We Are All Going to Explode

Feb 012009
 

Do a Google search for “Yellowstone.” The first result is is the National Park Service’s official Yellowstone National Park web site, as expected. The second site is yellowstone.net, which promises to help you “plan your yellowstone vacation.” Still as expected. But the third is for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Wait, what? Isn’t Yellowstone a volcanically inactive geothermal cluster? Why can’t we see black lava flows like on Kilauea or even St. Helens? The answer is complicated, but in a sentence, Yellowstone sits on top of a volcanic hot spot that enjoys blowing up in a “supereruption” every few hundreds of thousands of years, but in the meantime, keeps itself fit by spewing geysers, unleashing thousands of earthquakes, and triggering hydrothermal [more . . .]

Powerful Pictures

Dec 282008
 

I’d like to fancy myself as one who holds his own opinions about things. That’s why I get queasy come time for end-of-the-year top-N lists. On one end, I feel like I’m allowing myself to be quasi-brainwashed by other people, but on the other end, some of these toplists are so amazing. Fortunately, there are the lists of the “top” photographs–beau tiful and powerful and beyond ranking. Once you view them, whether or not something should be in the top ten seems so inane. Here are some of my favorite collections and selections: Boston.com: The Year 2008 in Photographs — One of the most amazing collections of photographs I have ever seen. TIME Pictures of the Year 2008 — With an [more . . .]

Minority Report Comes to Life

Nov 222008
 

A clip from Minority Report? No. It’s real. g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo. Oblong is apparently the company that advised the production staff of Minority Report on the technology of the film, with much of their expertise derived from the founders’ research at the MIT Media Lab. Oblong promises to “fundamentally chnage the way people use machines at work, in the living room, in conference rooms, in vehicles.”

William Perry on his Confirmation

Nov 162008
 

The following is a hilarious segment of one of former Secretary of Defense William Perry’s lectures in my Stanford MS&E 293 class on national security: “The Washington Post responded to the announcement by running an article observing that I was soft-spoken and humble, and questioning whether those were the right personality traits for the job of Secretary of Defense. They were simply reflecting the well-known fact that those in Washington that traveled the high road of humility are never bothered by heavy traffic. As a result of the Post article, my confirmation hearing was a surreal experience. Senator Byrd, instead of asking me questions about my views on defense issues, took off on the Washington Post article. He observed that [more . . .]

The RIAA is Suing My Printer

Jun 062008
 

There is an interesting study out by the University of Washington’s Computer Science department revealing flaws in the detection of copyright infringers online. In the study, it was found that enforcement agencies sometimes used merely the fact that an IP address was seen in connection with a certain file online in implicating a user, without verification that the owner of the IP address did actually download anything, or that the owner of the IP is even a person. With IP spoofing tactics, they managed, hilariously, to get three printers in the CS department to receive DMCA takedown complaints from the MPAA. Is this result likely to get noticed in the next wave of countersuits against the RIAA and MPAA? Probably. [more . . .]

The Dangers of Toothpicks–and not what you think

May 072008
 

Read the following article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354327,00.html I mean, I entirely understand the stance the school is taking. Wizards should not be tolerated. Zero-tolerance has worked well in drugs and alcohol prevention, so we can rather safely assume that it should work in wizard prevention as well. Of course, the school should naturally assume the worst when it comes to the toothpick-vanishing wizards of the world. Blink an eye, and they might end up vanishing unsuspecting students, rival teachers, or worse, the number zero or the letter ‘A’. Schools across the nations should look up to this school on a hill (or floodzone, as it’s in Florida), and weed out all wizards that may be feigning as teachers. Think of the children!

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