I worked with Blaise last year, starting at about the time he took over as architect on Virtual Earth (now Bing Maps). I claim no credit for this work, but I’m proud just the same.
Update: my Israeli friends tell me this was a spoof.
Originally:
Here’s prime example of technology without context. What happens when a kid brandishing a fake gun, shooting at enemies only he can see, goes out in public and gets shot by police?
The Lancet finally disavowed the original scientifically proven fraud that started the whole "vaccines cause autism" fiasco, which has undoubtedly cost childrens’ lives and done nothing to lower the rate of autism.
The author of the study had a financial interest in his so called findings. No one could reproduce those findings, though at the behest of concerned parents, many tried. And by now everyone of any integrity has disavowed the entire episode.
By that I mean to say that Jenny McCarthy claims the whole thing is a well orchestrated plot against the good doctor Wakefield who promoted the original autism/vaccine link. Yes, every scientist working for peanuts in terms of public money has decided conspire to ruin the life of one innocent man who stood to make considerable money from his so-called discovery. Brilliant plan! (reminds me of one not-too-bright former co-worker of mine who claimed the whole global warming debate was a devious plot by scientists to make more money).
Is it possible to issue a class action lawsuit against people who cause mass public stupidity leading to demonstrable harm? In my mind, it’s not much different than the fire in a theater scenario, especially when there is no fire.
This is the best picture of the new iPad I could find.
Apple’s new business plan may be to sue themselves for trademark infringement against the confusingly similar name iPod. Yes, it is pretty much a 4x iPhone/iPodTouch, leading me to wonder if the best name would have actually been the iQuad…
I have an iPhone for now, but I’ll wait a while for any tablet. The form factor isn’t quite right, and I really want a real [open] PC in my tablet, not an overgrown locked-down single-tasking phone. 1024×768 is just not going to cut it as an e-reader when every other display in my life is 1920 pixels or higher. I’m sure people who buy them will swear by the improved calendar and PIM software and maybe even think the e-reader function kicks ass if they squint enough, but that’s not enough to justify inserting a new device into my list of carryables.
I’ve said for a while that Apple is Microsoft’s informal external design arm. But this shows that people can learn both positive and negative lessons from Apple’s innovation.
I thought I could avoid it, but after reading my friend Raph’s thoughtful review, I had to chime in too. Spoilers, etc..
As if that wasn’t concerning enough, Fox out does itself with another greater than 100% scientific poll result:
I’ve finally had a free day to extract my C++ runtime type system and make it stand-alone. I’ve uploaded it here (17KB zip) for anyone interested. Feel free to take it for whatever purpose and improve it. I’m offering it completely "as is," meaning I don’t intend to make changes or offer support. [Read more →]
It’s fascinating when an entire country succumbs to a collective belief that is provably false everywhere else. One wonders if the rules that govern reality are flexible in this way, providing exceptions to physics, chemistry, cosmology if a certain density of people believe something (belief in this phenomenon could explain fundamentalism at a psychological level).
Take South Korea and the famed "Fan Death" phenomena. Cheap plastic electric fans can barely cut off your fingers if you remove the protective grating and stick them right in the blades (don’t try this). But the idea that electric fans can remove oxygen from a room is utterly ridiculous.
The only realistic risk to consider from fans is that they don’t actually lower your temperature. They just increase evaporation rates from your skin to cool you off. In extreme temperatures, they’re no substitute for really cooling down and staying hydrated.
Aside: There’s a trick I discovered as a kid that can turn an ordinary fan into a real cooler, which could be fun for your kids next summer (use your own judgment for safety considerations, and do not try this within X miles of the South Korean Fan Death zone).
Build an air-tent by tucking a large cloth bedsheet (or several sheets duck-taped together, depending on the bed size) around the edges of a bed. Tape the foot end of the sheet around the fan, such that the fan blows in and inflates the air-tent. Leave enough slack in the tent that you can comfortably sleep inside, sit up, move around, etc… I didn’t do anything elaborate for getting in and out, just untuck and tuck the sheet as needed. I think cheap flat sheets work best, but try fitted if you like.
I believe you’ll find an actual temperature drop inside the air tent. I figure it’s because it slightly increases pressure (pV=nRT) for air entering the tent and decreases it for air escaping through pores in the sheet, carrying heat away as it re-expands. It’s a simple heat pump.
In fact, as a kid, I needed to sleep with a winter blanket inside my little air tent all summer, it was that cold. I did not run out of oxygen, but it sucks if the power goes out. And be warned, unlike real A/Cs, it doesn’t pump the heat outside, just away from your bed.