The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
The 5 Ugly Lessons Hiding in Every Superhero Movie
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-ugly-lessons-hiding-in-every-superhero-movie/
I haven’t read Cracked in a while (work is actually taking up most of my time, thankfully!) but went over there this morning as my subconscious works on a problem …
Trust your memory? Maybe you shouldn’t
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/18/health/lifeswork-loftus-memory-malleability/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
I talk about my thoughts on the uselessness of human memory here and when I read the article linked above I found a whole lot of parallels. I was particularly interested in the …
Washington gets explicit: its ‘war on terror’ is permanent
Senior Obama officials tell the US Senate: the ‘war’, in limitless form, will continue for ‘at least’ another decade – or two
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/17/endless-war-on-terror-obama
I almost didn’t blog on this, it is …
Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
The Illuminati were amateurs. The second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy: There’s no price the big banks can’t fix
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/everything-is-rigged-the-biggest-financial-scandal-yet-20130425
Somehow I missed this article and …
It’s Time to Talk about the Burgeoning Robot Middle Class
How will a mass influx of robots affect human employment?
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514861/its-time-to-talk-about-the-burgeoning-robot-middle-class/
I am sure that this article is relevant, but not sure that it will have any impact. ‘Robots’ (really, …
Report questions benefits of salt reduction
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/14/report-questions-benefits-of-salt-reduction/?hpt=hp_bn13
Earlier I talked about the ‘deadly’ nature of salt (sodium chloride, the stuff that makes food so tastee) but mentioned I was far from convinced that the rather hysterical proclamations were scientifically valid. …
Student Debt and the Crushing of the American Dream
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/student-debt-and-the-crushing-of-the-american-dream/
I have waxed on the subject of student loans a number of times (see here, here, here and here for just a few examples). When the student loan …
Printing Electronics Just Got Easier
A new technique developed by researchers in China allows easier printing of electronic components onto paper.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130509-paper-printed-circuits-electronics-technology-science/
I think the next decade is going to be as eye popping as the last quarter century (in …
Crime and Privacy
http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/crime_and_privacy/
I got to admit that Scott makes an interesting argument for more == less. For those too lazy to read the article, here is his summary:
…In general, whenever privacy is lost in a democracy, it
The bad joke called ‘the FISA court’ shows how a ‘drone court’ would work
Newly released data show that the government submitted 1,789 eavesdropping requests last year, and none was rejected
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/03/fisa-court-rubber-stamp-drones
More ‘droning’ on about the police state. I …