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: July 11-17, 2016

Summary of this week:

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

Monday July 11, 2016

I return home and start to return to normal—whatever that is.

A blind-from-birth Apple engineer talks about accessibility in technology.

The lower-cost, state-of-the-practice Android phones.

Facebook is working on encrypted messaging.

More news on Samsung's UFS memory cards.

Nvidia releases a $249 monster GPU. The performance keeps growing while the price keeps dropping.

Our State Department starts another email investigation so it can punish lower-level staffers (not named Clinton) now that Hillary Clinton is safe.

A star has fallen: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes has been banned from clinical testing by the government.

Ars Technica takes a critical view of the certification industry, a.k.a., the multiple-choice trick-question industry.

Has the 3D printer already died? All the market promise is gone and reality isn't so nice.

Once again, I become silly and ask for a real 2D printer. Let me print with a zero height, and we all rule the universe.

Amazon's largest drone-testing facility is in the UK. Thanks (not) to US regulators for sending jobs away.

Facebook stomps the CBS Evening News and their ilk.

Nintendo is making a fortune on the success of Pokemon Go.

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Tuesday July 12, 2016

The next Prime Minister of the UK will be Theresa May.

Now we are using artificial intelligence to order lunch. Perhaps a mis-step in technology use.

Can auto racing survive the advent of self-driving cars? I think it will. In 50 years, only a few people will be able to drive, and those few will be driving 300 mph.

The secret of Pokemon Go: augmented reality. Perhaps someone will play the game and then create a real application.

Pokemon collides with Google accounts. The fix is in the works.

The next iPhone won't have a headphone jack. Headphone makers are adapting. Get ready for the $5 adapter.

Tesla crashes into big, regulatory government. Tesla will lose. Isn't the auto industry fun??? (not)

If you are a special person, you can attend one of these ten best universities in the world. The rest of us, well, just work harder.

Windows 10 and Linux move closer together.

Economic recovery? Hostess lays off 20,000 people and makes Twinkies with robots instead.

Seagate lays off 6,500 people.

It appears that the cost of living in Silicon Valley has finally affected jobs there.

Google will train 2million Android developers in India. This will ensure lower wages for everyone.

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Wednesday July 13, 2016

In praise of the Raspberry Pi.

A preview of the Python Serverless Microframework for AWS.

The government of China loses an international court case on the South China Sea. So what?

Google claims to be hit by 4,000 state-sponsored cyber attacks per month.

Some persons aren't happy about Pokemon Go play in their spaces.

The rapid success of Pokemon Go brings in the US government to ruin it.

Microsoft has to delay its Azure Stack. Better to delay than to flop with bugs in a too-soon release.

PC sales recover in the US, but continue to decline in the rest of the world.

Our FBI closes the DB Cooper investigation after wasting money for four decades on it. Someone has to stop these things at the point of diminishing returns. A guy steals $100,000 and our government spends $100million in taxpayers' money chasing it. Stupid.

Hillary Clinton remains Hillary Clinton regarding H-1B visa abuse.

The government of China censors news in social media. Not news, just the nature of dictatorships.

Comcast phone service crashed yesterday. Want to bundle everything? I think not.

Google expands Project Fi coverage to benefit traveling outside the US.

Microsoft's Surface-as-a-Service offers hardware and software bundles to businesses.

Facebook signs on to use 13,000 seats of Microsoft 365.

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Thursday July 14, 2016

Nest releases an outdoor webcam that is hardened for the weather.

A first: a Federal judge rules that the government must have a warrant to track a citizen via cellphone.

The Chinese hacked our FDIC. Our CIO lies about it, and 40,000 SSNs are compromised. Isn't government great? (not)

Amazon's Prime Day sets a sales record.

Facebook's Live Stream turns everyone into a world-wide video reporter. Let's speculate on the results.

Guess what? If you have a field covered with solar panels, the shade changes things.

Look out America—here comes Norwegian Air with its Irish labor laws and creative routing.

Starbucks is inching its way into the restaurant business.

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Friday July 15, 2016

We have a new Librarian of Congress. Let's hope needed change comes.

It is quite difficult to replicate the human gait of walking. We should ask if that is important or praiseworthy.

CrossOver is a piece of software that lets you install and run Windows software on...Chromebooks. Yes, Chromebooks.

A terrorist attack in France kills 84.

Facebook's diversity numbers don't change. The result would be quite different if they counted H-1B visa workers.

A Federal Appeals Court rules that US law doesn't have jurisdiction in foreign countries. This took an appeals court?

"Elon Musk says a Tesla Model X that crashed in Pennsylvania was not operating on Autopilot" I hope he has that story straight.

"Tech leaders" hate on Donald Trump.

Microsoft teams with EdX to deliver a data scientist learning program.

Nintendo revives the past with the Classic Mini NES.

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Saturday July 16, 2016

A coup failed last night in Turkey. The President was interviewed on CNN via Apple's Facetime.

All social media was blocked in Turkey during the battle.

A half-century of plastic credit cards is fading as 70,000 new ATMs allow us of smartphones.

Samsung is beating Apple in US smartphone sales.

The three stooges appear to have been running IT security at the State Department, but really, the Three Stooges were competent.

Apple is opening an imaging research lab in France.

How to run OS X on a Chromebook. Wonderful, purely wonderful.

We've been able to make lightbulbs that last 100 years for 100 years. Why don't we? The quest to fleece consumers.

This couple lived in the Google parking lot for two years. More people, more companies should do this. It shows how frugality works. It also shows the waste built into company buildings.

Places to see in Silicon Valley. They left off Togo's. Also now gone are the blue cube and Colonel Lee's Mongolian Barbeque.

Bless people when you have the opportunity.

Our President promises to spill green ink on paper, call it money, and fund 5G research.

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Sunday July 17, 2016

Our Justice Department wants to give foreign governments jurisdiction over American companies in America. I'm confused.

When people were computers—stories from Yahoo's original surfers.

"your favorite authors went through this, too."

Several things, honest things, about writing and why it is difficult.

The long view and becoming an expert after ten years of plodding.

If you are a writer or any type of freelance worker, please, please, P L E A S E, make copies of your work.

Examples of good writer websites.

How one writer wrote nine books in a year. Hint: none of them were "Gone with the Wind." Nevertheless, this can be done.

One author's action plan to find followers and readers. Note the key word is action, i.e., work really hard every day.

If you want more people to listen to what you say, say what you feel as opposed to what people are supposed to say.

The role of "deliberate practice" versus practice in becoming a better writer.

How to write a book in three weeks. This is neither a scam nor a fantasy. It can be and has been done.

I like this one as it differentiates between writer's block, which I don't think exists, and writer burnout. I don't like the term "burnout" as I prefer the phrase, "I'm tired right now."

Thoughts on writing, failing, and working at the Post Office (among other places).

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