Starlings of Otmoor

Otmoor RSPB reserve in Otmoor England.

Local rules seen in mass.

I was turned on to this place by Richard Dawlins' book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. I hated the introduction because it was preachy and a personal attack on the people who choose to pretend science doesn't exist, history-deniers, while they assert (without evidence) that God does; I suggest you skip to the actual presentation of the science.

The audio book is read by the author and Lalla Ward (four minutes in the above clip); trading off for asides and sections keeps it fresh, coherent and non-drowsy.

Plagiarism, a much larger problem then you though

I bookmarked this email a while ago and just got around to watching it today (1 hour duration).

"I gave a lecture on plagiarism in professional writing and research that some of you might find interesting. The lecture was taped and is available at http://media.fit.edu/load.php?clipid=3102"

The lecture is titled Plagiarism Detection Software by Professor Cem Kaner, 2008. I don't have access to the citations he handed out before the lecture. (Please add a comment to this post if you have a link.)

The following is what I took away and want to be able to refer back to (so I am blogging it).

• Plagiarism = using someone else's words or ideas.
• Copyright = using someone else's words.
• Citation = acknowledgment of someone else's ideas.
• Citation is done to provide the reader with a way to follow up on an idea, dive deeper.
• I find it unbelievable how much plagiarism there it, especially in "professional" venues.
• Plagiarism detection software marketing claims didn't stand up (in 2008), profession/private publications not included.
• Deans tend to think that if the software didn't flag a paper then plagiarism didn't occur.

Plagiarism detection software are tools used by self respecting plagiarist to double check that their cheating will not be routinely caught. The same tool will be used by a university or publisher to check for plagiarism. Sounds like a university tells you which software will be used to do the plagiarism checking so you can fix the paper before submitting. [This was my idea but I give credit to Cem has I think his lecture was designed to lead us to this conclusion.]

I will use citations to show that I know what I am talking about, that I am familiar with current technology/thinking and that I didn't pull these ideas out of my *.

Martin Scorsese's Film School

The 85 films you need to see to know anything about film.

What suprised me about this list? how many of these films I had NOT seen.

KeyGrinder

So you and all your clan use one password for every stupid site that doesn't matter. I know you use a better/secure/unique p4sSw0rd for your banking sites but how can you possibly remember a different password for every account you have.

KeyGrinder is a program that provides theft-resistant passwords without you having to think much about them. Using the pwdHash algorithm you enter the website URL or account name and your simple easy to remember (and type) key/password. KeyGrinder then produces a reasonably secure password based on the website/account and your simple password. Then take this generated password and use it for the website's (so each of your sites/accounts have a unique password while you remember only one key.)

You end up with each website having a unique secure password while you remain the weak link (because you always use the same simple key to generate these passwords.) In other words, this process isolates risk from website/account security compromisses but will not protect you from angry girlfriends that you once trusted.

Download KeyGrinder from the Apple App Store, for iPhone and iPad. Or use the www.KeyGrinder.com website to generate the same passwords on the fly.

There is little useful documentation on the app but I did fine this blog post on how to use KeyGrinder. If you don't checkout the PwdHash project and think it is cool then most likely you will never seriously use KeyGrinder.

Security is inversely proportional to usability.

Auburn House Concerts bring music, audience closer - Auburn Journal

Every other month, an Auburn couple opens their doors to the community, inviting musicians and audiences to enjoy live music in an intimate home setting. From the Auburn Journal article published on February 17, 2012, page A12. Auburn House Concerts bring music, audience closer - Auburn Journal

MS Windows screen capture

Microsoft's Snipping Tool is part of the more complete Windows 7 packages.

I have been using Lightscreen at work and it meets my needs quite nicely. Just though I'd blog this for the day I am on a machine without my standard testing tools thumb drive.

Brownies

Learned this recipe from ATK, Season 11 Chewy Brownies. First made it for Sharon to take to Lark Camp 2011 to hand out (I wanted to have a couple of brownies but didn't want to have eaten the whole thing.) They were a big hit so I'm making them again to hand out as Christmas gifts to friends and coworkers.

Chewy Brownies Yield: 24 brownies (4 - 6 servings)

Calories: 254 per square

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1½ teaspoons instant espresso (optional)

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons boiling water

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2½ cups (17½ ounces) sugar

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into ½-inch pieces

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk cocoa, espresso powder, and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. (Mixture may look curdled.) Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 1½ hours.
4. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (if well hidden.)

(From Cook’s Illustrated, March & April 2010 issue)

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Here is another posting for the same Cook's Illustrated chewy brownies recipe, looks like a great blog for finding cooking inspiration.