Sunday, December 21, 2008. Twenty years ago today, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland.  I discuss the story of the most deadly terrorist attack against Americans prior to September 11, 2001, a story that is far from over twenty years later.

The podcast will be taking a short hiatus to recharge and get a jump on preparing new episodes.  When I return on February 2, I'll be talking about one of the best cartoons ever made.


Direct download: 20yearsago_136_122108.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 3:59 PM
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Sunday, December 7, 2008.  Twenty years ago today, a major earthquake struck the city of Spitak, in what was then Soviet Armenia.  At least 25,000 people were killed in this disaster.  I look at why so many people were killed in this earthquake, and my thoughts about the prospect of being in a natural disaster myself.

People from nations all over the world stepped in to help rebuild after the Spitak earthquake.  The picture here is a statue that the people of Armenia gave to the United States as a token of gratitude.  It stands near the Red Cross Building in Washington D.C.


Direct download: 20yearsago_135_120708.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 3:06 PM
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Friday, December 5, 2008. Twenty years ago today, plans for a unique monument called the Steel Cloud were unveiled in Los Angeles.  I tell a little of the story of this oddity in steel and glass that was never built, and muse about visions of the future and how they stack up to reality.


Direct download: 20yearsago_134_120508.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 11:26 AM
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Sunday, November 30, 2008. Twenty years ago today was the first Computer Security Day, an event held annually to raise awareness of computer security issues.  I talk about the observation of Computer Security Day, and about the problem of computer malware such as viruses, which were beginning to become a serious problem in 1988.

The image at the right was the first Computer Security Day poster, created for the second CSD in 1989.  It, and all the CSD posters from the past 20 years, can be found at the Computer Security Day website.


Direct download: 20yearsago_133_113008.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 3:52 PM
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