Saturday, May 31, 2014

[Off Topic] Hsieh Forbes Column: Three Factors That Corrupted VA Health Care

[Off Topic] My second Forbes piece in two days again discusses the VA health scandal: "Three Factors That Corrupted VA Health Care And Threaten The Rest of American Medicine".

The three elements include: doctor shortage, perverse payment incentives, and a culture of dishonesty

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Google Taps the Brakes on Self-Driving Cars

Megan McArdle: "Google Taps the Brakes on Self-Driving Cars"

First Amendment Right to Film Police

Ars Technica: "Court upholds “First Amendment” right to film police".

Related Washington Post blog post by Eugene Volokh: "Federal appeals court reaffirms right to videorecord, including at traffic stops".

Programmable Matter

"Make Your Own World With Programmable Matter"

Kids React To Old Computers

Video: "Kids React To Old Computers".



 I remember when the Apple II was awesome and cutting-edge. You may all get off my lawn now. (Via L.R.)

Friday, May 23, 2014

Holiday Hiatus

Admin note: Posting will be light through the holiday weekend and early next week.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

One Inch Punch

"The Science of the One-Inch Punch: Physiology and neuroscience combine to explain Bruce Lee's master move"

Facebook Passive Listening To Your Phone

"Facebook has added a new feature to its mobile app as of Wednesday that uses a phone's microphone to identify ambient TV shows, music, or movies and include them in status updates."

Note: The feature is off by default, though the app offers to turn it on in an intro screen that it pops up for users.  I'm leaving my turned off.

Secure Email

Forbes: "The Only Email System The NSA Can't Access".

More info on the official ProtonMail site.

Spam Will Never Go Away

"Spam, the Neverending Story: Unwanted communication is as inevitable as it is persistent"

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Precision Comm-Jamming

"How The Marines Cheaply And Quickly Built Precision Comm-Jamming Tech". (Via H.R.)

What Each State Googles More Than Others

"You Can Learn A Lot About America From Each State's Internet Search History"

38 Yahoo Questions

"38 Yahoo Questions That Will Destroy Your Faith In Humanity"

Hacking The Brain With Electricity

"Hacking The Brain With Electricity: Don't Try This At Home".

(Includes quote from my friend Jared Seehafer.)

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Trick That Makes Google's Self-Driving Cars Work

"The Trick That Makes Google's Self-Driving Cars Work"

Right To Be Forgotten

Europe appears ready to grant a "right to be forgotten".  (Related article.)

The articles discuss some of the serious negative consequences if such a "right" is implemented into law.

How Vines Actually Grow

"A timelapse of how vines actually grow"

Fully Automatic Wolverine Claws

"These fully-automatic Wolverine claws are as badass as the real ones"

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

23andMe Offering Services Outside US

"23andMe aims to offer partial or full genetic-testing services in one or more countries outside of the United States by the end of the year, with likely contenders including Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom"

Google Glass Available

"Google Glass is once again available to the masses -- in the United States"

The Oldest Rivalry in Computing

The oldest rivalry in computing: Emacs vs. vi.

Whatever Happened To Netscape?

"Whatever happened to Netscape?"

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Why Some Doctors Like Google Glass So Much

"Why Some Doctors Like Google Glass So Much"

Disney Animation Tricks

"12 Hypnotic Animation Tricks Used By Disney's Legendary Artists".


The illusion of life from cento lodigiani on Vimeo.

Literally Reinventing The Wheel

"This Farmer Reinvented the Wheel to Build a Better Wheelchair". More info here.

Terrifying Skywalk

Terrifying new skywalk overlooking the Canadian Rockies. Yes, there's a video.

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Monday, May 05, 2014

The 11 Defining Features of the Summer Blockbuster

"The 11 Defining Features of the Summer Blockbuster". (Via Marginal Revolution.)

Cancer-Killing Nanorobots

"One Scientist's Bid to Build Cancer-Killing Nanorobots"

New Technology Transforming State Surveillance

Video: "The Frightening New Technology Transforming State Surveillance"



Of course, technology that allows a good government to protect people can also be used by a bad government to oppress them.  (Video via J.J.)

What Parts Of The Country Get The Worst Weather Predictions?

"What Parts Of The Country Get The Worst Weather Predictions?"

Sunday, May 04, 2014

Technology Law Will Soon Be Reshaped By People Who Don't Use Email

"Technology law will soon be reshaped by people who don't use email":
The US supreme court doesn't understand the internet. Laugh all you want, but when NSA, Pandora and privacy cases hit the docket, the lack of tech savvy on the bench gets scary...

This is not the first time justices have opened themselves up to mockery for their uninitiated take on tech issues. Just last week, in the copyright case against Aereo, the justices' verbal reach seemed to exceed their grasp, as they inadvertently invented phrases like "Netflick" and "iDrop", among others. Before that, many ripped Justice Roberts for seemingly not knowing the difference between a pager and email. And then there was the time when a group of them tried to comprehend text messages, or when the justices and counsel before them agreed that "any computer group of people" could write most software "sitting around the coffee shop ... over the weekend."

MIT Bitcoin Experiment

"MIT Is Giving Each of Its Undergrads $100-Worth of Bitcoin"

US States North of Canada

Quiz of the day: "What's your best guess without looking: How many US states are at least partially north of the southernmost part of Canada?"

Hint: It's probably way more than you think.

Here's the answer.

Plane Boarding Algorithms

Detailed comparison of the major plane boarding algorithms.

Thursday, May 01, 2014

How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors

"How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors"
Zhijian and co say that players who win tend to stick with the same action while those who lose switch to the next action in a clockwise direction (where R → P → S is clockwise).

High Tech Ring Of Power

"The Nod ring turns your finger into a high-tech magic wand"

Clever Hair Product Ad

"Cool! Real train arrives, woman's hair blows onscreen"


Apotek Hjärtat - Blowing in The Wind from Ourwork on Vimeo.

French Expressions With No Good English Equivalent

"9 Wonderful French Expressions That Have No Good English Equivalent"

Hitler In Old Family Vacation Photos

It sure would be weird to find some old lost family vacation photos from 1938 and see that they included HITLER!