Note to self

We decided to drive up to Boston for Thanksgiving, on the day before thanksgiving. We had been warned, and we even planned to leave early (8am). But we weren't on the road till 1.30pm and it took us 8 hours to drive the 270 miles to Boston. We even saw an accident happen in Connecticut and called 911 to report it. So, note to self:

DO NOT DRIVE DURING THANKSGIVING PEAK RUSH

I'm putting it in bold so I don't forget.

Daylight checking

It's 5pm in November, and it's night outside. Whoever thought of daylight savings? Who are they saving the daylight for? If I have to wake up earlier just to enjoy the saved daylight, then it's wasted savings for me. I want a daylight checking account. Instant daylight.

HacKing

As everyone knows (because I've been whining so much about it), I'm taking a Math class in Cryptography, and there is a big midterm due next week. During my research for one of the questions, I came across an interesting fact about early crypto.

During the 9th century, there was a fellow by the name of Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah Al-Kindi. Let's just call him Yusuf.

Yusuf's manuscript on deciphering cryptographic messages is the first known text on cryptanalysis (image of first page on right). The technique of frequency analysis was in fact discovered by a close textual analysis of the Quran.

Let us remember dear Yusuf as one of the first great hacks, to be followed en-masse and very unceremoniously by nations upon nations of hacks. If this is not enough to be proud of, let's try and take his advice to heart:

"We ought not to be embarrassed about appreciating the truth and obtaining it wherever it comes from, even if it comes from races distant and nations different from us. Nothing should be dearer to the seeker of truth than the truth itself, and there is no deterioration of the truth, nor belittling either of one who speaks it or conveys it."