Eikonal Blog

2011.11.03

Aging

Filed under: health — Tags: , , — sandokan65 @ 10:30

2011.09.30

awk

Filed under: scripting, unix — Tags: , — sandokan65 @ 11:03

Passing shell variables to AWK

Thing that works well for me: 

    awk '{print "'"$VARIABLE"'"}' 1 > 2

Related here: Scripting languages – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/awk-sed/ | Unix tricks – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/unix-tricks/ | SED tricks – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/sed-tricks/ | Memory of things disappearing > nmap stuff > getports.awk – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/memory-of-things-disappearing-nmap-stuff-getports-awk/

2011.09.29

SNMP

Filed under: networking — Tags: , , — sandokan65 @ 12:37

2011.08.17

eBooks and eBook Format Transformers

Filed under: books, mobile and wireless, tools, transformers — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 13:16

Sites

Articles

Devices and other readers

  • Amazon’s Kindle
  • barnes and Noble’s Nook
  • FBReader — e-book reader for Unix/Windows computers – http://www.fbreader.org/

eBook format transformers

Kindle blogs

PDF

2011.07.20

Lambert W function

Filed under: mathematics — Tags: — sandokan65 @ 13:38

Definition: A function W: {\mathbb C} \rightarrow {\mathbb C} defined by W(z) e^{W(z)} = z is named the Lambert W-function.

Literature:

2011.07.08

Auditing Unix Security

Filed under: infosec, passwords, security hardening, security testing, unix, VA (Vulnerability Assessment) — Tags: , , , — sandokan65 @ 12:50

Misc

2011.07.06

Derivatives of numbers

Filed under: mathematics, number theory — Tags: , , — sandokan65 @ 23:45

Definitions:

  • p'=1 for every prime number p
  • (a b)' = a' b + a b' (Leibnitz rule) for every two natural numbers a, b \in {\Bbb N}

Concequences:

  • 1' = 0.
  • (p^n)' = n \cdot p^{n-1}
  • for any natural number n= \prod_{i=1}{k} {p_i}^{n_i} one has n' = n \sum_{i=1}^{k} \frac{n_i}{p_i}.
    • Eg: 40' = (2^3 \cdot 5)' = 3 \cdot 2^2 \cdot 5 + 2^3 = 68.
  • in general (a+b)' \ne a' + b'
  • \left(\frac{a}{b}\right)' = \frac{a' b - a b'}{b^2}
  • (p^p)' = p^p for any prime number p is equivalent of the exponential function’s property that its derivative is itself.
  • If n = p^p \cdot m for prime p and natural m>1, then n' = p^p (m+m') > n, n^{(k)} \ge n+k, and \lim_{k\rightarrow \infty} n^{(k)} = \infty.
  • For infinitely many natural numbers n there exist suitable k s/t n^{(k)}=0
  • Ufnarovski and Åhlander give following conjecture: for every natural n, as we observe its derivatives n^{(k)} (as k grows to infinity), the limit will be either 0, \infty, or n itself (if n=p^p for some prime p).
  • If n'=0, then n=1.
  • If n'=1, then n = p (for all possible primes).

Sources:

  • “Deriving the Structure of Numbers” by Ivars Peterson (Ivars Peterson’s MathTrek) – http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_03_22_04.html
  • “How to differentiate a number” by Ufnarovski, V., and B. Åhlander (Journal of Integer Sequences 6; 2003.09.17) – http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/journals/JIS/VOL6/Ufnarovski/ufnarovski.html
      Abstract: We define the derivative of an integer to be the map sending every prime to 1 and satisfying the Leibnitz rule. The aim of the article is to consider the basic properties of this map and to show how to generalize the notion to the case of rational and arbitrary real numbers. We make some conjectures and find some connections with Goldbach’s Conjecture and the Twin Prime Conjecture. Finally, we solve the easiest associated differential equations and calculate the generating function.
  • “Investigations of the number derivative” by Linda Westrick – http://web.mit.edu/lwest/www/intmain.pdf

2011.06.26

Lyme disease

Filed under: health — Tags: , — sandokan65 @ 21:47

Movie: Under our skin

A RI PBS is just airing a documentary from 2008 on the Lyme disease. I just never knew how scary the long term consequences of untreated disease are. It is essentially a bacteria related to syphilis bacteria, and has about the same comprehensive effect on all parts of the body/brain, with indications that in very long time scale causes ALS, MS, Parkisons, and Alzhaymers.

In the same time the movie shows to what degree the medical profession is corrupted by conflicts of interests, where the most influential doctors on IDSA are on payroll of insurance companies and/or own patents in research on Lyme.

2011.06.20

Web applications

Filed under: web security, web tools — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 10:02

Mozilla Prism (aka WebRunner) & Chromeless

Embedded IE

Related here: HTML5 – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/html5/ | Scripting user interfaces – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/scripting-user-interfaces/

2011.06.03

Collatz conjecture

Filed under: mathematics, puzzles — Tags: , , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 15:02

Decoherence

Filed under: General relativity, physics, qft, Quantum mechanics — Tags: , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 14:42
  • “When the multiverse and many-worlds collide” by Justin Mullins (The New Scientist; 2011.06.01) – http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028154.200-when-the-multiverse-and-manyworlds-collide.html
  • “Are Many Worlds and the Multiverse the Same Idea?” by Sean Carroll (Cosmic Variance blog at Discover Magazine; ) – http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2011/05/26/are-many-worlds-and-the-multiverse-the-same-idea/
  • “Physical Theories, Eternal Inflation, and Quantum Universe” by Yasunori Nomura (arXiv.org > hep-th > arXiv:1104.2324v2 [hep-th])- http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.2324
      Abstract: We present a framework in which well-defined predictions are obtained in an eternally inflating multiverse, based on the principles of quantum mechanics. We show that the entire multiverse is described purely from the viewpoint of a single “observer,” who describes the world as a quantum state defined on his/her past light cones bounded by the (stretched) apparent horizons. We find that quantum mechanics plays an essential role in regulating infinities. The framework is “gauge invariant,” i.e. predictions do not depend on how spacetime is parametrized, as it should be in a theory of quantum gravity. Our framework provides a fully unified treatment of quantum measurement processes and the multiverse. We conclude that the eternally inflating multiverse and many worlds in quantum mechanics are the same. Other important implications include: global spacetime can be viewed as a derived concept; the multiverse is a transient phenomenon during the world relaxing into a supersymmetric Minkowski state. We also present a theory of “initial conditions” for the multiverse. By extrapolating our framework to the extreme, we arrive at a picture that the entire multiverse is a fluctuation in the stationary, fractal “mega-multiverse,” in which an infinite sequence of multiverse productions occurs. The framework discussed here does not suffer from problems/paradoxes plaguing other measures proposed earlier, such as the youngness paradox, the Boltzmann brain problem, and a peculiar “end” of time.
  • “The Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics” by Raphael Bousso and Leonard Susskind (arXiv.org > hep-th > arXiv:1105.3796v1 [hep-th]) – http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.3796
      Abstract: We argue that the many-worlds of quantum mechanics and the many worlds of the multiverse are the same thing, and that the multiverse is necessary to give exact operational meaning to probabilistic predictions from quantum mechanics.
      Decoherence – the modern version of wave-function collapse – is subjective in that it depends on the choice of a set of unmonitored degrees of freedom, the “environment”. In fact decoherence is absent in the complete description of any region larger than the future light-cone of a measurement event. However, if one restricts to the causal diamond – the largest region that can be causally probed – then the boundary of the diamond acts as a one-way membrane and thus provides a preferred choice of environment. We argue that the global multiverse is a representation of the many-worlds (all possible decoherent causal diamond histories) in a single geometry.
      We propose that it must be possible in principle to verify quantum-mechanical predictions exactly. This requires not only the existence of exact observables but two additional postulates: a single observer within the universe can access infinitely many identical experiments; and the outcome of each experiment must be completely definite. In causal diamonds with finite surface area, holographic entropy bounds imply that no exact observables exist, and both postulates fail: experiments cannot be repeated infinitely many times; and decoherence is not completely irreversible, so outcomes are not definite. We argue that our postulates can be satisfied in “hats” (supersymmetric multiverse regions with vanishing cosmological constant). We propose a complementarity principle that relates the approximate observables associated with finite causal diamonds to exact observables in the hat.

2011.05.31

Productivity

Filed under: business, knowledgeManagement, skills — Tags: , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 11:38

Distraction-Free Tools

Tools:

Microsoft office foolies

2011.05.23

Intelligence in Earth’s nonhuman life

Filed under: body language, evolution, iq, languages, life, mind & brain, personality — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sandokan65 @ 13:26

2013

2012

  • “Complex thinking goes beyond primates: Dolphins understand zero, elephants rescue each other” by Seth Borenstein (Winnipeg Free Press; 2012.06.24) – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/complex-thinking-goes-beyond-primates-dolphins-understand-zero-elephants-rescue-each-other-160191285.html
    • Dolphins understand concept of “zero”. Can do everything that chimpanzees and bonobos can do. Likely have personalities.
    • Animal intelligence “is not a linear thing,” said Duke University researcher Brian Hare, who studies bonobos, which are one of man’s closest relatives, and dogs, which are not. “Think of it like a toolbox,” he said. “Some species have an amazing hammer. Some species have an amazing screwdriver.”
    • Elephants work cooperatively, solving problems faster than chimps.
  • “Line blurs between man, animal: Monkeys do math, baboons seem to read, orangutans plan ahead” by Seth Borenstein (Winnipeg Free Press; 2012.06.24) – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/line-blurs-between-man-animal-monkeys-do-math-baboons-seem-to-read-orangutans-plan-ahead-160191235.html
    • Some of the shifts in scientific understanding of animals are leading to ethical debates. When Emory University researcher Lori Marino in 2001 co-wrote a groundbreaking study on dolphins recognizing themselves in mirrors, proving they have a sense of self similar to humans, she had a revelation. “The more you learn about them, the more you realize that they do have the capacity and characteristics that we think of as a person,” Marino said. “I think it’s impossible to ignore the ethical implications of these kinds of findings.”

2011

2010

2009

General

Mammals: Primates

Mammals: Elephants

Mammals: Cetaceans (dolphins, whales, …)

  • “Talk with a dolphin via underwater translation machine” by MacGregor Campbell (New Scientist – issue 2811; 2011.05.09) – http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028115.400-talk-with-a-dolphin-via-underwater-translation-machine.html
  • “Intelligence of Dolphins: Ethical and Policy Implications” – http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Session1526.html
      Charter: The dolphin brain has a large cerebral cortex and a substantial amount of associational neocortex. Most anatomical ratios that assess cognitive capacity place it second only to the human brain. More important, recent research in marine science has revealed that dolphins have a remarkable degree of cognitive and affective sophistication. For example, dolphins can recognize their image in a mirror as a reflection of themselves — a finding that indicates self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants. These and other studies, which have found that dolphins are also capable of advanced cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, artificial language comprehension, and complex social behavior, indicate that dolphins are far more intellectually and emotionally sophisticated than previously thought. Considerable research indicates that they are significantly different from fish and other marine species, and this research has significance for commercial policy and practice. This symposium will present the scientific findings and explore their ethical and policy implications.
    • Lori Marino (Emory University): Anatomical Basis of Dolphin Intelligence – http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Paper1487.html
        Many modern dolphin brains are significantly larger than our own and second in mass to the human brain when corrected for body size. Despite evolving along a different neuroanatomical trajectory than human brains, cetacean brains exhibit several features that are correlated with complex intelligence, including a large expanse of neocortical volume that is more convoluted than our own, extensive insular and cingulate regions, and highly differentiated cellular regions.
        These characteristics of dolphin brains are consistent with current behavioral evidence. In this presentation I will discuss the neuroanatomical basis of complex intelligence in dolphins, how the neuroanatomy provides evidence for psychological continuity between humans and dolphins, and the profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions. Specifically, I will focus on the growing worldwide industry of capturing and confining dolphins for amusement in marine park shows, “swim-with-dolphin” and “dolphin-assisted therapy” facilities. Our current knowledge of dolphin brain complexity and intelligence suggests that these practices are potentially psychologically harmful to dolphins and present a misinformed picture of their natural intellectual capacities.
    • Diana Reiss (Hunter College of the City University of New York): Self-Awareness and Dolphins – http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Paper1488.html
        Bottlenose dolphins are highly social mammals with large and complex brains. Studies conducted in the field and aquaria have provided increasing evidence for the dolphin’s cognitive-social prowess, revealing that dolphins are cultural animals – much of their behavior is learned and passed down through generations.
        They have demonstrated the capacity for mirror-self recognition (MSR), a hallmark of a level of self-awareness, previously thought to be restricted to humans but also shared by the great apes, elephants and magpies. Despite profound differences in neuroanatomical characteristics and evolutionary histories dolphins, primates (human and great apes), and elephants show striking parallels in both the progression of behavioral stages and actual responses to a mirror providing compelling evidence for convergent cognitive evolution. MSR may index an increased self-other distinction that also underlies the social complexity and altruistic tendencies shared among these species.
        Can our scientific knowledge be used to influence international policy decisions and ethical considerations of the treatment of dolphins? Do scientific facts translate and transcend cultural boundaries? In the dolphin drive hunts in Japan, there are no restrictions on capture or killing methods of the highly sentient dolphin and other small whales. The killing methods fail to meet even the most minimal requirements used in U.S. laboratories and slaughterhouses. Scientists are making the argument on the basis of the scientific evidence that the drive hunts are unjustifiable and indefensible in that they inflict pain and suffering on animals that are intelligent, sentient, socially complex and have capacity to experience pain and suffering.
    • Thomas I. White (Loyola Marymount University): Ethical Implications of Dolphin Intelligence: Dolphins as Nonhuman Persons – http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Paper1489.html
        The scientific research on dolphin intelligence suggests that dolphins are “nonhuman persons.” (Like humans, dolphins appear to be self-conscious,
        unique individuals [with distinctive personalities, memories and a sense of self] who are vulnerable to a wide range of physical and emotional pain and harm, and who have the power to reflect upon and choose their actions.) At the same time, fundamental differences between humans and dolphins have also surfaced. (The dolphin brain has an older architecture than the human brain, and dolphin and human brains have features not found in the other. Dolphins possess a sense that humans lack [echolocation]. Humans and dolphins have profoundly different evolutionary histories.) This juxtaposition of important similarities and differences has significant ethical implications.
        The similarities suggest that dolphins qualify for moral standing as individuals-and, therefore, are entitled to treatment of a particular sort. The differences, however, suggest that species-specific standards may apply when it comes to determining something as basic as “harm.” The policy implications are considerable. For example, certain human fishing practices are indefensible and would need to change. (Over 300,000 cetaceans are thought to die annually around the world as a result of fisheries by-catch. Thousands more typically die in the annual Japanese drive hunts.) Similarly, changes would need to be made regarding the hundreds of captive dolphins currently used in entertainment facilities. The economic, political and diplomatic challenges in ending ethically problematic practices, however, are daunting and multi-faceted. Unfortunately, humans have a poor track record for recognizing the rights and interests even of members of our own species once they’ve been dubbed “inferior.” Meaningful change in human/dolphin interaction, then, is likely to unfold slowly. Yet developing an interspecies ethic could mark a significant turning point in the relationship between humans and other intelligent beings on the planet.
  • “Non-human Persons” by petchary (Petchary blog) – http://petchary.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/non-human-persons/ – dog knows more worlds (over 1000) that a two-years old.

Mammals: Carnivora (cats, dogs, …)

Aves (Birds)

Aves (Birds): Corvids [Corvidae]

  • Corvidae (WikiPedia) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvidae
  • “Rook reveal remarkable tool use” – http://vodpod.com/watch/1672586-rook-reveal-remarkable-tool-use
  • “Bird Tool Use Evolved for Better Grub, Literally” by Jennifer Viegas (Dicsovery News; 2010.09.16) – http://news.discovery.com/animals/bird-tool-use-evolved-for-better-grub-literally.html
  • “Ravens Reconcile after Aggressive Conflicts with Valuable Partners” by Orlaith N. Fraser, Thomas Bugnyar (PLoS; 2011.03.25) – http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018118
      Reconciliation, a post-conflict affiliative interaction between former opponents, is an important mechanism for reducing the costs of aggressive conflict in primates and some other mammals as it may repair the opponents’ relationship and reduce post-conflict distress. Opponents who share a valuable relationship are expected to be more likely to reconcile as for such partners the benefits of relationship repair should outweigh the risk of renewed aggression. In birds, however, post-conflict behavior has thus far been marked by an apparent absence of reconciliation, suggested to result either from differing avian and mammalian strategies or because birds may not share valuable relationships with partners with whom they engage in aggressive conflict. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of captive subadult ravens (Corvus corax) and show that it is more likely to occur after conflicts between partners who share a valuable relationship. Furthermore, former opponents were less likely to engage in renewed aggression following reconciliation, suggesting that reconciliation repairs damage caused to their relationship by the preceding conflict. Our findings suggest not only that primate-like valuable relationships exist outside the pair bond in birds, but that such partners may employ the same mechanisms in birds as in primates to ensure that the benefits afforded by their relationships are maintained even when conflicts of interest escalate into aggression. These results provide further support for a convergent evolution of social strategies in avian and mammalian species.
  • “Angry Birds: Crows Never Forget Your Face” by Jennifer Viegas (Discovery News; 2011.06.28) – http://news.discovery.com/animals/angry-crows-memory-life-threatening-behavior-110628.html

    • Mess with a crow, and it will remember your face for over five years, research shows.
    • Crows remember the faces of “dangerous humans,” with the memories likely lasting for a bird’s lifetime.
    • Crows may scold people who threaten them, bringing in relatives and even strangers to mob the person.
    • The crows within mobs then indirectly learn about the person, so they too associate that individual’s face with danger and react accordingly.
    • “Others have shown that some crows make and use tools, forecast future events, understand what other animals know, and — in our case — learn from individual experience as well as by observing parents and peers,” Marzluff explained. “These are all advanced cognitive tasks shown by only a few animals.”
    • He suspects other social, long-lived species that live closely with humans might also share information in a similar manner. Possibilities include animals such as coyotes, raccoons, gulls, pigeons and rats. All could practice a combination of social and trial and error learning. The latter provides the most accurate information, but it is clearly riskier than indirect social learning.

  • “Crows are Feathered Engineers” by Gene Charleton (Discovery News; 2010.06.10) – http://news.discovery.com/tech/feathered-engineers.html – Crows living in the jungles of New Caledonia use tools to solve problems.
  • “Feathered engineers” by Gene (Texas AM Engineering; 2010.06.02) – http://engineeringworks.tamu.edu/2010/feathered-engineers/
  • “Mirrors and Magpies” by fatfinch (The Fat Finch Bird Brain Blog; ) – http://fatfinch.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/mirrors-and-magpies/
  • “Self-Recognition in the Pica Pica (Magpie)?” (2008.08.19) – http://cognitivetrammeling.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/self-recognition-in-the-pica-pica/

Aves (Birds): Parrots

Fish

Cephalopod: Squids, etc

  • Cephalopod intelligence (WikiPedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_intelligence
  • This is probably a stretch (in domain of science-fiction), but it sounds like something that just could be the case. Is decoration of your nesting ground a sign of intelligence? Also, assuming that some ancient cephalopod indeed had this intelligence, then the questions is what happened to that intelligence during the following 50 millions of years? It looks like it had gone nowhere to be seen these days.
    • “The Revenge of the Imaginary Kraken” by Brian Switek (Wired; 2011.10.12) – http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/the-revenge-of-the-imaginary-kraken/
    • “Gigantic KRAKEN fingered in prehistoric murder mystery – Prof reckons monster was also a Triassic Van Gogh” by Anna Leach (The Register; 2011.10.12) – http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/12/kraken_killer/
        “The proposed Triassic kraken, which could have been the most intelligent invertebrate ever, arranged the vertebral discs in biserial patterns, with individual pieces nesting in a fitted fashion as if they were part of a puzzle. The arranged vertebrae resemble the pattern of sucker discs on a cephalopod tentacle, with each amphicoelous vertebra strongly resembling a coleoid sucker. Thus the tessellated vertebral disc pavement may represent the earliest known self‑portrait.”
    • “Ancient Krakens Making Self-Portraits?” (SlashDot; 2011.10.11) – http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/11/134240/ancient-krakens-making-self-portraits
        First time accepted submitter Sanoj writes “Strange patterns of ichthyosaur bones have been found on an ancient deep-water seabed. One paleontologist has put forward the theory that these could have been the work of giant cephalopods who were eating the swimming dinosaurs and then arranging the vertebrae to resemble their own tentacles [http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/58953-triassic-kraken-may-have-created-self-portrait]. Sound far-fetched? Apparently, the modern octopus also does this.”
    • “The Giant, Prehistoric Squid That Ate Common Sense” by Brian Switek (Wired; 2011.10.10) – http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/the-giant-prehistoric-squid-that-ate-common-sense/
    • “Smokin’ Kraken?” by Sarah Simpson(Discovery News; 2011.10.100) – http://news.discovery.com/earth/smokin-kraken-111011.html
    • “Triassic ‘Kraken’ may have created self-portrait” by Kate Taylor (TG Daily; 2011.10.10) – http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/58953-triassic-kraken-may-have-created-self-portrait
      Image
    • “TRIASSIC KRAKEN: THE BERLIN ICHTHYOSAUR DEATH ASSEMBLAGE INTERPRETED AS A GIANT CEPHALOPOD MIDDEN” by Mark A.S. MCMENAMIN and Dianna L. SCHULTE MCMENAMIN (2011 GSA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis [9–12 October 2011]; Paper No. 120-3) – http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2011AM/finalprogram/abstract_197227.htm
        The Luning Formation at Berlin‑Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada, hosts a puzzling assemblage of at least 9 huge (≤14 m) juxtaposed ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis). Shonisaurs were cephalopod‑eating predators comparable to sperm whales (Physeter). Hypotheses presented to explain the apparent mass mortality at the site have included: tidal flat stranding, sudden burial by slope failure, and phytotoxin poisoning. Citing the wackestone matrix, J. A. Holger argued convincingly for a deeper water setting, but her phytotoxicity hypothesis cannot explain how so many came to rest at virtually the same spot. Skeletal articulation indicates that animals were deposited on the sea floor shortly after death. Currents or other factors placed them in a north‑south orientation. Adjacent skeletons display different taphonomic histories and degrees of disarticulation, ruling out catastrophic mass death, but allowing a scenario in which dead ichthyosaurs were sequentially transported to a sea floor midden. We hypothesize that the shonisaurs were killed and carried to the site by an enormous Triassic cephalopod, a “kraken,” with estimated length of approximately 30 m, twice that of the modern Colossal Squid Mesonychoteuthis. In this scenario, shonisaurs were ambushed by a Triassic kraken, drowned, and dumped on a midden like that of a modern octopus. Where vertebrae in the assemblage are disarticulated, disks are arranged in curious linear patterns with almost geometric regularity. Close fitting due to spinal ligament contraction is disproved by the juxtaposition of different-sized vertebrae from different parts of the vertebral column. The proposed Triassic kraken, which could have been the most intelligent invertebrate ever, arranged the vertebral discs in biserial patterns, with individual pieces nesting in a fitted fashion as if they were part of a puzzle. The arranged vertebrae resemble the pattern of sucker discs on a cephalopod tentacle, with each amphicoelous vertebra strongly resembling a coleoid sucker. Thus the tessellated vertebral disc pavement may represent the earliest known self‑portrait. The submarine contest between cephalopods and seagoing tetrapods has a long history. A Triassic kraken would have posed a deadly risk for shonisaurs as they dove in pursuit of their smaller cephalopod prey.
  • “Octopus Is First Invertebrate to Use Tools, Turning a Coconut Into Mobile Home (Video)”
    by Jaymi Heimbuch (TreeHugger; 2009.12.15) – http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/octopus-is-first-invertabrate-to-use-tools-turning-a-coconut-into-mobile-home.php

Plan group intelligence

Bacteria group intelligence

Related here: Intelligence – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/intelligence/.

2011.05.22

Millennialism and other religious catastrophisms

Filed under: opression, religion, superstitions — Tags: , , , — sandokan65 @ 15:42

General

2011.05.21 – Rapture that was not

Related: Religious opression – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/religious-opression/

2011.05.20

Reputation management

Filed under: FaceBook, infosec, opression, privacy, surveillance, tracking — Tags: , , , — sandokan65 @ 14:32

2011.05.19

Automation

Filed under: automation — Tags: , — sandokan65 @ 11:46

2011.05.17

Infosec pages at this blog

Filed under: infosec, privacy — sandokan65 @ 11:38

Related content at this blog:

2011.05.12

Facebook foolies

Filed under: business, FaceBook, it, propaganda — Tags: , , — sandokan65 @ 15:46

Passwords related postings

Filed under: crypto, hashes, infosec, passwords, security hardening, security testing — Tags: , , , — sandokan65 @ 12:43

Generating password hashes

  • Generating unix-style MD5 hash: openssl passwd -1 -salt QIGCa pippo
    • produces: $1$QIGCa$/ruJs8AvmrknzKTzM2TYE.
  • generating password hash using system’s native crypt() command: perl -e ‘print crypt(“pippo”, “\$1\$QIGCa”),”\n”‘
    • produces: $1Su6NR9CFU/6
  • Using Python’s Passlib library (http://packages.python.org/passlib/):
    • Install Python (e.g. in Cygwin)
    • Install Passlib library following instructions at http://packages.python.org/passlib/install.html
    • start Python: python
    • Calculate the SHA256 hash of the word Password:

      >>> from passlib.hash import sha256_crypt
>>> hash = sha256_crypt.encrypt("password")
>>> hash
'$5$rounds=80000$9GPMLb8EE.1QFrUk$Y0XQiZRKMhOrB2GcfCeWREG.x3jCfa5pbmxSO/hjCE3'
>>> sha256_crypt.encrypt("password")
'$5$rounds=80000$9fjOxTQNeyPhsCvp$XmyKju3TfWUEPXGPXMZ6sIPcv26Uok7NLPyZhx5g7R9'
>>> sha256_crypt.encrypt("password", rounds=12345)
'$5$rounds=12345$Kk9DTJPMRyxGFB3q$7tdzdJXq4YRu7ms6PGo7zTlOHVwYOQO1aUeUsZ3Mrl5'
>>> sha256_crypt.verify("password", hash)
True
>>> sha256_crypt.verify("letmeinplz", hash)
False

    • Generating BouncyCastle SHA1-512 hashes for use in Atlassian JIRA:

      >>> from passlib.hash import atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1
>>> atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1.encrypt("password")
'{PKCS5S2}fU8ppRTCuJeS8n7PGYOQMhVqZ4hUidTIiWI4K8R8IBOXm/lYywaouSLtvlTeTr3V'
>>> atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1.encrypt("password")
'{PKCS5S2}+X+PMcYYAwBAKIWwFsJY639EipU1NXJfc1jKC5VYHZV7zoDI4zTEpKO4xZQoegg1'
>>> atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1.encrypt("password")
'{PKCS5S2}1Nq7N2YM4ZyTstZaSynlnGGh2rgAG+b7SB+9xreszUhrE39BnfwNg2RGm6tqvDg2'
>>> atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1.encrypt("password")
'{PKCS5S2}bu1dK0WotXYuBaB0bo2RslxMAp4JawLofUFw4S5fZdAtfsm3Ats6kO6j5NaHZCdt'
>>> atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1.encrypt("password")
'{PKCS5S2}z/mfc47xvjcm5Ny7dw7BeExB68Oc4XiTJvUS5HRAadKr4/Aomn1WOMMrMWtikUPK'

    • Supported hashing algorithms:
      • Archaic Unix Schemes:
        • passlib.hash.des_crypt – DES Crypt
        • passlib.hash.bsdi_crypt – BSDi Crypt
        • passlib.hash.bigcrypt – BigCrypt
        • passlib.hash.crypt16 – Crypt16
      • Standard Unix Schemes:
        • passlib.hash.md5_crypt – MD5 Crypt
        • passlib.hash.bcrypt – BCrypt
        • passlib.hash.sha1_crypt – SHA-1 Crypt
        • passlib.hash.sun_md5_crypt – Sun MD5 Crypt
        • passlib.hash.sha256_crypt – SHA-256 Crypt
        • passlib.hash.sha512_crypt – SHA-512 Crypt
      • Other Modular Crypt Schemes:
        • passlib.hash.apr_md5_crypt – Apache’s MD5-Crypt variant
        • passlib.hash.phpass – PHPass’ Portable Hash
        • passlib.hash.pbkdf2_digest – Generic PBKDF2 Hashes
        • passlib.hash.cta_pbkdf2_sha1 – Cryptacular’s PBKDF2 hash
        • passlib.hash.dlitz_pbkdf2_sha1 – Dwayne Litzenberger’s PBKDF2 hash
        • passlib.hash.scram – SCRAM Hash
        • passlib.hash.bsd_nthash – FreeBSD’s MCF-compatible nthash encoding
        • passlib.hash.unix_disabled – Unix Disabled Account Helper
      • Standard LDAP (RFC2307) Schemes:
        • passlib.hash.ldap_md5 – MD5 digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_sha1 – SHA1 digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_salted_md5 – salted MD5 digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_salted_sha1 – salted SHA1 digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_crypt – LDAP crypt() Wrappers
        • passlib.hash.ldap_plaintext – LDAP-Aware Plaintext Handler
      • Non-Standard LDAP Schemes:
        • passlib.hash.ldap_hex_md5 – Hex-encoded MD5 Digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_hex_sha1 – Hex-encoded SHA1 Digest
        • passlib.hash.ldap_pbkdf2_digest – Generic PBKDF2 Hashes
        • passlib.hash.atlassian_pbkdf2_sha1 – Atlassian’s PBKDF2-based Hash
        • passlib.hash.fshp – Fairly Secure Hashed Password
        • passlib.hash.roundup_plaintext – Roundup-specific LDAP Plaintext Handler
      • SQL Database Hashes:
        • passlib.hash.mssql2000 – MS SQL 2000 password hash
        • passlib.hash.mssql2005 – MS SQL 2005 password hash
        • passlib.hash.mysql323 – MySQL 3.2.3 password hash
        • passlib.hash.mysql41 – MySQL 4.1 password hash
        • passlib.hash.postgres_md5 – PostgreSQL MD5 password hash
        • passlib.hash.oracle10 – Oracle 10g password hash
        • passlib.hash.oracle11 – Oracle 11g password hash
      • MS Windows Hashes:
        • passlib.hash.lmhash – LanManager Hash
        • passlib.hash.nthash – Windows’ NT-HASH
        • passlib.hash.msdcc – Windows’ Domain Cached Credentials
        • passlib.hash.msdcc2 – Windows’ Domain Cached Credentials v2
      • Other Hashes:
        • passlib.hash.cisco_pix – Cisco PIX hash
        • passlib.hash.cisco_type7 – Cisco “Type 7” hash
        • passlib.hash.django_digest – Django-specific Hashes
        • passlib.hash.grub_pbkdf2_sha512 – Grub’s PBKDF2 Hash
        • passlib.hash.hex_digest – Generic Hexdecimal Digests
        • passlib.hash.plaintext – Plaintext
      • Cisco “Type 5” hashes

Passphrase Hashes

Articles

Passwords related postings at this blog:

Memetic diseases

Filed under: health, memetics, mind & brain — Tags: , , , — sandokan65 @ 10:25

Mass hysteria

  • “The Dark Side of the Placebo Effect: When Intense Belief Kills” by Alexis Madrigal (the Atlantic; 2011.09.14) – http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/09/the-dark-side-of-the-placebo-effect-when-intense-belief-kills/245065/
      While people of all cultures experience sleep paralysis in similar ways, the specific form and intensity it takes varies from one group to the next …
      They died in their sleep one by one, thousands of miles from home. Their median age was 33. All but one — 116 of the 117 — were healthy men. Immigrants from southeast Asia, you could count the time most had spent on American soil in just months. At the peak of the deaths in the early 1980s, the death rate from this mysterious problem among the Hmong ethnic group was equivalent to the top five natural causes of death for other American men in their age group.

      Something was killing Hmong men in their sleep, and no one could figure out what it was. There was no obvious cause of death. None of them had been sick, physically. The men weren’t clustered all that tightly, geographically speaking. They were united by dislocation from Laos and a shared culture, but little else. Even House would have been stumped.

      Doctors gave the problem a name, the kind that reeks of defeat, a dragon label on the edge of the known medical world: Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome. SUNDS. It didn’t do much in terms of diagnosis or treatment, but it was easier to track the periodic conferences dedicated to understanding the problem.

  • “What’s Causing ‘Mass Faintings’ at Cambodian Factories?” by Andrew Marshall (Time > World; 2011.09.20) – http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2093516,00.html
      … In the past three months, at least 1,200 workers at seven garment and shoe factories have reported feeling dizzy, nauseated, exhausted or short of breath, and hundreds have been briefly hospitalized. No definitive explanation has yet been given for these so-called mass faintings. One baffled reporter described them as “unique to Cambodia.” (Read how companies are abandoning Chinese factories in search of cheaper options.)
      Hardly. It’s been almost 50 years since girls at a boarding school in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) were struck by an illness whose symptoms — fainting, nausea and helpless laughter — soon spread to other communities. Or consider the Pokémon contagion in 1997, when 12,000 Japanese children experienced fits, nausea and shortness of breath after watching a television cartoon. Sufferers of World Trade Center syndrome, meanwhile, blamed proximity to Ground Zero for coughs and other respiratory problems long after airborne contaminants posed any health threat.
      All these are examples of mass hysteria, a bizarre yet surprisingly common phenomenon that is increasingly recognized as a significant health and social problem. For centuries it has crossed cultures and religions, taking on different forms to keep pace with popular obsessions and fears. In our post-9/11 world, it thrives on the anxiety caused by terrorist attacks, nuclear radiation and environmental gloom. “At any one time there are probably hundreds of episodes happening all around the world,” says Simon Wessely, a psychology professor at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. “They just don’t normally get reported.”

Morgellons

More: Memetics – https://eikonal.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/memetics/

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