Dwayne Phillips ' Day Book

Items I happen to view each day. Science, Techonology, Management, Culture, and of course Writing

This is my day book for this week. I have modeled this after science fiction and computer writer Jerry Pournelle's view, or as he calls it, his Day Book. I encourage you to see Jerry Pournelle's site and subscribe to his services.

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This week: December May 26-June 1, 2014

Summary of this week:

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Monday May 26, 2014

Today is the Memorial Day Holiday observance in the United States. Note: this is not Veterans Day (honoring veterans) and this is not Armed Forces Day (honoring current active-duty military).

We are experiencing a severe case of inbreeding in Computer Science programs in the US. Most of the professors come from a small group of schools. There is a needed lack of variety.

But enrollment in computer science and engineering is booming now in the US. The pendulum swings this way and that.

The Piscine Molitor swimming pool reopens near Paris. There is a place in the world for fine luxury. Great photographs.

A look at the 100-year history of Leica.

Google, Facebook, and Amazon behaving badly. Yes, they have their not-so-flattering moments.

The simple attack the Chinese used to hack Alcoa. Of course nothing like this will happen to Health Care dot Gov.

American companies didn't tell their stockholders that they had been hacked by the Chinese.

Apple release a couple new ads about the creative enabling of its products.

The all-purpose electric motor skateboard is coming closer. It is still $2,000, and that price isn't practical.

Here is another entry into such skateboards. This one is still in Kickstarter, so we never no if it will appear.

Photos of abandoned shopping malls.

Some of what you can do if you have one of the world's best video cameras (Red's 6K Epic Dragon).

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Tuesday May 27, 2014

The Gates Foundation is struggling to give away money fast enough. That is a difficult task.

A closer look at the anti-tech anti-gentrification movement in San Francisco.

Now the big Apple rumor is a software framework to support smart this and that in your house. I wish that security will be built in.

So, take heart or fear or something: the almost hopeless desire to have secure software and computer systems. Still, there are adults who believe that Health Care dot Gov and all the other government systems to which it is tied are secure. I don't understand how adults can believe such fairy tales.

The post-PC era continues with tablets slated to pass PC in the next few years. This is not a surprise as once you leave college you write few papers at home. Instead, you, well, you know, sort of play at home.

People are now thinking about the results of driverless cars: should a child be allowed to hop in a driverless car and take a ride to soccer practice?

A look inside the Internet Archive and its 15PetaBytes of data. That is 15 million GigaBytes.

The past is upon us again. Businesses are bypassing their own IT departments to go to the cloud. Years ago, businesses ignored their IT and bought PCs.

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Wednesday May 28, 2014

Intel has become partners of a sort with Chinese SoC maker Rockchip.

Google shows a prototype of a driverless car. It doesn't have any of the controls that a human driver uses. More on the "car" from Ars Technica.

The B-52 bomber receives its first IT update since the 1960s. If it ain't broke...or maybe the appropriate cliche is, well, I don't know a cliche to describe the backwards thinking.

Google developed software to help them regulate power usage and save a ton of money at their data centers.

Google and Facebook look to satellites to increase broadband coverage (and use of their service$).

Call me a trained government spy—Edward Snowden

MIT does some good work with modular furnishings that multiply the utility of a tiny apartment.

Spreadsheets are not built to do serious mathematical work. Use other packages if it matters.

Coming real soon now: Skype Translator—yes, real time voice translation of conversation.

Canada has a program that will pay 80% of your startups salaries. They want new companies, new jobs, new technology. The US, er, uh, well, we sue successful companies and tax them so much that they keep their money elsewhere. Our government must have some type of master strategy that I don't understand, right?

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Thursday May 29, 2014

Author Maya Angelou dies at 86.

Look for Apple to bring several new products this year.

For the first time, Google releases racial and gender numbers of its workforce and states the it wants greater diversity.

There are several talent seekers that specialize in finding these diverse workforces.

Yet another court yet again afirms the right of the public to record the actions of public employees performing public duties in public. I am pretty dense when it comes to legal matters and don't understand why courts have to keep saying this over and over again.

American law enforcement agencies are using foreign-made systems that allow foreign access to information.

Thoughts on the psychology and sociology of soylent and other all-in-one-all-you-need-to-consume drinks.

Is solar power ready for the home? Perhaps not yet, but it is coming closer.

Intel enters robotics with an open-source robot that you can 3D print much of its parts.

Bickering and debating on who should pay whom to put content on the Internet. Of course Netflix wants ISPs to deliver Netflix content for free. Netflix used to pay the USPS to deliver their content. They want Comcast to do it for nothing. Yes, Comcast has a case for wanting money.

The world has changed: the cloud has caused a crash in the cost of computing. Look for continued unemployment.

The millennial generation continues to run away from traditional television.

Apple adds the iPad to their reduced-price education offerings.

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Friday May 30, 2014

How the Internet has changed world history: we upload 1.8billion photos a day.

The biggest news in tech, sports, finance, and everything else: Steve Ballmer buys the Los Angeles Clippers for $2billion.

Google could threaten GM, Ford, and everyone else. Google has mountains of cash and no legacy to hold it back.

Google's release of its workforce (non)diversity has embarassed them.

Who says tech workers have no sense of fashion? (everyone says that) This article shows how young, tech workers with money want one pair of pants that are okay for every situation. The race to the bottom in fashion.

There seems to be a link between cynicism and dementia, but no one know which causes which. Also, no one knows the affect of living with people who constantly make mistakes (leading to what most call cynicism) has on a tired brain late in life.

"Reading Rainbow" is a tremendous hit on Kickstarter.

Mark Zuckerburg donates $120million to Bay Area schools. I wish this works better than the money he donated to New Jersey schools.

We learn that when the CEO of SnapChat was in college he extolled drunkeness and having women perform sex acts for entertainment. He is embarrassed and apologizes and wants everyone to forgive the stupidity of youth. I have some sympathy for the stupidity of youth, but it is limited. I do not empathize with him as I did nothing of the sort when in college—thanks to my parents and many other adults.

Google's Street View has emerged as a recorder of history. Detroit's recent history is horrific, and there was no war fought there.

Measles has returned to the U.S.—an unwelcome step into the past.

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Saturday May 31, 2014

Google to push harder into the TV market next month.

A look at Google's answer to "a right to be forgotten."

This is a terrible story. The VA has 20-year-old computer systems. No wonder they can't schedule  medical appointments for our veterans. But we can sure buy future-focused weapons systems.

Stanford is asking its students to learn from the SnapChat disgusting emails. I had always heard that Stanford had a rigorous academic program—no goofing off there. You worked hard and studied hard all the time just to keep up. I guess these emails remove the veil from that lie. How could a person keep up with a rigorous program while spending so much time on sex and drugs? I am terrible disappointed in the adults who are supposed to be managing the universities.

Samsung introduces a more expensive, higher-quality Chromebook. I think they are missing the point of an inexpensive window into the Internet.

Yes, you can hack cars and drive them. Security built into the car's systems? Are you one of those flat world guys who believe that Health Care dot Gov is secure?

If the PC is dead, why are Dell's sales of PCs growing?

Perl 5.20 is released.

Motorola will close its last cell phone plant in the US.

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Sunday June 1, 2014

The world is doomed or saved or something: Gangnam Style hits two billion views on YouTube.

Next week, Intel will show a thinner, laptop-tablet computer using their newest processor.

Yes, we hear it all the time, but it is true: just write.

What novel writers learned from first being copywriters.

A writer cannot always find the perfect circumstance to write. Write anyways.

How to use underwriting and overwriting to write.

How Michael Crichton used 3x5 cards and a shoebox to create story plots. I see no reason why this would not still work and I see no reason why someone needs to create an app to simulate this method.

There are times when a writer should stop writing (on a particular piece). Keep writing on everything else if you can.

The Myers-Briggs system (those four-letter IS-this-and-that) can be a good tool for creating fiction characters and writing stories.

In January 1990, my father was killed in an auto accident. No warning, no sickness, no time, just a shock. I had to keep writing to finish my dissertation. Writing after a death is not easy.

Travelling with a toddler can be no fun at all. Here are some tips and reminders.

As writers, we cannot spend enough time reading good writing.

When can you call yourself a writer? Interesting answers in this post.

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