Thursday, March 30, 2017
Teen Girls Are Now Having Hobbyhorse Competitions And That's Fine
I love odd hobbies and the people who love them. Especially when the hobby is horses...
http://deadspin.com/teen-girls-are-now-having-hobbyhorse-competitions-and-t-1793785640
Monday, March 27, 2017
Walking Bike in Action
Spider-bike, spider-bike does whatever a spider might
Can it climb up wall?
No it can't spider-bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA6GSD4OOkw
Saturday, March 25, 2017
I paint little dudes...
I paint little dudes...
Originally shared by Blue Gargantua
Tackling my pile of lead...er plastic. In this case, I finished painting up the starter forces in the Gates of Antares box set.
Originally shared by Blue Gargantua
Tackling my pile of lead...er plastic. In this case, I finished painting up the starter forces in the Gates of Antares box set.
Title
Tackling my pile of lead...er plastic. In this case, I finished painting up the starter forces in the Gates of Antares box set.
You're Hired!
A policy position I am strongly in favor of -- a Federal Jobs Guarantee.
http://democracyjournal.org/magazine/44/youre-hired/
Guided By The Beauty Of Our Weapons
This is a longer piece, but I was captivated by it and there are some great quotes. Worth spending the time on.
"Improving the quality of debate, shifting people’s mindsets from transmission to collaborative truth-seeking, is a painful process. It has to be done one person at a time, it only works on people who are already almost ready for it, and you will pick up far fewer warm bodies per hour of work than with any of the other methods. But in an otherwise-random world, even a little purposeful action can make a difference. Convincing 2% of people would have flipped three of the last four US presidential elections. And this is a capacity to win-for-reasons-other-than-coincidence that you can’t build any other way."
http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/24/guided-by-the-beauty-of-our-weapons/
Friday, March 24, 2017
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Case-Deaton just published a new paper looking more closely at the rise in mortality rates among middle-aged white...
Case-Deaton just published a new paper looking more closely at the rise in mortality rates among middle-aged white Americans.
The short summary (and I haven't read the whole paper myself), is that middle-aged white Americans who don't have a college degree have been losing out economically. More importantly, they aren't doing as well for themselves now as their parents did. So there's a sense of failure that drives a feeling of hopelessness and despair.
The paper also suggests that there won't be any quick fixes. This has been building up for over 20 years so even if the government was inclined to aggressively attack this problem, it's a lot of trauma to undo.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/6_casedeaton.pdf
The short summary (and I haven't read the whole paper myself), is that middle-aged white Americans who don't have a college degree have been losing out economically. More importantly, they aren't doing as well for themselves now as their parents did. So there's a sense of failure that drives a feeling of hopelessness and despair.
The paper also suggests that there won't be any quick fixes. This has been building up for over 20 years so even if the government was inclined to aggressively attack this problem, it's a lot of trauma to undo.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/6_casedeaton.pdf
Unpaywall: The Browser Add-on That Finds (Legal) Free Copies Of Academic Papers You See As You Browse The Web
If you do a lot of academic work and have difficulty accessing research papers, here's a tool that may help:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170319/02251236949/unpaywall-browser-add-on-that-finds-legal-free-copies-academic-papers-you-see-as-you-browse-web.shtml
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Andi McCollam -- Of possible interest to you.
Andi McCollam -- Of possible interest to you.
(and perhaps some others interested in health care/technology as well)
http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/03/vista-computer-history-va-conspiracy-000367
(and perhaps some others interested in health care/technology as well)
http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/03/vista-computer-history-va-conspiracy-000367
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
No, seriously, not everything needs to be connected to the Internet:
No, seriously, not everything needs to be connected to the Internet:
As a professional bug hunter, Henderson couldn't resist looking under the app's hood. He quickly realized that everything about security in the world of connected cars revolves around the first owner. They literally haven't thought through what happens when someone sells it.
Henderson tested four major auto manufacturers and found they all use apps that allow previous owners to access the cars from a mobile device. In his talk, he was careful not to tell us who his car's manufacturer is. And he discovered that only the manufacturer can remove users from its car.
The new car owners remain unaware. "There's nothing on the dashboard that tells you 'the following people have access to the car.'"
https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/24/how-used-cars-became-a-security-nightmare/
As a professional bug hunter, Henderson couldn't resist looking under the app's hood. He quickly realized that everything about security in the world of connected cars revolves around the first owner. They literally haven't thought through what happens when someone sells it.
Henderson tested four major auto manufacturers and found they all use apps that allow previous owners to access the cars from a mobile device. In his talk, he was careful not to tell us who his car's manufacturer is. And he discovered that only the manufacturer can remove users from its car.
The new car owners remain unaware. "There's nothing on the dashboard that tells you 'the following people have access to the car.'"
https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/24/how-used-cars-became-a-security-nightmare/
Look, I'm not a Luddite. I like technology and I also recognize that The Internet of Things is a complete shitshow.
Look, I'm not a Luddite. I like technology and I also recognize that The Internet of Things is a complete shitshow.
Also, at least it's not an American company this time.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/14/520123490/vibrator-maker-to-pay-millions-over-claims-it-secretly-tracked-use
Also, at least it's not an American company this time.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/14/520123490/vibrator-maker-to-pay-millions-over-claims-it-secretly-tracked-use
Monday, March 13, 2017
New York Judge Grants Threesome Participants Shared Custody Rights
Of interest to poly folks. The underlying story here is sad as domestic affairs often are, but the judicial ruling could have a lot of repercussions.
http://jezebel.com/new-york-judge-grants-threesome-participants-shared-cus-1793199794
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Jail sucks. But if you've got the money it can suck less...a lot less...
Jail sucks. But if you've got the money it can suck less...a lot less...
Monterey Park even offers the option of serving time in half-day increments, for $51. “We just basically let them book their time,” said D.J. Casey, the lead records clerk for Monterey Park’s police department. “Sometimes they call and cancel and say, ‘My kid’s sick.’"
Most of these are DUIs and related minor offenses, but even felons can get an upgrade if they can afford it (though I doubt they get to schedule their time for these particular crimes).
To be clear, I think that US jails/prisons shouldn't be hellholes and I also think you shouldn't be able to buy your way to improved incarceration.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/03/09/afraid-of-jail-buy-an-upgrade
Monterey Park even offers the option of serving time in half-day increments, for $51. “We just basically let them book their time,” said D.J. Casey, the lead records clerk for Monterey Park’s police department. “Sometimes they call and cancel and say, ‘My kid’s sick.’"
Most of these are DUIs and related minor offenses, but even felons can get an upgrade if they can afford it (though I doubt they get to schedule their time for these particular crimes).
To be clear, I think that US jails/prisons shouldn't be hellholes and I also think you shouldn't be able to buy your way to improved incarceration.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/03/09/afraid-of-jail-buy-an-upgrade
Is It Better to Be Poor in Bangladesh or the Mississippi Delta?
An interesting interview with Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton. A lot of the work that got him the Nobel Prize was co-authored with his wife, Anne Case. Deaton himself seems pretty quick to bring up his wife's contributions to his work. It's too bad they weren't interviewed together.
However, in looking up his bio on wikipedia it mentions that Deaton and Case enjoy the opera and trout fishing. Which is just brings a delightful set of images to mind.
Anyway, the interview is thought-provoking.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/angus-deaton-qa/518880/
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Title
This may not be the greatest book ever, but it's a lot of fun:
"But crypt slimes, not unlike people, rarely reacted kindly when someone jammed a fist inside them."
Eames, Nicholas. Kings of the Wyld
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
No, seriously, whoever is doing Cookie Monster these days just gets the character.
No, seriously, whoever is doing Cookie Monster these days just gets the character. Although Frank Oz still does him from time to time, it's probably David Rudman in this...utterly delightful video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2D2MlLKnbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2D2MlLKnbM
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