Roman Concrete

"Noblewoman's tomb reveals new secrets of ancient Rome's highly durable concrete". (Via H.R.)

Malicious DeepFake Update

"A horrifying new AI app swaps women into porn videos with a click".

Sneaky Vulnerability

"How cut-and-pasted programming is putting the internet and society at risk"

Alexa Advice

"Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to touch live plug with penny"

New #1 Website

"Google is dethroned as world's most popular website"

The new top 5 list for 2021 (#GetOffMyLawn):

1. TikTok
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Microsoft
5. Apple

 

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Again, posting will be light the rest of the week due to external obligations.

Disruption History

"A History of Disruption, From Fringe Ideas to Social Change"

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

Video: "I Asked 64,182 People About 'Jingle Bells, Batman Smells'. Here's What I Found Out." #HoHoHo #MerryChristmas 

Dinosaur Embryo

"Perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo found in China"

 

Moore's Law Marches On

"2D Semiconductors Stalk Silicon at the Edge of Moore's Law". (Via H.R.)

Crypto Benefits

"We All Need to Stop Only Seeing the Dark Side of Crypto"

Michael Dorn

"Michael Dorn is the most prolific Star Trek actor of all time"

Snowball Fights In Art

"Snowball Fights in Art". 

I especially liked some of the Asian artwork. And the photograph, "Photograph of Princeton students after a snowball fight between freshman and sophomores, 1893"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory Storage In Brains

"Where is Memory Information Stored in the Brain?"

Within the scientific research community, memory information in the brain is commonly believed to be stored in the synapse - a hypothesis famously attributed to psychologist Donald Hebb. 

However, there is a growing minority who postulate that memory is stored inside the neuron at the molecular (RNA or DNA) level -- an alternative postulation known as the cell-intrinsic hypothesis, coined by psychologist Randy Gallistel. In this paper, we review a selection of key experimental evidence from both sides of the argument...

Joining The Jets

"We're Sorry, You Can't Join Our Street Gang Because You Don't Know Ballet".

Obligatory link to classic SNL skit, "Cobras And Panthers":

Real Markets For Virtual Goods

"Nike just bought a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers 'for the metaverse'"

Musk And Time

"Elon Musk Is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year"

I'm not an uncritical Elon Musk fanboy. 

 

But I am glad to see Time Magazine giving this year's recognition to someone whose primary claim to fame is what they've achieved in the private sphere, as opposed to how good or bad they've been as a political ruler over others.

 

From the article: 

He’s a player in robots and solar, cryptocurrency and climate, brain-computer implants to stave off the menace of artificial intelligence and underground tunnels to move people and freight at super speeds.

Continued Light Posting

Admin note: Again, posting may be light through the month of December due to a variety of external obligations.

Light Posting Notice

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

Business Phrasebook

"The business phrasebook: A short guide to what your colleagues really mean".

Here's an excerpt:

 

More Metaverse

"Why the metaverse is more than Mark Zuckerberg's dream"

Tiny Camera

"Researchers shrink camera to the size of a salt grain". (Via G.F.)

While a traditional camera uses a series of curved glass or plastic lenses to bend light rays into focus, the new optical system relies on a technology called a metasurface, which can be produced much like a computer chip. Just half a millimeter wide, the metasurface is studded with 1.6 million cylindrical posts, each roughly the size of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Each post has a unique geometry, and functions like an optical antenna. Varying the design of each post is necessary to correctly shape the entire optical wavefront. With the help of machine learning-based algorithms, the posts’ interactions with light combine to produce the highest-quality images and widest field of view for a full-color metasurface camera developed to date.

 

Reproducing Robots Update

CNN: "World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say"

Hsieh Forbes Column: Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions

My latest Forbes column is out: "Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions"

Superbug Killers

Wired: "An AI Finds Superbug-Killing Potential in Human Proteins"

Real Floating City

"South Korea hopes to build sustainable floating city by 2025"

Faking Old City Streets

Video: "How City Streets Are Transformed To Look Old In Movies"

Santa Shortage

Tight labor market for heavy-set older men, results in a "Santa Shortage".

Year Of Meals For $150

"Meet the Guy Who Spends Just $150 a Year to Eat All His Meals at Six Flags". (Via Gus Van Horn.)

Employee Monitoring

"Is your company secretly monitoring your work at home?"

Phishing Multi-Factor Authentication

"Why Is the Majority of Our MFA So Phishable?"

Light Posting

Admin note: Posting will be light or non-existent the rest of the week because of the US Thanksgiving holiday.

Bionic Hand Update

"Bionic Hand Gives Amputees Sense of Touch". (Via H.R.)

Plants Vs. Prey

"Time Lapse of Carnivorous Plants and Their Prey Preparing for Battle".

Also: "[N]ever fear, a tender disclaimer in the video’s description: 'All insects captured by the plants have been released.'"

New Mineral

"New Mineral Discovered in Deep-Earth Diamond":

A diamond that formed deep in the earth’s mantle contains a mineral never seen before in nature. The discovery is a rare glimpse into the deep mantle and may help reveal new information about the structure of the planet at depths of more than 660 kilometers...

The mineral, calcium silicate perovskite, only forms under the incredibly high pressures that occur deep in the earth...

 

Physics And Counterfeiting

"A physicist studied Ben Franklin's clever tricks to foil currency counterfeiters". (Via H.R.)

Chatting With Whales?

"Are We on the Verge of Chatting with Whales?"

More Metaverse

"Don't mock the metaverse"

Communicating Via Thoughts

"Brain Implant Translates Paralyzed Man's Thoughts Into Text With 94% Accuracy". (Via H.R.)

Drone Attack

Unsuccessful attempted assassination using explosive-laden drones.

Singularity And Metaverse

"Singularity Is Fast Approaching, and It Will Happen First in the Metaverse"

Controlling Super-Intelligent AIs

"Calculations Suggest It'll Be Impossible to Control a Super-Intelligent AI".

Not quite sure how much to be worried about this.

Link to original paper in Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research: "Superintelligence Cannot be Contained: Lessons from Computability Theory"

Alzheimer's Vaccine Update

I really hope this pans out: "Alzheimer's Disease Nasal Vaccine To Be Tested At Brigham And Women's Hospital". (Via R.T.)

Cold Case Bank Robbery Solved

"US bank robber identified after decades-long hunt":

According to the Marshal Service, Conrad had allegedly told friends of his plans to rob the bank and boasted about how easy it would be to do. He was reportedly obsessed with the 1968 Steve McQueen heist film, The Thomas Crown Affair, and watched it more than a dozen times during his preparation for the robbery. 

Crypto Tax Rules

"The infrastructure bill makes crypto tax-reporting failures a felony"

Teleportation

"Why Can't People Teleport?"

Linking Robots

"Ant-inspired quadruped robots link together to overcome obstacles"

Relativity And Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Nature: "Experimental relativistic zero-knowledge proofs". (Via G.F.)

In this work, we report the experimental realization of such a zero-knowledge protocol involving two separated verifier–prover pairs. Security is enforced via the physical principle of special relativity, and no computational assumption (such as the existence of one-way functions) is required. Our implementation exclusively relies on off-the-shelf equipment and works at both short (60 m) and long distances (≥400 m) in about one second. 

Kinetic Launch

"SpinLaunch's rocket-free kinetic launch system conducts first test flight". (Via A.A.)

Teapot Effect Solved

"Physicists say they've finally solved the teapot effect -- for real this time". (Via H.R.)

Legality Of Submerged Nation?

"Tuvalu looking at legal ways to be a state if it is submerged"

Culture Shock

America, as viewed by a newly-arrived Indian graduate student. Fascinating observations. Via A.A.

Mandatory Anti-Drunk Driving Tech

In the new "infrastructure bill" car manufacturers will be required to install technology in new vehicles to keep drunk people from driving. 

Also from the article: "The voluminous bill also requires automakers to install rear-seat reminders to alert parents if a child is left inadvertently in the back seat" and "automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings in all passenger vehicles".

VPN Alternatives

NYT: "It's Time to Stop Paying for a VPN"

Smart Kid Uses Hand Signals As Distress Sign

"Missing N.C. teen found after using TikTok hand sign alerting she was in danger"

Battery Challenge

"Cars Are Going Electric. What Happens to the Used Batteries?"

Old Machine, New OS

"Flouting Microsoft's rules, man gets Windows 11 to work on a 15-year-old PC"

Robotic Laser Weedkiller

"Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides". (Via H.R.)

Space Toilet Leak

"Leaky SpaceX toilet problem will force astronauts to use backup 'undergarments'"

Petersen On Infrastructure

"Beyond the Meme: Ever Given, Supply Chains, and the Physical World". (Via G.F.)

James Bond Health Risks

Tongue-in-cheek analysis of James Bond's health risks including poor hand-washing skills and "above-average sexual activity".

Direct link: "No time to die: An in-depth analysis of James Bond's exposure to infectious agents", Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, Volume 44, November–December 2021.

Window Washing Robots

"Skyscraper Window Washing Robots Are Here to Take Over One of Our Most Terrifying Jobs". (Via H.R.)

Hoverbike Update

"Japan startup targets supercar users with $700,000 hoverbike"

 

Bombing A Volcano

"When the U.S. dropped bombs on a volcano to save a town"

First Remote Worker

"The First Remote Worker".

For various reasons, which are described in the podcast, [Paul] Lutus was living in a cabin in the Oregon woods. Before he got the Apple II in 1976, he didn’t even have electricity -- he had to run what amounted to a 1,200 foot extension cord to a construction box that he talked the utility company into installing...

[H]is backup system was to bury floppy disks of his work in an ammo can at his cabin. He started doing that after a lightning strike reset his computer while he was working. There’s a bunch of other amusing stories as well...

(Via Gus Van Horn.)

Ars Technica On MB Pro

Ars Technica: "2021 MacBook Pro review: Yep, it's what you’ve been waiting for". (Via H.R.)

Quarterstaff Technique

"Boy Scouts' Instruction on the Quarterstaff and Other Weapons"

This martial flavor is especially evident in the movement’s early literature, such as this 1925 instruction manual that teaches scouts in the tasks necessary to earn the master-at-arms badge. The first section addresses the use of the saber, while using wooden sticks as training implements. Next is the quarterstaff, which is a useful choice, as the most accessible of improvised weapons is surely a broomstick. Leaving aside the weapons, the scouts then train in the basics of boxing, ju-jitsu, and wrestling. The result is a well-rounded combatant.

Old Software

"The 'Dune' Screenplay Was Written in MS-DOS"

Opening Titles

Video: "A Celebration of Opening Title Sequences (And Why They Need To Come Back)"

Exoplanet Update

"Signs of first planet found outside our galaxy"

FBI And Telecoms

"Here's the FBI's Internal Guide for Getting Data from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon"

Whitest White

"The whitest paint is here -- and it's the coolest. Literally."

iPod History

"20 years of the iPod: How it shuffled music and tech into a new era"

Wooden Knife

"Watch this wooden knife cut effortlessly through juicy, medium-well-done steak". (Via H.R.)

Distant Galaxies

"94% of the universe's galaxies are permanently beyond our reach"

Today, most of the universe's galaxies are already receding faster than the speed of light.

OTOH, most of them get pretty mediocre reviews on Yelp, so I wasn't planning on visiting them anyways.

Dune Universe Timeline

Video: "Full Timeline of the Dune Universe (34,000 Years)"

Death By Ransomware

WSJ: "A Hospital Hit by Hackers, a Baby in Distress: The Case of the First Alleged Ransomware Death"

Related article.

Smart Cane

"This $400 Cane Uses Autonomous Vehicle Tech to Help Guide The Visually Impaired". (Via H.R.)

Westarctica

"For the past two decades, the micronation of Westarctica has grown in prominence -- and is now using its power for something other than Antarctic domination."

I confess that I had never heart of Westarctica until now. 

Finances For The "Great Resignation"

WSJ: "How to Prepare Your Finances Before Quitting Your Job"

No Needles

"Monitoring glucose levels, no needles required". (Via Rand Simberg.)

Shatner Interview

"Captain Kirk Goes to Space: 'It's Indescribable'"

Sandpile Studies

"The Math of the Amazing Sandpile"

Nuking Asteroids

"A Last-Minute Nuke to Shatter an Incoming Asteroid Could Actually Work, Study Suggests"

Mother Of Languages

"World's languages traced back to single African mother tongue"

Fire In Microgravity

"Fire is Spherical in Microgravity"

Internet Rabbit Hole

"What useful unknown website do you wish more people knew about?"

Click through at your peril.

Punctation Is Important

"Missing Apostrophe in Facebook Post Lands a Man in Defamation Court"

At issue is the word “employees” in the post, which read: “Oh Stuart Gan!! Selling multi million $ homes in Pearl Beach but can’t pay his employees superannuation,” referring to Australia’s retirement system, in which money is paid by employers into super accounts for employees. “Shame on you Stuart!!! 2 yrs and still waiting!!!”...

On Thursday, a judge in New South Wales ruled that the lack of an apostrophe on the word “employees” could be read to suggest a “systematic pattern of conduct” by Mr. Gan’s agency rather than an accusation involving one employee. So she allowed the case to proceed...

In matters of punctuation, social media is the Wild West. In some corners of the internet, careless grammar is highly tolerated — even a badge of honor. In legal matters, however, disputed punctuation can cost millions.

COVID And Brains

"How COVID affects the brain".

Related: "Even Mild Cases of COVID May Leave a Mark on the Brain"

Remembering Names

"How to Actually Remember People's Names"

Ethical Investing?

"The thorny truth about socially responsible investing"

Wigner Crystals

"Scientists Create Material Made Entirely Out of Electrons"

Sabotaging Dancing Grannies

"China's dancing grannies: 'Stun gun' claims to solve square dancing dilemma by sabotaging the music"

Whole Brain Emulation Critique

"Whole Brain Emulation: No Progress on C. elgans After 10 Years"

Slow Motion Moths

"Witness the majesty of moths taking flight at 6,000 frames per second"

Metaverse Basics

"What is the metaverse, and do I have to care?"

Spilling The Beans

"How to Get Someone to Tell You Their Secrets, According to an Investigative Journalist"

Light Posting Notice

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

Beethoven's 10th Symphony

'"How a team of musicologists and computer scientists completed Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony"

'Google' Is Most Searched Word On Bing

BBC News: "'Google' is most searched word on Bing"