If you write shell scrips, you should check out Dave Taylor’s latest article in Linux Journal.
He gives key examples of what can go wrong if you don’t pay attention to certain things.
For example, if you have a dot in (especially at the start of) your PATH variable, you risk running a Trojan horse that snuck sneakily into your /tmp directory. If you want the dot, put it last.
Anyway, a simple straight forward article with a few pieces of good advice: Writing Secure Shell Scripts
Complex numbers, working with oscillations (trigonometry), using Turtles to draw, some basic algebra, my favorite, Cellular Automata, and more, are covered in Math Adventures with Python: An Illustrated Guide to Exploring Math with Code
Julien Danjou’s Serious Python: Black-Belt Advice on Deployment, Scalability, Testing, and More
This book takes Python programming well beyond casual programming, and beyond the use of Python as a glorified scripting language to access statistical or graphics tools, etc. This is level one or even level two material. If you are writing software to distribute to others, handling time zones, want to optimize code, or experiment with different programming paradigms (i.e. functional programming, generating code, etc.) then you will find Serious Python
Minecraft is probably the most creative video game out there, not in the sense that its creators are creative, but rather, that it is all about creating things, and this is done by constructing novelty out of a relatively simple set of primitives. But to do so, the player needs to know about the building blocks of Minedraft, such as Lava, Fencing, Redstone, Levers, various chest and chest related things, and so on.
And, welcome to Uncanny Valley:
I’m not going to try to talk you out of Evernote. If you use the venerable application productively, good for you. I used it for a long time and it was fine. But, recent changes in the application caused me to look elsewhere for the satisfaction I was seeking. And I found it. I found Raindrop.io. Continue reading Instead of Evernote, Try Raindrop
At the core of this post is a review of a new book, Learn Robotics with Raspberry Pi: Build and Code Your Own Moving, Sensing, Thinking Robots
First some good news:
Corporate clean energy buying surged to new record in 2018
Corporations purchased 13.4 gigawatts of clean power through long-term contracts, more than doubling 2017’s total, helped by demand from new industries and previously untrodden markets
Scenery conflict (I’ll just add, that solar panels replacing some nice vistas is better than post-apocalyptic landscapes replacing some nice vistas): Rhode Island town grapples with how to promote solar and protect rural views
Similarly, Massive Wisconsin solar proposal splits farmers and clean energy fans
And … Oregon adopts strict rules for solar panel farms on high-value farm soil
And for those who want to pay more but perhaps have something cool: RGS Energy Revives Dow’s Solar Roof, Claiming Better Efficiency and Lower Costs
Project oriented programming books, books that help you develop actual working programs while you learn to program, are the thing, and the new Impractical Python Projects: Playful Programming Activities to Make You Smarter
A computer program is like a memo. Often, a vague memo.
You are the boss. You want a pile of files to be put away. You could do it yourself, but instead you instruct someone else to do it. There are a lot of them and they are all mixed up. So you write a memo to an employee that says “put the files away” and sis-bam-boom you’re all set.
Or are you? Continue reading Practical Binary Analysis: Book Review
Wikipedia tells us that a “computer hacker is any skilled computer expert that uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem.” The all knowing one goes on to note that the term has been linked in popular parlance with the made up Wikipedia word “security hacker.” Such an individuals “uses bugs or exploits to break into computer systems.”
Continue reading How to be a hacker
Scratch is a seminal object oriented programming language that has had a great deal of influence on other languages. It is an entry level system designed for kids and adults new to programming. If you have a kid doing any kind of robotics or STEM programming in elementary school, they are using a programming langauge that derives from Scratch.
It comes out of MIT, and is usually used on their server, using a web interface.
That web interface is closing at 7 AM on January 2nd. Later that afternoon, it will be back up, but with Scratch 3.0!
Here’s a video. Continue reading Scratch 3.0 is coming
Linux has a kernel, there is a desktop manager, a desktop environment, a distribution, and a whole bunch of other stuff. All these things and other things have version numbers and similar information associated with them. If you are a casual user, you probably don’t know the exact version of any or all of these things you are running at any one moment in time. Then, suddenly, you find out that “Version this-or-that of this thing-or-another is out, have you tried it?” or “The whatchamacalit version of the thingimijob is broken, if you have that upgrade or you will all die!!!” or similar. So then, you want to know what version you are running.
Here are a few ways to find out that information. Continue reading How do I tell what version of everything I’m running (Linux)
Here’s an idea. You have an old beat up computer running, say, Windows. You want to make it faster, crisper, more secure, and generally, better.
What can you do short of buying a new computer? Well, install Linux. Linux is so much more efficient as an operating system, your computer will simply run better. Guaranteed. Continue reading This year’s biggest ripoff is also this year’s best gift idea
I’ve reached a very nice resting point in the ongoing effort to develop a very useful, powerful, stable, and cool computer setup.
This started a while back when I built a computer. In particular, this computer. There are several advantages to building a computer. You can save money or get more bang for your buck even if you don’t pay less. On the saving money side, maybe you have components on hand that you don’t have to buy. I did, mainly mass storage. The case I had, thinking I’d save money there, ended up not working out. You get more bang for the buck because the parts you buy will be better than the ones in the equivilant off the line but cheaper computer, and you’ll have more control over what happens in future upgrades. Continue reading A really good computer setup