Google, one of the world's outstanding tech companies, was attacked. It wasn't its search engine that was attacked or its advertising platform or even its social network. Google⁺. Instead, it was a building.

    Two web security experts hacked (侵入) into its Wharf 7 office in Sydney, Australia, through Google's building management system (BMS). One of them, Billy Rios, says, “My colleague and I have lot of experience in web security, but it is not something that people couldn't learn. Once you understand how the system works, it is very simple.

    They found the system on Shodan, a search engine that lists devices connected to the Internet, and then ran it through their own software to identify who owned the building. In the case of the Google hacking, the researchers had no immoral purpose and just informed Google about what they found.

    According to Mr Rios, who runs security company Whitescope, there are 50, 000 buildings currently connected to the Internet, including research institutes, churches and hospitals, and 2, 000 of those are online with password protection, Martyn Thomas, a professor of IT at Gresham College in the UK, says, “It is beyond doubt that attempts to attack building management systems are happening all the time.”

    Making a building smart generally means connecting the systems that control heating, lighting and security to the Internet and the wider corporate network. There was a strong reason for doing this, said Andrew Kelly, principal security consultant at defence company Qinetiq.

    “Energy savings are the biggest factor in connecting building management systems to the corporate network,” he says. “It gives those who run the building better control and offers between 20% to 50% in energy savings,” he adds.

    But it also makes them less secure. And if any of these feels like a Hollywood filmy, think again.

    Twelve years ago, I was a 19 -year-old guy living in the French A1ps. In February 2004, while skiing the back - country in Val d'Isere, I fell off the mountain, resulting in a right leg broken in several pieces. I was helicoptered to hospital, operated on immediately—and there started my adult life.

    Before the accident, I was on a path to what I hoped would be a career in rugby. After-wards, and participation in collision sport was gone. I found a replacement in cycling. Unfortunately, by late 2012, I tried to cycle up Mount Ventoux, but it was halfway up when the pain hit me and I gave up.

    A decision needed to be made on a next step. I had to have my lower right leg cut off. Several months later, I had my first proper weight - bearing prosthetic (假肢). I jumped on a train with my bike to Mount Ventoux. Though it certainly wasn't my quickest, I did it.

    Two weeks later, I was lucky enough to be given a running blade; I bounced on it that day and then raced my triathlon (三项全能) on the Monday. So, that was me, up and running - almost 12 years since I had last run.

    Along with my running coach, I complete a “make every kilometre count” programme of four runs per week alongside a busy cycle, swim and gym schedule. So far this year, I have raced a 10k with an unexpected personal best in January of 38:04. I have my first speed triathlon in late March before heading to North Korea to compete in the Pyongyang Marathon on 10 April.

    If my lifetime allows, I will attempt to race in every country in the world. In the meantime, I'll keep on running — and, when it hurts and I'm low on motivation, I'll remember how far I've come and how much further I've got to go.

    Melissa Poe was 9 years old when she began a campaign for a cleaner environment by writing a letter to the then President Bush.Through her own efforts,her letter was reproduced（复制）on over 250 donated billboards（广告牌）across the country.

    The response to her request for help was so huge that Poe established Kids For A Cleaner Environment(Kids F.A.C.E.) in 1989. There are now 300,000 members of Kids FACE worldwide and is the world's largest youth environmental organization.

    Poe has also asked the National Park Service to carry out a "Children's Forest" project in every national park. In 1992, she was invited as one of only six children in the world to speak at the Earth Summit in Brazil as part of the Voices of the Future Program. In 1993, she was given a Caring Award for her efforts by the Caring Institute.

    Since the organization started, Kids F.A.C.E.members have distributed and planted over 1 million trees! Ongoing tree-planting projects include Kid's Yards—the creation of backyard wildlife habitats and now Kids F.A.C.E.is involved in the exciting Earth Odyssey, which is a great way to start helping.

    "Starting the club turned out to be a way to help people get involved with the environment. Club members started doing things like recycling, picking up litter and planting trees as well as inviting other kids to join their club."

    "We try to tell kids that it's not OK to be lazy," she explains. "You need to start being a responsible, environmentally friendly person now, right away, before you become a resource-sucking adult."

The history of Australian Rules Football

    Australian Rules Football is called by many nicknames. Lovers of the game just call it "football" or "footy." When contrasted with other forms of football, it is called "Aussie Rules" or "AFL". AFL stands for Australian Football League, which is the most prestigious league in Australia.

    Australia Rules Football was created by Tom Wills in 1858. He wanted to create a sport that would keep cricket players fit through the winter. He began by writing a letter that explained his purpose to a sports magazine. It also called for the creation of a football club. In 1858, Wills and others played an experimental match that was the first game of Australian football. But few details about this match have survived.

    On August 7, 1858, two important events for the game occurred. The Melbourne Football Club was founded. It was one of the world's first football clubs in any code. Also, a famous match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College was played. It was umpired(仲裁)by Tom Wills. A second day of play took place on August 21, and then there was a third and final day on September4. The two schools have competed every year since.

    The game is played between two teams of 18 players on an oval that can also be used for cricket. These playing fields can be up to 185m long. This is almost four times the size of fields used in other forms of football.

    A point called "a behind" is scored when the ball goes across the line and between a goal post and a behind post. A behind point is also scored if the ball is touched by any body part of either team's member as it passes between the goal posts. A goal is worth six points, and a behind is worth one point.

    There is a beautiful story I heard once about a child playing with a vase(花瓶) his mother had left on the table for a few moments. When the mother turned at the sound of her son crying, she saw that his hand was in the vase and was apparently stuck. She tried to help him and pulled and pulled until the child cried out in pain. But the hand was stuck fast. How would they get it out? The father suggested breaking the vase but it was quite valuable and the child's hand might be cut in the process. Yet he knew that if all else failed, there would be no other alternative. So he said to the boy, "Now, let's make one more try. Open your hand and stretch your fingers out straight, like I'm doing, and then pull!" "But Dad," said the boy, "if I do that, I'll lose my penny!"

    The boy had had a coin in his hand all the time and was holding it securely in his tight little fist. And he wasn't prepared to open his hand and lose the penny. But once he opened his hand, it came out of the vase easily.

    I used to hold on to things in my life that I thought were so important to me. Early in my marriage, all I cared about was becoming the best volleyball player in the state of Wisconsin. One year, when Kristi was working shifts at General Motors, I played in 1,400 games, competing four nights a week and 40 out of 52 weekends. My team won over 1,000 games. Success on the volleyball court, but a huge loss in my relationship with my Kristi.

    When I finally let go, I looked back at what I had done and was ashamed. Not only did I show my wife she wasn't the most important thing to me, but I missed out on a lot of relationship building time. My life is so much richer now that I am not a slave to that drive to be the best player I could be.

    Technology makes listening to holiday music easier than ever. There are endless sources to help you find your favorite Christmas tunes and many other songs. People have explored how to listen to holiday music with high-tech devices (设备).

    Apple Music

    This is the first year you can use Apple Music to listen to holiday songs. Apple  Music has more than 30 million songs and is available (可获得的) in over 100 countries.

    Tell voice assistant Siri to "play holiday music" to open the music program on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. Have an Android phone? Apple Music app is available in the Google Play store, but not with a voice assistant. For the first three months, you can use it for free. After that, users have to pay a subscription (订购) fee.

    Google Play Music

    Google Play Music is also in the holiday spirit. Go to the Google Play Music Holiday page and search for "holiday music."

    Google Play Music is available for free if you don't mind the advertisements. If you do, buy a paid subscription to avoid them. Google Play Music offers more than 30 million songs from 58 countries.

    Tune In Radio

    Listen to radio stations with Tune In Radio. This is an online service and offers stations from all seven continents in the world, including Antarctica. Tune In Radio is available on your computer and is free to online users. In the United States, Britain and Canada, a paid subscription gives you more stations without advertisements.

    If you want to know more, please click here.