Although e-voting machines still cause concern, in his interview with Good Gear Avi Rubin is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of safe e-voting following this year’s primaries. For example, he points out many states have added a validation system such as paper ballots, and election officials are better educated as to potential problems. Not to mention, voting results do not appear to be wildly skewed, even if they might be imperfect at the margin.

Ideally, Rubin says an electronic system needs certification and validation, and software independence.  Certification and validation encompasses such questions as whether the machine will function correctly under adverse conditions such as in a room with a broken heating or cooling system or if it is dropped.  An example provided by Rubin of software independence:

Let me give you an example of a system that is software-independent. You have a system where voters use a touch screen to make their selections and the touch-screen machine, when they’re done, prints out a paper ballot that they look at and has all the candidate choices that they made. The voter then takes the completed, printed ballot, and they put it into a scanner. The scanner tallies the ballots up and keeps counts of all the votes. Now if the software on that system fails, they wouldn’t get a printed-out ballot that they could then accept and approve.

This compares to the current e-systems in which the votes are tabulated on a magnetic card which is then transferred from the voting machine to another to provide final tallies. So a software error would not necessarily be evident.

Salmon Run

While other parts of Alaska are seeing few salmon, Bristol Bay has more sockeye salmon than the canneries can process.

Overcoming Hard Drive Limitations

It looks like switching to ferroelectric designs of hard drives may just overcome the physical limitations faced by the ferromagnetic hard drives now in use.

Bits are currently stored in the orientation of tiny magnets, called ferromagnetic domains, on a hard drive platter. The smaller the domain, the easier it is for that orientation to be scrambled by temperature or stray electromagnetic fields.

But, ferroelectric materials use the orientation of the electric field to hold data, and a recent Nature Nanotechnology article reports tiny ferroelectric capacitors can hold the charge for about 3 days.

Salmon song

No Sense in Counting on Salmon This Year

You could count on the fingers of both hands — no thumbs needed — the number of spring chinook salmon that swam through Willamette Falls Fish Passage on May 25.

There were eight of ’em. Just eight, bringing the total for the year to 4,794.

Read it and weep, if you fish for salmon — or care about a Northwest icon.

Economics, Environment  Tags: feast or famine, oops, tragedy of the commons | Comment (0)

Missing the Point

Yes, a lot of web discussions (and gopher discussions beforehand) feature more heat than enlightenment, and passionate debates often use raw language. But if, as Washington Post editor Jim Brady says, the newspaper website is promoting debate, there will be disagreements, and if the debate is on the web, it will not always be pretty. The Post is facing the comments problem of any popular website welcoming public comments on issues of the day: As long as the public is profane, so will too be the comments. Passports and credit cards will not make for a better debate, nor create politer citizens.

CNET reports

Brady, executive editor of The Washington Post’s online division, said during a panel discussion at the Digital Hollywood conference here that he would like to see a technology that could identify people who violate site standards–and if need be–automatically kick them off for good.

Brady has a notable history with this issue and I’ll get to that. First, his position must be made clear. In an interview following the panel discussion, Brady said he doesn’t want people’s personal information for any other reason but to hold them accountable for what they post. He said he’s not–as he has been accused by some–an enemy of free speech. He just wants to oversee a site where readers engage in civil discourse and debate without fear of it degenerating into a “back alley environment.”

More

Brady is correct that a few vocal and rude comments can derail a discussion. Of course, the Washington Post could put together a moderating system for comments. There are a number of examples on the internet.

Aw hell no

A nice bit of work honoring a woman who worked full-time to prevent others from making the same choice she did.

From Washington University’s Record

Six distinguished individuals, including a pioneer of women in medicine and a multimedia entrepreneur, will receive honorary degrees May 16 during the University’s 147th Commencement ceremony. …

Phyllis Schlafly, national leader of the conservative movement, author and editor, doctor of humane letters;

Named one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century by Ladies Home Journal and one of the 10 most admired women in the world by Good Housekeeping, she is a well-known advocate for the role of a full-time homemaker.

… In 1972, she started a national pro-family volunteer organization and led a successful 10-year battle against the Equal Rights Amendment. She continues as president of the group, now known as the Eagle Forum.

What the blazes does this university think women go to college for? A wall decoration for their future home? Funny, given the essence of a liberal arts degree is critical thinking that the university chooses to honor someone who considers women (and men) unable to figure out for themselves how best to conduct their lives.

My suggestion: seating this honoree next to the “pioneer of women in medicine.”

In White House Plans Proactive Cyber-Security Role for Spy Agencies Brian Kreb writes,

America’s spy agencies for the first time would be tasked with gathering intelligence on threats to the nation’s computer networks under a policy that could be detailed by the White House as early as next week, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Not sure how well this will work in practice. Intel agencies are not inclined to share their methods and results, but the best defense against exploits is information about preventing them or patching the vulnerability. As noted futher down in the article:

Alan Paller, director of research at the Bethesda based SANS Institute, which tracks hacking trends, said few federal civilian agencies or private sector companies have the analysts or computer power to spot the most stealthy cyber attacks. Agencies like the NSA, he said, are in a bit of a tight spot in sharing new threat information with allies and the private sector, because spy agencies very often glean intelligence by exploiting the very same security vulnerabilities in hardware and software used by enemies of the United States.

“This is the oldest conflict in security, because if we give away our best exploits, we lose the ability to use them offensively,” Paller said. “That’s a conflict the guys at NSA deal with every day. When you find good ones, how long do you wait before you tell the vendors and people defending our own networks?”

Discussion on Brian Kreb’s column Security Fix

‘Rithmetic

Another example of how new voting machines are failing to do their basic job: record and count votes.

Apparently, Sequoia has failed to build a number of voting machine that can add correctly. In both the Democratic and Republican primaries, the total tally for votes cast differs from the sum of votes cast for each candidate.

Sadly and unsurprisingly, Sequoia’s response to the error was to threaten the messenger, rather than address the problem. Doesn’t speak well for their company or their product. Of course maybe the state of New Jersey should pay Sequoia using the company’s own algorithm. After all if Sequoia considers these machines adequate for elections, it should consider their math good enough for payment.

Forget One Little Step and Suddenly YouTube is Off the ‘Tubes

Yes the temporary rerouting of YouTube raises concerns about censorship and international affairs, but really it just is yet another indication of the inherent vulnerability of this decentralized system to simple mistakes as well as to deliberate attacks:

According to wire reports, Pakistan ordered all in-country Internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to YouTube.com, complaining that the site contained controversial sketches of the Prophet Mohammed which were republished by Danish newspapers earlier this month. The people running the country’s ISPs obliged, but evidently someone at Pakistan Telecom - the primary upstream provider for most of the ISPs in Pakistan - forgot to flip the switch that prevented those blocking instructions from propagating out to the rest of the Internet.

Brian Krebs, Security Fix

Note, however, the fix is about as easy as committing the mistake. So while it is a vulnerability, it also can be self-correcting.

More technical discussion about what happened.

I hate security questions

Once every 4-6 weeks I faithfully call my bank to request a reset of the security questions as the years in which I attended high school escape me now, let alone what might have been a preferred subject (Did I type “q2;klnbdi;” in subject or for childhood hero? Capitalization or none?). I surely hope they aren’t next going to ask for the homecoming queen (Did we have one? Should I call a childhood friend and ask?) Not to mention I lack spouse or spawn, so my fingers readily fail at the request for their middle name. And, in an inspiring touch — thanks to the cheerily reported increase in available security questions — the bank now wishes me to foretell the company from which I will retire some decades hence.

Nor am I alone:

In What City Did You Honeymoon?

Verizon wants to know my favorite ice cream flavor, Google’s got designs on my library card number, and Wachovia needs my favorite all-time entertainer. Yahoo! is asking where I met my spouse, and Bank of America wants the details of the honeymoon.

…

Most banks get their security questions from a company called RSA. Marc Gaffan, RSA’s director of product marketing, says 70 to 80 percent of American banks—including Bank of America, Wachovia, ING, Washington Mutual, and Vanguard—use RSA’s Adaptive Authentication program.

Petra

More on Petra:

• Region inhabited since prehistoric times.
• Nabataean Petra controlled trade through Jordan, the Red Sea, Damascus and South Arabia
• Although Petra negotiated with the Romans, it erred in siding with Parthians, and Herod the Great, a Roman client, successfully grabbed territory in 31 BCE. Petra negotiated a deal whereby Rome would peacefully assume control of Petra after its king perished in 106 CE
• The city flourished until the 363 CE earthquake after which it appears the inhabitants dispersed. Wait, maybe not, based on recently discovered Byzantine church dating to the 5th or 6th century CE.
• Crusaders briefly inhabited the city.

The first mention of Nabataeans in classical western history is in 312 BCE, although inscriptions attributed to this trading people appear in the Dead Sea and Arabah Valley area in the years after the 586 BCE Babylonian exile. They migrated as far south as the Gulf of Aqaba. Perhaps pirates initially, the Nabateans did found a trading empire centered in Petra; the carvings therein reflect multiple foreign influences: Syrian, Egyptian, Greek. Coinage and letters were in Aramaic, and the Nabataean alphabet evolved from Aramaic writing: There seems to have been a divergence between the written (Aramaic) language and the spoken language (likely a north Arabic dialect), which might explain how the north Arabic script, the source of modern Arabic script, evolved from Nabataean cursive.

In 106 CE, Rome annexed the Nabataean empire, which continued to flourish commercially for another century or so although revised sea trade routes were reducing its value. Petra suffered damage to its structures, including the water management system, in an earthquake of 363 CE. Although it received a bishopric in 379 CE under Byzantine rule, Petra never recovered its former position, losing trade to other cities such as Palmyra, and eventually faded.

The water collection system at Petra is, although less dramatic than the carvings, much more impressive, allowing the city to have become an artificial oasis. The gorge leading into Petra is a natural path for water flow. Along the length of the gorge’s walls run two enclosed water mains, including filters to trap pebbles and other debris. Natural waterfalls were also manipulated to run into the water system. A divertionary runoff for water was established at the opening of the gorge to collect water and control flash floods.

• Jordan’s history of Nabataeans and of Petra
• Another resource on Nabataeans (Jewish Encyclopedia
• Excavation work by Martha Sharp Joukowsky
• Scholarly articles on Petra, including its water management.
• National Geographic photos of Petra
• Herod the Great’s mother was Nabataean.

Masada references: Herod the Great built a fortress atop a naturally fortified cliff, fearing revolt. Decades after the king’s death, Flavius Josephus reported that the Sicarii won the fort from a Roman garrison in 66 CE, holding it until 73 CE when an attacking Roman army successfully laid seige; according to Josephus, the occupants chose suicide rather than submitting to Rome’s rule. Although this myth of choosing death over slavery resonates, archaeological work suggests a more nuanced and complicated history. Indeed, the drawing of lots to determine who kills whom in a ritual murder-suicide reflects Josephus’ relating his experience at Jotapata.

• Josephus problem, computational issue
• Zealots, religious-political faction 1st century CE
• Sicarii, possibly a splinter group of the Zealots
• Essenes, Jewish ascetic group which preached seclusion and strict adherence to Jewish law. Possibly formed from priestly circles after a theological split in the Temple at Jerusalem. Religious appocalytic movement, not political. Current scholarship attributes authorship of the Dead Sea Scrolls to a community of Essenes at Qumran, a view more and more contested. Some content another sect, the Sadduccees, occupied Qumran. Others contend that most scrolls were copied elsewhere and brought to Qumran.
• Dead Sea Scrolls, probably earliest surviving copies of Biblical documents.

Reliability, Voting and Democracy

The NYTimes Magazine answers maybe, to its question, Can You Count on Voting Machines? Computers behave in predictably undesirable ways: they allow for fast counts and accessibility, but they lock up, they have bugs, and printers jam. And in close elections recounts may not be possible. Optical readers may be better because there is paper to verify afterwords, if the voter’s intent is clear. But for a democratic election to work:

“The losers have admitted they lost, which is what you want,” [Ion Sancho] adds. “You have to be able to convince the loser they lost.” That, in a nutshell, is what people crave in the highly partisan arena of modern American politics: an election that can be extremely close and yet regarded by all as fair. Not only must the losing candidate believe in the loss; the public has to believe in it, too.

Another Alphabet

Something to learn

:

Hebrew Alphabet

Greek alphabet

On Blogging: Women Lead and Brits First

Guy Kewney, Register -

Here’s a quote from an interesting time in the past: ten years ago. You know, a decade back, 1997, when (It says here) ‘Jorn Barger, who started his Robot Wisdom weblog in 1997, is “regarded by many” as the “first blogger”.’

Was he heck

The first blogger was Rupert Goodwins. He started his blog in 1996 - and very popular it was, too.

TechBlorge.Com—

The survey also revealed that more women than men are bloggers, with 20% of American women who have visited blogs having their own versus 14 % of men.

The Synovate/Marketing Daily survey was conducted online with 1,000 adults in the US using Synovate eNation from July 30 to August 1.

UAT Instructor Creates Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic Translator

MarketWire -

TEMPE, AZ–(Marketwire - August 23, 2007) - University of Advancing Technology (UAT) instructor and senior web developer Joe McCormack has completed work on a web-based application that translates English words into cuneiform script from the Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian and the hieroglyphic script of Egyptian. The tool may be seen at his website, virtualsecrets.com.

‘Ionic Wind Engines’ for chip cooling

Science Daily —

Researchers have demonstrated a new technology using tiny “ionic wind engines” that might dramatically improve computer chip cooling, possibly addressing a looming threat to future advances in computers and electronics.

Indeed

We all remember how many religious wars were fought for a religion of love and gentleness; how many bodies were burned alive with the genuinely kind intention of saving souls from the eternal fire of hell.

– Sir Karl Popper, twentieth-century British philosopher of science

Broadband Faster than Electricity

At least in terms of market share:

Electricity reached one-quarter of Americans 46 years after its introduction. Telephones took 35 years and televisions 26 years. Already, in just six years, broadband has reached 25 percent penetration, according to McKinsey & Co.— Bruce Mehlman

Of course, compared to Europe and other places, the United States is slowing down in the growth in broadband users, although it has the highest share (31 percent at this site).