----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Lawrence Murphy" <garym@canada.com>
>
> >>>>> "w" == wpin  <lslifriend> writes:
>
>     w> Those who want to leave for the Netherlands to carry on any
>     w> kind of education,including for PHD, must be careful
>     w> . Especially the university of Groningen(RUG) should be
>     w> avoided. This university was once a good one but now it has
>     w> lost its reputation. ... Studying is a good investment in time
>     w> and money. So invest in the right place and time. You are
>     w> warned.
Dear gawd - 'lost its reputation' - how horrible for those Northern
Europeans. What could possibly be worse than that?

from localhost (jalapeno [127.0.0.1])
	by jmason.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CC95216F6B
	for <jm@localhost>; Thu,  3 Oct 2002 12:53:29 +0100 (IST)
from jalapeno [127.0.0.1]
	by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0)
	for jm@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 03 Oct 2002 12:53:29 +0100 (IST)
from xent.com ([64.161.22.236]) by dogma.slashnull.org
    (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g92KaKK27506 for <jm@jmason.org>;
    Wed, 2 Oct 2002 21:36:21 +0100
from lair.xent.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by xent.com (Postfix)
    with ESMTP id 4618A294159; Wed,  2 Oct 2002 13:36:03 -0700 (PDT)
from hall.mail.mindspring.net (hall.mail.mindspring.net
    [207.69.200.60]) by xent.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6162C2940CE for
    <fork@xent.com>; Wed,  2 Oct 2002 13:35:03 -0700 (PDT)
from user-119ac86.biz.mindspring.com ([66.149.49.6]) by
    hall.mail.mindspring.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 17wqD6-0002X7-00;
    Wed, 02 Oct 2002 16:35:08 -0400
From fork-admin@xent.com  Thu Oct  3 12:55:13 2002

> > "the first computer to crack enigma was optical"
> Computing with interference patterns, etc, makes perfect sense, but Enigma
> was cracked by building mechanical systems that were essentially Enigma
> When we have collected several such cards corresponding to different
> initial signals ..., we place them in a pile so that the squares
> corresponding to the same daily settings are aligned and shine a
> light beneath the pile.  Only those squares which let the light
> through will correspond to possible daily settings.
> On 10 May, the Germans invaded France and, on the same day, in
> accordance with the best cryptographic principles, they changed their
> Enigma procedures in such a way that the 1560 Zygalski sheets, each
> with their carefully drilled 1000 or so holes, became just so much
> > "the first synthetic-aperture-radar processor was optical"
Elachi's description of the 1981 Shuttle
> The received signal is recorded on an optical film which is retrieved
> after landing.  The film ... is then processed in an optical correlator
which makes sense, as one wishes to shift
each component of the return in proportion
to its frequency, for which one presumably
> Alternatively, the ... signal can be digitized and then recorded on
> board or transmitted to the ground via a digital data link.  This was
> the case with the ... sensor flown in 1984.
> Churchill's romantic soul loved the excitement and secrecy surrounding
> > [t]he old procedures, like the setting up of agents, the suborning
> > of informants, the sending of messages written in invisible ink,
> > the masquerading, the dressing-up, the secret transmitters, and the
> > examining of the contents of waste-paper baskets, all turned out
> > to be largely cover for this other source, as one might keep some
> > old-established business in rare books going in order to be able,
> > under cover of it, to do a thriving trade in pornography and erotica
> Looking at the disparate, unkempt and definitely unmilitary crew
> formed by his top code-breakers, he is said to have added to his head
> of Intelligence "I know I told you to leave no stone unturned to find
> the necessary staff, but I did not mean you to take me so literally!"