- The time that Tony Fadell sold me a container of hummus. — Medium
Jesus. This cannot be legal. Serious, read this, it is the easy-to-grasp dark side of the IoT in a nutshell.
Tag: evil_empire
Bookmarks for April 2, 2012
- Planning a trip to Canada or the Caribbean? US Immigration may have other ideas… – News & Advice – Travel – The Independent
I await the first tales of someone's holiday being fucked up because they happened to share a name with someone who is on the US list, even despite the fact that they're not even flying near the US. I also await being allowed to deny US citizens the right to enter France.
- BBC News – 10 stories that could be April Fools pranks but aren't
Several of these are fascinating. Others are just mad. Either way, I like 'em.
- What Lies Beneath: Excavating Crossrail's tunnels | In-depth | The Engineer
This is fascinating reading. Example facts from this piece: tunnel boring machines go at about 100m per week, and have a turning radius of 250m. Inpressive enough, but in places the tunnels these things are cutting are passing with 1m of existing tunnels, which, obviously, it would be very bad if they were to hit. "Lads, we've got to start turning now, so that we're in the right place in 2 weeks time. If we're out by over a foot, were going to cause major damage to something expensive. No do-overs. Everyone ready?"
Links for Sunday March 18th 2012 through Monday March 19th 2012
- 100 Real Tweets from Homophobes Who Would Murder Their Gay Child
Here is a dose of bleak for you all. Because I hate you, and want you to despair. Or, perhaps just because I think it does those of us who are decent, tolerant and human to be reminded who the enemy is every so often. (I am aware that some of us find it easier to forget than others.)
- The Daily Mirror have use a photo of an innocent young woman as a serial killer
Sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? They've thieved a photo from someone's on-line gallery (bad enough in the first place) and used it as a photo to illustrate an article about a real serial killer, as if the person in the picture was the killer. Said person is not even remotely connected with the crimes in question. I'm really just blogging this for the sheer WTF factor….
Bookmarks for February 6, 2012
- The ‘Eggs In One Basket’ Index – SplatF
Dan Frommer take a look at major tech firms, and what percentage of their revenue is generated from for their largest revenue source. I was saying the other day that I would be happy to pay google a lot for their services, in exchange for an advertising-and-tracking free experience. I look at this chart, and I realise that it might even make (some) sense for Google to offer that option, just from a diversification-of-revenue point of view. I don't expect they will, and I'm sure there are big hurdles in their way that would stop it, but still, there's an awful lot of eggs in the advertising basket, there.
- Britons give more to donkey sanctuary than abuse charities | Money | The Guardian
This statistic is four years old, but I bet it's still true. People always look at me funny when I occasionally express my serious disgust with people who given to animal charities. I'm familiar with the walk-and-chew-gum theory, and indeed, use it myself when arguing for things like funding for the space programme, but that's an apples-and-oranges comparison – tech progress vs. abuse – while this is directly a "which abuse is worse" like-for-like comparison, at least to me. And many people appear to prefer to spend the money that they have available to spend on animals, instead of people. Because it really matter when someone shoves a cat in a bin, but much less when someone shoves their fist in someone else's face.
- Who the hell do Camden Council think they are?
Unfuckingreal. Local council decide that what residents really want, when hanging out in communal gardens of their flats, is a) to be on camera, and b) to have that camera tell them in the disembodied voice of authority to move on, or their photos will be "sent for processing". This photo of them, in their own garden.
Bookmarks for December 9, 2011
- Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine
I've never thought of myself as someone who lived in the past, but apparently I am. Bugger.
- My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan: My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan
Many of you will have seen this already. If you haven't, go and look.
Bookmarks for December 10, 2010
- Help: Twelve Tales of Healing
Your second stock-filler recommendation for the day! What are you waiting for? Go! Get shopping! Buy my friend's fine literary product and help make the world a better place!
- Invaders from Mars – Charlie's Diary
I know Stross is one of my regular linkees, and I'm sure a lot of you glide over him at this point, but I thought this was a particularly interesting read, and I commend it to anyone who is feeling frustrated by the apparently lack of ability for members of the public to influence anything in the wake of stuff like Wikileaks and the student fees protests. It won't tell you how to change things, but it provides an interesting perspective on the whys of the current situation, that lead to some interesting thoughts on how one might affect change in the medium-term future.
- The Fast Fiction Challenge – Volume 2 by Lee Barnett
Budgie's Fast Fiction Challenge, now in its second volume. I commend it to your attention as a perfect stocking filler.
- standpoint gallery
Reverting to Type: exhibition. Must go see.
- Havasu: a material exploration of conversational interfaces – Blog – BERG
Interested mostly into the insights into conversational interface, rather than the actual product here. For consideration: pair a more general use version of this with some voice recognition software, and it won't be long before all those SF voice-activated computers become a reality.
Bookmarks for March 24, 2009
- Metropolitan Police Service – New campaign to urge Londoners to report suspicious activity
Be Afraid! Your Neighbour Is Not Like You, And You Should Fear Them! If Someone Deviates From The Norm, They Must Be Investigated. Do Not Watch The Cameras, The Cameras Are For Watching You. Be Afraid! (fucksake)
- Neutron tracks revive hopes for cold fusion – physics-math – 23 March 2009 – New Scientist
This may or may not be the real deal, but the fact that at this stage they're just saying "look we found this" rather than claiming 100% certainty now makes them a bit more plausible than the previous bunch. Here's hoping, eh?
- Beautiful Data | O'Reilly Media
This is simultaneously a massively nerdy book, a notion of staggering genius, and an instant must-read.
- Rands In Repose: The Makers of Things
"Yes, halfway through this project we'll discover the impossible, but we know how to build through the impossible. Impossible is when we do our best work."
- Warner Bros launches made-to-order DVD service | Technology | Internet | Reuters
About bloody time. There is no reason why any cultural artefact produced since we started using computers should be ever be out of print.
Bookmarks for August 15, 2008
- Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands
Look, I know that from time to time, I post these stories, and it could just be viewed as US-bashing. And I'm also aware that on a civil liberties front, the UK is actually rather behind the US in many ways. But this one is really something special, and should spread far and wide. I don't even have the energy to be angry about it, because I'm busy being stunned and horrifed that this can happen.
This an account of how a the US system accidentally tortured an innocent man to death through bureaucracy, jobsworth-ism and plain lack of decent human feeling. There is no "security" that can possibly be worth this price.
Bookmarks for July 7, 2008
- Warren Ellis » The Patchwork Years
This is an idea I want to revisit. I know a number of very creative people, and see no reason why a bunch of us should not get together and make something clever.
- British Journal of Photography – Home Secretary green lights restrictions on photography
Very very angry now.
Bookmarks for July 4, 2008
- Every looked at anything you’d prefer not to admit to on You Tube?
Well, now Viacom is going to know about it. This, right here is why Google is dangerous. They may try not to do evil, but they can be compelled to hand over vast amounts of their oh-so-nice-honest data to people who are much more evil.