Thursday, April 30, 2020
Skill Or Chance?
Illinois State Supreme Court rules fantasy sports a game of skill -- not a game of chance. (Via Michelle Minton.)
Medical AI Update
"Google's medical AI was super accurate in a lab. Real life was a different story."
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Turtle Shells
Ada McVean: "Daily reminder that turtles are not 'inside' their shells. They *are* their shells."
McVean elaborates:Daily reminder that turtles are not “inside” their shells. They *are* their shells. pic.twitter.com/CS8UcDE3o2— Ada McVean 🐢 (@AdaMcVean) April 21, 2020
Quick guide: mollusk shells = exoskeleton (they can often leave them) veterbrate shells (turtle/tortoise) = endoskeleton (they can't leave them, it's part of their spine)
Meteorite Casualty
"We Have The First-Ever Credible Evidence of Someone Killed by a Falling Meteorite"
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Stricter Rules For Hawaii Visitors
More details of the mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors to Hawaii:
The person will also initial and sign the mandatory order for self-quarantine form confirming they are aware they must self-quarantine for 14 days. By signing the legal document, they acknowledge they understand violating the order is a criminal offense and they are subject to a $5,000 fine and/or a year imprisonment.
An airport representative will collect the two forms and begin verifying their information. First, they will call their mobile phone number to confirm it rings right in front of them. If it does not ring, the person may have listed inaccurate information and is asked to verify the number. If the person refuses to provide a phone number that can be answered on the spot, law enforcement is contacted and they are subject to citation and arrest.
After the phone number is verified, an airport representative will then check the address listed for lodging. For returning Hawaii residents, the address should match their government issued ID. For visitors, the airport representative will call their hotel to confirm they have a reservation. Processing personnel have phone numbers for every hotel in the state.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Awkward
That awkward moment when your own kid tells all your underlings that he and his friends like the competition's product a lot more. (New York Times, 4/24/2020).
Daring Fireball On The iPad Magic Keyboard
Daring Fireball (John Gruber) really likes his "The iPad Magic Keyboard"
Double Space Debate
"Microsoft Word Now Flags Double Spaces as Errors, Ending the Great Space Debate". (Via H.R.)
Friday, April 24, 2020
Built-In iPhone Scanner
"Working from home and need a scanner? There's a free one built into your iPhone."
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Hogwarts Training
"I Went to Hogwarts for Seven Years and Did Not Learn Math or Spelling, and Now I Can't Get a Job"
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Mandalorian Season 2 Trailer
Trailer for season 2 of "The Mandalorian". I think this is a joke trailer, but I'm not entirely sure!
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Hsieh Forbes Column: Do Not Delay Urgent Medical Care Due To COVID-19
My latest Forbes piece is now out: "Do Not Delay Urgent Medical Care Due To The COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic".
I'm glad to be able to discuss some practical information for patients, as well as to tie our current situation back to Bastiat's famous principle of "the seen vs. the unseen."
I'm glad to be able to discuss some practical information for patients, as well as to tie our current situation back to Bastiat's famous principle of "the seen vs. the unseen."
Zoom Marriages
"Zoom marriages are now legal in New York".
As a friend noted, "Wow, so you can meet, date and now marry all online." I'm guessing there's not yet an option for online-only procreation.
As a friend noted, "Wow, so you can meet, date and now marry all online." I'm guessing there's not yet an option for online-only procreation.
People Delaying Emergency Care
"Patients with heart attacks, strokes and even appendicitis vanish from hospitals".
If you having a serious medical emergency, please go the the ER. Hospitals are working hard to make sure their ERs are safe. (You can always call first to make sure they are ready to receive you.)
If you having a serious medical emergency, please go the the ER. Hospitals are working hard to make sure their ERs are safe. (You can always call first to make sure they are ready to receive you.)
Monday, April 20, 2020
Friday, April 17, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Kawasaki Interviews Wolfram
"Stephen Wolfram: Fascinating Interview with a Modern Day Genius". (Via G.F.)
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Privacy-Friendly Contact Tracing
"How Privacy-Friendly Contact Tracing Can Help Stop the Spread of Covid-19"
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Physics Of Juggling
"Scientists ponder how jugglers seem to defy limits to human reaction times". (Via H.R.)
Monday, April 13, 2020
NASA And Cats
Amber Straughn: "Actually discussed in a virtual meeting today: how to keep cats from accidentally commanding spacecraft while this work is going on in people's homes on laptops instead of inside a cat-free #NASA building".
Actually discussed in a virtual meeting today: how to keep cats from accidentally commanding spacecraft while this work is going on in people's homes on laptops instead of inside a cat-free #NASA building 🤣🐱 #catsofquarantine pic.twitter.com/JDVouGGlYy— Amber Straughn (@astraughnomer) April 7, 2020
Friday, April 10, 2020
Tim Urban: You Won't Believe My Morning
Clever COVID-themed science fiction story by Tim Urban of Wait But Why: "You Won't Believe My Morning".
Reading Brainwaves
BBC: "Machine translates brainwaves into sentences".
Original article in Nature: "Machine translation of cortical activity to text with an encoder–decoder framework".
Original article in Nature: "Machine translation of cortical activity to text with an encoder–decoder framework".
Thursday, April 09, 2020
Wednesday, April 08, 2020
Hsieh Forbes Column: 11 Bizarre Consequences Of The Pandemic
My latest Forbes piece is now out: "11 Bizarre Consequences Of The COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic".
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
Monday, April 06, 2020
Friday, April 03, 2020
Thursday, April 02, 2020
Wednesday, April 01, 2020
Light Data
"Does a USB drive get heavier as you store more files on it?"
Short answer, "no". It actually gets very very very slightly lighter:
Short answer, "no". It actually gets very very very slightly lighter:
When you save data, a binary zero is set by charging the float gate of the transistor, and a binary one is set by removing the charge. To charge it, we add electrons, and the mass of each electron is 0.00000000000000000000000000091 grams. This means that an empty USB drive (which mostly holds zeros) weighs more than a full USB drive (which has ones and zeros). Add data, reduce the weight. However, you would need to weigh more USB drives than exist on the planet together at once before the difference in weight became easily measurable.
Stewart/McKellan Mysteries
"Someone Comes Up With A Mystery TV Show Starring Patrick Stewart And Ian McKellen, And Their Concept Goes Viral".
This would be a friggin' awesome show.
This would be a friggin' awesome show.
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