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Dark Cover, Bk 2 The DARK Files by Susan Vaughan
4 weeks ago
Friday, December 01, 2006
Lah lah lah, Meme meme meme....
Meme Tree
The concept of a "meme" refers to the most basic unit of a thought or concept that can be communicated to another person. And article in Wired talks about an experiment performed to follow the propagation of memes across the Internet.
This blog is simply a way to get on the graphical representation of that meme network as determined by the existence of the above link. :-)
The concept of a "meme" refers to the most basic unit of a thought or concept that can be communicated to another person. And article in Wired talks about an experiment performed to follow the propagation of memes across the Internet.
This blog is simply a way to get on the graphical representation of that meme network as determined by the existence of the above link. :-)
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Computing, 2016: What Won’t Be Possible? - New York Times
Computing, 2016: What Won’t Be Possible? - New York Times: "Social networks, noted Jon Kleinberg, a professor at Cornell, are pre-technological creations that sociologists have been analyzing for decades. A classic example, he noted, was the work of Stanley Milgram of Harvard, who in the 1960’s asked each of several volunteers in the Midwest to get a letter to a stranger in Boston. But the path was not direct: under the rules of the experiment, participants could send a letter only to someone they knew. The median number of intermediaries was six — hence, the term “six degrees of separation.” "
I'd heard of the "Six Degrees of Separation" idea for a long time, but I never knew the origins.
I'd heard of the "Six Degrees of Separation" idea for a long time, but I never knew the origins.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: DNA Computer Plays Complete Game of Tic-Tac-Toe
Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: DNA Computer Plays Complete Game of Tic-Tac-Toe
The human body, hell, even a bacterium, has computing capacity so vast that it makes our current level of computer power seem more like a pocket calculator from the 1980s. Our neurons, cells and even intracellular material have, in computer hardware contexts, tiny footprints and incomparable versatility. However none of this has been accessible to engineers, because while you can get a huge button the size of a finger (like those on your computer keyboard) to connect to a smaller wire, to connect to a smaller circuit (and so on (and so on (and so on))) until you pass the clicking of that button down to the smallest "circuitry" that is the stuff of DNA, no one has figured out a way to create or use collections of DNA in any way comparable to the structures of our current silicon "gates", which make up the foundation of our computer technology.
I have been following articles researching the use of this basic stuff of life for computer purposes for a few years. This article shows what appears to be a milestone in this arena. They have managed to get little puddles of DNA strands to play Tic-Tac-Toe, and win or draw every time.
This should force the vernacular to change the definition of "software". Or maybe they'll call it "squishware", though I haven't ever actually touched a puddle of DNA before.
The human body, hell, even a bacterium, has computing capacity so vast that it makes our current level of computer power seem more like a pocket calculator from the 1980s. Our neurons, cells and even intracellular material have, in computer hardware contexts, tiny footprints and incomparable versatility. However none of this has been accessible to engineers, because while you can get a huge button the size of a finger (like those on your computer keyboard) to connect to a smaller wire, to connect to a smaller circuit (and so on (and so on (and so on))) until you pass the clicking of that button down to the smallest "circuitry" that is the stuff of DNA, no one has figured out a way to create or use collections of DNA in any way comparable to the structures of our current silicon "gates", which make up the foundation of our computer technology.
I have been following articles researching the use of this basic stuff of life for computer purposes for a few years. This article shows what appears to be a milestone in this arena. They have managed to get little puddles of DNA strands to play Tic-Tac-Toe, and win or draw every time.
This should force the vernacular to change the definition of "software". Or maybe they'll call it "squishware", though I haven't ever actually touched a puddle of DNA before.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Discovery Channel :: News - Technology :: 'Cloak of Invisibility' Made Real
Discovery Channel :: News - Technology :: 'Cloak of Invisibility' Made Real
David Copperfield is going to have to find a new trick after this technology matures.
They are only working on microwaves, right now, but this articles speaks to the possibility of using this technology to make things invisible to other ranges of light, including visible light, and (oddly enough, to my mind) other non-light things like acoustic waves to protect from vibrations (!!).
David Copperfield is going to have to find a new trick after this technology matures.
They are only working on microwaves, right now, but this articles speaks to the possibility of using this technology to make things invisible to other ranges of light, including visible light, and (oddly enough, to my mind) other non-light things like acoustic waves to protect from vibrations (!!).
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Wired 14.10: Posts
Wired 14.10: Posts
I think people underrate just how integrated we are with computers today. Take a look at this article. Notice that in the scenario the actual attacks were one bomb, and a few well-placed hacks. The hospital's drug computer ended up incorrectly distributing drugs. The city was thrown in chaos. The infrastructure of warning systems and communication systems was clogged.
It strikes me that "cyberterrorism" is not about simply keeping an honest company from making a buck for a day. And it's not about keeping people from viewing their news or their porn or their YouTube video of the day.
One day, on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson supposedly had a faux news item that there was a national shortage of toilet paper. The next day, so many people went shopping for toilet paper in response that there was... a national shortage of toilet paper. The media of Radio, TV and now the Internet amplifies. Colbert tells people to vote him the the winner of the Hungarian Bridge contest, and he wins. If some media event tells people to flush their toilets at exactly some time, and a fire is lit just a bit before, would there be a massive water shortage?
I'm all for technological innovation. I'm a geek. I want a house that is automated, and I want to start a company that gets bought by Google for billions, just like the next guy.
But I'm not exactly comfortable with some of the vulnerabilities we have.
I think people underrate just how integrated we are with computers today. Take a look at this article. Notice that in the scenario the actual attacks were one bomb, and a few well-placed hacks. The hospital's drug computer ended up incorrectly distributing drugs. The city was thrown in chaos. The infrastructure of warning systems and communication systems was clogged.
It strikes me that "cyberterrorism" is not about simply keeping an honest company from making a buck for a day. And it's not about keeping people from viewing their news or their porn or their YouTube video of the day.
One day, on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson supposedly had a faux news item that there was a national shortage of toilet paper. The next day, so many people went shopping for toilet paper in response that there was... a national shortage of toilet paper. The media of Radio, TV and now the Internet amplifies. Colbert tells people to vote him the the winner of the Hungarian Bridge contest, and he wins. If some media event tells people to flush their toilets at exactly some time, and a fire is lit just a bit before, would there be a massive water shortage?
I'm all for technological innovation. I'm a geek. I want a house that is automated, and I want to start a company that gets bought by Google for billions, just like the next guy.
But I'm not exactly comfortable with some of the vulnerabilities we have.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Selling Soap - New York Times
Selling Soap - New York Times
On doctors and poor hygiene....
Turns out that doctor's don't wash their hands very often. A hospital's efforts to change this are described, including mention of using physicians's hands on a petri dish to grow bacteria. They made the resulting culture into a screen saver.
In regards to the screen saver.... Eww....
On doctors and poor hygiene....
Turns out that doctor's don't wash their hands very often. A hospital's efforts to change this are described, including mention of using physicians's hands on a petri dish to grow bacteria. They made the resulting culture into a screen saver.
In regards to the screen saver.... Eww....
Monday, September 18, 2006
A Show That Trumpeted History but Led to Confusion - New York Times
A Show That Trumpeted History but Led to Confusion - New York Times
Well, it looks like this program is/was a waste of time if you were interested in learning the facts of 9/11. I mean, it doesn't look like they post messages in big red letters proclaiming "This segment was modified to make it interesting. Any relationship to real facts is purely coincidental".
Pity.
Well, it looks like this program is/was a waste of time if you were interested in learning the facts of 9/11. I mean, it doesn't look like they post messages in big red letters proclaiming "This segment was modified to make it interesting. Any relationship to real facts is purely coincidental".
Pity.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Wired News: Experimental AI Powers Robot Army
Wired News: Experimental AI Powers Robot Army
I've long been a fan of AI in its many forms both fiction and non-fiction. Here's a story on the state of the art. Interestingly, there's even some mention of what's known as an emergent property, where the AI in individual robots unintentionally or unexpectedly work together with others to bring a cooperative, community behavior.
I've long been a fan of AI in its many forms both fiction and non-fiction. Here's a story on the state of the art. Interestingly, there's even some mention of what's known as an emergent property, where the AI in individual robots unintentionally or unexpectedly work together with others to bring a cooperative, community behavior.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Welcome to Bio-Genica Genetic Engineering & Manufacturing - Select a Destination
Take a tour in this O! so dementedly amazingly detailed web site. A bio-engineered, shrink-wrapped pet! If the site fails to impress you (you have to click on some of the links!!), then not much impresses you.
If attention to detail is a criteria for legitimacy, this site is as real as they get, and it just goes to show you how far some people will go to engineer a hoax!
Check out the article in the NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/business/24online.html if you're a member) at this summary at the Museum of Hoaxes: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/.../genpets_shrinkwrapped_pets
Genpets.com - Bioengineered Buddies!!
Take a tour in this O! so dementedly amazingly detailed web site. A bio-engineered, shrink-wrapped pet! If the site fails to impress you (you have to click on some of the links!!), then not much impresses you.
If attention to detail is a criteria for legitimacy, this site is as real as they get, and it just goes to show you how far some people will go to engineer a hoax!
Check out the article in the NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/business/24online.html if you're a member) at this summary at the Museum of Hoaxes: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/.../genpets_shrinkwrapped_pets
Genpets.com - Bioengineered Buddies!!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Police: Man Severs Wife's Head, Has Crash - Forbes.com
WARNING - GRAPHIC AND GORY CONTENT
This is a bit disturbing. Guy kills wife, cuts off her head, and then proceeds to crash his vehicle into another car on the road, killing the passengers, and losing his wife's head out the window.
Gulp.
WARNING - GRAPHIC AND GORY CONTENT
This is a bit disturbing. Guy kills wife, cuts off her head, and then proceeds to crash his vehicle into another car on the road, killing the passengers, and losing his wife's head out the window.
Gulp.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Solar-Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Okay, I'm taking advantage of Google's Notebook application to search for, note and document what I've managed to find on a personal interest of mine. Creating a personal Fuel Cell power generator. The idea is collecting rain water from my roof into a barrel, using wind and solar power to electrolyze that water and running various appliances with a Fuel Cell using the hydrogen collected during the day and during windy conditions.
The question I am trying to answer in the public Google Notebook is a) Can this be made to be efficient and worth the investment, and b) Is it as or more cost effective and efficient than some other solution, such as one using rechargeable batteries, or some such.
Okay, I'm taking advantage of Google's Notebook application to search for, note and document what I've managed to find on a personal interest of mine. Creating a personal Fuel Cell power generator. The idea is collecting rain water from my roof into a barrel, using wind and solar power to electrolyze that water and running various appliances with a Fuel Cell using the hydrogen collected during the day and during windy conditions.
The question I am trying to answer in the public Google Notebook is a) Can this be made to be efficient and worth the investment, and b) Is it as or more cost effective and efficient than some other solution, such as one using rechargeable batteries, or some such.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Wired News: Google: Don't Not Be Evil
Now this is a business model to envy. Here's a summary of potential business ventures for our favorite Search Engine company, Google. There are some good ideas, here. The writer has a few modest proposals on how Google can expand its mission to organize the world's information.
I can see its stock rising already!
Now this is a business model to envy. Here's a summary of potential business ventures for our favorite Search Engine company, Google. There are some good ideas, here. The writer has a few modest proposals on how Google can expand its mission to organize the world's information.
I can see its stock rising already!
Wired News: A Sixth Sense for a Wired World
WTF??? Now this article brings back memories of my role play gaming days, specifically the GURPS CyberPunk module which allowed the gamers to play in the post-apocalyptic world of William Gibson (I'm going to have to read some of those books, one day).
But this one, well..... Boy and howdy. In the CyberPunk world, there was always talk of installing hardware in one's body. Being able to connect to computers, or to fire a weapon out of your finger is dark, sexy, mysterious in that scary future of the CyberPunk genre. But implanting the sliver of a magnet in your finger tips? Eerie, odd, gross, stupid, and coooollllll.......
I'll wait until the tattoo parlor can figure out how to keep it safe.
WTF??? Now this article brings back memories of my role play gaming days, specifically the GURPS CyberPunk module which allowed the gamers to play in the post-apocalyptic world of William Gibson (I'm going to have to read some of those books, one day).
But this one, well..... Boy and howdy. In the CyberPunk world, there was always talk of installing hardware in one's body. Being able to connect to computers, or to fire a weapon out of your finger is dark, sexy, mysterious in that scary future of the CyberPunk genre. But implanting the sliver of a magnet in your finger tips? Eerie, odd, gross, stupid, and coooollllll.......
I'll wait until the tattoo parlor can figure out how to keep it safe.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Anybody up for Recursive Existentialism?
Read the paper at this link: Self-Reference in ``Self-Reference in `Self-Reference in . . .' '' I've had this on hand for a while, shared it with friends, slept and worked, and went about living my life. Just came across it again and decided I had to share it here.
If you are into the paradoxes of existentialist thinking, you'll enjoy reading this through to the end. It'll do a wonderful job of twisting your brain!
Read the paper at this link: Self-Reference in ``Self-Reference in `Self-Reference in . . .' '' I've had this on hand for a while, shared it with friends, slept and worked, and went about living my life. Just came across it again and decided I had to share it here.
If you are into the paradoxes of existentialist thinking, you'll enjoy reading this through to the end. It'll do a wonderful job of twisting your brain!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Stephen Colbert's White House correspondents Dinner on Google Current
I wasn't a huge fan of Stephen Colbert, not that I disliked him. He just never really hit high on my list of things to follow. But each time I see one of his faux essays or see him talk, I find I love his subtle digs and humor more and more.
Current TV is another thing I have been following more and more since I learned of Al Gore's purchase of it. It's an experiment in media that is worth following. I'm not a huge fan of it yet. I usually shy away from first drafts, and the idea of creating an Internet/TV hybrid seems very experimental, especially with the user-driven aspects of it. But I think I will be following the GoogleCurrent thing a bit.
I hope Current comes on a cable provider in my area soon.
I wasn't a huge fan of Stephen Colbert, not that I disliked him. He just never really hit high on my list of things to follow. But each time I see one of his faux essays or see him talk, I find I love his subtle digs and humor more and more.
Current TV is another thing I have been following more and more since I learned of Al Gore's purchase of it. It's an experiment in media that is worth following. I'm not a huge fan of it yet. I usually shy away from first drafts, and the idea of creating an Internet/TV hybrid seems very experimental, especially with the user-driven aspects of it. But I think I will be following the GoogleCurrent thing a bit.
I hope Current comes on a cable provider in my area soon.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Now this.... this is cool.
Cool Honda Commercial Flash on Metacafe
I've always been a fan of Rube Goldberg machines, so when I came across this link in an Experts Exchange mail blast, I had to check it out.
I was flabbergasted. This video footage of a sort of knock-down-the-dominos using car parts grabbed my attention and practically made me drool. An impressive piece of film work!
Cool Honda Commercial Flash on Metacafe
I've always been a fan of Rube Goldberg machines, so when I came across this link in an Experts Exchange mail blast, I had to check it out.
I was flabbergasted. This video footage of a sort of knock-down-the-dominos using car parts grabbed my attention and practically made me drool. An impressive piece of film work!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
superpixel subscripts
Here is a link to a friend's blog site. Much more intelligent than I am, and very devoted to regular blogging, I think you'll enjoy his insights and humorous asides.
Here is a link to a friend's blog site. Much more intelligent than I am, and very devoted to regular blogging, I think you'll enjoy his insights and humorous asides.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Be smarter at work, slack off
Be smarter at work, slack off - Mar. 17, 2006
Well thank goodness. At last someone notices my ahead-of-my-time leisure time is billable!
Well thank goodness. At last someone notices my ahead-of-my-time leisure time is billable!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
My robot - The Boston Globe
I've been wanting to get one of these Roombas for a while, now. And look, according to this article, now you can hack it to do more.
"Everything but the kitchen sink."
I've been wanting to get one of these Roombas for a while, now. And look, according to this article, now you can hack it to do more.
"Everything but the kitchen sink."
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Network drives
Meant to publish this a year ago (or more). Just noticed I never got it past draft status.
Too bad I didn't have it in a virtual drive on a network folder somewhere. I would have noticed it and done something about it!
Came across an article about a network drive system from Google (read this: Going for a GDrive with Google News). If it is true, and that is far from certain, since Google took the information off-line, it suggests that Google is attempting to provide for a single file system that users can access regardless of which machine they are using at the time, so long as the user has network access to Google's servers.
Geeking with Greg: In a world with infinite storage, bandwidth, and CPU power has a PDF of the original slide presentation, and I'll tell you... it's quite startling to see Google, a company I watched within month of its creation, suddenly showing itself off as a boardroom-ready corporatin.
Too bad I didn't have it in a virtual drive on a network folder somewhere. I would have noticed it and done something about it!
Came across an article about a network drive system from Google (read this: Going for a GDrive with Google News). If it is true, and that is far from certain, since Google took the information off-line, it suggests that Google is attempting to provide for a single file system that users can access regardless of which machine they are using at the time, so long as the user has network access to Google's servers.
Geeking with Greg: In a world with infinite storage, bandwidth, and CPU power has a PDF of the original slide presentation, and I'll tell you... it's quite startling to see Google, a company I watched within month of its creation, suddenly showing itself off as a boardroom-ready corporatin.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
I heard about a related site on NPR a couple of weeks ago, and then came upon a link to this site: Overheard in the Office: The Voice of the Cubicle. This so reminds me of little snippets of conversation I have during my typical work day. There's some really funny stuff here!
Decided to create a second blog here, one specifically devoted to the topic of software development and the challenges of development in a business environment.
I just shared with my project manager today that I don't think the act of development in itself is necessarily a challenge. There is a reason that so many coding tasks that used to be developers-only tasks ten years ago have become tasks for graphic artists and business analysts today.
HTML design, used to be coders only.
BizTalk is a tool that can be done by non-programmers and still be relatively useful.
SharePoint allows you to manage many functions like standards and document management, as well as scheduling and basic database needs, without wasting your programmers' time.
The biggest challenge for most developers is often less to do with actual programming, and more to do with dependancies with other software resources, with configuration of web servers and networking, with managing security against usability, with designing software so that it serves its purpose in the company while still being easy to maintain.
These challenges are not always so simle to solve, and are often very effective in solving one class of problems while exacerbating other problems.
These are the kinds of topics I'll cover in that blog. So visit the CodingBlog: http://www.pandorasdream.com/blog/CodingBlog.html.
V
I just shared with my project manager today that I don't think the act of development in itself is necessarily a challenge. There is a reason that so many coding tasks that used to be developers-only tasks ten years ago have become tasks for graphic artists and business analysts today.
HTML design, used to be coders only.
BizTalk is a tool that can be done by non-programmers and still be relatively useful.
SharePoint allows you to manage many functions like standards and document management, as well as scheduling and basic database needs, without wasting your programmers' time.
The biggest challenge for most developers is often less to do with actual programming, and more to do with dependancies with other software resources, with configuration of web servers and networking, with managing security against usability, with designing software so that it serves its purpose in the company while still being easy to maintain.
These challenges are not always so simle to solve, and are often very effective in solving one class of problems while exacerbating other problems.
These are the kinds of topics I'll cover in that blog. So visit the CodingBlog: http://www.pandorasdream.com/blog/CodingBlog.html.
V
Monday, February 27, 2006
I have been enjoying this site -- The Daily WTF - Curious Perversions in Information Technology -- for about a month, now. Each day, they add some piece of insanity actually found "in the wild", in the source code of the world.
Having been in the industry over 11 years, myself, and having reviewed a good bit of this site, I am a bit chilled when I consider that hundreds of millions, billions, even, of dollars are being managed by some of the most terribly designed, practically congealed code you could imagine.
Enjoy!
Having been in the industry over 11 years, myself, and having reviewed a good bit of this site, I am a bit chilled when I consider that hundreds of millions, billions, even, of dollars are being managed by some of the most terribly designed, practically congealed code you could imagine.
Enjoy!
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