Flutterby™! From 2016-05-01 to 2016-05-31

Crashed a bit through the base, mangled lots of brass, but so far good on this run... 2:21 remaining

[ related topics: Photography Gambling Model Building ]

I'm not sure whether that's an unfortunate line wrap, or a brilliant one

[ related topics: Photography ]

Battlefield Technology Gets Spotlight in Maryland Courts: Secrecy and Defense Concerns Surround Cell Phone Trackers:

But Annapolis Police couldn’t find their target in the case of a Pizza Boli’s employee who reported being robbed of 15 chicken wings and three subs while out on delivery in March. In that case, police got a court order, according to the police log.

The value of the wings and subs totaled $56.77.

So, yeah: Your cell phone data is being intercepted. Period.

[ related topics: Wireless Food Law Work, productivity and environment Law Enforcement Birds ]

Why MIT stopped teaching The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP):

Today, this is no longer the case. Sussman pointed out that engineers now routinely write code for complicated hardware that they don’t fully understand (and often can’t understand because of trade secrecy.) The same is true at the software level, since programming environments consist of gigantic libraries with enormous functionality. According to Sussman, his students spend most of their time reading manuals for these libraries to figure out how to stitch them together to get a job done. He said that programming today is “More like science. You grab this piece of library and you poke at it. You write programs that poke it and see what it does. And you say, ‘Can I tweak it to do the thing I want?'”. The “analysis-by-synthesis” view of SICP — where you build a larger system out of smaller, simple parts — became irrelevant. Nowadays, we do programming by poking.

Video of the Gerry Sussman talk, saved for watching.

[ related topics: Language Books Software Engineering Law Heinlein Video ]

Stay classy, NYPD: The NYPD is Running Stings Against Immigrant-Owned Shops, Then Pushing For Warrantless Searches

[ related topics: Sports ]

Google Is Feeding Romance Novels To Its Artificial Intelligence Engine To Make Its Products More Conversational.

Just pondering what sorts of biases this may introduce to algorithms...

[ related topics: Machinery Artificial Intelligence ]

The Small Town Judge Who Sees a Quarter of the Nation’s Patent Cases. On how Marshall, a small town in eastern Texas, has become the venue of choice for patent litigants.

[ related topics: Intellectual Property Law Currency ]

JWZ: DNA Lounge: Where "trying" is so 2010:

Dr. Kingfish has a theory, that I find hard to counter, that these days "trying" must be a thing that is commonly considered to be uncool. People flock to these semi-crowdsourced events that offer nothing but "participation", so long as that participation takes zero effort -- the kind of Special Olympics where you get a prize just for showing up, like pillow fights and lightsaber battles. If participation means wearing a trivially simple uniform and leaving a mess for someone else to clean up, people are all in. But if participation means you had to actually try, oh, no way, forget about it. "Trying" isn't done.

I've got mixed feelings on this. A friend of mine is a square dance caller with a really good voice. He DJ's a local square dance club's Christmas party. He has expressed frustration that they have discouraged him from participating too heavily in the Christmas song karaoke.

And I get their point: If he stands up and croons, everyone else is gonna be self- conscious about doing anything. I think we need to encourage more people to stand up and take risks and put themselves out there.

On the other hand, we've come to celebrate mediocrity. The guy who stands up there and, completely drunk, slurs the shit out of everything on one note, a semitone below where he should have started, is gonna get kudos.

So I understand asking the accomplished people to step aside and let the duffers try, but we're way on the other side of that balance right now.

[ related topics: Interactive Drama Sports ]

The wheels on the bus go round and round, but the sign on the bus shows debug messages

[ related topics: Photography Television Public Transportation ]

"Any sufficiently advanced falsehood is indistinguishable from truth" Jared Axelrod, The Voice of Free Planet X podcast

[ related topics: Space & Astronomy ]

Wi-Fi hotspot named 'detonation device' causes bomb scare at Melbourne airport.

An estimated fifty passengers – about half of those on board – opted to take a different flight.

The ESP8266 WiFi module is, what, $3.50 in relatively small quantities off of eBay? I haven't thought through what it'd cost to tie those to a lithium battery and clock them to all wake up and broadcast an SSID at the same time, say with maybe a month or two delay to get enough of them placed to make a real difference, but that's some serious attack amplification.

[ related topics: Aviation Current Events ]

Must read: The source behind the Panama Papers writes a long piece on their motivation. *Especially* worth reading is the bit on working with governments and law enforcement agencies, why they want to do that, but why the current climate does not make them optimistic about the prospects:

https://panamapapers.icij.org/20160506-john-doe-statement.html

That being said, I have watched as one after another, whistleblowers and activists in the United States and Europe have had their lives destroyed by the circumstances they find themselves in after shining a light on obvious wrongdoing. Edward Snowden is stranded in Moscow, exiled due to the Obama administration’s decision to prosecute him under the Espionage Act. For his revelations about the NSA, he deserves a hero’s welcome and a substantial prize, not banishment. Bradley Birkenfeld was awarded millions for his information concerning Swiss bank UBS—and was still given a prison sentence by the Justice Department. Antoine Deltour is presently on trial for providing journalists with information about how Luxembourg granted secret “sweetheart” tax deals to multi-national corporations, effectively stealing billions in tax revenues from its neighbour countries. And there are plenty more examples.

[ related topics: Politics Movies Journalism and Media Work, productivity and environment Law Enforcement Global Warming ]

Colibri: an organic motion sculpture (YouTube video).

Plans are a hundred bucks at http://www.derekhugger.com/colibri.html

[ related topics: Movies Video ]

Argh. Frustrating weekend, currently have a spring and a rope tied to the CNC head and then to the rafters to pull it up, because we figured out that with the weight of the router, stiction was enough that the Z axis drive sometimes skipped on small steps. And probably on large ones, though we didn't catch it in the act when we were debugging it there's at least one piece of mangled brass that'd be explained by that. Need to build a more permanent spring solution.

[ related topics: Model Building Woodworking ]

surprise of the moment: in a forum which primarily discusses teledildonics, the phrase "probably end up with just a really hot sticky mess" was talking about de-soldering techniques.

[ related topics: Community ]

RT Burr Shot First ‏@gaileyfrey

HOW DO YOU

guys

guys no don't go trust me this one's good

okay

HOW DO YOU CUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN HALF

...

...

...

WITH A PAIR OF CAESARS

[ related topics: History ]

Edit: According to this WAMU: Transportation Secretary Says He Almost Ordered Metro Shutdown Last Week, the actual word used was probably "amperage", not "power", and this is just a brain-dead reporter.

ABC news article on DOT Secretary Foxx talking about DC Metro issues:

It is clear to DOT officials who watched a video of one recent incident that there is too much electrical power flowing through the subway system, he said."

"Electrical power"? There are actual words which mean something in this context, we don't need to treat it like magic. When the authorities are talking like a bad urban fantasy novel, I worry.

[ related topics: Erotic Movies Current Events Video Clowns Public Transportation ]

Boom, a Journal of California: Re-Coding Planning.

A great overview of some of the sources of the planning issues that make California building so expensive. Especially when it comes to building dense developments.

[ related topics: Software Engineering California Culture ]

DNA Lounge Update: Wherein our parklet is as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs..

And by "bike lane" I mean "the part of the road that the city has graciously provided for Uber and UPS to park in."

Also some good discussion on bike racks.

[ related topics: Bicycling Furniture ]

Gorgeous manzanita solid body electric guitar.

[ related topics: Music ]

I Quant NY: The NYPD Was Systematically Ticketing Legally Parked Cars for Millions of Dollars a Year- Open Data Just Put an End to It.

I'm not a fan of the rule change about pedestrian ramps, but given that those are the rules, this is both an interesting use of open data and how the city responded to it.

Edit: <href="http://urbanresidue.blogspot.com/2014/06/legally-blocking- crosswalk.html">Urban Residue: Legally blocking the crosswalk? talks about the idiocy of the rule change

Apparently maintenance companies can identify architects by name based on the building flaws. The things I learn by talking to facilities.

Today in surveillance state news:

• This Isn’t a Google Streetview Car, It’s a Government Spy Truck
• FBI Hid Surveillance Devices Around Alameda County Courthouse

[ related topics: moron Current Events Law Enforcement Automobiles Machinery Archival ]

Time Magazine names the (Hitachi) Magic Wand the 10th most influential gadget of all time.

Here's the Time list. 3 cell phones, but only one vibrator... Hmmm...

[ related topics: Erotic Sexual Culture Clowns ]

I'm going to assume that y'all have seen the Dr. Who Timewarp? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WBqHdI5Bdw&t=43

[ related topics: Movies Rocky Horror Picture Show ]

Deldo - Vibration Control and Teledildonics Mode for Emacs (YouTube video). Some people like Emacs. Kyle loves Emacs. And Emacs loves him back.

https://github.com/qdot/deldo

[ related topics: Movies Video ]

Observation from last night's transportation meeting: politicians & bureaucrats could double bandwidth by cutting out all the "thank you"s

[ related topics: broadband ]

Wonderful floor calling for El Camino Reelers tonight.

Proofreading. It's a thing.

[ related topics: Photography ]

Kids in the shop. Today went from planning tree houses to making a toy car to archery. Bet their dad didn't expect that last twist...

[ related topics: Children and growing up Automobiles Real Estate ]

I've sent the official email, so I guess I can leak it here: I believe Sonic is an important company. I'm proud to have worked for a little over 4 years for an ISP that regularly tops the EFF's list of companies most concerned with your privacy. I love that Sonic has been putting the lie to this notion that ISPs doing bandwidth limiting is about anything other than funneling customers into cable TV packages.

But I've been made an offer I can't turn down, and am resigning to pursue professional growth that I cannot get with Sonic. Further details in a bit, but it involves the transportation sector, geographic information, and "big data" that, hopefully, will get a whole hell of a lot bigger. A chance to learn and grow, with some super smart people, get me into the city (SF) more often, and pursue some new and interesting challenges.

[ related topics: Privacy Technology and Culture broadband Free Speech Invention and Design Bay Area Television ]

Eccentric Flower: In which epiphanies come from the strangest places:

This is when it dawned on me: The people who don't want transwomen in the women's toilets (and that's always the real issue, they don't give a shit about transmen in the men's toilets) hate and fear men even more than I do. They figure all men are voyeurs or potential rapists or what-have-you. Fear is at the heart of this hatred. It's not a rejection of "weirdness" or "not like us," which is what I originally assumed was the root cause. There may be some of that, sure. But the overwhelming majority of the hostility is because they are scared of what men do.

Max from Fucking Inappropriate mentioned on Twitter that he'd be in the area, so we met up and talked over coffee. I am eagerly looking forward the book, but also reminded of the wider variety of experiences. Great chat.

Go read and let that help inform your foreign policy stance.

[ related topics: Books ]

University Title Generator

[ related topics: Education ]

Dear @LGUS, losing data is not the way to get me excited about writing reviews on your web site

[ related topics: Photography Writing ]

NPR: "That sounds pretty Portland." "Oh, no, Portland, Eugene, Bend, Brooklyn. It's all over the world, really."

[ related topics: New York ]

In Memoriam: Noland, Mary Anne:

NOLAND, Mary Anne Alfriend. Faced with the prospect of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Mary Anne Noland of Richmond chose, instead, to pass into the eternal love of God on Sunday, May 15, 2016, at the age of 68. ...

[ related topics: Religion Politics ]

What’s your (sur)name? Intergenerational mobility over six centuries:

... We focus on the Italian city of Florence, for which data on taxpayers in 1427 – including surnames, occupations, earnings, and wealth – have been digitalised and made available online. We matched these data with those taken from the tax records relating to the city of Florence in 2011. Family dynasties are identified by surnames. Table 1 offers a first flavour of our results. We report for the top five and bottom five earners among current taxpayers (at the surname level) the modal value of the occupation and the percentiles in the earnings and wealth distribution in the 15th century (the surnames are replaced by capital letters for confidentiality). The top earners among the current taxpayers were already at the top of the socioeconomic ladder six centuries ago – they were lawyers or members of the wool, silk, and shoemaker guilds; their earnings and wealth were always above the median. In contrast, the poorest surnames had less prestigious occupations, and their earnings and wealth were below the median in most cases.

[ related topics: Politics Sociology Fashion Furniture ]

Missed this a year ago: Excessive use of dietary supplements linked to increase cancer risk:

While dietary supplements may be advertised to promote health, a forum at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2015 by University of Colorado Cancer Center investigator Tim Byers, MD, MPH, describes research showing that over-the-counter supplements may actually increase cancer risk if taken in excess of the recommended dietary amount.

CBS News version of the story

[ related topics: Interactive Drama Health Community Education ]

Programming on in-use systems is pretty much like raking leaves into a basket with pandas helping... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCvuLb4i4iQ

[ related topics: Movies Software Engineering ]

These nuts may require tightening half a turn periodically

[ related topics: Photography ]

Because I'm betting this will be handy for the new job:

Improve Your ST_GeoHash Sorting With These Three Simple Tricks, ways to improve PostGIS performance/.

[ related topics: Weblogs Invention and Design Theater & Plays Heinlein ]

Great run down on the Sanders v. Clinton kerfluffle at the Nevada State Democratic Convention http://www.politifact.com/neva...nd-misconduct-nevada-democratic/

[ related topics: Politics ]

OH: "nah, man. I tried those enchroma glasses. your all's colors suck"

Financial services company pitching me a "crafting an enduring legacy" seminar. Dudes, have you *seen* my code?

I am not a fan of Glenn Beck. Glen Beck: What disturbed me about the Facebook meeting is well worth reading.

Aha moment: Interviews on news shows are usuallly kayfabe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe

[ related topics: Current Events Television ]

Your reminder that in Jun 2008, Clinton's campaign was telling us that her voters wouldn't cross-over to Obama http://www.salon.com/2008/06/23/pumas/

[ related topics: Politics Salon magazine ]

Pedal Fort Collins: Which road users make the greatest demands on our tax dollars?

[ related topics: Politics Pedal Power ]

RT Phil Shapiro ‏@philshapiro:

Convention centers can only take you so far.

Cities need centers of unconvention.

Using open source software and IBM's Watson to zone out during conference calls:

Newlan's python script starts to run when a meeting begins and his computer's microphone listens in the background. It uses an open source speech recognition program to recognize phrases based on the silences between people's sentences. Then it uses IBM Watson's speech-to-text service to transcribe what's said.

Whenever his name is mentioned, the program sends him a 30 second transcript of what was said before his name was mentioned (and a little after).

Newlan's script then waits 15 seconds and plays a pre-recorded audio file of him saying, "Sorry, I didn't realize my microphone was on mute."

[ related topics: Free Software Business Music Software Engineering Monty Python Currency Conferences Python ]

Off to Stumptown Stomp! There will be much dancing, all weekend, because it'll be too chilly in Guerneville to lounge by the pool...

Good morning, Guerneville! And all you bleary eyed people who were up all night partying...

[ related topics: Photography Gambling ]

How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds — from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist.

Or: Why you should demand command-line interfaces and no notifications.

[ related topics: Graphic Design ]

Musical and Mathematical Design of Square Dance Singing Calls Part 1 - Guy L. Steele Jr..

You knew him as the authority on computer language structure. He's also a square dance caller.

[ related topics: Movies Mathematics Graphic Design ]

And some nights are like that. Only got my groove in sync with the floor a few times tonight. Lots of new material, but still...

[ related topics: Invention and Design ]

How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Fall in Love with Subaru.

Via MeFi.

Edit: MeFi poster beagle points out:

Just dropping by to say that the website where this Subaru story is posted, Priceonomics.com, is a "content marketing" service. As it says at the bottom of the story: "Note: If you’re a company that wants to work with Priceonomics to turn your data into great stories, learn more about the Priceonomics Data Studio."

In other words, Subaru paid for this story to be written. And we're doing what we're supposed to do, sharing and discussing it.

In other words, just as Subaru was very smart and subtle about marketing to lesbians, they are now being very smart and subtle about the story that they were smart and subtle about marketing to lesbians, and we're buying it.

As if you needed any more evidence that Unicode and i18n were evil, here's an example of implementing Brainfuck except with invisible Unicode characters, and then writing exploits in that invisible language... Using, of course, Perl 6...

http://blogs.perl.org/users/zo...ge-and-invisible-data-theft.html

[ related topics: Interactive Drama Perl Open Source Software Engineering Writing hubris ]

Tina Horn: Why the dichotomy between porn and erotica is false and destructive.

Porn=bad/erotica=good doesn’t train the sexual taste of the rich white Emma Watsons of the world; it dehumanizes the trans people, the people of color, the “not classy” bodies who have chosen to make porn because it’s an option that works for them.

[ related topics: Music Erotic Sexual Culture Gambling ]

Realizations I'm old: Looking at new computers, and "DDR" still means "Dance Dance Revolution", not "Double Data Rate"

[ related topics: Invention and Design ]

Symantec gives Blue Coat an intermediate CA. Apparently Blue Coat builds devices which intercept and rewrite HTTP. Symantec just gave them the tools necessary to do that with HTTPS certificates for any web site.

So that hotel public WiFi router that inserts malware ads into your HTTP stream will shortly be doing that with HTTPS.

[ related topics: Weblogs virus Travel Woodworking ]

Ugh. Nothing like learning new things to make you realize how bad most StackOverflow answers are...

[ related topics: Invention and Design Education ]

A2: Analog Malicious Hardware Kaiyuan Yang, Matthew Hicks, Qing Dong, Todd Austin, Dennis Sylvester:

In this paper, we show how a fabrication-time attacker can leverage analog circuits to create a hardware attack that is small (i.e., requires as little as one gate) and stealthy (i.e., requires an unlikely trigger sequence before effecting a chip’s functionality). In the open spaces of an already placed and routed design, we construct a circuit that uses capacitors to siphon charge from nearby wires as they transition between digital values. When the capacitors fully charge, they deploy an attack that forces a victim flip-flop to a desired value. We weaponize this attack into a remotely-controllable privilege escalation by attaching the capacitor to a wire controllable and by selecting a victim flip-flop that holds the privilege bit for our processor. We implement this attack in an OR1200 processor and fabricate a chip. Experimental results show that our attacks work, show that our attacks elude activation by a diverse set of benchmarks, and suggest that our attacks evade known defenses.

On how outsourcing your ASIC manufacture can open your designs to hardware exploits.

[ related topics: Todd Gemmell Bioinformatics Work, productivity and environment Graphics Graphic Design ]

None of you can troll me like Austin can. Also, cell phones and cancer. Again.:

At the end of the study, survival was lower in the control group of males than in all the exposed males. Survival was lower in the control group of females for two of the three exposed groups. Yet no headlines blared that cell phones extend life. Nor will mine. No statistics are presented on whether this is significant.

[ related topics: Mathematics ]

Some days I love Emacs, some days I suspect it's an elaborate troll...

Bla bla bla VisualStudio... lemme tell ya, using Jedi for Python autocomplete in Emacs is pretty freakin' cool.

[ related topics: Star Wars Monty Python Python ]

In Santa Rosa? Seems like either someone I know, or just a degree of separation...

Kinda last minute fill in calling for the Redwood Rainbows tonight. Super fun floor for both sessions.

[ related topics: Nature and environment ]

Oh dear. Drunk woman on bus is expounding on her challenges and troubles. The joy of riding a county route that connects to the courthouse.

[ related topics: Bicycling Public Transportation ]

Software development: "...what can we do to avoid this problem in the future?" "Uhhh... Maybe don't use the hammer to smash your kneecap?"

[ related topics: Software Engineering ]