Back on my birthday, I got a slew of new books. I finished a few.

I read a good book called Crypto by Steven Levy. It the story of how encryption became available to the general public against the wishes of the NSA. It's an amazing story to read. Without these individuals, we wouldn't have the secure web connections routinely in use today. It doesn't tell you how to use or make crypto. For that, you need Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier.

I also read Candle by John Barnes. The book takes place in world exposed in Kaleidoscope Century earlier. The concept of 'memes', a type of program that runs in your brain, is explored. The basic concept is that eveyone on earth has the same meme running after a long 'War of the memes' for control of people's minds. Is it better to be happy and a productive member of society at all times, or is free will more important? Candle is not as dark and shocking as Kaleidoscope Century, and doesn't make you guess as much about the lingo used. I remember reading Kaleidoscope Century and wondering what a 'werp' was for a while (it's a computer/PDA, btw).

On a completely different note, I made jerky. I will post the recipe when I find it. I thought it was on my desk, but it's not...

Until, you get the Link of the Day.