles with a big jazz band sound. This is some of the best jazz/rock fusion you’ll ever hear! Waka/Jawaka (listen) begins with an aggressive (triumphant!) brass anthem that still amazes me every time I listen to it. My favorite! The Grand Wazoo (listen) has a more laid back introduction, then proceeds through a series of jazzy improvisations. After several other notable cuts the album concludes with Blessed Relief (listen), a perfect anodyne. These albums were preceded by Hot Rats, which is a classic in its own right. It includes Peaches En Regalia (listen), probably the most famous instrumental number Zappa produced in his long, diverse career.
2009 Update: All my original links to music on YouTube have gone bad. I’ve compromised with links to 30 second samples on the Amazon site. Be aware that the Grand Wazoo sample is not representative of the track.