I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Weekend Linkee-poo pours one more for the road

Feedly decided to dump all my links more than 8 hours old. Wasn't that special. So I lost a lot of what looked to be good links. Here's some I've been gathering, though. Hope you enjoy them.

Recycling night for the Lovecraft household.

Because who doesn't have a spare $20,000 and 1000 hours to build a half-scale version of a tie-fighter in their garage. (Grokked from Tor.com)

Stone coffin found at burial site of Richard III. More than likely contains some knight burial (as the remains of Richard III were positively identified). But my money is on a Richard III mini-me. (Grokked from Mrs. Tad)

What I'll miss about the end of print media. If you've ever seen me discuss the "end of print" in person you may have noticed that quirky smile on my face. That's because as a designer I've been dealing with "the death of print" since 1990. Is print reduced? Yes. Is print what it used to be? No. Will print every go away? They keep saying it will, but we keep printing stuff and distributing it as hard copy.

Do no evil starts at home. "It turns out that, last year, Google hired a conservative former Congresswoman, Susan Molinari, to head up its lobby shop in DC. Since then, Google has been quietly passing donations to some of the most extreme politicians and right-wing causes" (when it comes to climate change). (Grokked from Morgan J Lock, I think)

Remember Fukushima? Yea, still a problem. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"A new NBER working paper… finds that the population in iodine-deficient areas saw IQs rise by a full standard deviation, which is 15 points, after iodized salt was introduced." We don't need no stinkin' regulation and guberment telling us what to do. If I want a goiter, by God, I should be able to have one. BTW, "iodine-deficient areas" covers a large area. (Grokked from Dan)

"But what's so remarkable about the Burj Khalifa elevators is something that visitors neither felt nor saw: the elevators' brain. Capable of predicting human behavior with eerie precision, the ultra-intelligent elevators highlight a new direction in vertical transport." And let's look this up in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. "Not unnaturally, many elevators imbued with intelligence and precognition became terribly frustrated with the mindless business of going up and down, up and down, experimented briefly with the notion of going sideways, as a sort of existential protest, demanded participation in the decision-making process and finally took to squatting in basements sulking… An impoverished hitch-hiker visiting any planets in the Sirius star system these days can pick up easy money working as a counsellor for neurotic elevators." Hahahahaha… oh, wait. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Someone put signs up on some San Diego highways saying "Speed Enforced by Drones." And it wasn't the people responsible for putting signs up (which, BTW, is a crime). Also, those kind of signs (appears to be the same quality as regular road signs) aren't cheap to make, so someone put some money into this. I feel like Captain Louis Renault, "Round up the usual (conspiracy nut) subjects." (Pointed to by Dan)

"(As) our anonymous steward’s white coat reveal, the steward role was taken very seriously: they played an important role in an elite world. This would change with… the introduction of the female flight attendant during World War II. By the ’50s, many airlines would only hire women and the occupation would become increasingly feminized and trivialized, just like the once all-male activity of cheerleading." My wife and I have a habit of watching old movies. Another thing I've noticed is that prior to the 50's most wait staff in "restaurants" are all male. Women were "cigarette girls" or someone who brought your drink from the bar (maybe, most of them were also male, but if it was a club that person could be female). It was only when you got to the diner level that women were taking orders and serving food. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"However, there is much work that still needs to be done, and this work is hindered by a lack of trained scientists." Strange how that happens when you're promoting Creationism. But, hey "Even now, (Institute for Creation Research) is making exciting discoveries in the fields of biology and geology, and we have started new research initiatives in the field of astronomy." Funny how they can do all that without trained scientists. (Pointed to by Dan)

"These data leave no question about whether voter ID laws have a disparate impact on non-white voters. In that sense, Democratic fears and Republican hopes are confirmed. But the North Carolina data also suggests that voter ID laws are unlikely to flip the outcome of a national election, even if it does have an objectionable, disparate impact on non-white and Democratic-leaning voters." Voter ID laws, brought to you by the people who want every vote to count. But only theirs, not yours. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Well, isn't this guy a pip. A police chief in PA goes certifiably nuts. This is a guy who gives the police a bad name. And that his local elected officials support him isn't all that strange. They're either just as nutty or afraid of him. That's the way these sort of things go.

"TxDOT executive John Barton… announced that 12 short, farm-to-market road segments are in such rotten shape that they’re not worth repairing. TxDOT… plans to convert 83 miles of paved roads into gravel roads. Their speed limits would then be reduced from a typical 55 mph to 30 mph…" I'm sure some freemarket solution will present itself. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Tweets of anger: @steve_buchheit @JackWelchMBA You 2 can degrade a world leading tech company until it no longer can make its own product. But man that Capital division, eh? (my reply to promoted "@JackWelchMBA "Leaders aren't born, they're made.” - Jack Welch. Become a better leader today.) Hey, Jack (yeah, I know it isn't actually you), real "Leaders" don't have to pay to promote their message, just sayin'.

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