Thursday, August 29, 2013
Asimov's 1964 Predictions for 2014
Isaac Asimov predicted what life would be like in 2014 in this 1964 New York Times essay. (Via Alex Knapp.)
Stabilized Spoon Lets Parkinson's Sufferers Feed Themselves
"Stabilized Spoon Lets Parkinson's Sufferers Feed Themselves". (Via Jared Rhoads.)
[Off topic] Hsieh Forbes OpEd: How Much Will Your Life Be Worth Under Obamacare?
[Off topic] Forbes has published my latest piece, "How Much Will Your Life Be Worth Under Obamacare?"
Here is the opening:
Here is the opening:
How much will your life be worth to the federal government under ObamaCare? Less than you might think. We can make an educated guess by looking at which medical screening tests the government U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) considers worthwhile...
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Growth In Illegal Robocallers
USA Today: "Robocallers doing a number on the Do Not Call list"
Illegal robocall operations are taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated technology that has made it easier and easier to simultaneously send thousands of robocalls costing less than one cent per minute...
Along with being cheap and easy, robocalls can be the hardest to trace, says Sid Kirchheimer, author of Scam-Proof Your Life. Calls often come from foreign centers, and scammers increasingly use technology to "spoof" caller ID to display whatever number they pick, he says.
The Signs Are Hilarious At Switzerland's New 'Drive-In Brothel'
"The Signs Are Hilarious At Switzerland's New 'Drive-In Brothel'". (Via Tyler Cowen.)
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From the article:
We've done our best to translate (going right to left then working down):
From the article:
We've done our best to translate (going right to left then working down):
- No one under the age of eighteen.
- Only cars can use the facility — no motorbikes, people on foot, or bicycles.
- Just one client at a time.
- Use the facilities provided, not the outdoor space.
- Again, do not use the outdoor space.
- Do not go off facility grounds
- Throw away your trash.
- No photography, filming, or recording (or singing, perhaps).
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Feds Back Away From Forced Decryption... For Now
Wired: "Feds Back Away From Forced Decryption... For Now".
For the moment, requiring suspects to decrypt data is rare, and has never been squarely addressed by the Supreme Court.As lawyer/blogger Doug Mataconis has written, it depends on what analogy one thinks is more apt:
But the legal issue is likely to become more commonplace as the public begins embracing encryption technology that now comes standard on most computer operating systems. What’s more, the public is searching to counter the National Security Agency, whose domestic spying has been thrust into the mainstream press in light of disclosures by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, [Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Hanni] Fakhoury said.
"The one silver lining: I think courts are not buying into the government's theory that encryption is evidence of criminal behavior," Fakhoury said.
To make the analogy applicable to the types of cases that helped establish existing law, it boils down to a question of whether a computer password is like a key to locked closet or strongbox, or whether it is like the combination to a safe. Under existing law, someone served with a valid search warrant can be compelled to unlock a locked door or box, but they cannot be compelled to reveal the combination that would unlock a safe.This issue will undoubtedly resurface again. I wouldn't be surprised if this eventually has to be resolved by the US Supreme Court.
To put it simply, Courts have held that the combination to a safe constitutes the constitutes of someone’s mind, and is thus protected by the Fifth Amendment from compelled disclosure while the key is simply a thing and, so long as the search warrant validly allows police to search the item that is locked, then the person whose property is being searched can be compelled to grant access.
Awesomely Bad Samsung Commercial
"Samsung ad featuring possibly the world's worst actors"
Via R.H., who also commented on Facebook:
Via R.H., who also commented on Facebook:
Someone claiming to be the korean dude in the glasses, on reddit, explained that this is the nature of Korean adverts, they are asked to be that expressive because (according to him):
(1) Koreans are naturally less expressive, and are often encouraged to be unnaturally expressive in adverts
(2) This is a video made primarily with non-western markets in mind, so they are made to be dubbed over.
Also, according to him, the woman in the ad came in at 7pm and finished some time early morning, hence the glazed over expression.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Which Jobs Will Survive the Robot Revolution?
MIT professor David Autor predicts which jobs will survive the next wave of robotic automation.
The key will be jobs that "combine technical skills with interpersonal interaction":
The key will be jobs that "combine technical skills with interpersonal interaction":
While many middle-skill jobs are susceptible to automation, others demand a mixture of tasks that take advantage of human flexibility. To take one prominent example, medical paraprofessional jobs — radiology technician, phlebotomist, nurse technician — are a rapidly growing category of relatively well-paid, middle-skill occupations. While these paraprofessions do not typically require a four-year college degree, they do demand some postsecondary vocational training.
These middle-skill jobs will persist, and potentially grow, because they involve tasks that cannot readily be unbundled without a substantial drop in quality. Consider, for example, the frustration of calling a software firm for technical support, only to discover that the technician knows nothing more than the standard answers shown on his or her computer screen — that is, the technician is a mouthpiece reading from a script, not a problem-solver. This is not generally a productive form of work organization because it fails to harness the complementarities between technical and interpersonal skills. Simply put, the quality of a service within any occupation will improve when a worker combines routine (technical) and nonroutine (flexible) tasks.
Following this logic, we predict that the middle-skill jobs that survive will combine routine technical tasks with abstract and manual tasks in which workers have a comparative advantage — interpersonal interaction, adaptability and problem-solving. Along with medical paraprofessionals, this category includes numerous jobs for people in the skilled trades and repair: plumbers; builders; electricians; heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installers; automotive technicians; customer-service representatives; and even clerical workers who are required to do more than type and file. Indeed, even as formerly middle-skill occupations are being “deskilled,” or stripped of their routine technical tasks (brokering stocks, for example), other formerly high-end occupations are becoming accessible to workers with less esoteric technical mastery (for example, the work of the nurse practitioner, who increasingly diagnoses illness and prescribes drugs in lieu of a physician). Lawrence F. Katz, a labor economist at Harvard, memorably called those who fruitfully combine the foundational skills of a high school education with specific vocational skills the “new artisans.”
Tiny Video Cameras Protect Cops, Suspects
"Tiny video cameras protect cops, suspects".
As @dunstan noted, "Rialto, CA police wear video cameras: use of force ↓60%, complaints ↓88%, Officer-involved shootings ↓60% "
As @dunstan noted, "Rialto, CA police wear video cameras: use of force ↓60%, complaints ↓88%, Officer-involved shootings ↓60% "
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Prison Door Computer Glitch
Sounds like something from a movie:
Florida prison officials are trying to figure out whether a computer glitch may be behind two recent, as yet unexplained incidents where all of the doors at a facility’s maximum-security wing opened simultaneously. In the latest occurrence, on 13 June, guards at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, Florida, had to rush to corral prisoners back into their cells after a “group release” button in the computerized system was triggered...More details here.
DNA Cannot Distinguish Identical Twins On Rape Charge
"DNA tests cannot distinguish identical twins on rape charge".
For now, prosecutors have charged both men.
For now, prosecutors have charged both men.
Engineer left NASA to make awesome wearable tech Halloween costumes
"Engineer left NASA to make awesome wearable tech Halloween costumes"
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The World's Most Precise Clocks
"The World's Most Precise Clocks: 100 Times More Precise Than Cesium Atomic Clocks". (Via Charlie M.)
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
1.86 Stuf Oreos
"Double Stuf Oreos Don't Actually Have Double The Creme".
Instead, it's more like 1.86 x. I smell lawsuit!
Instead, it's more like 1.86 x. I smell lawsuit!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Why Shipwrecks in Antarctica Are Well-Preserved
"How shipwrecks in Antarctica manage to stay so well-preserved"
CSM on Big Data
Christian Science Monitor: "The new age of algorithms: How it affects the way we live".
(Single-page printable version.)
(Single-page printable version.)
Big Data Meets "Minority Report"
"How Big Data Could Help Identify the Next Felon -- Or Blame the Wrong Guy"
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Bowden On Drones
Mark Bowden (author of Black Hawk Down) has a lengthy new article on the politics and technical aspects of drone warfare.
I haven't read it yet, but definitely will.
I haven't read it yet, but definitely will.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Images of Atoms Making and Breaking Molecular Bonds
"How researchers captured the first images of atoms making and breaking molecular bonds"
Devices Connect with Borrowed TV Signals, Need No Power Source
"Seemingly impossible" devices connect with borrowed TV signals, need no power source.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Getty Open Content
The Getty Museum is now offering thousands of high-resolution digital images free, as part of their Open Content program.
(They merely request attribution in the form of "Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.".)
(They merely request attribution in the form of "Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.".)
Monday, August 12, 2013
Lavabit Alternatives?
"Encrypted email isn't secure, but if you must use it, here are some Lavabit alternatives"
How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to Caffeine
"This Is How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to Caffeine".
"Addiction" is such an ugly word. I prefer the term "special relationship".
"Addiction" is such an ugly word. I prefer the term "special relationship".
Storing Information with Skyrmions
"Twisted Magnetic Fields Tie Information in a Knot: Elusive magnetic vortices called skyrmions have been made in the lab for the first time and could be used to develop more efficient memory chips"
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Wikipedia Says No To Censorship
"Wikipedia Co-Founder Refuses to Comply With China's Censorship". Go, Jimmy Wales!
Financial Planning for Egg Freezing
WSJ: "Financial Planning for Egg Freezing"
Well, it is the 21st century. (As usual, if clicking on the link doesn't work, you can enter the WSJ article title into a Google search box and often get a link that goes to the full piece.)
Well, it is the 21st century. (As usual, if clicking on the link doesn't work, you can enter the WSJ article title into a Google search box and often get a link that goes to the full piece.)
The Science of the Great Molasses Flood
"The Science of the Great Molasses Flood: In 1919 a wave of syrup swept through the streets of Boston. Fluid dynamics explains why it was even more devastating than a typical tsunami."
Basically, the problem arises because molasses is a non-Newtonian fluid.
Basically, the problem arises because molasses is a non-Newtonian fluid.
Where The Rubber Ducks Landed
"In 1992, around 29000 rubber ducks fell off a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean. This is where they made landfall."
Thursday, August 08, 2013
The Type Of People Who Get Suckered By A Twitter Bot
"The Type Of People Who Get Suckered By A Twitter Bot"
Real Vs. Movie Aging of "Back To The Future" Actors
Great image comparing the movie make-up ageing of Back to the Future actors with their actual aging 30 years later.
Scientists Disclose Plans To Make Superflu In Labs
NPR: "Scientists Disclose Plans To Make Superflu In Labs"
How many bad zombie movies started this way?
How many bad zombie movies started this way?
Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Schneier on Trust and Deceptive Wording By Internet Companies
When internet companies use words that are technically true but misleading, they undermine our trust. Overall good essay by Bruce Schneier.
Using Pupils to Communicate with People with Locked-In Syndrome
Clever: "Pupils Used to Communicate with People with Locked-In Syndrome"
And another slightly unorthodox use of math: "Teacher catches student using phone in class, gives him a math problem to unlock the phone".
And another slightly unorthodox use of math: "Teacher catches student using phone in class, gives him a math problem to unlock the phone".
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Monday, August 05, 2013
Sunday, August 04, 2013
World Largest Caliber Rifle
In case .50 BMG is too wimpy for you: "World's Largest Caliber Rifle In Action 905"
Yowza! (Via J.W.)
Yowza! (Via J.W.)
Sex, Violence, and Autocomplete Algorithms
"Sex, Violence, and Autocomplete Algorithms: What words do Bing and Google censor from their suggestions?"
North Korean Tablet
"North Korea has a tablet. There’s no Wi-Fi connectivity, but it comes with Angry Birds"
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Fake Charger Will Hide A Trojan In iPhone's Facebook App
"This Fake Charger Will Hide A Trojan In Your iPhone's Facebook App"
Queen Elizabeth's 1983 Speech For WW 3
Queen Elizabeth's 1983 draft speech in case World War 3 broke out. (Via VAViper.)
The Smell Of Chocolate Boosts Book Sales
The smell of chocolate increases in-store book sales. Here's a marketing technique that Amazon will have a hard time duplicating!
The Pressure Cooker Google Search Story
Michele Catalano described how searching for the "wrong" things on Google earned her family a visit from the "Joint Terrorism Task Force".
But it looks like the source of the information was not the NSA, but a former employer of her husband.
But it looks like the source of the information was not the NSA, but a former employer of her husband.