Thanks to all the great folks who came over to Wharton tonight for the Python User Group. I had a great time presenting and then learning about PySpark from Monetate. Some folks wanted the slides to my talk so I’ve included them Here. You’re also welcome to checkout the code I used on Github. You can also see the live project (hosted by github). PRs welcome! Lastly, some of you were curious about other ‘formulas’ for password creation.

When you’re in the process of evaluating employment opportunities one thing to consider is the cost of living in different areas. This Excel tool takes compensation information and evaluates it compared to the cost of living in different areas. The results that it provides don’t necessarily map to the exact location, rental situation, or grocery store you might find yourself in after the move. But it does give a nice baseline to check the general differences between locations.

Recently I’ve paid more attention to recommendations for memorized keys. Should I always use a number in my password? Is it really more secure to add that special character at the end every time? What are some real best practices when you’re telling people to create strong, memorable passwords? First, I’ll make some assumptions to help think about this. I’m only talking about the passwords you absolutely must memorize – Otherwise we would all be better off using a password manager of some sort.

Recently, it came to light that the computer manufacturer Lenovo is bundling malware called Superfish in with their Microsoft operating systems. This malware acts in two ways: It compromises the way that computers verify what is a secured connection and what isn’t - some of the most essential components of internet security. For example, when you visit your bank website you’ll likely see something like this: A lock symbol, sometimes green, sometimes in greyish color that on a click should show you something like this: