Joshua Tree Report: February 12th, 2017

This is the Joshua Tree Report for February 12th, 2017.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 22° Fahrenheit and the weather is fair. The temperature in Kirkwall is 6° centigrade and the weather is cloudy. The temperature in Muscat is 28° centigrade and the weather is cloudy. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $53.86, and $1.24 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is the a little wadi in the Wadi Rum in Jordan.

In the News

Here are a few of this week's top stories.

Is the United Arab Emirates America’s Best Friend in Middle East? (War is Boring)

Iran and Russia Are Apparently Fighting Each Other in Syria (War is Boring)

Turkey developing long-range ballistic missile (UPI)

All Blacks bug case: Man charged over listening device (BBC)

Hunting for evidence, Secret Service unlocks phone data with force or finesse (Christian Science Monitor)

Judge Breaks Precedent, Orders Google to Give Foreign Emails to FBI (Gizmodo)

How to Stop Your Smart TV From Spying On You (Wired)

Dozens of popular iOS apps vulnerable to intercept of TLS-protected data (Ars Technica)

Mac malware is still crude, but it’s slowly catching up to its Windows rivals (Ars Technica)

Sturgeon: 'Vital' that Scotland gets farming powers (BBC)

Cops Nab Notorious Hog Outlaw 'Piggy Smalls' After Months on the Run (Gizmodo)

Face of Orkney's St Magnus reconstructed (BBC)

Uzbek film blocked over lack of Morgan Freeman (BBC)

Top Podcasts

These were my favorite podcasts from this week.

The creation of the Iraqi state: 1914 to 1974 (The National Archives)

Big Ideas: The women's war in the Middle East - women's First World War service in Egypt, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Palestine (The National Archives)

From the Vault: Russians Behaving Badly Edition, Part 1 (SpyCast)

Russia's hybrid war against the West (War College)

Episode 233 - Coriolanus Breaks Down Russia Hack (SOFREP)

Course Report

ENG 199: I finished reading Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger (six chapters), and reviewed two others.
PAC 130: Due to unforeseen circumstances, PAC 199 is cancelled until further notice.
BA 480: I read half a chapter in The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia.
HST 406 (O): As of this posting, I've accomplished nothing.
REL 199: I read Psalm 40, Nahum 1 through 3, and Habakkuk 1, and completed Symbolon 1:2, 1:3, 2:2, and 2:3.

Quote of the Week

"I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice. Scott had gone to the South Pole in order to stand for a few minutes on one particular and almost inaccessible spot on the earth's surface. He and his companions died on their way back, but even as they were dying he never doubted that the journey had been worth while."
- Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands