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: 24-30 July, 2017

Summary of this week:

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

Monday July 24, 2017

Forget autonomous trucks, here come autonomous cargo ships from Norway.

Breakup Standard Oil, I mean Microsoft, I mean Facebook or someone who has too much money, i.e., more than me.

Government control is alive and well in China as the government requires Muslims to install surveillance software in their phones.

LinkedIn Lite—a smartphone app—launches in developing countries.

When did each episode of Game of Thrones become the most important event in the world? I missed something.

Someone tried to have a 20,000-person Pokemon Go event in Chicago. It didn't go well.

The pendulum swings as everyone wants to major in Computer Science. How many will pass Calculus, Chemistry, Physics?

The farse of "peer reviewed" journals. Must read this post. It is almost unbelievable itself.

Dwayne Johnson makes a short something-or-other, or maybe it's just a long ad for Siri.

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Tuesday July 25, 2017

Top tech news of the day: Microsoft Paint won't be in the next version of Windows. Gone after 32 years.

Spoken Chinese is supposed to be easy. Not so for computers.

Your Roomba vacuum cleaner has learned your house's floorplans, and is now selling that info.

Netflix is eating the world as it tops the revenue list for apps.

Despite its "age," Google is still growing in employees, market, and money $$$.

Some grounding in the obvious but rarely stated limits of Artificial Intelligence.

The driverless parking garage from Mercedes. I like that one.

Ford Mustang: 0 to 60 in under four seconds. Better transmission, gear-shifting technology. Wow.

Ugly Silicon Valley: the people who feed Facebook's high-skill, high-dollar employees can't afford to live there. Do not ever upset the people who feed you.

The unemployment rate: proof that if you make a measure important, people will figure out how to "pencil whip" it.

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Wednesday July 26, 2017

Celebrity gazillonaire CEOs quibble about who knows AI better.

Strong rumors that some Apple suppliers may build factories in the US. Of course it is all hearsay and contrdiction.

Federal Judge orders Apple to pay $500million+ to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation on patent infringement.

Adobe officially announces end of life for Flash.

Amazon adds several hundred R&D jobs in London. Brexit?

The world of advertising collides with news on Facebook. Follow the money.

It appears that ransomware is quite profitable. $25million taken in the last couple of years.

The placebo effect and SURGERY. Fake surgery, going thru all the details even the OR but no surgery, is as effective.

USB Specification 3.2 doubles data rates with exisint USB-C cables.

Intel quietly exits the market for low-cost single-board computers and DIY.

Use a rigorous morning routine to start your day and greatly increase your life.

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Thursday July 27, 2017

"A fulsome 70 percent of Americans believe the government is monitoring their emails and calls."

Our tech plutocrats decide they know what is best for America's military.

Google creates a studio to help AI startups find the data they need to do AI (pattern recognition).

WhatsApp now has a Billion daily active users.

Our TSA has new, more annoying x-ray screening rules for electronic devices. Yes, it will be slower.

Apple announces the first iPhone compatible cochlear implant sound processor.

Facebook has another good financial quarter with 2Billion daily active users.

Rumors come true: Foxconn will build a factory in Wisconsin.

Amazon 1492: a no-longer-secret team working on health care. That is where the money is.

Samsung has a record financial quarter.

The quitter economy where a good job is one that prepares you for your next job.

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Friday July 28, 2017

Google continues to buy office buildings in Silicon Valley. Why in such a high cost-of-living location?

Foxconn chose Wisconsin because of $3Billion in taxpayers' subsidies. Bad use of taxpayer money?

All those hard-working folks in Amazon warehouses have achieved the goal: Jeff Bezos is richer than Bill Gates.

Amazon had a mixed financial quarter falling short of some predictions. As usual, the mistaken predictors ride away happy while Amazon loses money.

A closer look shows that without AWS, Amazon wouldn't break even, still a money losing group.

The popular Slack app consumes an inordinate amount of computing resources.

FreeBSD 11.1 is released.

There is so much wrong with this story. (1) People think they can buy some dark glasses online and stare at the sun. (2) People, presumably adults by their birth certificates, want to stare at the sun. (3) NASA has wasted more taxpayers' dollars on writing specifications for dark glasses that allow us to stare at the sun. (4) How stupid is everyone involved?

Got some floor space in your apartment building lobby? Put an Amazon locker there and make some money.

Google announces its desire to train lots of Africans in IT skills. I like this, but let's not be silly about it. With a million skilled people living in low-cost-of-living areas, Google can have them telecommute and pay them $2 a day.

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Saturday July 29, 2017

The new mass-produced Tesla Model 3 cars are one the road.

The design of the Tesla's interior is awful. Where is the air conditioning? We don't all live in Southern California.

Samsung passes Intel and becomes the world's largest semiconductor maker.

How the Chinese government wants to take over the semiconductor world.

It appears that The Emoji Movie was simply a bad idea.

Taco Bell, Lyft, Taco Mode: why are really smart people spending their time inventing stuff like this?

Steve Jobs' widow is buying The Atlantic.

A USB thumb drive that has three different USB types of hardware. Ingenious. Worth the cost?

Intel has a big financial quarter.

It appears that Apple paid Nokia $2Billion in a patent lawsuit settlement.

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Sunday July 30, 2017

It is Sunday and it is July. There isn't much news aside from the normal "Donald Trump will destroy the planet before Christmas" usual found in the usual places. Tesla has saved the world or something this week. That's about it.

LibreOffice 5.4 is released with major improvements.

Proctor&Gamble cut its digital ads $100million in one quarter with no difference in sales. hmmm.

US voting machines are hacked easily. National Internet elections? Are you kidding? Don't connect to the Internet.

Apple helps the Chinese government watch its subjects. American companies aren't showing American values in international business.

Some questions for yourself if you think you want to do an MFA program.

Some courses and seminars for women wanting to move into travel writing. Men can learn here, too.

Motivated or not to write? Writing chooses you.

Title says it all: You Can Do Anything, just not EVERYTHING.

Basic ergonomics and the 20-20-20 rule for writers.

Good writing practice: rewrite words found in great books.

Travelling and writing memoirs.

Some thoughts on giving and receiving feedback about writing and life in general.

This is a well-researched post on writing for "content mills." The pay and quality vary widely.

The layering method of writing a novel and how one writer uses it.

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