Data security resources

My current work involves documenting computer hardware security measures and helping to improve them. It’s much more interesting than I expected. Instead of dry programming facts, it’s more along the lines of preventing predators from breaking into the chicken shed. There’s physical security, electromagnetic security, detecting intrusion and preventing intrusion, data security, sniffers, spoofing, change detection, logging, auditing, notification levels, honeypots, disaster recovery and business continuity, and so on.

Along the way I’m locating a lot of information about security breaches and precautions and I’m finding new technical resources. One of them is Bitpipe. Here’s a link to a bitpipe search for data security products.

Wellstone and Carnahan: coincidence?

Someone has calculated that a Democratic politician in the U.S. is twice as likely to die in a plane crash than a Republican.

Books: How a Scientist Changed the Way we Think

This book came out in 2006: Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think edited by Alan Grafen & Mark Ridley. It contains two dozen essays on how Dawkins’ thinking, especially his book The Selfish Gene, enlightens, challenges, and changes lives. Some of the writers describe how Dawkins’ writing led them to choose their life’s work. Others describe the enlightenment of Dawkins emphasis on how evolution maximizes current reproduction without regard for the future good of the species. Still others comment on his note of controversy or his writing style. The first essay, while about biology and breeding strategies, notes that he was studied in literature classes for his use of metaphor.

Amazon’s editorial review says,

“A remarkably common reaction among the 25 authors in this volume is the comment that the book changed their lives by altering either their career paths or their thinking about evolution.”

You might want to read some of the readers’ reviews (amazon.ca, amazon.com).

Wikipedia lists the essays in this book.