Eight Character Passwords

On 19 October 2009, in Computers, Security, by stacy

How long are your passwords?  Let’s say eight characters is the length.  How many possibilities are there?  Well, you can use any single-byte printable character (though I once used an escape key in an RS/6000 password; it worked, but isn’t a good idea everywhere), and any length from one to eight.

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java_logo_2Just a short note on an item that bugs me about Java.  In C++, I tend to use exactly three kinds of method parameters.

  • A const reference.  I don’t want to copy it, but I promise not to modify it, either.
  • A reference.  I might modify it.
  • A copy.  I might modify my local copy, but not the original.  I’m getting a copy, after all.

Easy peasy in C++.  In Java?  Uh, I pass all objects by reference.

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Prayer In Schools. Again.

On 9 September 2009, in Religion, Society, by stacy

7a2217cb7fff59139b1488cbf0884faa1Well, it had to happen eventually, and boom, it happened. A friend invited me to become a “fan” of Prayer in School. I’m a “fan” of an almost random collection of things, including Legos, Joe Satriani, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. One more couldn’t hurt, right?

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Obama May Speak To Your Children

On 8 September 2009, in Education, Politics, Society, by stacy
President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer says Obama’s school speech uses taxpayer dollars (i.e., your dollars) to indoctrinate your children.

As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.

Source: CNN

Really. Do you support compulsory government-funded education? Okay, there’s no point in asking that.

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Exit Van Jones

On 7 September 2009, in Politics, by stacy
Van Jones

Van Jones

Gone. Unsurprising, really. Was Van Jones a truther? Well, he signed the petition, and I don’t think he can point to any public statement where he repudiated the truthers until recently… and then very weakly. He says he was the victim of a “vicious smear campaign.” Sure, I’ll grant that. So? He’s a politician and a lawyer, after all.

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Health Care

Health Care

How about passing simple legislation that is straightforward? We could do each of these – but not in one bill!

  1. Allow purchasing health insurance from out-of-state vendors. That is, “crossing state lines” to buy insurance. This is currently illegal.
  2. Allow and encourage the formation of health insurance alliances that pool many small businesses or even individuals.
  3. Require insurers to offer a basic “minimum coverage” policy. We could require everyone to purchase it… and make it (a) tax exempt or (b) refundable. We could even do a “prebate” as with the Fair Tax.

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The Public Option… Again

On 4 September 2009, in Health Care, Politics, by stacy
Health Care

Health Care

I’ve seen the “public option” compared to the Post Office (by the President), and I just saw it compared to public colleges by Sen. Schumer (D-NY).

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The Public Option

On 4 September 2009, in Health Care, Politics, by stacy
Health Care

Health Care

In order for the market to reduce the cost to you, you need two things.

  • You need to have a choice.
  • You need to be the one paying the bill.

If you lack either of these, you will be, in essence, ignored by the market, almost as if you were a non-participant.

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PROOF Obama was born in KENYA?

On 4 September 2009, in Politics, by stacy
Barack Obama

Barack Obama

What about Obama’s KENYAN birth certificate produced by Orly Taitz?
http://gnn.tv/threads/36212/Shocking_New_Birth_Certificate_Proof_Obama_Born_In_Kenya

I was asked about this recently. It took me less than one minute to find the following, and follow just a few of the references.

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Good Idea / Bad Idea

On 21 August 2009, in Nuisances, Programming, by stacy
Programming

Programming

I spend my time (recently) writing a mishmash of Python, C++, and Java. It’s interesting to switch back and forth.

What’s a good idea and what’s a bad (or dangerous) idea in computer language design? We’ve got a lot of candidates, and a lot of opinions.

I’ll list a few here, along with a few places where they show up.

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