Saturday, May 27, 2006

Linux.com | A parent's guide to Linux Web filtering

Linux.com | A parent's guide to Linux Web filtering

Excellent summary of how to configure safe internet browsing for the home based on Linux server, DansGuardian, and Squid.

pink_adicolor_large.mov (video/quicktime Object)

pink_adicolor_large.mov (video/quicktime Object)

My son found this "confusing". I found it amazing and creative. And try to get that song out of your head.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Ethanol: Myths and Realities

Ethanol: Myths and Realities

What Business Week fails to mention is the high energy cost of making the fertilizer required to produce the corn. THe fertilizer comes primarily from natural gas, which of course is a non-renewable energy source. Further, too much nitrogen is being used. It runs off and kills streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean ...

This is a Saudi textbook. (After the intolerance was removed.)

This is a Saudi textbook. (After the intolerance was removed.)

Saudi Arabia must change.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

The Edinburgh Festivals are on their way � The Edinburgh Blog

The Edinburgh Festivals are on their way � The Edinburgh Blog

Nice summary of upcoming events in Edinburgh. A great reminder why Edinburgh is such a great city to call home.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Excel User Tip: Creating a database table from a summary table

Excel User Tip: Creating a database table from a summary table

When Microsoft first included Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel (early 1990's as I recall), it took me a little bit of time to get my head around what they were and what they were good for. Once in head, I recognised how powerful they are.

The next step was to be able to do "reverse Pivot Tables" on data presented in summary Pivot Table format. That seemed impossible without doing coding in VBA or something.

This web site explains how to do it from with Excel without coding. First time I ever saw this. Perhaps this capabilty included in Excel when Pivot Tables entered into Excel. I don't know. But this is good stuff.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Foreign Policy: The List: The Five Top Global Choke Points

Foreign Policy: The List: The Five Top Global Choke Points

I like thinking about world-class risk analysis and management processes. It doesn't get any more world-class than considering these.

Airline Pilot Central - FedEx arrivals during Thunderstorms

Airline Pilot Central - FedEx arrivals during Thunderstorms

Look at this time-lapse representation of FedEx planes arriving in Memphis while thunder storms approach go over, then pass the airport. Notice how the planes seem to "scatter" when the thunderstorms are over the airport. Fascinating.

The American Thinker

The American Thinker

Imagine the nerve of ExxonMobil actually making a profit. Oh the humanity.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

NASA - Stellar Rubble May Be Planetary Building Blocks

NASA - Stellar Rubble May Be Planetary Building Blocks

When I was a kid I consumed "NASA Facts", a public relations newspaper sent out to promote NASA and their achievements. For nostalgia reasons, I wish I hadn't thrown them all away. Meantime, NASA now has computers and the internet to do the same things. See this link where there is a supurb animation of an exploding star (with a poor planet near by), resulting in a pulsar with a surrounding disk of rubble. The Hubble telescope has seen these same structures.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Foreign Affairs - Saddam's Delusions: The View From the Inside - Kevin Woods, James Lacey, and Williamson Murray

Foreign Affairs - Saddam's Delusions: The View From the Inside - Kevin Woods, James Lacey, and Williamson Murray

I just blogged about how I have too much to read. Yet, this article, from the May/June 2006 issues of Foreign Affairs, has just moved to the top of the stack.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The fall of Baghdad in April 2003 opened one of the most secretive and brutal governments in history to outside scrutiny. For the first time since the end of World War II, American analysts did not have to guess what had happened on the other side of a conflict but could actually read the defeated enemy's documents and interrogate its leading figures. To make the most of this unique opportunity, the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) commissioned a comprehensive study of the inner workings and behavior of Saddam Hussein's regime based on previously inaccessible primary sources. Drawing on interviews with dozens of captured senior Iraqi military and political leaders and hundreds of thousands of official Iraqi documents (hundreds of them fully translated), this two-year project has changed our understanding of the war from the ground up. The study was partially declassified in late February; its key findings are presented here.

Creating Passionate Users: The myth of "keeping up"

Creating Passionate Users: The myth of "keeping up"

This article surely rings bells. You ought to see the stack of to-be-read books and magazines in my home office. At least I have a holiday in a few months where some of the stack will be dealt with ...