Words and Pictures - Feb

It’s amazing how much there is to read, and the pace at which great content is replaced by more great content. Here is some of the gold from February:

  • Apollo 13 - we have a solution - IEEE Spectrum. All the fascinating detail that couldn’t be shown in the movie. Best read of the month.
  • The cold hard facts of freezing to death - Outdoor Adventure Magazine. Well written narrative about the effects of cold on the human body.
  • At Facebook, zero-day exploits, backdoor code bring war games drill to life - Ars Technica. Insight into how the Facebook IT team handle major security incidents. Interesting throughout.
  • What Every Programmer Should Know About Memory [pdf] - Ulrich Drepper. Incredibly detailed explanation of how CPUs use memory and cache during execution. It took me several months to read but has irreversibly changed my perspective on software performance. Ignore the fact that it’s a few years old - it’s still incredibly relevant and valuable.
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957): Had deeper character development and fewer distractions from the main storyline than the 2007 version. I found it very engaging.
  • And I will remember my covenant - Charles Spurgeon. The work of salvation was completed when Jesus died for my sin. There’s nothing that I can add, and nothing that I need to add.

    My looking to Jesus brings me joy and peace, but it is God’s looking to Jesus which secures my salvation and that of all His elect, since it is impossible for our God to look at Christ, our bleeding Surety, and then to be angry with us for sins already punished in Him.