What I am reading 7/16/2014 - Pow! To the moon Alice!

Gizmodo - How they assembled Apollo 11 -

The United States was fighting against all odds to beat the Soviet Union on the race to the Moon. The effort turned the country into a technological powerhouse like no other in the world, catapulting it decades ahead of everyone else, with more engineering students getting out of college than ever with the sole intention of participating in the greatest, most amazing project ever imagined.

And now we are a nation of MBAs who destroy companies with the ease of Superman leaping over a tall building.  Just saying.

pbs.org - Get a liberal arts B.A., not a business B.A., for the coming artisan economy -

Katz believes the artisan economy can help shore up the American middle class by creating new jobs to replace those mass production and middle management jobs lost to outsourcing or new technology. And he thinks that a firm grounding in the multidisciplinary liberal arts is the best preparation – better even than a business degree – to taking advantage of the artisan economy that he hopes will be a path to upward mobility for the average American.

Unlike many I believe that the traditional liberal arts course of study has value, when it is held to it's original purpose; the development of broad multidisciplinary knowledge that can be applied across many fields. (Basically what this guy says in his interview).  I am not sure about the idea of an artisanal economy shoring up the middle class however.  By definition artisinal works don't usually scale especially well. Still nothing the matter with people striking out on their own to give it a try.  

Krebs on Security - Java Update: Patch It of Pitch It -

According to Oracle, at least 8 of the 20 security holes plugged in this release earned a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) rating of 9.0 or higher (with 10 being the most severe). Oracle says vulnerabilities with 9.x CVSS score are those which can be easily exploited remotely and without authentication, and which result in the complete compromise of the host operating system.

The trouble with Java is that it has a very broad install base, but many users don’t even know if they have it on their systems. There are a few of ways to find out if you have Java installed and what version may be running. Windows users can click Start, then Run, then type “cmd” without the quotes. At the command prompt, type “java -version” (again, no quotes). Users also can visit Java.com and click the “Do I have Java?” link on the homepage. Updates also should be available via the Java Control Panel or from Java.com.

Aaaaaaarghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!  

SANS - Despite Breaches, Most Critical Infrastructure Executives Say Security is Not a Priority (July 11, 2014)  -

According to a study that compiles responses from nearly 600 IT and IT security executives around the world, two-thirds of those responding said that their infrastructure had been compromised in the preceding 12 months, but just over a quarter said that security is a top priority.

Well honsetly, Security should not be the top priority.  Power delivery should be, but security should be very high in the list of considerations when building up the infrastructure for power delivery.  (or water or whatever the critical substance is.)  Security is an enabling tool not the end itself.