Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Month: March 2018

  • Crappy Geofencing

    A friend claimed geofencing is the solution to the problem of minor league baseball players clocking in and out for work. (Sure, I had other issues with the plan, but this is specifically about how if all that other stuff is wonderful, how geofencing would fail.) The concept is that when one arrives at a…

  • Lying to Big Data

    The reaction people have towards social media companies is to lie. This amuses me because self-reporting is well known as the worst data. The data scientists expect people to lie.[1] Which is why they ignore what you say about yourself and focus on your behavior. So, you need to start having intentionally deceptive behavior. The…

  • DVR Feature Request: Record In The Future

    Being limited to things just two weeks in advance is a pain in my ass. I keep seeing buzz about shows of interest, so I go to schedule recording it to find out that it is not out yet. The one that prompted this is not even out until for months. In the past, I…

  • Automation for iGen

    Some topics for talking about the work prospects for G. I know he watches CGP Grey, so this is probably what prompted the question. The concern should not be the number of jobs, but whether the remaining jobs will offer a good standard of living. “What is the comparative advantage of human labor in an…

  • Some Hawking quotes

    My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all. If there is an afterlife, then he has that complete understanding now. One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work.…

  • R.I.P. Stephen Hawking

    When I was twelve, my father recommended I read a book. It is the only book one I can think of that he has ever made to me. But, I have to say, it was probably the best recommendation anyone has ever made to me. See, when I was a kid, I loved space technology…

  • Outraged? Don’t share

    Our attention is the product for Facebook and Twitter. They make money by selling advertising. The more time we spend on the site, the more ads they put in front of us, the more money they make. Outrage makes them the most money. We are more likely to share what outrages us. We have tribalized…

  • United States v. Microsoft Corp

    I found this case interesting: The facts of the case are pretty simple: The cops have a warrant for an e-mail account for someone they suspect is involved in selling drugs. They go to Microsoft to get the information. Microsoft says they’ll give law enforcement the information they have stored in Washington [State], but the…