Reading Shelf
This says much about my personality, my interests, my reading habits.
Taken on Sunday February 17, 2008 at Exploring the Apartment.How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades – Washington Post
National Security ‘The intelligence coup of the century’ For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries. By Greg Miller Feb. 11, 2020
For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.
The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.
The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican.
But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company’s devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages.
Raw Milk Deal : Planet Money : NPR
In the early 2000s, dairy farmer Mark McAfee was willing to risk it all, trucking unpasteurized raw milk hundreds of miles to rabid raw milk evangelists in the back-alleys of California. And it paid off — big. Even Martin Sheen and his wife joined the cause.
But when Mark started moving that raw white across state lines, the Feds got involved. So we wondered — Is raw milk a social menace, or a right?
February 11, 2020 09 AM Update
Nobody Knows What Lies Beneath New York City
Subterranean cartographers are bringing to light the dark, tangled truths buried under the streets.
February 11, 2020 Morning
Good morning! Happy Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day 🥛! Milk is good. But you don’t want to spill it on yourself of your carpet because it can stink when it rots. What is good for growing plants might not be so good spilled on your jacket or shirt. But that’s true with most things in life. Next Tuesday is National Drink Wine Day 🍷. I don’t drink much wine except at some of those legislative receptions I sometimes go to. Not a big drinker of alcohol these days, although I’ll have a beer or three while camping sometimes next to the fire. Rain showers and 34 degrees at the CDTA Bus Stop #10595. ☔ Calm wind.There is a inch of snow on the ground. ☃ ️Temperatures will drop below freezing at around 8 pm. ☃️
Kind of a gray and damp day outside. ☔ I didn’t bring my umbrella as I’m going to John Wolcott house after work and didn’t want to forget it as looking at some serious rain come Thursday. My jackets could use a dry cleaning, no session days next week so I’ll have to drop them off at the dry cleaner over the weekend. Monday next week is Presidents Day so I’ll have it off from work.
Today will have a chance of drizzle before 9am, then a chance of rain between 9am and 4pm. Patchy fog before 2pm. Otherwise, cloudy 🌧, with a high of 41 degrees at 4pm. Seven degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 7th. Calm wind becoming north around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 33 degrees. The record high of 59 was set in 1981. 9.6 inches of snow fell back in 1933.❄
Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:11 pm with sun having an altitude of 33.2° from the due south horizon (-37.6° vs. 6/21). The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:42 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (245°). 📸 Neither fact matters today as their ain’t much sun.
The sunset is in the west-southwest (252°) starting at 5:19 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 4 seconds with dusk around 5:50 pm, which is one minute and 18 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:24 pm. At sunset, look for mostly cloudy skies ☁ and temperatures around 36 degrees. There will be a north-northwest breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 23 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 36 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy 🌥, with a low of 27 degrees at 6am. 10 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 19th. West wind 8 to 15 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became light snow by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 15 degrees. The record low of -16 occurred back in 1979.
Honestly, not a great weekend for President’s Day Weekend. 😕 Saturday, sunny, with a high near 21. Sunday, a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 35 degrees.
🌹🌻🌼Only 37 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!🌹🌻🌼
I am increasingly thinking my next trip will not be until March or April. ⛺ But I think that’s fine, money 💵 remains tight and there is lots to do around home. That said, if we have a nice warm weekend in March it will be fun to get away. I’m ready for winter to be done.
As previously noted, next Tuesday is National Drink Wine Day 🍷 when the sun will be setting at 5:30 pm with dusk at 5:59 pm. On that day in 2019, we had snow showers, partly cloudy and temperatures between 26 and 13 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 35 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1981.
