magpie

Theodore Roosevelt quotes

2010-09-22T11:44:00.001+01:00

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

The list of free Kindle books

2010-09-21T15:09:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately it's a different list for the Kindle Amazon UK store.

It’s a great amalgam of the entire book world, a shifting, shimmering set of 100 choices for blissful escape. Unlike the Kindle Top 100, which is a list of the current best sellers, Amazon’s list of Top 100 Free ebooks ranges all over time.

My Favorite Free eBooks:

Is Security being too narrowly defined?

2010-09-21T15:05:00.002+01:00

According to the COBIT model, keeping your systems secure is not just about keeping the bad guys out, but about keeping the business running efficiently in the process (amongst other things). From the Risks Digest, a reader contributes:

The discussion about overly complex password rules reminds me of sage advice that Digital once published in a VAX security manual.  I'll paraphrase: The definition of security must be broad.  Security aims to see that authorized users, and only authorized users, succeed in doing their jobs.

The modern definition of computer security seems much narrower.  It focuses on preventing unauthorized uses, and malware.  If security procedures hinder authorized users from doing their jobs, security still succeeds under the narrow definition, but fails under Digital's broader definition.

An onerous password policy is a form of denial of service attack.

Might things improve if we made security people responsible for productivity of the good guys as well as denial of the bad guys?
Link:  A Strong Password Isn't the Strongest Security

Kindle and Calibre Content Server

2010-09-18T23:54:00.000+01:00

Kindle and Calibre Content Server

Commercial Street | British History Online

2010-09-18T22:32:00.002+01:00

Commercial Street | British History Online

Task Manager Comparison: Toodledo vs. Remember the Milk | 40Tech

2010-09-18T22:32:00.001+01:00

Task Manager Comparison: Toodledo vs. Remember the Milk | 40Tech

The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab

2010-09-18T22:31:00.002+01:00

The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab

43 Folders | Time, Attention, and Creative Work

2010-09-18T22:31:00.001+01:00

43 Folders | Time, Attention, and Creative Work

London's Best Gyms and Fitness Centres

2010-09-18T22:30:00.000+01:00

London's Best Gyms and Fitness Centres - Time Out London

AirScouter Projects a 16-inch Display Directly onto Your Retina - Techland - TIME.com

2010-09-18T12:40:00.001+01:00

AirScouter Projects a 16-inch Display Directly onto Your Retina - Techland - TIME.com

VIC-20, The Wonder Computer of the 1980s!

2010-09-18T11:44:00.001+01:00

The 6502 Microprocessor Turns 35: "

The 6502 Microprocessor Turns 35…

Or buy one:

Your Credit Cards Will Never Be the Same Again: Meet Card 2.0

2010-09-18T11:16:00.001+01:00

Your Credit Cards Will Never Be the Same Again: Meet Card 2.0 [VIDEO]

An intelligent look at the retirement debate

2010-09-18T11:07:00.001+01:00

An intelligent look at the retirement debate

Or you could take the robust “all square” option, which I am forever proposing, and simply decree that nobody over 65 (who does not draw a state pension) need pay any tax and national insurance whatsoever on incomes below £30,000. That would cut paperwork at a stroke and encourage semi- retirement and part-time work. Age and experience could do the natural thing, and move to the edges of work without leaving it.

(Filed under: Good ideas)

The rise to power of Australia’s "hairy-legged femocrat" should dismay the liberal left everywhere

2010-09-18T10:57:00.000+01:00

The rise to power of Australia’s "hairy-legged femocrat" should dismay the liberal left everywhere: "

Kevin Rudd, the once wildly popular Australian PM, has been toppled by Julia Gillard, who becomes the country's first woman leader. Rudd, an environmental idealist, came up against the big mining corporations and lost - but were his Labor party right to ditch him?

But more significant than Gillard's rise, in many ways, has been the fall of a man whose anti-fat cat, green agenda had inspired many on the left. Yet neither Rudd's emissions trading scheme, nor his retro-active 40% super-tax on mining, nor many other of his cherished schemes ever saw the light of day. Should the left rue the departure of an idealist, or welcome the more pragmatic Gillard, learning to recognise that in a capitalistic system there are limits to how far you can go in antagonising capitalists.

Debates of the Day

Awesome coffee, if only they delivered to London

2010-09-18T10:49:00.001+01:00

Gravity Espresso Zenith

General Pervez Musharraf talks in London, September 2010 - Intelligence Squared

2010-09-18T10:45:00.001+01:00

General Pervez Musharraf talks in London, September 2010 - Intelligence Squared

Rank-size distribution

2010-09-18T10:34:00.001+01:00

Rank-size distribution

How big should cities be? In many countries, city sizes follow a remarkably regular pattern, known as the rank-size rule. According to this law, the biggest metropolis in a country will have roughly twice the population of its nearest rival; three times the population of the third-ranked city; and so on. Multiply a city’s rank by its population and the result will match the size of the biggest city. Some scholars believe the law is a statistical artefact, bereft of economic meaning. But others argue it has at least one strong implication. For the law to hold, small cities cannot grow systematically faster or slower than big ones. Speed must be largely independent of size.

http://www.economist.com/node/17043174?story_id=17043174&fsrc=scn/tw/te/rss/pe

Sizing up China's cities

2010-09-18T10:29:00.001+01:00

Sizing up China's cities

Global urban competitiveness report

2010-09-18T10:28:00.001+01:00

Global urban competitiveness report

Chinese Academy of social sciences in Beijing and publish the global urban competitiveness report (2009-2010). ” By comparing the competitiveness index and its specific composition index data, a comprehensive analysis of the Global 500 urban development and competition, including New York, London, Tokyo and ranks among the global urban competitiveness ranking in the top three positions.

The report shows that the competitiveness of the top 10 cities: New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong. The top 50 cities, the United States accounted for more than 20, the EU accounted for 16, China accounted for 3 months. Access to the overall competitiveness of the top 50 Chinese city of Hong Kong (article 10), Shanghai (37), Taipei (38).

William Gibson on 'Zero History' - Intelligence Squared

2010-09-18T10:08:00.001+01:00

William Gibson on 'Zero History' - Intelligence Squared, Cadogan Hall, London, Monday October 4th, 2010

Airplay is Appleâ€™s â€˜Go to Marketâ€™ Internet TV strategy | 9 to 5 Mac Airplay is Appleâ€™s â€˜Go to Marketâ€™ Internet TV strategy | Apple Intelligence

2010-09-18T10:03:00.000+01:00

Airplay is Appleâ€™s â€˜Go to Marketâ€™ Internet TV strategy | 9 to 5 Mac Airplay is Appleâ€™s â€˜Go to Marketâ€™ Internet TV strategy | Apple Intelligence

Nokia Is the McDonald's of Phones

2010-09-16T19:41:00.000+01:00

Nokia Is the McDonald's of Phones

SkyRoll on Wheels

2010-09-15T22:23:00.001+01:00

SkyRoll on Wheels

Packing Tips From Professional Travelers - NYTimes.com

2010-09-15T22:19:00.003+01:00

Packing Tips From Professional Travelers - NYTimes.com

10 Days in a Carry-On - Slide Show - NYTimes.com

2010-09-15T22:19:00.001+01:00

10 Days in a Carry-On - Slide Show - NYTimes.com