Elonka Dunin, America’s leading code-breaker, who “appeared” in The Lost Symbol as Nola Kaye, teases readers with a puzzle that helps drive the plot: "Is the secret to the infamous and as-yet-unsolved Kryptos sculpture at the CIA truly 'buried out there somewhere'?"

Whee, "America's leading code-breaker"? Publicity's nice and all, but that's a bit much. "World's #1 expert on Kryptos", sure, but for a modern code-breaker, I'd be more inclined to list someone such as Bruce Schneier.

Elonka

New York Times Best-Selling Authors Unveil Secrets of The Lost Symbol

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -
For goodness sake don't call it deed!

Poems showing the absurdity of English spelling

why is it that sometimes u recommend a post and the system puts reduntant post and occasionally, like this one till this edit, the system clones the oiginal post?

How I spent my Christmas vacation

Interview With Cryptographer Elonka Dunin

from the old-school-geeks dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Whitedust is running a very interesting article with the DEF CON speaker and cryptographer Elonka Dunin. The article covers her career and specifically her involvement with the CIA and other US Military agencies."

Top link on slashdot for the nanosecond...

Slashdot | Interview With Cryptographer Elonka Dunin

Colin Powell kept a set of these rules on his desk. For the last several years, I've kept a copy in my office as well. I've been staring at it alot today, so I figured it was worth memeing.

] 1. It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the
] morning.
]
] 2. Get mad, then get over it.
]
] 3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when
] your position falls, your ego goes with it.
]
] 4. It can be done!
]
] 5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
]
] 6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good
] decision.
]
] 7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let
] someone else make yours.
]
] 8. Check small things.
]
] 9. Share credit.
]
] 10. Remain calm. Be kind.
]
] 11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
]
] 12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
]
] 13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Powell's Rules