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: 29 March - 4 April, 2021

Summary of this week:

• GPT-3 is being used in 300 apps
• New Arm design released
• April Fool's Day is cancelled again, maybe
• Microsoft award $21.9Billion AR contract from US Army

Monday 29 March 2021

It's Monday. A slow news morning.

The year of the virus accelerated many changes in America. Some are shameful. This new book explores the one-click existence of the elites. If you are like me, didn't miss a paycheck, worked from home, you are an elite. Then there is everyone else. We may look back one day and hang our heads.

Here come the COVID-19 vaccine passports...further dividing, not uniting. No one likes to say, "Just like Hitler." Nevertheless, will we make persons who are not vaccinated wear patches on their outer clothing? Crazy stuff? Let's all stop, take a step back for a longer view, and think. Please.

Comic-Con vows to have an in-person event in San Diego at Thanksgiving.

Blocking the sun to cool the planet. I trust some of these folks know what they are doing.

Godzilla and King Kong: teamed up, they may whip the year of the virus. Silly headline?

Richard Stallman has returned, and a lot of folks are not happy about it.

Tuesday 30 March 2021

Machine generation of text is here as several hundred apps are using GPT-3.

Let the counting begin. A union voite at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in on. I trust these folks know what they are doing.

Xiaomi releases a new, really big smartphone.

Someone has a lot of time of their hands: mining Bitcoin with an old Game Boy.

That stuck ship is now unstuck in the Suez Canal.

If you own stock in Zoom, sell it now. Usage and revenue are falling as we go back to bothering one another in person.

The year of the virus has been bad for plumbing and good for plumbers.

The Apple Watch can be used in a basic test of frailty.

Junk science attempts to test vaccine effectiveness. This is bad for all of us.

Wednesday 31 March 2021

Tomorrow is the first of April. It may be the unofficial end to the year of the virus with the return of April Fool's jokes. Read with caution tomorrow.

Xiaomi releases its first folding smartphone.

Intel releases its 2021 gaming processor lineup. It is already outdated---yet another recent disappointment from Intel.

Snap (remember them and their spectacles?) is still here and is promising new glasses and drones.

Arm releases the next generation of its processor design.

Here are the new wireless earbuds from Google.

LinkedIn joins the list of social companies that are trying to build something like Clubhouse.

This must be seen as an important step to some persons.

Cherry blossoms in Japan earliest in 1,200 years. That shows that 1,200 years ago the earth was like it is now, and everything turned out okay.

Thursday 1 April 2021

Considering Windows 10X. Is it just a Chrome OS competitor? Is it the new wave to bring cloud computing to everyone all the time?

Today is April 1st. It appears that we will have April Fool's Day after a hiatus last year. Take care with what you read today.

Microsoft wins a 10-year $21.9Billion contact with our Army for augmented reality. This is double the cloud computing contract Microsoft won a few years ago that is still in court.

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co) to spend $100Billion over three years to up its manufacturing capacity.

Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho are given the Turing Award. They were the principal authors of the "dragon book"--the textbook on Compilers.

Our President announces a $2Trillion American Jobs Plan. Odd given that he won't let anyone go back to work.

Google officially cancels April Fool's Day. Can they do that?

The first of April was a day when we were supposed to be aware that not everything was as it seemed, that we should be on our guard. And now, exhausting as it is, every day is like that.---Seth Godin

Our President's $2Trillion plan promises "Broadband to all" in 8 years. We have heard this before, but not seen the promised result.

Friday 2 April 2021

The year of the virus and the widening divides in America. This is the response we chose. We chose to do this to our neighbors.

It appears that home security cameras aren't secure themselves. Predictable and predicted.

For its white-collar workforce, Amazon is expecting people to leave home and come back to the office.

Casio releases its first outdoor-tough smartwatches.

Speaking of security and all things personal, we now embark on the quest for the vaccination passport on our smartphones.

Our prior President's freeze on H-1B visas has been thawed by our current President.

One of this year's best April Fool's Jokes: this guy has a lot of time and humor.

Our President's infrastructure plan looks good if you like riding trains.

Saturday 3 April 2021

Apple turned 45 this week. I remember the Apple computer in a little store just off the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge.

Angst with Facebook allowing the Communist Party of China to run stories of happy Muslims and all that in the propoganda wars.

Apple expands its Apple Arcade video gaming service.

The editors of the Washington Post clearly let us know that when they like the "ends," the ends justify the means.

Once again we delve into the privacy vs. security debate.Note that the Washington Post doesn't like this ends so it doesn't like the means, in this case.

2020 saw smartphones consuming more memory than ever with the average phone having more than 100GigaBytes of NAND flash.

Stronger rumors that Google will build its own processor for its next smartphone.

One of the less-desirable outcome of the year of the virus is that some Americans have no hesitation telling other Americans how they should live. Why did we give our lives away to strangers?

Gravity always wins as a large chunk of a SpaceX rocket falls on a farmer's field.

Researchers have a method of detecting disease (like COVID-19) by having you count. Simple. No test kit. No big money going to big companies. It will never be allowed.

Sorry folks, the EmDrive fails an independent test.

Sunday 4 April 2021

Uber pays a blind woman $1.1million for stranding her 14 times.

This Nvidia processor is costing $1,200 on the open market, yet some gamers are still buying them and playing games.

It appears that cryptominers have found a way to use GitHub servers to mine.

ooooops, the personal data of 533million Facebook users has been hacked.

In recent days, the lawmakers in Georgia passed a law requiring photo ID to vote. Many corporations have expressed their dislike of the law. Now we come to elections. While the directors of corporations vote, they cast few votes. The lawmakers of states are elected by the residents of those states. It appears that corporate directors disagree with the large body of their customers. Corporate directors wouldn't anger their customers if they believed their actions would hurt their business. Hence, we probably have directors putting on a show knowing that their customers will ignore them. The show continues.

Google runs a "return" ad to popular acclaim. They ruin it at the end claiming that happiness comes from putting chemicals in your body.

Thoughts on "guest blogging."

Looking at writer mentor programs. Which and which. What costs what. How to be accepted.

How one writer was affected by the year of the virus.

And more lessons from the year of the virus from one writer. Enough already. Choose how you are going to live and do it. This year, that year, next year. I believe we give more power to a day than it deserves.

I find this to be good advice and I have heard it independently from several notable writers: write about what haunts you, what you cannot forget.

A writer, and just about everyone else, must be rigidly flexible.

Some writers struggle with this one to the point that they stop writing. Is the story finished? Is it good enough?

This article from a writer is supposed to have several "episodes." I don't know if I will read and note the other episodes. This writer is a school teacher who likes to write and sometimes writes. This person's experience is probably the most likely one we will encounter---lot's of desire and sometimes actual writing.