What I'm Reading 2/29/2020

Books

Network Forensics Tracking Hackers Through Cyberspace

The Ten-Day MBA 4th Ed.: A Step-By-Step Guide To Mastering The Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools

Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century

Blogs / News 

National Interest - Why the Navy's New Lrasm Missile Would Be a Real Ship-Killer -

Lockheed Martin went ahead and developed the antiship AGM-158C model, designated rather plainly by the Navy as the “Long Range Anti-Ship Missile.” Rather than a Russian-style supersonic missile that’s too fast for a ship’s defenses to intercept, the LRASM is the missile an enemy vessel simply won’t see coming until too late. The missile retains the basic model’s inertial and jam-resistant GPS navigation system, its high-efficiency F107 turbofan engine and its thousand-pound penetrator/fragmentation warhead—more than twice the weight of the Harpoon’s.

However, unlike the ground targets the JASSM was designed to destroy, ships are mobile. Therefore, the LRASM carries multiple sensors allowing it to autonomously search for and identify adversary warships, while sorting out civilian, friendly or low-priority enemy vessels, by matching their radar profile to data in an onboard database. The missile also transmits data, including day/night camera feed, back to its launch platform via a two-way data link, which allows the launcher in turn to feed it during course corrections.

 ZDNet - Microsoft is retiring its MCSA, MCSD and MCSE certifications in June 2020 -

Microsoft is retiring three of its more popular professional certification categories as part of a move toward "role-based training." Its Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications are going away, officials said via a blog post on February 28, 2020. Microsoft also has no plans to offer Windows Server 2019 or SQL Server 2019 certifications, officials said. 

 Reuters - Afghanistan's Taliban, US sign peace deal -

The two sides have long wrangled over the US demand for a ceasefire before the signing of the final peace agreement, which has four points: a timeline of 14 months for the withdrawal of all US and NATO troops from Afghanistan; a Taliban guarantee that Afghan soil will not be used as a launchpad that would threaten the security of the US; the launch of intra-Afghan negotiations by March 10; and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

BBC - Can Germans’ right to switch off survive the digital age? -

What seemed perfectly normal to the American, working after hours, was inconceivable to the German. After all, it was Feierabend, a German term which refers both to the end of the working day and the act of switching off from work entirely.

Down time is taken very seriously in Europe’s biggest economy. That’s why, when the European Union introduced mandatory work and rest periods back in 2003, the Germans embraced the chance to enshrine their sacrosanct work-life balance in law.

Linkedin -  Why We Created A 10-Year Plan to Eliminate Medical School Debt -

Medical school debt is one of the most troubling issues future physicians face.

Each year, nearly 20,000 students graduate from U.S. medical schools with high hopes and, for many, the feeling that they have fulfilled a life-long dream. Very quickly, however, those dreams can be dashed by crushing student loan debt.

On average, graduates leave medical school with a debt load that exceeds $200,000.