Our thoughtfully curated collection of books for teens is designed to empower, inspire, and educate our world’s biggest asset: our children. These books encourage critical thinking, personal growth, and a deep understanding of how the world works — helping teens confidently navigate their futures.
I don’t remember where I first encountered Asch. It was around 2012, when I ordered The Nazarene on Kindle and read it. I’ve since re-read it 3 more times, I found it so moving. Similarly with The Apostle, and Mary. Who would have thought an early 20th century observant Jewish author would write a series of well-researched fictional books (historical novels), together referred to as the “founders of Christianity” series. Unknown to most, Asch was well versed in what’s called “The Oral Tradition” or the Aggadah of the Jews. He used this knowledge to great effect in weaving many hundreds of stories of peoples and communities in first century Palestine - into these three magnificent books.
Historical novels, as a genre of course, vary widely in their faithfulness to history and accuracy. It is my clear impression that these are highly accurate and consistent with historical events; they are certainly consistent with both the Old and the New Testaments. The particular skill of Asch is to conform Biblical and historical events into the everyday lives of individuals (both historical and fictional) as they actually lived at this critical period of history. Many of the eternal elements of human nature are portrayed - credibly and beautifully.
I have come away with some important understandings which ring so very true. In large part, that’s because Asch wrote with a dedication to accuracy. His understanding arose not only from study of Torah (“The Law”) but also from tradition whose history was woven into every aspect of his own life, from birth through childhood and adulthood in Jewish ghettos in Poland. He has given me understanding far beyond the bare bones version I had from reform Jewish/secular upbringing.
The most powerful understanding I have from these three monumental books derives from the ancient Hebrews’ expectation of the Messiah. There is much discussion throughout these books as to the nature of the Messiah: was He to be temporal or secular? Of this world or the Kingdom of Heaven? A revolutionary or savior? For the Jews alone or for the gentiles as well?
In ways I find myself unable to yet articulate, I have some sense of the earliest cleavages which took place between Observant Jews and “Messianists” in Jesus’ time. There were many divisions between Jews already in existence. The divisions were both worldly (whether and/or how to defeat Roman occupation) and spiritual (those “strong in the law” vs. “unclean” Jews who failed to adequately observe the many, many burdensome strictures of the law). Divisions between Pharisees and Saducees were a continuous undertone.
Among these disputes, and woven throughout all three books, is the question of whether the Messiah was only for the Jews or for the gentiles as well. This was an especially divisive question among the most religious Jews of all schools of thought. One view said that strictly following Torah (the Law) kept Jews pure and at a safe distance from the “abominations” of the gentiles - idol worship, child sacrifice, prostitution/sexual perversions, etc. Since the Jews, they said, submitted to the burdens imposed by the law, they were “entitled” to the Messiah. Among other viewpoints (beyond the scope here), was the notion that the Jews’ observance of the law, was merely God’s way of using the Jewish people as the soil in which the Messiah might be born. These ideas are fleshed out repeatedly in all the books, and I find, very thought provoking.
The Apostle, the story of Saul, then Paul of Tarsus, is especially revealing of all the subtleties which lead to the great historical division between Christians and Jews. I have to say the totality of having read these books - again, many of the events take place in the mundane, everyday lives of the characters set in that time and place - has profoundly revised my understanding of history.
This entry is intended to replace the default FreeBSD MTA agent with one that is easier to manage. Because of its simplicity we are going to use SSMTP as it takes very few configuration lines.
As a Linux server administrator, having a reliable email notification system in place is crucial. Whether you’re dealing with unattended upgrades, monitoring RAID arrays, or any other server-related alerts, getting quick notifications can make a world of difference. Here’s a quick guide to setting up sSMTP, a lightweight and straightforward alternative to postfix or other full-fledged mail transfer agents (MTAs).
Why sSMTP instead of postfix?
sSMTP is lightweight, easy to configure, and perfect for scenarios where you just need outgoing email functionality. It’s particularly well-suited for sending notifications from Linux servers without the overhead of a fully-fledged MTA like postfix.
Keybase is a safe, secure, and private app for everything you do online.
Chat with friends and family. Share photos, videos, and top secret documents. Collaborate to get work done, or don’t.
Whatever you do, your data is your data. Private stuff stays private. Accounts are secure against spoofing, phishing, and scamming. You can chat, share, and collaborate safely.
Landmark books make these curiosities possible by taking children along on the journey, whether signing the Constitution or laying rails on the transcontinental railroad. Along the way they meet people who changed or shaped our country.
Now considered vintage (because of their age), these books were the first among historical, non-fiction books written for the middle grade reader. They were originally published by Random House in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in two categories: American and World. There are 122 titles in the American series and 63 titles in the World series all penned by award-winning authors (for example C. S. Forester, Margaret Cousins, James Daugherty and Sterling North) individually contracted to write for the series.
Teaching history chronologically? Wanting to learn more details about the life of an inventor or reformer? Why not add some living books, real books about real events and real people, to your study?
I compiled this chronological listing of Landmark books for two reasons. First, we have always intertwined the teaching of American and world history, reading a piece of historical fiction or biography and posting a representative picture on our time line which stretches the length of our hallway. Most recently, however, we joined a small living history co-op which teaches world history chronologically, focusing on a specific time period each year. We were curious if any of the books we had on our shelves would fit into our upcoming school year. We thought of our Landmark books.
Having a shelf full of Landmark books, I decided to arrange them chronologically (as best I could) so we can research and read from the time period which we will be studying. For those children in my family who prefer the “this looks interesting” method of learning, this chronological listing will be used as reference, should he or she try to place a specific event or person on our family timeline.
Americans do not learn history because we have forgotten how to tell history. According to a 2021 survey conducted by the American Historical Association, a majority of both conservatives and leftists viewed history as just a collection of facts forced upon them in high school and college. History cannot be a cure for social ills unless it is learned well. But when history is taught as dry facts, many students rightfully tune out.
For history to remedy poor political thinking or restore national identity, it must become an exciting, living story that holds deep meaning for our children. Children have not lost interest in compelling stories, nor have they stopped wanting to emulate charismatic characters. My 3-year-old wears his medieval knight costume like a second skin. If we want our high schoolers and college students to take seriously the lessons that history can teach, they must first fall in love with the story of history before they even open their first textbook. //
Unfortunately, you cannot walk to your nearest bookstore and pick up a Landmark box set. Even most libraries no longer carry them. They are scattered around private collections, used book stores, and eBay. Some of the titles can be found digitized on various websites. Several homeschool blogs list out the titles in chronological order. At least one small press has started reissuing individual titles in the Landmark series, but with 200 titles in the series, many more publishing houses and homeschool programs should join the effort. Influencers who want to help America rediscover its history should promote the series. Libraries, especially school libraries, should purchase them for their catalog.
“Men’s lives are changed in odd ways without their realizing it. A boat missed, a talk with a stranger, a thoughtless choice at the crossroads to turn right instead of left, or a knock on a door, and not only can a man’s living be altered but history can be given a new course.” This offhand remark from Landmark author John Mason Brown in his telling of Daniel Boone could be a motto for the series. A child’s reading of good history could change their life — and our nation.
So either use auth-anon-layout > main a > bit-icon or auth-anon-layout > main > div > a > bit-icon.
Since version v1.33.0 you can modify the CSS which Vaultwarden previously embedded in the web-vault.
This way it makes it more easier for users to tweak the style and layout or even hide items.
To modify the CSS you need to add a templates directory in your data directory, or provide the correct path via the TEMPLATES_FOLDER environment variable.
Within this directory you need to create another directory called scss which will hold the file(s) for modifying the stylesheet Vaultwarden will serve.
A daemon that scans program outputs for repeated patterns, and takes action. Designed for ease of configuration and hackability.
Easy configuration
Few concepts to grasp, no hidden config. Easy to adapt to your needs
Flexible configuration
From IP bans to service restart: react to any log, and do anything in response
Performant
Save your CPU cycles for your services. Written in Rust with a focus on performance
Starting today, Google will let US-based users ditch an old username without creating a new account.
Google started testing this option some months ago, both in the US and internationally. Today, the name change feature is rolling out widely in the US. You can check for the option on this account page to get started (you’ll have to log in). Some of the accounts we’ve checked already have the option, but it could take a while for it to appear for everyone.
Over the years, many users have abandoned old Gmail addresses because the handle is too personal or their names have changed. Now, you don’t have to abandon anything. When the option appears, you’ll be able to change the username portion of your email (the part before @gmail) to anything you desire. However, Google says you can only change your address once every 12 months.
Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard have won the 2026 Turing Award for inventing quantum cryptography.
I am incredibly pleased to see them get this recognition. I have always thought the technology to be fantastic, even though I think it’s largely unnecessary. I wrote up my thoughts back in 2008, in an essay titled “Quantum Cryptography: As Awesome As It Is Pointless.” //
What about quantum computation? I’m not worried; the math is ahead of the physics. Reports of progress in that area are overblown. And if there’s a security crisis because of a quantum computation breakthrough, it’s because our systems aren’t crypto-agile. //
Ray Dillinger • March 31, 2026 2:43 PM
I don’t mean to diminish the work of Bennett and Brassard. They had some amazing insights and deserve their award.
At the same time I suppose that people affiliated with various three-letter-agencies may have been consulted as to the value of their work when the Turing Awards were being considered. Those agencies, if they are behind the Kleptographic attack that appears to be happening here, may have had an interest in promoting public awareness of Quantum Crypto as a threat. Promoting public awareness of a threat is absolutely a necessary step in any campaign to use that threat as a lever to get people to do something stupid out of FUD.
So I fear that the work of Bennett and Brassard, however good it may be, would likely have gone unrecognized if not for the input of people who are, despite all protestations, unlikely to be motivated by protecting people against it.
Ray Dillinger • March 31, 2026 2:43 PM
I don’t mean to diminish the work of Bennett and Brassard. They had some amazing insights and deserve their award.
At the same time I suppose that people affiliated with various three-letter-agencies may have been consulted as to the value of their work when the Turing Awards were being considered. Those agencies, if they are behind the Kleptographic attack that appears to be happening here, may have had an interest in promoting public awareness of Quantum Crypto as a threat. Promoting public awareness of a threat is absolutely a necessary step in any campaign to use that threat as a lever to get people to do something stupid out of FUD.
So I fear that the work of Bennett and Brassard, however good it may be, would likely have gone unrecognized if not for the input of people who are, despite all protestations, unlikely to be motivated by protecting people against it.
If the Sensory Interface is the intake port, the NeuroCompiler is what turns that input into “filtered meaning” before the Mind Kernel ever sees it. It takes raw signal (e.g., photons, sound waves, chemical gradients, pressure) and translates it into something actionable based on binary categories like threat or safe, familiar or novel, trustworthy or suspicious.
The speed is both an evolutionary feature and a modern bug. Processing here is fast enough to get you out of the way of a thrown object before you’ve consciously registered it. But “good enough most of the time” means “predictably wrong some of the time….
A critical architectural feature: the NeuroCompiler can route its output directly back to the Sensory Interface and out as behavior, skipping the conscious awareness of the Mind Kernel entirely. Reflex and startle responses use this mechanism, making this bypass pathway enormously useful for survival. Yet it leaves a wide-open backdoor. If the layer that holds access to skepticism and deliberate evaluation can be bypassed completely, a host of exploits become possible that would otherwise fail.
That’s just one of the five levels Melton talks about: sensory interface, neurocompiler, mind kernel, the mesh, and cultural substrate.
Melton’s taxonomy is compelling, and her parallels to IT systems are fascinating. I have long said that a genius idea is one that’s incredibly obvious once you hear it, but one that no one has said before. This is the first time I’ve heard cognition described in this way.
It’s a playbook that closely mirrors the missions that preceded Apollo 11’s historic first moon steps in 1969 — Apollo 7 and 9 tested systems in Earth orbit, while Apollo 8 flew its own figure-eight around the moon with a series of lunar orbits to test the Saturn V rocket’s ability to send a capsule across huge distances.
But Artemis II’s figure-eight will differ from Apollo 8’s and nearly every manned mission in history — it will skip the lunar orbits, but give humans the first extensive look at the far side of the moon through their own eyes.
All previous manned missions routinely flew around the far side of the moon — which perpetually faces away from Earth — but were planned so that the sun constantly shone on the nearside to allow for safe landings and productive moonwalks.
That meant the far side was almost entirely hidden in shadow throughout Apollo — and that most of it has only ever been seen through photographs from unmanned probes.
Artemis II will change that. The mission will pass over the far side in full sunlight and allow for direct observation of the moon’s hidden surface by the astronauts onboard.
At Three Mile Island, the NRC screwed up in just about every way possible.
1) Early on, they came up with an idiotically brazen lie to avoid admitting that there had been any release. This lie, signed off by at least three of the Commissioners, was quickly exposed, but only after turning the event into national news.
2) The next day they claimed that, if the hydrogen bubble in the top of the Reactor Pressure Vessel expanded too far, it would interfere with the reactor cooling. At best, this showed gross incompetence. The B&W reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has a ring of check valves near the top of the RPV which would vent the hydrogen to the RPV annulus if the bubble got down that far.
3) The following day on the basis of a calculation that was off by a actor of 100 and a misinterpreted measurement, and with no attempt to confirm either with the NRC guys on site, NRC-DC called Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh and recommended evacuation up to 10 miles downwind. Harold Denton, the NRC employee who made the decision later said: ``my sole objective was to minimize the radiation exposure to the public. I did not give any weight to whatever hardship evacuation might cause”.\cite{walker-2004}[p 126] Fortunately, Thornburgh who was talking to the people at the plant did not follow Denton’s recommendation.1
4) Later in the day, the NRC said that a meltdown was unlikely, but possible. The reactor had melted down two days earlier.
5) That evening, when everything was calming down, and the hydrogen bubble in the RPV was expertly but slowly being squeezed down by the reactor operators, an NRC employee, almost certainly Dr. Roger Mattson, Director of Systems Safety, went to an AP reporter demanding anonymity, and told him the bubble in the the RPV could explode within two days. This bombshell sent seasoned war correspondents and over 100,000 locals into panicked evacuation. The local Bishop was so sure his flock was about to be annihilated he declared General Absolution.
An explosion in the RPV was impossible due to the lack of oxygen, which was obvious to any competent nuclear engineer. A Chicago Tribune reporter, who was part of the ‘night of terror’, later correctly called it a “a hoax, a fumbling miscalculation by one of the NRC’s masters of technology,”
the x algorithm just surfaced a bunch of pro-america posts from japan, reminding us of what we've known for a while: the japanese really are america's best friends //
“The largest cultural exchange in history just dropped,” remarked X’s Head of Product Nikita Bier on Sunday, referring to the onslaught of translated Japanese content that flooded the X timeline last week.
Residents of Birmingham, Alabama, were abruptly informed earlier this month that their water utility had decided to stop adding fluoride to city water. Then, days later, they learned that the utility had actually stopped adding fluoride years ago.
I too, was affect by the samba issue. This is 100% reproducible by installing 10531, then upgrading to 10566 (full install).
But you don't need a full reinstall. To fix it, simply delete the file:
/usr/local/lib/libndr.so.6Looking at revision r10565 the root path of the installed Samba libraries was changed from /usr/local/lib to /usr/local/lib/samba4.
In the commit an obsolete file list was updated but it doesn't include the file above /usr/local/lib/libndr.so.6.
The directory /usr/local/lib/samba (no 4 at the end) has been moved to /usr/local/lib/samba4/private, so the first one should not exist now.
The following Bash script (don't just paste it to tcsh shell) should help you find other possibly obsolete samba libraries that exist under /usr/local/lib. I still have some, but they are not creating problems at the moment.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e
samba-libs() {
libs="$(find /usr/local/lib/samba4 -maxdepth 1 -type f)"
libs="$(sed -r 's/\.[0-9]+$//' <<< "$libs")"
libs="$(sed -r 's/\/lib\/samba4\//\/lib\//' <<< "$libs")"
uniq <<< "$libs"
}
found=()
for f in $(samba-libs); do
shopt -s nullglob
found+=("${f}"*)
shopt -u nullglob
done
printf '%s\n' "${found[@]}"