From the Newsroom
Taxis and the shortest route home (from my email) — Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
If you’ve ever wondered why a seeming professional cab driver will ask you how to get to your destination, this is why. Going your way means they’ll make more money and they won’t be accused of ripping you off.
-Jonathan Pedde, Opinion Editor
Hackers in China Attacked The Times for Last 4 Months — Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times
After The Times learned of warnings from Chinese government officials that its investigation of the wealth of Mr. Wen’s relatives would “have consequences,” executives on Oct. 24 asked AT&T, which monitors The Times’s computer network, to watch for unusual activity. On Oct. 25, the day the article was published online, AT&T informed The Times that it had noticed behavior that was consistent with other attacks believed to have been perpetrated by the Chinese military.
-Jenny Che, Editor-in-Chief (@j_che29)
Symantec Gets A Black Eye In Chinese Hack Of The New York Times — Andy Greenberg, Forbes
Out of the 45 different pieces of malware planted on theTimes‘ systems over the course of three months,just one of those programs was spotted by the Symantec antivirus software theTimesused, according to Mandiant, the data breach response firm hired by theTimes. The other 44 were only found in Mandiant’s post-breach investigation months later, according to theTimes‘ report.
-Gavin Huang, Photo Editor (@GavinHuang)
A Pep Talk from Kid President to You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o
-Gardiner Kreglow, Publisher
The Preppers Next Door — Alan Feuer, The New York Times
“It was a pragmatic response to certain things I know,” said Robert Segal, a wine salesman between jobs, who once worked as an electrical technician on a nuclear submarine. “As an engineer, I’m sort of a student of how things fall apart.”
The Last Days of '30 Rock' — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone
Tracy Morgan is sitting at a craft-services table in a huge open hallway, right next to a lady cooking hamburgers on a tabletop grill. In front of him is a tray of buns and a selection of condiments. As vintage R&B plays over someone’s boombox, Morgan begins to weep.
-Leslie Ye, Dartbeat Editor (@lesliezye)
In Hiring, a Friend in Need Is a Prospect, Indeed — Nelson Schwartz, The New York Times
Referred candidates are twice as likely to land an interview as other applicants, according to a new study of one large company by three economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For those who make it to the interview stage, the referred candidates had a 40 percent better chance of being hired than other applicants.
-Felicia Schwartz, Executive Editor (@fel_schwartz)
Former Salafi Sings About His Identity Crisis — Leila Fadel, NPR
Former Salafi, turned rapper, Omar Kamal left the Salafi fold during Egypt's revolution. He says that when Salafis came out of the dark they showed their hypocrisy. To the rhythm of beat boxing, he uses his lyrics to chronicle his own identity crisis — a crisis that reflects Egypt's struggle to find itself.
-Claire Groden, Evening Managing Editor (@ClaireGroden)