Friday, September 30, 2005
Geekpress is on a roll!
Geekpress is, as he is so often, on a roll today. He links us to words in other languages that have no equivalent in English. Then to a fine piece on the laws of human stupidity. It reminded me of the Chinese proverb 'A foolish friend is more dangerous than a wise enemy'. You should visit Geekpress every day.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Million Dollar Home Page
Just go there. It's very cool and very weird and could make these people some real money. via Kottke.
Monday, September 19, 2005
The Farewell Dossier
I found a great article about how we addressed the problem of Soviet industrial espionage against high-tech targets during the Cold War. I had always thought that the very success of their efforts paved the way for glasnost and the subsequent demise of the regime. It went like this: 1) they steal tech that they can duplicate and benefit from, 2) the tech starts to get beyond their grasp - they can figure out what it's supposed to do but can't duplicate it very well, and 3) the start stealing stuff that they have no idea what it's for, how to duplicate it or how to use it. At that point even a system as rigid (or better - brittle) as theirs has to bend and adapt. Implosion-o-rama.
The piece referenced above is written by the CIA guy who was in charge of adding a significant twist to this inevitable process. Under Carter, and continuing under Reagan, our side eased the transfer, but with serious flaws programmed into the hardward and software. It caused the Soviets great headaches and no doubt helped send them into despair. It's really a great story, beginning with the French clueing us to an espionage coup they'd accomplished, and sharing it with us, all the way to the tragic and paranoid ending. (via Ranum, via Discarded Lies)
The piece referenced above is written by the CIA guy who was in charge of adding a significant twist to this inevitable process. Under Carter, and continuing under Reagan, our side eased the transfer, but with serious flaws programmed into the hardward and software. It caused the Soviets great headaches and no doubt helped send them into despair. It's really a great story, beginning with the French clueing us to an espionage coup they'd accomplished, and sharing it with us, all the way to the tragic and paranoid ending. (via Ranum, via Discarded Lies)
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
The real importance of New Orleans
Stratfor gives the lowdown on why there's no choice but to rebuild New Orleans. The city sits at the junction of our biggest river and the ocean and without its shipping services the entire interior of the country is cut off from the world of commerce. So grain prices go up globally, and U.S. farmers go broke. For starters. Not nice. The article gives historical and strategic insights of a quality rarely seen in the MSM.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Katrina
Here's some solid commentary I've found today. Pundita has one post after another of informed, thoughtful comment. I'll put this one in my links soon. The Glittering Eye is always worth a look, especially this one.
Lastly, the Agitator has a long sad list of all the failures - up and down the line - that brought us to this sorry pass. This ought to keep you busy for awhile, and you won't be happy. I've made a donation via Mercy Corps. You all have too, right?
Lastly, the Agitator has a long sad list of all the failures - up and down the line - that brought us to this sorry pass. This ought to keep you busy for awhile, and you won't be happy. I've made a donation via Mercy Corps. You all have too, right?
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Avian flu H5N1 #2
