The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Terrorists (35)
share
digg
by
schneier (379)
on
Schneier on Security (442)
1 week, 1 day
ago
permalink
Most counterterrorism policies fail, not because of tactical problems, but because of a fundamental misunderstanding of what motivates terrorists in the first place. If we're ever going to defeat terrorism, we need to understand what drives people to become terrorists in the first place. Conventional wisdom holds that terrorism is inherently political, and that people become terrorists for political reasons. This is the "strategic" model of terrorism, and it's basically an economic model. It posits ...
-
Jeremy said:
Ha! Finally an article that shows how terrorists do not actually have a political agenda. No point to negotiate, since that will change nothing.
-
Bryn said:
Schneier's tears really do cure cancer..... Now if only he would cry.
-
tumbleweed said:
Interesting read. Not hard to see truths in this.
-
trygve said:
Fascinating read.
-
anders.norgaard said:
Seems really important!
-
Ken Kennedy said:
I hope people pay attention!
The Economist Sums Up Financial Crisis: "Oh Fuck!" [Money Meltdown] (24)
share
digg
by
Ben Popken (545)
on
Consumerist (1645)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
If you feel at a loss for words to describe the now global financial cover, this spoof cover for September's Economist says it all, "Oh fuck!" Download the large version, suitable for framing or desktop wallpaper, inside...
-
pierre-luc said:
ho fuck !!!! LOL ... man this crisis is so much fun :S
Star Rating Number Format (3)
share
digg
by
Dick Kusleika (4)
on
Daily Dose of Excel (4)
2 weeks
ago
permalink
It’s Wednesday night. That means I’m drinking Tangueray and reviewing football games (for entertainment purposes only). I like to rate games on a three-star system. Three stars means refinance the house and fly to Vegas. Two stars means I really like a team. And one star means I’d have as much luck flipping a coin. Zero stars means Purdue is playing (why Purdue wins when they should lose and loses when they win is beyond ...
Do Good Grades Predict Success? (10)
share
digg
by
Stephen J. Dubner (98)
on
Freakonomics (323)
2 weeks, 1 day
ago
permalink
Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, authors of Freakonomics, keep the conversation going from their best-selling book that explores the hidden side of everything.
-
Brian Keen said:
ThiThis article is in my wheelhouse of things I like to read. It makes a point at success being a nebulous term and what determines and defines it.
-
Link of the Day said:
Do Good Grades Predict Success? - from the Freakonomics blog
Top 50 photography websites (13)
share
digg
by
Haje Jan Kamps (25)
on
Photocritic photography blog (25)
2 weeks, 2 days
ago
permalink
Of course, Photocritic is your favourite photography resource in the whole wide world, and you’d be mad to think otherwise. Nonetheless, I have to admit that there are some pretty damn amazing websites out there. This is my attempt at collecting some of my favourites - which isn’t easy, considering how many bookmarks I have. So, I give to you, 50 of my favourite photography websites - these should keep you busy for a while… ...
A Critical Message (1)
share
digg
by
Debra Dalgleish (4)
on
Contextures Blog (4)
2 weeks, 2 days
ago
permalink
Last week a client mentioned that he uses lots of message boxes in his Excel code, and finds that users just click OK when a message appears. Most of the messages are informational, and users have read them before, so a quick click is fine. However, some of those messages are critical, and only appear when an important decision has to be made. Because the users are so accustomed to seeing messages, they just click ...
Google Contacts Has a Standalone Site [Google Contacts] (11)
share
digg
by
Adam Pash (4836)
on
Lifehacker (13375)
3 weeks
ago
permalink
Whether you prefer managing your contacts outside Gmail or you don't use Gmail but still want to use Google Contacts to manage your Reader or Docs contacts, try the standalone Google Contacts page. The URL isn't type-in friendly, but it deserves a bookmark if you need to do contact management outside of Gmail. [via]
Copy Paste (1)
share
digg
by
Martin (431)
on
gHacks technology news (352)
3 weeks, 3 days
ago
permalink
Copy Paste is probably one of those operations that almost every user does on a daily basis. The possibilities are almost endless, copying urls to paste them in emails, copying text to paste it in documents, copying images to paste them in image editors. Basically everything information can be copied and pasted with just a few keys on the keyboard. A quick how to copy and paste: A user can use the CTRL C combination ...
The Purpose of Charting (3)
share
digg
by
Jon Peltier (12)
on
PTS Blog (12)
4 weeks
ago
permalink
Raymond Chen posted recently that The purpose of charts is normally to make information easier, not harder, to understand. Not always. More often the purpose of a chart seems to be to: Make the presenter look smart, or at least cool. Make the presenter’s product look better than the competition, despite the facts. Accentuate (fabricate) the positive and obfuscate [...]
Logarithmic Axis Scales (1)
share
digg
by
Jon Peltier (12)
on
PTS Blog (12)
4 weeks, 1 day
ago
permalink
Dr. Nicolas Bissantz wrote in Do time series charts really compare time series? about time series being difficult to compare. The chart he discussed showed the cost of energy for three different heating methods. Says Nicolas, “The lines suggest that the price for heating oil has exploded, while electricity and natural gas have increased moderately.” [...]
Decrypt and Remove Commercials from TiVo Recordings in One Step [TiVo] (33)
share
digg
by
Gina Trapani (3737)
on
Lifehacker (13375)
1 month
ago
permalink
You've recorded an entire season of Weeds on your TiVo DVR, and now you want to archive it on a hard drive somewhere commercial-free—and the free Perl program KMTTG can do all that in one step. While TiVo Desktop can transfer TiVo recordings to your computer or iPod, KMTTG downloads your TiVo's recordings, decrypts .TIVO files to a less proprietary file format like .AVI, and can detect and remove commercials to reduce the file size ...
-
AdamB said:
for the TIVO viewers and owners out there... pretty cool
-
JimmyBTM said:
aww man I wish I had a home server with a big enough drive to use a program like this
SOLVER - Optimization Approach to a Simple Physics Problem (1)
share
digg
by
Jon Peltier (12)
on
PTS Blog (12)
1 month
ago
permalink
In Graphical Approach to a Simple Physics Problem and Regression Approach to a Simple Physics Problem I have discussed approaches to solving my daughter’s physics homework. Basically, the problem started with this data, showing the time to drain water through a hole in a bucket, based on the diameter of the hole and the initial height of water in the bucket. In the earlier two posts, I found that the drainage time was related to ...
A Pair of Premium Single Malts From Japan (1)
share
digg
by
BG (10)
on
The Bachelor Guy (11)
1 month
ago
permalink
The list of countries you consider great whiskey producers - Ireland, Scotland, America, Canada - may have just gotten longer. Because you might want to consider adding Japan to the list. Yeah, Japan. Sure they're known more for sake or beer, but the whisky (they spell it without the "e", like Scotland and Canada), coming out of the East is rivaling that of its Western counterparts. Suntory, a brand you may know their beer, makes ...
Sample Parallel Coordinate Chart (1)
share
digg
by
Jon Peltier (12)
on
PTS Blog (12)
1 month
ago
permalink
In the Microsoft Charting newsgroup, a reader wanted to show separate lines on a line chart to compare the severity of the medical conditions of different patients after one to five visits. The question was whether it would be possible to resolve the individual patients. A parallel coordinates chart can show an individual’s condition in front of a background of the entire population. Here is a small sample of the data. The first column represents ...
The Ultimate List of Excel RSS Feeds (1)
share
digg
by
John Walkenbach (0)
on
Daily Dose of Excel (4)
1 month, 1 week
ago
permalink
Do you read blogs in an RSS reader? If so, I've compiled the ultimate list of Excel RSS feeds. Currently, it's a list of 29 Excel-related blogs that have RSS feeds. To save you the trouble of subscribing, there's also an OPML file that you can download and import into your RSS reader to create instant subscriptions to them all. Here's a quote from a satisfied user: "I was surprised that I hadn't heard of ...
Fit a Micro Chart to Cell (2)
share
digg
by
Andreas (29)
on
More Information per Pixel (1)
1 month, 1 week
ago
permalink
Ever wondered how to get a Micro Bar Chart or a bullet graph that automatically changes the width when you change the cell width? The key to fitting a MicroChart into a cell is the CELL() function. The CELL function returns you information about a reference. CELL(”width”,reference) returns the column width of the referenced cell. This is measured in the number of numerical characters of the default font (Arial 10pt), exactly the same units Micro ...
6 excel charts you must never use | Pointy Haired Dilbert - Chandoo.org (2)
share
digg
by
Chandoo (17)
on
Pointy Haired Dilbert - Chandoo.org (17)
1 month, 1 week
ago
permalink
Often it is easy to get carried away with a tools features. Excel is no exception. But here is a list of grotesque charts that you should never make, not even on your last day at work. 1. Leave the radar charts for Spidermen why? You can hardly conclude anything by looking at them They need lot of tweaking to make sense Visually revolting, even with perfect data points 2. Dont show, just eat your ...
Movie Plot Threats in The Guardian (26)
share
digg
by
Bruce Schneier (83)
on
Schneier on Security (442)
1 month, 1 week
ago
permalink
We spend far more effort defending our countries against specific movie-plot threats, rather than the real, broad threats. In the US during the months after the 9/11 attacks, we feared terrorists with scuba gear, terrorists with crop dusters and terrorists contaminating our milk supply. Both the UK and the US fear terrorists with small bottles of liquid. Our imaginations run wild with vivid specific threats. Before long, we're envisioning an entire movie plot, without Bruce ...
Sucking Data off of Cell Phones (11)
share
digg
by
schneier (379)
on
Schneier on Security (442)
1 month, 1 week
ago
permalink
Don't give someone your phone unless you trust them: There is a new electronic capture device that has been developed primarily for law enforcement, surveillance, and intelligence operations that is also available to the public. It is called the Cellular Seizure Investigation Stick, or CSI Stick as a clever acronym. It is manufactured by a company called Paraben, and is a self-contained module about the size of a BIC lighter. It plugs directly into most ...
