Train timetables

A useful and interesting service from Finland's Ratahalintokeskus (RHK)...the ability to generate graphical timetables for any stretch of track and date in Finland (regular traffic only):

Säännöllisen liikenteen aikataulujen haku (Regular Traffic Timetable Search)

Trains v People

In the "war between people and trains", trains inevitably win....occasionally even ghost trains win...especially when they turn out to be real trains.

Not sure if this guy qualifies for a Darwin Award, but....

Amateur NC ghost hunter looking for 'ghost train' hit and killed by real train

By Jeff Rivenbark - email

STATESVILLE, NC (WBTV) - A man who was with about a dozen people who were looking for a legendary "ghost train" in Iredell County was hit by a locomotive and killed early Friday morning.

If only....

Noam Chomsky to become new X-Factor judge

 Professor of linguistics and political campaigner Noam Chomsky has been confirmed as the new judge on TV talent show The X Factor. ‘Cheryl Cole was still recovering from malaria and we needed someone who could fill the intellectual void,’ said programme creator Simon Cowell, ‘Professor Chomsky is perfect and the audience just loves him.’

 ....now go read the rest of it on Newsbiscuit.

 

Warning: Journalism

This is a great idea: Journalism Warning Labels

I particularly like this one....

and here's the full set to print out: Warning Labels

Can't wait for the next installment about Sipoo written by that most esteemed bastion of fiction Helsingin Sanomat...did I tell you the one about a metro line to some fields...?

Bass

Probably the coolest bass player in the World!   :-)

Satans Rørmokarë

available for weddings, funerals, christenings and bar-mitzvahs....'


(apologies for the shameless self publisiation!)

Mathoverflow

Questions and answers for mathematics....enjoy!

Seems to have quite many posts about topology...maybe just me

Lessons for SmartPhone Developers

Coming after Apple/iPad/AT&T email leak is this interesting article from the Denim Group:

June 09, 2010

4 Lessons from the AT&T/Apple Data Breach for Smartphone App Developers

By Dan Cornell

The recent AT&T / Apple data breach involving iPad 3G customers echoes some lessons we’ve been discussing with our customers deploying smartphone applications.  Based on a read of the info from Goatse Security as reported by Gawker we see similar themes.

In summary the author lists:

• Authentication and Authorization Are Crucial for Services Deployed to Support Smartphone Applications
• Do Not Authenticate Requests with Values that Look Random But Aren’t
• Never Trust Anything in an Attacker-Controlled Request (Especially User-Agent Headers)
• Don’t Trust Your Service Providers; Test Them

It is written with more of a focus on security, but the technical aspects are correct for this situation. However going deeper from here the whole issue of privacy is much greater than just the application of security. I sound like Schneier.

iPad Owner Email Leak

Extremely serious privacy breaches at Apple proving once again that people just don't understand privacy.

AT&T's Gaping Hole Exposes 114,000 iPad 3G Buyers' Email Addresses
Jason Mick (Blog) - June 9, 2010 5:55 PM

In what is one of the biggest leaks of email addresses in recent history, a group called Goatse Security has published the personal email addresses of 114,067 iPad 3G purchasers according to Gawker. The email addresses were obtained in what appears to be a legal fashion by querying a public interface that AT&T accidentally left exposed.

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed

Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the cellular-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking

Galois connections

Interesting paper by way of LtU:

Peter Smith, The Galois connection between syntax and semantics.

and unrelated but a Python to Haskell translator (by way of LtU also)

Lego Printer

Genius!



PcPro article here and the b3ta.com article here.

Lock Free Hash Table

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2139967204534450862#

Blue1 and the 717

Sadly phasing out two great aircraft types the MD-90 and Avro RJ (BAE146), but getting something interesting instead...the greatest aircraft Boeing have (n)ever produced, the 717...(MD-95). Here's the news and a picture of the liveries (designed by students of Aalto University, Helsinki)...look forward to these very much!

News and pictures from Flightglobal.

(C)Blue1

Blatant advertising: Blue1 offer a great deal, excellent with families - unlike Finnair who are expensive and are greatly reducing their almost non-existant on-board service and BA, again reducing service onboard and penalising families who wish to sit together.

Ps: McDonnell Douglas produced the best.

Neutrinos

Fantastic result from CERN:

Particle Chameleon Caught in the act of Changing

Geneva 31 May 2010. Researchers on the OPERA experiment at the INFN1’s Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy today announced the first direct observation of a tau particle in a muon neutrino beam sent through the Earth from CERN2, 730km away. This is a significant result, providing the final missing piece of a puzzle that has been challenging science since the 1960s, and giving tantalizing hints of new physics to come.

Another modification to the Standard Model coming up :-)

500 kV line repairs

Interesting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzga6qAaBA
(Embedding disabled, so just the link)

The Future...

Not sure if this really is a joke or not...and now from our sponsors...


New Google Phone Service Whispers Targeted Ads Directly Into Users' Ears

...trouble is, I'm partially responsible for this in a small way....don't say I didn't warn you!