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: 18-24 October, 2021
In building models for AI, our appetites keep growing to the point that only the rich can get richer. The good news for the rest of us is that the cost of doing the regular work is cut in half every 16 months. This is some sort of affirmation that Moore's Law still holds.
Apple is holding an event later today. Here are the final rumors. New computers.
And in the UK, some schools are now using facial recognition to speed payments in the lunch line. I hope someone understands that the facial features of teens change in just a few months.
Foxconn steps into the business of making electric vehicles.
It appears that China has made some gains in its hypersonic missile program.
A 1 in 100Billion shot...a meteor lands next to a woman in her bed.
Writers and learning to write. Learning can be a chore or a pleasure. We get to choose.
Back to some mechanics: the six points in a story. I guess some writers live with this concept. I've never heard of it before.
Writer's block?I don't believe in that, but whatever. Here are some tips to move back into writing when you don't feel like it.
Working alone or, more appropriately said, working while lonely. Freelancers work alone 99% of the time. That is normal. Working while lonely is more difficult.
Note to writers, "Publishing is easy. Selling books is hard."
The concept of keywords and how search engines find you based on keywords.
The National Novel Writing Month is almost here. Some guides to prepare.
....Apple held an event yesterday and showed new laptop computers. Here is one summary.
Our security agencies warn our agriculture industry of ransomware and BlackMatter.
Dell upgrades the screen on its XPS 15 to the delight of video editors.
Some engineers were designing nuclear power plants for colonies on Mars. Then they figured out how to do the same on earth. The application here is simple: remote locations can use one of these small reactors safely instead of using diesel generators. The technology works, works well, is clean and efficient.
.....Another integrated circuit plant to be in Japan instead of China. Supply chain lessons from the virus that originated in China.
Google had a big event to show the Pixel 6 phone lineup. Here is one summary.
At the heart of the new Google phones is their own Tensor processor.
The prolonged year of the virus continues to be good for Netflix.
We have a study that shows 99.9% of scientists agree that humans caused the climate change crisis. Folly. You can't get 99.9% of any group to agree on anything. Folly.
.....Apple claims it is short on stock of products for the approaching Holiday season. China proved to be an unreliable business partner. I hope everyone has learned the lessons.
And even Raspberry Pi has a price increase due to short supply. Learn or weep.
Here is a deeper look at Apple's new M1 Max processor. It costs $600 more than the new M1 Pro.
Recruiters at tech companies are skeptical of hiring graduates of coding boot camps.
This is a good article on how to use TeX and how to use it on the OverLeaf site. TeX provides a much more professional look to documents. It is not as easy as MS Word, but I find the effort worth it.
.....This is a wind power idea that makes sense. It is a wall with many small wind generators. It is little more than idea at this time, but has actual potential and won't use giant blades that have to be buried in giant holes when they wear out.
Amazon offers more in-store pickup for shoppers.
The US and several European governments agree on international digital taxes and such. More of other persons' money for politicians to spend.
Microsoft corrects the issues it had with Windows 11 and processors from AMD.
Crypto miners and the desire to use renewable energy sources. It is about making money while not making too much money to be a target.
.....We are seeing many "internal documents" coming from Facebook about this and that. Note: while sometimes entertaining to read someone else's "internal documents" we should note that these type of things are obtained illegally.
We can now buy BitCoin at vending machines in WalMart. This is speculative trading, but not on a recognized stock exchange, so we don't need all those middle men with licenses and such.
NATO publishes its AI strategy and puts up a billion$$$ for research.
.....McDonald's is to face a nationwide strike at its restaurants this Tuesday.
Will the US have a "national research cloud?" Some correctly show that such a place for academic and small-company research will be hosted by a big tech company at large profits for the already rich.
Perhaps I have seen it all or most of it, but not this. Excel tips set to music and dance.
Get it Done, be productive, and all that. I like this article on how productive persons (no denying that claim) use various software packages to be so productive. The tools help, the attitude is the major factor.
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