Items I happen to view each day. Science, Technology, Management, Culture, and Writing

    This is my day book for this week. It is a log of things I see on the Internet.

This week: 16-22 September, 2019

Summary of this week:

• My notes show that this is week 601 for this blog
• Drones used to cripple Saudi oil production
• The UAW strikes at GM
• Richard Stallman resigns from MIT's CSAIL (more Jeffrey Epstein fallout)
• Government surveillance increases worldwide

Monday 16 September 2019

How the government of China is successfully keeping its subjects in Hong Kong from telling their stories to the world.

It's the American way, succeed too much and be investigated by our government. Our House Judiciary Committee is investigating Apple for anti-trust violations.

Harkening back to the headlines of the good old days...UAW goes on strike at GM.

Wear this thing around your collar. When you crash your bicycle or scooter, it inflates like an airbag. Perhaps some good will come of this.

MIT claims an advance in carbon nanotubes. Ten years ago this technology was to change the world. Nothing has come of it yet.

Linux 5.3 is released.

Tuesday 17 September 2019

The Jeffrey Epstein fallout continues as Richard Stallman resigns from MIT's CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory).

Another Google "activist" leaves over retaliation and such. Outsiders, like me, are left to wonder about all this as the line between activist and disgruntled is narrow and fluid.

Some are speculating if a retailer is promoting their products over others' products. Of course they are. That is the retail business.

"Extreme weather costs us billion$$$." That's easier to accept than "building in a flood zone is a bad idea."

Here comes WiFi 6. Faster, faster, faster.

Wednesday 18 September 2019

Bill Gates says that solar and wind energy production have reached maturity and government subsidies need to shift to other, less mature, technologies. He's probably right. This probably won't happen.

In praise of the plain-Jane iPhone 11 at $699. The best value of the new line from Apple.

And we learn that health records are stored insecurely in networks across the US. Is everyone ready for universal national electronic health records? 

Amazon now has a music service with much higher quality sound.

When and how did Facebook et al move into the counter-terrorism business?

HP has a new convertable laptop thingy with a 13" screen and weighing 2.2 pounds.

SpaceX, which tests its rockets in middle-of-nowhere Texas, is trying to buy a nearby town so it won't be breaking someone else's windows.

Edward Snowden wrote his memoir. Our government is suing him over a non-disclosure agreement per working as a government contractor. Let's think on this one. Governments that prevent books from being published. Yes, there are some good reasons, and there are some bad reasons.

Got two computers on your desk? Get this ultra-wide monitor from HP at $999. It has two inputs and can split screen and all that.

Governments worldwide are deploying "AI" techniques to monitor their subjects. Linked article confuses "citizens" with "subjects." There is a difference.

Folks on "The Big Bang Theory" just cashed in on a record-setting rerun deal with HBO.

Thursday 19 September 2019

IBM continues to advance quantum computing with a 53-qubit machine. IBM also formed a Quantum Computation Center.

Details about how the Russian government monitors the telephone system of its subjects.

The Digital Recognition Network or DRN is a privately run, license-plate-scanning network of cameras with a database. It tracks cars and is used by repo men and private investigators.

And now we need a national commission to study how social media is weaponized.

Big tech and politicians. Nice article on the relationships and how things change. The trick is to be successful without being too successful.

Facebook releases new video chat devices. Security? Let's hope they considered that.

New thoughts on an elevator running from the moon to the earth. Makes some sense.

Friday 20 September 2019

Amazon signs The Climate Pledge. Not sure what this all means, but it does involve planting trees, which is generally a good thing, and you don't have to be rich to do it.

In Christiansburg, Virginia, Google will begin testing drone delivery with Walgreens and FedEx.

Zuckerburg and Trump: the head of a plutocracy meets the head of an old-time nation state.

Seth Godin on how the Internet magnified bad behavior by a few. The cable "news" broadcasters have done the same. We can change all this.

Local governments are still using a hacked system to collect fees from residents.

Saturday 21 September 2019

It appears that Google has built a quantum computer that is far more powerful than one of today's supercomputers.

Google will spend 3Billion Euros in Europe on data centers in the next three years.

In a month or so, the world of streaming video changes with Apple and Disney walking in the door. Are any of us ready for this?

30 years ago, Apple showed the Macintosh Portable computer. It failed in the marketplace. Apple, however, learned.

Edward Snowden and the concept of a "fair trial."

Two persons arrested in home PC security etc. scam that brought in $10Million. Make enough phone calls and you will find money.

HP releases a 34" curved monitor aimed at business instead of gaming users.

A look at how the smartphone camera world has changed in 12 years.

Sunday 22 September 2019

Someone has succeeded in convincing us that punishing successful companies is a good idea. Americans want to "break up" big tech companies.

News reporting and editorial opinion. Somewhere along the line we lost the distinction, and that is bad for all of us.

Seth Godin's thoughts on knowing how to do something that you don't know how to do.

A different perspective on the current UAW-GM situation. The commentator sees it as a reaction to the failure of organizing the new automakers like Tesla.

Meeting a couple of young, millionaire ethical hackers.

There are safety advantages to being always connected.

What one writer learned writing in Hollywood on televisions shows.

Some online writing courses that cover various aspects and writing and the writing business.

Finding what it is I am really writing. Some call it the "core message." Write. Set it aside. Outline what you have written. These techniques help me.

Finding stories and materials at a writing or any conference. Be 100% interested in whomever you meet.

A review of the rates you should charge for writing.

Mistakes committed by most of us in writing a memoir.

In Masters of Fine Arts programs...they don't talk about business. Too bad.

More about the adjectives that we put in front of "writer" and how these adjectives ruin us. Funny. You would think that writers understood things about adjectives.