[Off topic] My latest Forbes column is now out: "Why More Employers Are Not Hiring Smokers And What To Do About It".
I discuss how we can address "lifestyle discrimination" by employers by repealing existing bad laws, rather than imposing new bad regulations.
Also: Have you ever wondered why you get health insurance from your employer, but not your car or homeowner's insurance? I cover that bizarre "feature" of the US economy as well.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Photos Of The Sun
"Just released first images from the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope reveal unprecedented detail of the Sun's surface"
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Albatross Patrol
"Albatrosses Outfitted With GPS Trackers Detect Illegal Fishing Vessels". (Via H.R.)
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Nice Watch
"Watch This Veteran Collapse on Antiques Roadshow When He Learns His $345 Rolex Is Actually Worth $700,000". (Via H.R.)
Masks And Flu?
"Can surgical masks protect you from getting the flu?"
Basically, there is no strong evidence to support well people wearing surgical masks in public. Or as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put it: "No recommendation can be made at this time for mask use in the community by asymptomatic persons, including those at high risk for complications, to prevent exposure to influenza viruses."
The best thing you can do to stop getting the flu is to regularly wash your hands, and try to avoid touching your face.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Corona Beer Vs. Coronavirus
"No, coronavirus has nothing to do with Corona beer".
Related: "Scientists are unraveling the Chinese coronavirus with unprecedented speed and openness".
Related: "Scientists are unraveling the Chinese coronavirus with unprecedented speed and openness".
Coronavirus Tracker
"JHUSystems has a real time dashboard for tracing coronavirus by country, city, timeline and scale of contagion."
Monday, January 27, 2020
Augmented Vision
"Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens: It's the Real Deal".
Augmented reality in a contact lens? Science fiction writers envisioned the technology decades ago, and startups have been working on developing an actual product for at least 10 years.
Today, Mojo Vision announced that it has done just that—put 14K pixels-per-inch microdisplays, wireless radios, image sensors, and motion sensors into contact lenses that fit comfortably in the eyes. The first generation of Mojo Lenses are being powered wirelessly, though future generations will have batteries on board. A small external pack, besides providing power, handles sensor data and sends information to the display. The company is calling the technology Invisible Computing, and company representatives say it will get people’s eyes off their phones and back onto the world around them.
Lowe On ML
Derek Lowe: "Will It Learn? Can It Learn?" (Via H.R.)
[C]ould you have a dataset that really does have a rule in it that could theoretically be discovered, but you are luckless enough to have picked an ML algorithm that is incapable of finding such a rule? How general is learnability?
A recent paper came up with a surprising answer to that question. (Update: here’s Ash/Wavefunction with a post on this as well). The authors have a particular learning model (“estimating the maximum”, or EMX) and investigate its behavior with data produced by several different underlying “rule” functions. And they show – as in no escape, mathematically prove – that there are functions for which it is absolutely impossible to know whether they are learnable by the EMX algorithm or not. Not just difficult to know, not computationally hard until someone comes up with a better way to evaluate the problem, none of that: the question of learnability in those cases is formally undecidable.
The mathematically inclined will be wondering if I mean that term the way it sounds like, and the answer is, yep, Kurt Gödel rides again.
Surgery Update
"Hours after world-first keyhole lung removal, cancer patient gets out of bed". (Via E.P.)
Friday, January 24, 2020
Surveillance And Human Behavior
"Ubiquitous Surveillance Cameras Are Changing Our Understanding of Human Behavior"
Wolfram's Productivity Tips
"Seeking the Productive Life: Some Details of My Personal Infrastructure"
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Bad RoboCop
"A RoboCop, a park and a fight: How expectations about robots are clashing with reality"
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Optimal Airplane Boarding
"We're closer than we've ever been to the optimum airplane boarding procedure"
Monday, January 20, 2020
Robotic Pigeon
"This weird-looking pigeon is actually a drone that flies with real feathers". (Via H.R.)
Friday, January 17, 2020
Brain Freeze
"Brain freeze: Russian firm offers path to immortality for a fee".
I think I'll let others be the early adopters on this technology.
I think I'll let others be the early adopters on this technology.
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Old Stuff
"The oldest material on Earth has been found in a meteorite":
Fifty years ago, a meteorite fell to Earth and landed in Australia, carrying with it a rare sample from interstellar space. A new analysis of the meteorite revealed stardust that formed between five to seven billion years ago. That makes the meteorite and its stardust the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth.
Our sun is around 4.6 billion years old, meaning this stardust existed long before our sun or solar system were even a reality. The stardust found on the meteorite are called presolar grains because they formed before our sun.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Monday, January 13, 2020
McKellen's Blog On Lord Of The Rings Production
"Read Sir Ian McKellen's Fascinating Lord of the Rings Production Blogs".
Direct link to McKellen's blog.
Direct link to McKellen's blog.
Creepy Alexa
That awkward moment when your Amazon Alexs tells you to stab yourself in the hear 'for the greater good'.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Clever Outhouse
"This Outdoor Bathroom by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects is a Mirrored Cube Hidden in Nature".
Click through for more pictures.
Click through for more pictures.
Balloon Art
"Japanese artist creates coolest balloon art".
Click through to see full gallery. Impressive! (Via D.D.)
Click through to see full gallery. Impressive! (Via D.D.)
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Fingernails On A Chalkboard
"Why Do Fingernails on a Chalkboard or Scraping a Plate Make Us Cringe?" (Via H.R.)
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Carry On Hassles
"The reason carry-on luggage became such a hassle".
One tidbit I didn't know:
One tidbit I didn't know:
Carriers have latched onto travel fees as a way to bring in more revenue and avoid the 7 percent excise tax on airfare. Domestic flights are subject to the tax, but any services considered optional (additional luggage, seat selection, priority boarding) are exempt.
Old School Directions
"Turn-by-turntables: How drivers got from point A to point B in the early 1900s". (Via H.R.)
Monday, January 06, 2020
Particle Accelerator On A Chip
"Researchers build a particle accelerator that fits on a chip".
Well, you have to make them small if you want them to fit in your flux capacitor for your Delorean.
Well, you have to make them small if you want them to fit in your flux capacitor for your Delorean.
Friday, January 03, 2020
Mystery Drones
"Mystery drone squadrons flying over Colorado and Nebraska".
Related New York Times article, "'It's Creepy': Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado".
Related New York Times article, "'It's Creepy': Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado".
Thursday, January 02, 2020
Teens On Tech
MIT Technology Review: "We asked teenagers what adults are missing about technology. This was the best response."