Welcome Home Apollo 12

AetherCzar: "Welcome Home Apollo 12"

Deblurring Update

"None of your pixelated or blurred information will stay safe on the internet"

MacOS Sierra Review

"MacOS 10.12 Sierra: The Ars Technica review". (Via H.R.)

Eko Core Digital Stethoscope

"Review: Eko Core Digital Stethoscope".

I wish I had had one of these back when I was in medical school!

Book Train

"New York Public Library installs high-tech, wall-climbing book-train"

Bad Forensic Science

"Forensic techniques sending people to prison may not be scientifically valid"

Fighting Wikipedia Bots

"The Growing Problem of Bots That Fight Online":

In particular, [Oxford researcher Taha] Yasseri and co focus on whether bots disagree with one another. One way to measure this on Wikipedia is by reverts—edits that change an article back to the way it was before a previous change.

Over a 10-year period, humans reverted each other about three times on average. But bots were much more active. “Over the 10-year period, bots on English Wikipedia reverted another bot on average 105 times,” say Yasseri and co...

Cataloging Smells

"Meet the Woman Who Is Preserving the Smell of History"

Robopolicing Update

"Los Angeles police use a robot to take away a murder suspect's gun"

Smart Candle

"The World's First Smart Candle Can Be Lit and Extinguished From Your Smartphone".

Note: This is a real flame, not an LED light. (Via H.R.)

Long Trail

"At almost 15,000 miles, the world's longest trail goes all across Canada — and can be enjoyed by cyclists, hikers, skiers and more."

To be completed in 2017. (Via GMSV.)

Apple AirPods Strategy

AirPods: "Few have realized that Apple just unveiled its second wearables platform"

The Death of the Telephone Call

"The Death of the Telephone Call"

WaPo Thanks

"Washington Post Makes History: First Paper to Call for Prosecution of Its Own Source (After Accepting Pulitzer)"

US Issues Rules For Self-Driving Vehicles

"The U.S. government has issued its first rules for automated vehicles"

Dinosaur Reconstruction

"Scientists reveal most accurate depiction of a dinosaur ever created". (Via H.R.)

Big Dog

"Australia's Biggest Dog Has No Clue How Big He Actually Is"

Expat Returns To US

"I lived in Korea for 5 years. Here's what happened when I came home to Nebraska." (Via S.V.)

Garmin's Recovery

Alex Knapp: "How Garmin Mapped Out A New Direction With Fitness Wearables"

In Praise Of American Cheese

"American Cheese Is Perfect"

Schneier: Someone Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet

Bruce Schneier: "Someone Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet"

Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don't know who is doing this, but it feels like a large a large nation state. China or Russia would be my first guesses...

Kids Getting To School

"How Kids Around the World Get to School"

Shakespeare Flowchart

"Which Shakespeare Play Should I See? An Illustrated Flowchart"

Ars Technica Likes iOS 10

Ars Technica: "iOS 10 reviewed: There’s no reason not to update". (Via H.R.)

Negative Blood Types

"Why are there so many crazy theories about negative blood types?"

Robot Car Update

"Uber’s Pittsburgh Project Is a Crucial Test for Self-Driving Cars":

Uber will offer customers rides in robotic taxis within a matter of weeks or days. The company has been developing the technology for the past year and has been testing it on the streets of Pittsburgh. It will launch with about a dozen taxis, with the expectation of having 100 on the road by the end of the year. The taxis will have drivers who can take control in an emergency.

Pittsburgh was chosen as the location for Uber’s automated driving project because of its proximity to the renowned robotics research hub at CMU. The city also offers challenging roads and environmental conditions.

Relative Pain of Beestings

"Which body part hurts the most when stung by a bee? A scientist put himself through a torturous experiment to find out".

Short answer:

Perhaps surprisingly — unless you've been stung in one of these spots — the nostril and upper lip beat out even those locations especially painful for men. (Smith is the only one who has conducted such an experiment, so we don't have data for women. Any volunteers?) 

(Via Marginal Revolution.)

Self-Driving Cars Can Learn a Lot by Playing Grand Theft Auto

"Self-Driving Cars Can Learn a Lot by Playing Grand Theft Auto".

What could possibly go wrong?

Optimizing Supermarket Line Choice

NYT: "How to Pick the Fastest Line at the Supermarket". (Via D.M.)

Bezos And Space

"Why Bezos' rocket is unprecedented -- and worth taking seriously". (Via H.R.)

The Simple Solution to Traffic

CGP Grey: "The Simple Solution to Traffic"

Internet Fingerprinting

"Internet Tracking Has Moved Beyond Cookies"

Cursive Returns?

"The comeback of cursive". (Via S.M.)

Longevity Update

The Economist has a good summary of longevity research.