Burglars and "Feeling Secure".

From Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief by Bill Mason (Villard, 2003):

Nothing works more in a thief's favor than people feeling secure. That's why places that are heavily alarmed and guarded can sometimes be the easiest targets. The single most important factor in security -- more than locks, alarms, sensors, or armed guards -- is attitude. A building protected by nothing more than a cheap combination lock but inhabited by people who are alert and risk-aware is much safer than one with the world's most sophisticated alarm system whose tenants assume they're living in an impregnable fortress.

The author, a burglar, found that luxury condos were an excellent target. Although they had much more security technology than other buildings, they were vulnerable because no one believed a thief could get through the lobby.

[Schneier on Security]

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Chaotic crochet. David Pescovitz: Bristol University mathematicians Hinke Osinga and Bernd Krauskopf have crocheted a representation of the Lorenz equations, nonlinear differential equations that are used in chaos theory. Their crochet pattern appears in the latest issue of the journal Mathematics Intelligencer. From a BBC News report:

The idea for the "Lorenz manifold" model came about during the Christmas break two years ago.

Dr Osinga, who learnt to crochet when she was seven, was relaxing by crocheting some hexagonal lace motifs.

Prof Krauskopf asked her: "Why don't you crochet something useful?"

Eighty-five hours of work and some supporting steel wire later, they had something almost a metre across which looks not unlike a big Christmas decoration - which is what they are using it as.

Link

[Boing Boing]

I may be the only blogger who is also a correspondent for the Intelligencer!

8:16:50 AM  What do you think? ( Thoughts) Who linked? []