Archiving my Twitter, Facebook and other social network activity
Why great ideas come when you aren’t trying
According to this study, it’s not just taking a break while working on a problem, but taking a break to do something else, as long as it’s something that lets your mind wander.
On a related note, this reminds me of an article I read while back on how the lure of a smartphone can cut down on creative downtime. It’s hard to zone out if you’re catching up on Facebook during your break.
I love that this XKCD comic is the first search result for “file transfer” #itstrue
Food for thought: applying the human brain's limits on meaningful relationships (Dunbar's number, aka the Monkeysphere) to social media.
Obfuscating acronyms: Santa Cruz Operation -> SCO. The SCO Group -> TSG. TMT (Too Many TLAs!)
Always remember: your public information really is public, and even if no one creepy is looking for you specifically, there’s always a possibility they could be looking for someone like you. (Remember the “please rob me” site that reposted location-enabled tweets?)
Be sure you understand your privacy settings, especially with anything that tells the world where you are right now.
Facebook opposes the practice of prospective employers asking for your password.
“As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job. And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job.”
Six Notable & Unusual Maps of Southern California | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET
We asked the members of L.A. as Subject to search through their collections for one notable map that informs our understanding of Southern California.
Unconfirmed rumor: FTL neutrinos may be due to a faulty GPS connection
Remember the faster-than-light neutrinos reported last year? It may have just been a bad fiberoptic connection on the system doing the timing.
The scientists who reported the results in the first place were 99% certain there was *something* wrong with them (though it would have been revolutionary if the results had held up), but they couldn't find the error, and made the announcement mainly to ask for help tracking it down.
Funny how much science fiction seems to be about how we shouldn't pursue science…
SCO vs. IBM Trial Back On Again
Oh, come on. How many times do we have to kill this lawsuit? SCO has had a DECADE to produce evidence of actual infringement, the Linux code base has been gone over with multiple fine-toothed combs, a court determined that SCO doesn’t even own the copyrights that they’re suing over, and the company basically ran themselves into the ground by focusing on the sue-your-own-customers business model.
Follow-up to the story I linked to a few days ago. CNET apologized for adding bloatware to the Nmap installer, but they’re still doing the same thing with other software.
Every time I’ve been to IKEA this year, I’ve wished I had a GPS map of the store. Looks like someone at Google had the same idea!
Google LatLong: A new frontier for Google Maps: mapping the indoors
Interesting read on how the internet, email, chat, mobile phones and more are changing language, from new words and slang to different modes of language and making written English more like the spoken varieties. (via Slashdot)
From lolcat to textspeak: How technology is shaping our language
Wow. Half-life of a StumbleUpon link compared to Facebook & Twitter: 400 hours vs. 3! https://www.fastcompany.com/1792282/infographic-day-incredible-power-stumbleupon
In case you missed it, Monday night in the northern latitudes
Some incredible photos of last week's major aurora display. I hear there were sightings as far south as Arizona, and I wonder: If I had driven up into the mountains above the cloud layer covering the LA basin, would I have seen flickering lights off in the north? (Presumably not. I'm sure if someone had seen the aurora from Mt. Wilson, it would have been mentioned in one of the articles I'd read.)
Steve Jobs Solved the Innovator’s Dilemma
An interesting read (via Slashdot). I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion of the Innovator’s Dilemma regarding Netflix as well, and the efforts to transition from DVDs to streaming as the primary focus.
Interesting map: Combine NASA’s view of the world at night with the map of Facebook usage, and you find out which developed countries do and don’t use Facebook.
Where people don’t use Facebook
Words mean things. Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with jargon, they don’t always mean the same things to different people.
Phil Plait: Scientists are from Mars, the public is from Earth | Bad Astronomy
A couple of days ago here on G+ I linked to a table that shows words scientists use, and how the public hears them – and it’s not the way the scientists think. I had more to say, so I wrote a whole post about it.
Bottom line: if scientists want to sway public opinion, they need to make sure what they say can be understood.
–GP
What scientists say, and what people hear, isn’t always the same thing. That’s a problem with any kind of jargon, but when you get into things that have been politicized, it’s important to be clear.
–FB
Putting the growth of the web in perspective: RT @pingdom Facebook now as big as the entire Internet was in 2004 #social
Just in time for National Coffee Day.
Coffee-powered car buzzes past speed record
Do you need coffee to get going every morning? So does this car, which this month broke a Guinness World Record ‘for vehicles run on gas from organic waste.’