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

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Linkee-poo if I don't get some shelter oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away

"The first step, Sadler says, is to teach Socratically (there's the Greeks again), by asking questions and having students think out loud. This works much better than lecturing." Part of better learning is knowing where you went wrong. It's easier in some cases than it is with others. Sometimes people just remember incorrect information.

So, there was a security panel I was on once where the moderator asked what we felt was the major threat to our privacy. I said RFID tags (and I still believe that, they're ubiquitous and cheep), Corey Doctorow answered "linked mega-databases" and I see his point. One thing we didn't discuss, "Do we need to be worried about our phones tracking our every move?" (link is to the podcast "Note to Self") Because it may be, and what you say may be going into those databases, and people may be using that data already, and it may not be as tin-foil hat crazy as you think it is. Oh, and a link to the "If You're Not Paranoid, You're Crazy" article referenced.

Also pointed to because I've been recently reminded of a different type of craft that I once had and while I have that exciting feel of jumping back into something I was good at, I'm also shocked at the level at which some of the old habits are still ingrained even after intentionally trying to purge them.

"The 'state of the climate' report, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa(sic)) with input from hundreds of scientists from 62 countries, confirmed there was a 'toppling of several symbolic mileposts' in heat, sea level rise and extreme weather in 2015." We're boned. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

"A mass die-off of coral and other sea animals discovered this week on a reef in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary stunned and saddened scientists who have viewed it as one of the healthiest coral reefs in the world." Everything is fine. We're all fine. (Grokked for Paolo Bacigalupi)

"The first company to apply for a commercial space mission beyond Earth orbit has just received approval from the federal government. As part of the Google Lunar X Prize competition, Moon Express intends to launch a small, single-stage spacecraft to land on the Moon by the end of 2017." I can get you the Moon for wholesale. (Grokked from John)

So, how's that "monetary untraceability" of bitcoin working out? "A bitcoin exchange in Hong Kong has been hit by a major theft: nearly 120,000 units of the digital currency were stolen." That was about $72 million, before the value of bitcoin took a nose-dive. Ah, who could have seen that coming?

Have you ever thought, you know what would be nice or relaxing just about now, if I could just bask in the ambient sound glow of my favorite Star Trek series? Whelp, there you go. (Grokked from John)

This isn't the first time the GOP has gone after veterans and their families (you know, other than denying the VA their requested budget year after year). "So if veterans and their bereaved families have been fair game for the GOP for more than a decade, why is Trump's attack on Khan being denounced within his own party? According to Robin, it's the same reason the GOP eventually turned on Senator Joe McCarthy: because he'd become a loose cannon that was doing the party more harm than good."

Okay, he may have misheard. Dear Trumpster, you're supposed to "kiss" babies, not "kick" babies (out of the speech).

And continuing with the "unprecedented" presidential election, "'Yes, I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president,' Obama said in response to a question from a reporter during a news conference… Obama then pivoted to question why Republican leaders, who have denounced Trump's response to a handful of issues, have still endorsed him." "Obama added that his criticism is more fundamental than policy differences. 'I recognize [the Republicans] profoundly disagree with myself and Hillary Clinton on tax policy or certain elements of foreign policy. But there have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed with, but I didn't have a doubt they could function as president. I think I was right and Mitt Romney and John McCain were wrong on certain policy issues, but I never thought they couldn't do the job…'"

"MSNBC host Joe Scarborough reported on the air Wednesday morning that when Donald Trump met for a briefing with an unnamed foreign policy expert, the GOP nominee allegedly asked, 'Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?' several times." Just in case you were wondering what "unfit" meant.

"Meg Whitman, a Hewlett Packard executive and Republican fund-raiser, said Tuesday that she would support Hillary Clinton for president and give a “substantial” contribution to her campaign in order to stop Donald J. Trump, whom she berated as a threat to American democracy." (Grokked from Dan)

Tweet of my heart: ‏@Wheeler One idea for writing a good Harley Quinn is to adopt the idea that women are people. This also works for writing everything else. (Grokked from Annalee Flower Horn)

Double dip: @imchriskelly Twelve years later, Humayun Khan, a hero who died saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in Iraq, may end up saving all of our lives too. (Grokked form Ellen Kushner)

No comments: