Decline Call? Accept Call?

I hate getting unsolicited SMS messages from my service provider too...

Getting blown up by your own improvised explosive device is a well known occupational hazard for illegal bomb makers.  Getting blown up by your wireless service provider wishing you a Happy New Year is a threat only the 21st century could deliver.  New entry in the Transnational Terror for Dummies manual: "When setting up a burn phone be sure to opt out of 'seasonal greetings from your prepaid wireless provider.'"

Security Quiz: What's Wrong With This Picture

Not all of my handful of readers are security professionals but do your best...

Thanks to Bruce Schneier for posting the link to this week's failure of imagination.

When Your Day Gets a Little Too Serious

When STRATFOR is depressing and Schneier is talking crypto, visit The Oatmeal...

If you love Wondermark but want a strip in color for a change, visit this wickedly funny online comic.  Zombies, coffee, unicorns, the internet, pterodactyls, TSA, cats, customer service, dolphins, Apple products, and polar bears, The Oatmeal has it all!

WARNING: Do not drink coffee over a keyboard while viewing The Oatmeal.  If laughing uncontrollably causes you sputter chunks at your monitor do not eat food while viewing The Oatmeal.  The language and imagery at The Oatmeal may not be suitable for all work environments, but everyone tested enjoyed it more than a sugar pill.  If you experience mirth that lasts more than four hours while viewing The Oatmeal consider closing your browser and getting back to work.

Zeta Ophiuchi With A Bullet

Zeta Ophiuchi is a blue supergiant star 20 times the mass of our sun...

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

It's located in the constellation Ophiuchus (yeah, the "new" 13th sign of the zodiac...Peh!) but an explosive supernova of its former companion star sent it zipping through the galaxy at 24 kilometers per second.  On Earth a pretty snappy rifle bullet travels a little over one kilometer per second, and only for a couple seconds.  As Zeta Ophiuchi plows through the interstellar medium its solar wind compresses gas and dust into a bow shock.  Other than the blue-white light from "Zeta Oph" none of this adventure can be seen as light to the human eye.  But NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) examines the cosmos in the infrared so the shock wave can now be seen plain as day.  The linked articles describe all the science better than I can ever hope to but this stuff is great fun to ponder.

Cassandra Skiing in Minneapolis

Cassie skied in the Mayor's Cross Country Challenge in Minneapolis this weekend...

In addition to watching the races on Saturday (Cassie was 3rd for her team and 33rd overall) and Sunday, we ate venison, played Scrabble, entertained the cats, and we watched movies of course.

The Town was much better than I expected.  Director Ben Affleck has a confidence with his material.  He balanced the crime caper action elements with some very interesting character development. 

Coincidentally, Gone Baby Gone, another Affleck film which starred his younger brother Casey, was also in our NetFlix queue.  I'd seen it before but Cassie hadn't.  It's very strong, unflinching stuff, but it's cleverly plotted and has an interesting pace.

We needed something a little lighter so we picked Penelope, a 2006 comedy starring Cristina Ricci, from the Watch Instantly queue.  It was whimsical and visually striking but the story was a little shy of being completely engaging.