Product name: ADF-4200

Key features: protects against advanced SQL injection and database Denial of Service (Db DoS) threats. Using behavioral analysis technology, the ADF-4200 immediately identifies any rogue SQL traffic on your network. More info.

On Saturday, March 16, Ellen Handler Spitz, honors college professor of visual arts, will participate in a panel discussion in New York City about what we can learn from the perennial controversies about children’s books that are “too dark.”

Spitz will be joined on the panel by author Lois Lowry and former New York Times children’s books editor Julie Just.  The event will take place at 2:00 p.m. at the New School’s Arnold Hall, 55 West 13th St., New York, NY.

An iconic Silicon Valley company says it’s in the second year of a five-year turnaround plan. But the IT business is moving much faster than that.

I met with two top executives from Hewlett-Packard this week and got the impression that the company is buying time before it figures out something big. But I wonder if it can do that before it’s too late.

At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, will discuss “Curious Behavior” and his concept of “small science” at the Goddard Space Flight Center. This talk, part of the Goddard Scientific Colloquium series, will be Provine’s 4th colloquium at Goddard.

The talk will be held in the Building 3 (Goett) auditorium. Access to the Goddard Space Flight Center is limited to those holding Goddard badges or official visitors; if you would like to attend, contact Scientific Colloquium at (301) 286-0660 or by e-mail more than 48 hours beforehand.

Robert Provine, professor of psychology, will lead a discussion at the DC Science Café on May 21.  The DC Science Café, which is sponsored by the DC Science Writers Association, aims to give the general public an opportunity to participate in lively and important discussions about the consequential scientific discoveries and issues of our times.

The discussion will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Busboys and Poets’ 5th and K St., NW location. Provine’s discussion will focus on “Curious Behavior,” the subject of his book “Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond.”

A flyer for the event is below.

The small-on-purpose social network adds new features, but no clear purpose.

The tech world was buzzing about Facebook’s redesign yesterday, but I was more interested in what was new at the “anti-Facebook,” Path. If you haven’t heard of it (and, given that it only has 6 million users, you may not have), Path is a mobile-only social network that limits you to 150 connections. The idea is that this limitation matches the limit most humans have on maintaining meaningful relationships. Path, then, is supposed to be the social network where your “real” friends are. On Wednesday Path released, um, “Path 3” (they like to issue product updates as if they’re movie sequels), which includes private messaging, “Stickers” (large emoji, basically), and a “Shop” (where you can buy the Stickers and photo filters).