Older Coders

"Why Older People Struggle In Programming Jobs". (Via M.G.)

AI Sounding Like Humans

"Artificial Intelligence Is Now Shockingly Good at Sounding Human"

Signal Struggles

"The battle inside Signal".

The secure-messaging app Signal is struggling with how to allow people to communicate privately for "worthy" causes, without helping people communicate privately for causes they deem "unworthy". 

Cookie!

Geologist finds volcanic agate rock that looks like the Cookie Monster.  (Image via CNET, Mike Bowers/Facebook.)

 

Powerful Laser

"Groundbreaking New Laser System Cuts Through Earth's Atmosphere Like It's Nothing". (Via H.R.)

Good Smell

"Texas teen saved Covid-stricken family members from raging early-morning fire that only she could smell"

Amazon Tolkien Details

"Amazon's Lord of the Rings Show Is About the Return of Sauron"

No Search For AU?

"Google Threatens to Remove Search in Australia as Spat Escalates"

Inside Amazon Security

"Inside the Whale: An Interview with an Anonymous Amazonian"

28-Corner Eraser

"This Eraser is Designed to Always Present a Sharp Corner, Even as It Wears Out"

 

Animals!

"Animals interrupting wildlife photographers". 

 I especially like #6 and #11.

FedEx Art

"FedEx Shipping Damage Creates Fractured Artworks"

Galaxy Quest 2?

"Tim Allen gives a Galaxy Quest 2 update: 'It's a fabulous script'"

Evolution Of Ransomware

"Ransomware Is Headed Down a Dire Path"

The Other Tech Giant

"Wikipedia is 20, and its reputation has never been higher"

NAND Game

"Welcome to The Nand Game! You are going to build a simple computer. You start with a single component, the NAND gate. Using this as the fundamental building block, you will build all other components necessary."

Lottery Ticket Strategies

"Maximizing the Expected Value of a Lottery Ticket: How to Sell and When to Buy"

Package Thief Has Bad Day

Video: "Man attempts to steal a package". Then, a little justice.

Quiz: Quant Fund Or Metal Band?

Quiz: Quant Fund Or Metal Band?

Related classic quiz: Antidepressant drug or Tolkien Character? 

Ice Robots

"Robots Made of Ice Could Build and Repair Themselves on Other Planets"

Lost Bitcoin Passwords

NYT: "Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes"

UFO Data

"US intelligence agencies have 180 days to share what they know about UFOs, thanks to the Covid-19 relief and spending bill"

Miyazaki Images Released

"To celebrate Miyazaki Hiyao's 80th birthday, Studio Ghibli has released almost 2,000 hi-res images from their films for reasonable use."

Parler Data Breach

Serious data breach at Parler:

Whilst scrambling to keep operational as various server providers pulled Parler from their services the admins left open a security loophole that allowed hackers to create administration accounts. They used this to create MILLIONS of admin accounts and to start downloading all of the data that Parler had stored. Amongst this data, discussions planning to attack the US Capitol from verified users (with pictures of their drivers licences etc. ), GPS data, photos with EXIF data

More details at this Reddit thread. 

[A]ll of this information was thought to be secure and private by individuals who were making the posts. A significant number of those individuals went through the process of being a "Verified Citizen" on Parler. What does that mean?

It means they uploaded a picture of the front and back of their REAL State Driver's License........ Let that sink in for a second.

I am positive the FBI has been actively soaking in this information along with the Internet Warriors, but this is how they are going to officially track down.

And it's how the FBI, DHS, and FAA have been able to immediately and exhaustively create no-fly lists. Every verified attendee of the Capitol riot where they can find a real name has been placed on No-Fly Lists.

It might seem like a small geeky glitch or hack.. but in the age of Information warfare... this is the silver bullet for the people who used Parler as a place to organize their efforts.

Also, a lot of posts were deleted by Parler members after the riots on the 6th. Turned out... Parler didn't actually delete anything.. just set a bit as deleted.

Guess what has access to all "deleted" content?

Administrator accounts."

QM Guide

Ars Technica: "A 'no math' (but seven-part) guide to modern quantum mechanics"

Light Posting

Admin note: Posting may be light for the next several days due to external obligations.

If Then Else Had To Be Invented

If-Then-Else had to be invented.

Sprite Lightning

"Sprite Lightning at 100,000 Frames Per Second". (Via H.R.)

Remote Working Conflicts

"After embracing remote work in 2020, companies face conflicts making it permanent"

Magnetically Cured Glue

"This New Type of Glue Is Activated by Magnetic Fields, And Really Easy to Use". (Via H.R.)

Pen Cap Holes

"The Reason For Holes on The Tops of Pen Caps Is Surprisingly Awesome". (Via H.R.)

 

Xolography

"3D-printing hollow structures with 'xolography'". (Via H.R.)

Ugly Routers

"Why are WiFi Routers So Darned Ugly?"

 

 

Two Spaces, Yes

"The Scientific Case for Two Spaces After a Period"

Alzheimer's And Microbiome

"Link Between Alzheimer's Disease and Gut Microbiota Is Confirmed".

This is just correlation, not causation. But an interesting avenue to pursue. (Via T.K.)

100 Tips For A Better Life

Less Wrong: "100 Tips for a Better Life"

Lots of good stuff in here. I especially like #100:

100. Bad things happen dramatically (a pandemic). Good things happen gradually (malaria deaths dropping annually) and don’t feel like ‘news’. Endeavour to keep track of the good things to avoid an inaccurate and dismal view of the world.  

Tape Innovation

"IBM just shattered previous records for magnetic tape's data storage capabilities, ensuring it meets demand for the next decade". (Via H.R.)

They'll Be Watching You

IEEE Spectrum: "Augmented Reality and the Surveillance Society"

The Great American Rail-Trail

BBC: "A New Way To Travel Across The US"

Merry Christmas!

Geekpress will be taking a short holiday break to celebrate Christmas 2020. 

I hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend! We'll be back on Monday December 28.

 

High-Res Snowflake

"This Is The Highest Resolution Snowflake Photo Ever"

Why would former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold spend a year and a half building a custom 100-megapixel carbon-fiber super-cooled sapphire-lensed LED-lit super camera to take pictures of snowflakes? 

Click through to see more images like these, as well as explanatory video.

 

Stanford Vaccine Debacle

"3 lessons from Stanford's Covid-19 vaccine algorithm debacle"

Drone Warfare Update

"Azerbaijan's drones owned the battlefield in Nagorno-Karabakh -- and showed future of warfare"

Kindle Convert

"Confessions of a Kindle Convert"

ARM History

"How an obscure British PC maker invented ARM and changed the world". (Via H.R.)

Fake Faces

"Wearing someone else's face: Hyper-realistic masks to go on sale in Japan"

 

Apple Safety Manual

"Apple Shares Manual on How to Lock Down Devices When Personal Safety is at Risk"

Direct link to Apple PDF document: "Device and Data Access when Personal Safety is At Risk"

Nomex

"Why racing drivers trust their lives to a fireproof fabric called Nomex". (Via H.R.)

Pfizer Vaccine!

Thank you, Pfizer and the Medical Center of Aurora! 

I'm grateful to all the hard-working scientists and researchers who developed this innovative product. Your ingenuity and efforts will help millions of people around the world.

Legal Haikus

Eugene Volokh: "Always Risky to Use Haikus as Legal Argument"

Hokusai Found

"A Great Wave of Hokusai Drawings Resurfaced at the British Museum"

Code <> Language

MIT News: "To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language"

Lottery Hacking?

"66 winning lottery tickets. $6.3 million. What's up with Ivy League group's winning streak?"

Don't Let The Surgeon Operate On You On Their Birthday

BMJ: "Patient mortality after surgery on the surgeon's birthday: observational study".  Pretty good study, including good attempt to control for confounding factors.

Bottom line:

Among Medicare beneficiaries who underwent common emergency surgeries, those who received surgery on the surgeon’s birthday experienced higher mortality compared with patients who underwent surgery on other days. These findings suggest that surgeons might be distracted by life events that are not directly related to work.

Stealing Camera Data

"How to steal photos off someone's iPhone from across the street"

Professional Tag

"Inside the World of Professional Tag"

Battery Breakthrough?

"Company claims solid-state lithium-metal battery breakthrough". (Via H.R.)

Stunning Snowflakes

"These stunning images of snowflakes will make you see winter in a whole new light". (Via H.R.)

Daring Fireball On AirPods Max

John Gruber: "Heavy Is the Head That Wears the AirPods Max"

Find The Missing States

xkcd: "The contiguous 41 states". 

Without looking up a map, can you figure out which 7 US states are missing?

 

Alternate History Maps

BBC: "The intriguing maps that reveal alternate histories"

COVID Cruise To Nowhere

COVID-19 disrupts "cruise to nowhere" after passenger tests positive.

COVID And Twins

"Case Study Finds Covid-19 Infection Can Impact Identical Twins Differently"

Daring Fireball On M1 Macs

John Gruber (Daring Fireball) really likes the new M1 Macs.

Cities And Pandemics

"Contrary to popular belief, living in densely populated cities can offer many health benefits -- even during a pandemic." (Via A.A.)

Machiavellian Triumphs

"Stories of Machiavellian triumphs, part 2". (Via G.V.H.)

And Part 1, here.

Ancient Inks

"High-energy X-rays reveal the secrets of ancient Egyptian inks". (Via H.R.)

Hsieh Forbes Column: Why I Wear A Mask

My latest Forbes piece is now out: "Why I Wear A Mask".

This is my response to a question I've frequently received from friends and readers.

 

Arecibo Collapse

"Drone Video Shows Dramatic Moment of Arecibo Observatory Collapse". (Via H.R.)

Unusual Lottery Numbers

"Six in a row: Winning numbers in South African lottery are: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10".

 Some people are asking if this was due to fraud or just a very unusual coincidence. (Of course, this set of 6 numbers is just as likely as any other set of 6 numbers).

Bayes For Today

"Can an 18th Century Statistician Help Us Think More Clearly?"

Laser Weapon Update

"How The Once Elusive Dream Of Laser Weapons Suddenly Became A Reality". 

Now I just need a "phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range" and I'm all set!

Mathematical Art

Cool mathematical art. Available for sale. (Via H.R.)

Two Days To Design Vaccine

"Moderna Designed a Covid-19 Vaccine in Just Two Days"

Turkey Feathers

"How many turkey feathers does it take to make an ancient blanket?" (Via H.R.)

Hsieh Forbes Column: When The Doctor Becomes A Patient

My latest Forbes piece is now out: "When The Doctor Becomes A Patient: My Thanks For US Health Care".

I offer some post-Thanksgiving gratitude for the many good things of the US health system that I experienced during my recent bout of septic olecranon bursitis.

 

Legacy Intel Programs On New Mac M1 Machines

"Is Apple silicon ready?"

And another list of Intel programs that might not run on the new M1 Apple machines.

Lotsa Tabs

New Macbook Air can handle 650+ open tabs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Admin note: Posting will be lighter than usual the rest of this week and likely much of next week due to external obligations. 

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!

Mystery Monolith

"The Utah monolith probably wasn't the work of aliens, but it's still a mystery"

Making Diamonds

"Scientists produce rare diamonds in minutes at room temperature". (Via H.R.)

Kid Internet Culture For Adults

"Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide To Kid Culture: Cabin Fever Edition"

Mac Mini Review

Ars Technica: "Mac mini and Apple Silicon M1 review: Not so crazy after all". (Via H.R.)

Pricy Batman

"First Batman Comic Sells for Record $1.5 Million"

 

Bad Passwords

"200 Worst Passwords of 2020"

Synthetic Microswimmers

"Tiny version of USS Voyager sheds light on physics of microswimmers". (Via H.R.)

NZ Election Fraud

"New Zealand discovers 1,500 fraudulent votes... in an election on birds"

Contronyms

"25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites".

And a bunch more.

Daring Fireball On iPhone 12 Mini

Jon Gruber (Daring Fireball) really likes the iPhone 12 Mini.

What Is a Particle?

"What Is a Particle?"

Lotsa Legos

"At 9,036 Pieces, the Roman Colosseum Is Officially the Largest Lego Set Ever". (Via H.R.)

 

 

Digital Vaccine Tokens

"How Ticketmaster Plans to Check Your Vaccine Status for Concerts"

Principia Originals

"Historical detectives discover more first editions of Isaac Newton's Principia". (Via H.R.)

Chili Power

"Live Long And Eat Chili Peppers? Cardiologists Report Sweet Results"

Cat Translator

"MeowTalk app translates cat's 'language' for pet owners". (Via H.R.)

Uncertainty About Holes

"Q: What Is a Hole? A: We're Not Sure!"

 

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual the rest of this week due to external obligations.

Earth Sucks

"What Would We Experience If Earth Spontaneously Turned Into A Black Hole?"

Routing Around Censorship

"Porn ban drives extraordinary spike in VPN usage"

Undersea Navigation

"GPS and water don't mix. So scientists have found a new way to navigate under the sea". (Via H.R.)