This has been a difficult decision. Clinton or Obama, either one, is a good candidate and would make a good president. McCain will be the Republican nominee. Clinton has been leading in the polls all along, but Obama is surging. In the last few days I’ve spoken to a dozen people who each know four or five people who will vote for McCain against Clinton, Clinton against Romney, Obama against either Romney or McCain. Continue reading I’ve decided whom to vote for
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Linux To Solve Traffic Woes
Concentrate a bunch of geeks in the Boston Area (like, at MIT), and eventually one of them will get a driver’s license and discover how bad the traffic is. And invent something… Continue reading Linux To Solve Traffic Woes
Is Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo A Sign of Failure?
Possibly, according to this piece in the New York Times. Continue reading Is Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo A Sign of Failure?
If you play games with your computer, don’t upgrade to Vista
… until you’ve read this. Continue reading If you play games with your computer, don’t upgrade to Vista
Maybe I can use videos to decide whom to vote for this Tuesday….
I still can’t decide whom to vote for. I don’t have much time. Must assimilate more data. Continue reading Maybe I can use videos to decide whom to vote for this Tuesday….
Take the Intelligent Design Challenge!
Determining where a genome has been produced or altered by an intelligent designer is a matter of some importance. Consider the claims that the HIV virus was engineered as a biowarfare weapon, or the concern that virulence genes from other organisms could be inserted into viruses and bacteria to “weaponise” them. For example the engineered mouse pox virus that turned lethal (Nature. 2001 May 17;411(6835):232-5 see also Nat Genet. 2001 Nov;29(3):253-6) and limits on the sequencing of the 1918 strain of the flu to stop flu from being weaponised (Fed Regist. 2005 Oct 20;70(202):61047-9,). A method that could reliably detect the action of human intelligent design in the genomes of microorganisms would be of significant advantage.Thus we issue the “Intelligent Design Challenge”.
What to do if you have too much data?
Austringer has an interesting, even enviable, problem. He needs to make an X-Y data plot, but he has 5.2 million data points. Continue reading What to do if you have too much data?
Open Source Can Fix Voting Woes
But probably too late for this year’s election … Continue reading Open Source Can Fix Voting Woes
Online Reputation Management
You may remember some time ago a brouhaha erupted when an upper Midwestern Blogger was told he had to erase a post that said something bad (yet truthful) about Cheri Yecke, who was at that time competing for the job of head of Florida Education. The company was a “scrubber” which promised to find bad things on the internet about a client, and get rid of them (the bad things, not the client) for a fee. Continue reading Online Reputation Management
What does your phone number spell?
Or, if you want to spell something with a phone number, is there an easy way to do that? For instance, I made a joke on this comment using this cypher.Here is a site, called “PhoneSpell” tht facilitates this sort of shenanigans.
Bono: TED Prize wish: Join my call to action on Africa
Musician and activist Bono accepts the 2005 TED Prize with a riveting talk, arguing that aid to Africa isn’t just another celebrity cause; it’s a global emergency. He argues passionately that mere charity won’t solve the serious problems facing the world’s second-largest continent. The solution, he says, is equal human rights. And it isn’t just our moral obligation; it’s an economic and strategic necessity. He ends by unveiling his TED Prize wishes, calling for TED’s help to build a new social movement for Africa.
Continue reading Bono: TED Prize wish: Join my call to action on Africa
Darwin and the Voyage: 03 ~ The Rain Forest
The first time I read the following passage from The Voyage, I was reminded of my own first experience in a rain forest (in Zaire). Evident in this passage is at least a glimmering of Darwin’s appreciation for the complexity of ecosystems. Darwin could be considered the first scientific ecologist. Enough of my commentary … this passage very much stands on it’s own … Continue reading Darwin and the Voyage: 03 ~ The Rain Forest
What Happens When The Cables are Cut?
And, why were they cut? An interesting analysis of the effects of the cut or damaged undersea cables is available, and conspiracy theories about the reason for this event begin to emerge. Continue reading What Happens When The Cables are Cut?
Fourth Internet Cable ‘Breaks’
A fourth undersea cable has broken, this one linking Qatar and the UAE. The cause is said to be unknown at this time, but there are reports that it was due to a power breakdown rather than a physical break in the cable. [source]
Meanwhile, the two cables that broke a few days in Egypt may not have been damaged because of ships’ anchors, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Transport. [source]
Thanks to commenter David for the tip.
Fourth Internet Cable’Breaks’
A fourth undersea cable has broken, this one linking Qatar and the UAE. The cause is said to be unknown at this time, but there are reports that it was due to a power breakdown rather than a physical break in the cable. [source]Meanwhile, the two cables that broke a few days in Egypt may not have been damaged because of ships’ anchors, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Transport. [source]Thanks to commenter David for the tip.