This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. I read that the last roll of Kodachrome film had been processed [1]. A poignant historical milestone.

2. the comeback announced by Ian Thorpe, Australia’s most successful Olympian, was marred by rank commercialism [2]. I’d have been astounded if it hadn’t been.

3. Cyclone Yasi caused Queensland Premier Anna Bligh to label the Port Hinchinbrook development ‘like a war zone’ [3a]. Sorry, but I’ m unsympathetic – for this reason [3b].

4. the Sydney Peace Foundation awarded Julian Asssange its gold medal for ‘Peace with Justice’. He’s only the fourth recipient in the Foundation’s 14-year history [4] And WikiLeaks has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. How WikiLeaks has advanced Peace by even one jot, is beyond my ken.

5. the US government announced a 2010 update of its 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans [5]. There’s nothing unexpected or revolutionary in the update. But it’s worth reading.

6. the journal Gut reported Japanese research concluding that a dog can sniff out bowel cancer in breath and stool samples, with a very high degree of accuracy – even in the early stages of the disease [6]. Well if dogs can sniff out truffles…

7. the Fox family owned transport group Linfox has revealed plans to employ 500 indigenous Australians over the next two years [7]. A win-win plan, hopefully. Good on you for this, Linfox.

8. I read of a new train in China that travels 1,000 km in three hours. It’s the fastest train in the world [8]. Where the bloody hell are you, Australia?

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

Stuxnet and me

Computers. These days they’re on my mind. Indeed,they’re preoccupying it. And, like most topics I put my mind to, the more I delve, the less I understand. Also I’m fully aware that, delve as I do, delve as I must, I no more than scratch the surface of the world’s computer (and computing) knowledge base. If that. I don’t know if there’s a word signifying a person whose computer knowledge is, at most, a tad above zero. But if so, then that’s me. Set against this background, for months now I’ve been intrigued by the Stuxnet worm [1]. This article in last Friday’s Jerusalem Post article summarises the latest about Stuxnet [2]. It says Stuxnet’s a vehicle of cyberwarfare. Almost certainly its target’s Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. And it’s so sophisticated it likely came from one or more governments. Cyberwarfare’s a smart way of achieving strategic objectives. Because compared with conventional warfare it’s inexpensive in financial terms, and it doesn’t expose soldiers and civilians to physical risk. Of course it can be responded to by cyber-retaliation. And/or, perhaps less likely but not impossibly, physical retaliation. If so, that’ll probably be met with more cyber-retaliation – likely with vehicles more sophisticated and devastating than Stuxnet. As new Stuxnet developments and theories emerge, I become more intrigued. But, WikiLeaks notwithstanding, I doubt the whole Stuxnet story will ever reach the public domain. Why should it? And who’d fully understand it? Ho hum.