John August crowd-sourced a security test on PDF encryption.
For PDF encryption, the consensus seems to be that the latest version of Adobe is pretty effective if you’re using the 128 or 256 bit option and have 8+ random characters. Random, as in not a word in a dictionary.
The post includes some estimates for cracking passwords on PDFs. I’m not familiar enough with the toolkits used by people that actually do this but the numbers are probably relatively accurate.
Here’s a glimpse into what it’s like to live in my house. At least I’m not alone in my neurotic endeavors. Bob VanderClay joined Erik and I on the show to talk about rewiring a house just to avoid flipping a light switch.
Here’s a great post on the Hazel forums. I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. It’s nice seeing how others prioritize their fiddling. Photo management is one of the most personal tasks and the variability from person to person is significant.
Lawson Kurtz outlines some requirements and conclusions for a series of screenshot apps for the Mac. Check the comments for apps that were missed. I never realized Monosnap supported so many platforms, but it looks good too.1 Certainly Droplr should be on the list.
I think that the one additional requirement I’d throw on the list is access from mobile (like iOS) that works for upload and browsing.
It’s interesting that the custom solution linked at the end is basic S3 upload.
I put Data Structures and Quantum Mechanics in the same bucket. They are both the absolutely most interesting details of their respective fields but I hated learning about them. Here’s a reasonably nice introduction to data structures through Python.
Maybe if my three different Quantum Mechanics courses had an interactive shell with detailed error explanations I would have enjoyed the subject more.1
No chance. ↩︎
Eddie Smith writing on Practically Efficient:
The inherent speed and stability of OS X over Windows—and Quicksilver, the way it flattened my digital world—changed the way I worked with computers on a very fundamental basis. On a more meta level, I’d found a community that I could identify with. The passion of the people using these tools made everything feel more like an experience rather than a means to an end.
Derek Lowe on YCombinator’s change of heart for funding biotech:
There’s a lot of criticism being thrown back and forth here, with people coming down hard on the Ycombinator stuff (naive, underfunded, etc.), and the folks there saying that they’re being singled out mostly because they’re not members of the club. Problem is, none of these complaints (from either side) are unfounded. I myself am not quite so sure about all these dramatic cost savings - all the work I’ve been in on has been, sooner or later, hideously expensive.
Command Line Fu is a site I occasionally land on because I forget how awesome it is right after I find what I need. It’s a huge collection of user contributed CLI solutions. My favorite feature (other than marking something as malicious) is the one click to select the command for copying. I really should just start searching there first.
Don’t miss the all time great section and the RSS Feed
Beervana links to the latest GABF beer styles guide. The styles are only going to continue to get more complicated. I did find this bit interesting:
Each style description is purposefully written independently of any reference to another beer style. Furthermore, as much as it is possible, beer character is not described in terms of ingredients or process. These guidelines attempt to emphasize final evaluation of the product and try not to judge or regulate the formulation or manner in which it was brewed, except in special circumstances that clearly define a style.
Greg Rucka on the phenomenon of boys attempting to own nerd culture and punishing girls for partaking:
And that sets me on a burn, anyway, but I’m running hot because, you see, I am the father of a daughter, and she is my light, and she shines, and I want for her every-fucking-thing she desires, and I want those things for her earned, not given; I want for her the reward of effort.
