Other websites you may find interesting...

If you feel that other links should be added to this list, please let me know.

World Paper Money Homepage
This site displays most banknotes of the world and is an invaluable resource for research and viewing pleasure.

 

The design of everyday things
Donald Normans lucid book The Psychology of Everyday Things (now titled The Design of Everyday Things) has greatly influenced me. It was the basis for my papers on human factors design and security design. Human factors design analysis, based on Donald Norman's action cycle now is a regular part of my evaluations of security design and security features.
See for instance the following papers:
Security design of valuable documents and products
Human factors of first line security
Security design aspects
The Human Factor of Security

 

Moire phenomena
Isaac Amidror of EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland is a peer in the field of moiré phenomena. His book "The Theory of the Moiré Phenomenon" is an unrivalled scientific textbook on the subject and the website lets you download countless line patterns of the free moire demonstration kit.
In chapter 5 of the 3rd edition of my book "Optical Document Security" Amidror's proposed application of Dynamic Moire Images to document security is discussed (pp. 159-161).

 

McGrew's papers on Countermeasures against Holographic Counterfeiting
In the course of time Steve McGrew, founder of New Light Industries, published several fundamental papers on countermeasures against hologram counterfeiting, as well as a paper on the potential for a Universal Hologram Reader in Optical Document Security.
On this site, you will also find a book review of the first edition of Optical Document Security (1994) and hopefully you will find McGrew's review here of the third (2005) edition of this textbook in due course.

 

Reconnaissance International
Reconnaissance International is an independent organisation that publishes newsletters, industry studies and reports, organises conferences and workshops and offers consultancy on authentication strategies and policy.
Reconnaissance International issues, amongst others, Authentication News, Holography News and Currency News.

 

NASA - Astronomy Picture of the Day
This site displays a new high resolution image everyday on the subject of astronomy, together with explanations and hyperlinks to related subjects. Worth a daily visit!

 

Snow crystals and other ice phenomena
This site of professor Kenneth G. Libbrecht of Caltech (California Institute of Technology) is all about snow crystals and snowflakes, what they are, where they come from, and just how these remarkably complex and beautiful structures are created, quite literally, out of thin air.
A most beautifully illustrated and extremely educational website on icy structures.
If you relish icy stories, also access the story on the 2005 ice storm over Geneva.

 

Atmospheric Optics
If you are interested in the optics of our atmosphere, this is the website to visit: rainbows, fog bows, halos, sun dogs, coronas, the glory, Heiligenschein, the Brocken spectre, iridescent clouds, the green flash, sunsets, and so on, are explained and beatifully illustrated. You may also wish to have a look at my related slide presentation on Natural and artificial auras.

 

Dictionary and more...
A dictionary, a thesaurus, and an encyclopedia combined. An extremely useful reference site.

 

500 years of women in Western Art
A video collection of 90 female portraits from the 12th century to modern art.
I know that millions already viewed this animation on YouTube; it even made the news on Dutch TV. So why place a link to it on my website?
Because I find this presentation fascinating. Maybe you may find it worthwhile as well to have a look.
The portrait depicted here is part of this video series and it was made 1936-1938 by the French painter Francis Picabia (1879-1953).

 

Introducing the book
So we think our computer and the programs running on it are largely beyond our understanding and we feel stupid?
Have a look at how medieval scripts may have experienced the introduction of the book, initially remaining absolutely clueless and in desperate need of the helpdesk.
Amongst the many posts of this videoclip on YouTube, there are abridged versions and extended versions, the latter with a hilarious final discussion on the manual (alas, the scene is quite dark).
Remember that this professional act reflects what helpdesk service persons think of us!

 

Rumor Has It
WWW.snopes.com: an interesting site that is devoted to unmask urban legends, rumors, myths and doctored photographs on the most diverse subjects, or to establish the truth of subjects that are believed to be a hoax.
For instance, see their Photo Gallery:
Numerous photographs and videoas circulate on the internet. Some are real. Some are fake. Some are real but have been given false backstories.

 

Uitvindersgids (in Dutch)
Als je iets hebt uitgevonden... wat dan?
Mijn vriend Douwe Brongers, zelf uitvinder, heeft zich over de ins en outs van het uitvinden gebogen en heeft de uitvindersgids geschreven met veel praktische tips voor uitvinders.

 

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