PIED TYPE
SciTech
Facebook: Still not your friend
Facebook has been in the news a lot lately with its upcoming IPO and speculation about the company’s worth and future profitability. It reminds me all over again how much I dislike and distrust Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. FB may or may not be any worse than all those other entities … Continue reading
That beautiful blue marble called Home
More eye candy for those who can’t get enough space pictures. I can’t explain the technology on this one; there’s more about it over on the Huffington Post, and more images, too. (And their video is bigger.) Enjoy.
Cybersecurity Act of 2012: A distinction without a difference
The cybersecurity issue won’t die. But then, who thought it would? The government is determined to save the country from the evils of the Internet by limiting our privacy on it — one way or another. The House passed CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Security and Protection Act, and Pres. Obama issued a statement opposing it. … Continue reading
More on that wind map
Just a postscript to my post about weather watching: I just discovered by that you can zoom in on the wind map and see more cities. I got curious about a spot with no wind on today’s map and when I accidentally clicked on it, I zoomed in and “Salt Lake City” appeared. It seems … Continue reading
CISPA: Sacrificing our rights in order to protect them
As an American citizen, a woman, and a heavy user of the Internet, I feel I am under constant assault by my own government. There has been an ongoing stream of legislation and regulation in recent years with the sole purpose of giving the government more rights while whittling away at mine. The latest volley … Continue reading
And I thought windy landings in Oklahoma were hairy!
I just saw this on CNN. It’s not new (shame on CNN) but nevertheless … Eek! (Note, Apr. 27: My bad. I picked up the wrong video. This old one from 2009 was shot at the same airport and is very similar. Scroll down to the comments section to see the new video from CNN.)
Shuttle symbolism
I didn’t post anything Tuesday as I watched reports of the space shuttle Discovery being flown to and landing in Washington, D.C. I was too deeply saddened. Partly because all those people on the East Coast were getting to see it while once again the center of the country was left out. But mostly because … Continue reading
I’m a weather watcher
I’m a weather watcher. Always have been. It may well be because I grew up in Oklahoma, where keeping an eye on the sky, especially this time of year, is in one’s best interest and because the sky is often the most interesting scenery. But regardless, I watch the sky, the forecast, the current conditions. … Continue reading
I know you think you know what you see but what you see is not what you think
I’ve always been intrigued by optical illusions. This one is a new twist on an old standard. Isn’t it great? For more impossible objects and illusions like this, mosey on over to Funzug.
Wanted: A Farewell Tour for the space shuttles
As I was doing the dishes last night, I listened to the TV in the other room. They were talking about how NASA’s last three shuttles are being prepared for their final piggyback flights to the cities where they will be permanently housed and about how excited the people in those cities are about the … Continue reading
Skyrim … doh!
*** Spoiler Alert *** While other people were engrossed in All Things Superbowl, I was playing Skyrim. I almost wish I hadn’t. At level 34, I was feeling pretty strong and headed out to hunt dragons. Long story short, I ended up pursuing Alduin, the top dog … er, dragon. One thing led to another … Continue reading
Study correlates low IQ with racism, conservatism
The Huffington Post headline reads: “Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism” and the story says, “The study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood.” The study’s lead author Gordon Hodson said: … Continue reading
At last: Reverse robocalls
Apparently I’m the last person in the world to hear about an outfit called Reverse Robocall. But it seems it provides a way for you to place your own robocalls to supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). A story on Ars Technica has all the details and links. … Continue reading
A Skyrim situation
This blog probably won’t be getting much love this week. In what apparently seems hilarious to the non-family members who hear about it, my son and I gave each other “Skyrim” for Christmas. It’s an Xbox video game. And no, I don’t think they’re so much amused by the coincidence of the mutual gifting as … Continue reading
Technology lets Santa make ‘personal’ phone calls
I don’t know how well publicized it has been, but there’s a Google website out there that let’s you send a personalized phone call from Santa to the person of your choice. Children are the obvious recipients for such calls, but you are limited only by your imagination, as demonstrated by one ABC reporter. The … Continue reading
Unidentified signal disables openers on 40 garage doors
Conspiracy theorists will have fun with this story. It seems in one Denver neighborhood, the garage door openers on 40 different homes in a half-mile area have been disabled by some sort of radio signal. The homes were all built by the same builder and all have the same type of opener. So far no … Continue reading
Plan B: Politics trumps science
Something disturbing happened in Washington this week. No, it wasn’t election related. It wasn’t even Congress related. It was a single individual, Katherine Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, deciding to overrule the FDA and its determination that Plan B, an emergency “morning after” contraceptive, is safe to be sold without a prescription to … Continue reading
Got apophenia?
Today is 11/11/11 or 11.11.11 or 11-11-11. It’s lovely to look at. A palindrome even. But there’s nothing special about the date other than its interesting appearance. The apocalypse is not scheduled for today. Thinking otherwise, tempting as it is, means you’ve got apophenia. Apophenia is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in … Continue reading
When not to test an emergency alert system
There’s an interesting confluence of events occurring next week — the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and the flyby of an aircraft-carrier–sized asteroid a mere 200,000 miles overhead. That’s closer than the moon, folks. I’ve already concluded that although the numerous announcements about the EAS test are designed to warn everyone about … Continue reading
The downside of gaming
Frustrating afternoon. Somebody hacked my Xbox account, bought $50 worth of Microsoft points, and got away with 4,000 ill-gotten points plus some 400 or so I had residing on the account. Bank of America, the bank you love to hate, was somehow alert enough to pick up on the activity, consider it suspicious, and call … Continue reading
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