10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Samuel Johnson derided slang as "fugitive cant" unworthy of preservation, but the low idiom of thieves and beggars has evolved into a highbrow linguistic tradition... more

I don’t normally post whole journal abstracts in the “trivia” posts but this interesting piece didn't seem to fit in elsewhere. Maybe this series is becoming my “dumping ground”
Visualizing Keyboard Pattern Passwords
an article by D. Schweitzer, J. Boleng, C. Hughes and L. Murphy published in Information Visualization (Volume 10 Number 2 (April 2011))
Abstract
Passwords are fundamental security vulnerabilities in many systems. Several researchers have investigated the trade-off between password memorability versus resiliency to cracking and have looked at alternative systems such as graphical passwords and biometrics. To create stronger passwords, many systems enforce rules regarding the required length and types of characters passwords must contain. Another suggested approach is to use pass-phrases to combat dictionary attacks. One common “trick” used to remember passwords that conform to complex rules is to select a pattern of keys on the keyboard. Although appearing random, the pattern is easy to remember. The purpose of this research was to investigate how often patterns are used, whether patterns could be classified into common categories, and whether those categories could be used to attack and defeat pattern-based passwords. Visualization techniques were used to collect data and assist in pattern categorization. The approach successfully identified 2 out of 11 passwords in a real-world password file that were not discovered with a traditional dictionary attack. This article will present the approach used to collect and categorize patterns, and describe the resulting attack method that successfully identified passwords in a live system.
I have used, for most of my passwords, a combination of the initials of relatives combined with dates of birth, death or significant anniversaries. For example, Emma Lucy Sims would yield a password of e15l04s81. The name and the year of birth are accurate for my grandmother – that would be 1881 of course.

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
What has the iPod wrought? Earbudded into isolation, merrily ensconced in our own expertly curated soundtrack, who any longer has a serendipitous interaction? The future belongs to solipsism...more

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
With his prodigious talent, parents who loved him to bits, and a piano teacher named Marietta Clinkscales, Duke Ellington could only succeed...more

The Psychological Effects of Pornography via Big Think by Big Think Editors
What’s the Latest Development? In a 2009 study conducted at Utah State University, psychologist Michael Twohig asked 299 undergraduate students whether they considered their pornography consumption problematic; for example, causing intrusive sexual thoughts or difficulty finding like-minded sex ... Read More

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Historians, please note. If ever there existed a scientific theory that is fundamentally historical, that explains change over time, it is Darwin’s evolution by natural selection...more

WarpShot via How-To Geek
A fun physics-based game where you need to use gravity and warp through portals to beat each level by par.
Play WarpShot at Armor Games (Turn off the sound unless you like the seriously annoying, repetitive thump of the arcade.)

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The Michelson-Morley experiment opened the universe to Einstein. What's more, Albert Michelson was a dab hand at pool. Norman MacLean recalls...more

Evolution of the Equine via Britannica Blog by Britannica Editors
The equines we know today are descended from the first horse, the “dawn horse”.
Members of the Equidae family have roamed Earth’s forests and plains for some 54 million years. The first horse was the tiny, hoofed Hyracotherium, or Eohippus, the “dawn horse”, which inhabited landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere and measured a mere foot or so in height and two feet in length. After Hyracotherium, there came a succession of genera—from Orohippus to Miohippus to Merychippus. During the Late Miocene Epoch (11.6 million to 5.3 million years ago), Merychippus diverged into different evolutionary lines, one of which ultimately gave rise to Equus. All modern equines – horses, zebras, and asses – belong to the genus Equus.
And the pictures are, as always with Britannica, stunning!

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
You know that Shakespeare was a word-coining genius who revolutionized the language – and the world. Did you know that he’s also responsible for the scourge of starlings in America?...more

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