Linkdump for 20 Sep 2009

Interesting stuff that I think you should look at:

• Dark Stalking on Facebook – you’re probably leaking more information on Facebook than you think you are, even if you’ve got your privacy settings dialed up to ‘tin-foil cap’.

• Tim Bunce has a Perl myths presentation – see it on slideshare. Good ammo if you need to justify starting or continuing Perl usage in your organization.

• Via JMason, a post on Continuous Deployment illustrates the “take something good to a ridiculous extreme” principle as applied to testing and deployment procedures. This is inspiring, in a “To Dream The Impossible Dream” sort of way…

• Speaking of language advocacy, nopython.

• The British Prime Minister, prompted by a petition signed by thousands of British citizens, apologized for the treatment of computer science pioneer Alan Turing. In the wake of WWII, Turing – who played a critical in breaking German codes, providing information that was key to winning the war – was persecuted for his homosexuality, order to undergo “chemical castration”, and ultimately committed suicide. The apology concludes:

  So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.

  In the words of many, “Good.”