(Pardon me for mentioning crypto...) Arthur C. Clarke, known to most of you (author of many SF works, coiner of the phrase: "all sufficiently advanced technlogies are indistinguishable from magic," mention by Alan Olsen yesterday), has a role in a "Discovery Channel" program called "Mysterious Universe." The episode tonight dealt with famous ciphers, including the Beale Cipher (buried gold), the Voynich Manuscript (who knows what it is), and the Vinland Map (my ancestors beat the Italians to the New World). Clarke concluded by opining that strong ciphers that can only be read by the intended recipient are now more important than ever. --Tim May Boycott espionage-enabled software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."