A Phishy Tale

I love Questionable Content and wanted to share that strip because it's so true! Many a good man have fallen to scantily clad women. Anyway, Joel Spolsky's blog is always an interesting read whenever I stop by and today he put up the introduction to his upcoming book compiling examples of good software writing. The introduction is a great read and I think makes a very important point. Why is it that so many programming books are so bloody dry? I enjoyed reading The Pragmatic Programmer and yet when I read books to learn languages they're hard to sit down and focus on. For example, this article about phishing is easy to read because it's not too long and has some great information to boot an actual story. If authors in the computer world wrote more like that they'd be rich! Don't underestimate the spending power of nerds. Back to that second article though, I find it interesting that our bank accounts can be so vulnerable to guys not much older than me. The question we need to ask is if these guys can do so much, why do they use it for stealing?

There isn't terribly more technology news. It would appear that MIS is is growing more than Computer Science in the United States due to a variety of reasons, and I can't decide how I feel about that. I wouldn't mind a managerial role (I am doing a Business minor of sorts anyhow), but I just don't want to be stuck in business my whole life. I'd ideally like to explore a number of possibilities in computing, but I guess I can't be too choosy. The digital world now has word that Hollywood is going to present the broadcast flag to Congress in a couple of days under the guise of an appropriations bill, and that could mean huge trouble. E-mail your congressmen and warn them! Intel seems to be on a roll lately as it has been developing a wireless chip that could work up to 30 miles away from a wireless hotpot. That seems a little excessive, but it would've made my life easier when I had to register for my fall classes in Waggener Hall (which has a weak signal). BBC has an interview with the creator of Kazaa and Skype, and the way he speaks is of a man who will continue to do great things. I just love that he always sees the big picture. Lastly, YubNub is a command line for the internet and at first I was skeptical but now I think it's great. I can keep it in Firefox and use it to search google by just typing 'g' rather than the whole URL and such.

There is some movie news to report on today. There are rumblings that Lawrence Fishburne may be in Mission Impossible: 3 as Hunt's (Tom Cruise) mentor.There are also rumors that Todd Macfarlane might go back to the movie business to remake Spawn in a better light, which is an interesting thought but it's unlikely that he'll get another chance with that one. Apple has some behind-the-scenes footage for Fantastic Four that's rather long but does give you a good background if you don't know anything about the superhero team. Yahoo! Movies has an exclusive clip from Bewitched, which I do hope turns out funny. One funny movie that seems to be doomed to failure though is Wedding Crashers though according to an early review. Lastly, another funny movie I've just been turned on to is called Pretty Persuasion and looks like it could be great. The premise is a private school girl who tries to get a teacher in trouble by framing him for sexual harrassment.

Now to conclude this Monday with some Monday Madness:

Please list at least one anagram for the following words...

1. rentals eternals
2. wreathe weather
3. intidy (I assume he meant untidy) nudity
4. ruling luring
5. peaks speak
6. imprints misprint
7. meals males
8. reserve reverse
9. cosmic comics
10. heirs hires