Category Archives: Uncategorized
Simulate a zombie outbreak
I’m a big fan of zombie movies, and have been for decades. They are an interesting and varied examination of how humans would behave in extraordinary circumstances. However they are also a practical yet fun method for evaluating the propagation of disease and epidemics, something we have seen with issues like bird flu and measles.
Of course, a zombie outbreak has novel aspects that have to be considered, separately from other outbreaks. For example, according to canon, being bitten by a zombie means you will turn into one yourself. It might take a while, but it will happen. There are other issues; zombies are easy to see and will actively seek out other humans, yet they are subject to ailments of their own such as rigor mortis and the impact of vectors that would seek to feed on them as well, such as flies and what have you.
Edward Snowden wants to come home
Edward Snowden can be a very divisive figure. I’m going to leave out any personal opinions about him, and instead simply state that it appears he wants to come home, meaning back to the United States.
I was surprised to hear this. Some call him a hero, some call him a traitor, some say he acted because he hates the U.S., and some say he acted because he loves the U.S. There’s even been an Academy Award-winning film made about him. Either way, I wonder if things are not going so well over in Russia and he is suddenly becoming homesick, even though he does have freedom of movement even if it is under guard.
If he does return, it’s very likely he is going to be facing some very serious charges, some of which may very well carry the threat of the death penalty. His main concern appears to be about getting a fair trial, something that could be very, very difficult considering how well known he is around the world.
Augmented Reality? Real Reality? I don’t know.
We are suddenly seeing all kinds of alternate ‘realities’ being made possible through technology. The most common of these is the oxymoronic virtual reality, which although an idea for decades (it even had a web language known as VRML that would allow 3-d worlds inside a web browser), now seems as though it might actually be coming to fruition thanks to Sony’s PS4-based Project Morpheus, due in early 2016, HTC/Valve’s PC-based Re Vive which came out of nowhere and is due later this year, and the now-owned-by-Facebook Oculus Rift, due…sometime.
I warned you
A couple of classes ago, we talked about the memristor being developed by Hewlett Packard. We mentioned it doesn’t work on straight binary, or the on-off paradigm of current transistors used in computer chips, and that would allow for vastly increased storage and speed, instant boots, and much lower power consumption.
We also discussed that there were claims it would give machines a low level of sentience, or self-awareness – remember our discussion of Black Widows? So in the spirit of our discussion of the memristor and its implications, I found this article over on CNN that not only discusses the memristor, but also reiterates all the concerns and issues we discussed in class.
Unreal Engine 4 is now free
The Unreal Engine, a game-creation toolkit developed by Epic and used to develop a wide range of games from Clive Barker’s Undying in 2001 to the truly terrible Thief in 2014, is one of the standard game creation engines out there. You can see the list of all games created using the engine at the related Wikipedia page.
If you’ve ever wondered how games are made, or if you ever wanted to dabble in game creation, then today is your lucky day. The Unreal Engine 4 is now available for free download. You’ll have to register, but there are no costs associated with it, and it has a MASSIVE amount of features.
Some Amazing Images
Since it’s Friday, I am going to post some pretty incredible and technology relevant images. Normally I post something oddball on Fridays, however all but one of these are pictures that I just had sent to me so I’ve decided to post them instead.
This first picture is an insanely realistic image of the human body from a CT Scan made by General Electric’s Revolution CT system, and you can find more images at this site.
Revolution CT Scan
Today is the big day (UPDATE: It Happened!)
UPDATE: It has happened, as we hoped. The FCC has adopted what it refers to as “Strong, Sustainable Rules to Support the Open Internet.” The vote was along party lines as we all knew it would be, and it forbids paid prioritization while classifying Internet providers as common casrriers, meaning they are now utilities like power and water and subject to severe regulations. You can read the statement from FCC chairman Tom Wheeler here, from Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel here, and the formal announcement about the new rules here.
So what does it all mean? ISPs like Comcast, Verizon, Cox, and Time-Warner will not be allowed to throttle speeds to legal data, block access to legal sites, charge certain services more to use their lanes (paid prioritization), and they also have to let the FCC know about their network management practices ensuring everything they are doing is on the level. Unlike the previous rules passed in 2010 and shot down by the Supreme Court,these new rules apply to wireless carriers as well. VoIP (Voice Over IP) was less affected.
Idiotic Ebay auction of the week
You may remember the story I told in class about buying an Amiga computer and the salesperson asking if I wanted to add a $500, 25 Megabyte hard drive. I of course said I could never fill up a 25 Megabyte hard drive.
Originally released in the mid-’80s, The Commodore Amiga was a great computer, at the time a graphical and system powerhouse, far outshining other machines of the time. It was used to make graphics for the NFL, for television shows and advertisements, and the editor used to do all that was known as the Video Toaster. The Toaster won an Emmy for it’s design, and it was developed by Brad Carvey, brother of Dana Carvey, who used his brother as the inspiration for his character Garth Algar in the Wayne’s World skits and movies.
Of course, there was also Dungeon Master.
Speaking of Moore’s Law
In class last Friday we talked about Moore’s Law, which in a general sense states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit will double every 18 months to 24 years. However it has also been used to state more generally that the capabilities of technology – whether digital photography or cell phones or connected houses or even light bulbs now – will double every couple of years.
In an article over on Ars Technica titled “Intel Forges Ahead to 10nm, Will Move Away From Silicon at 7nm,” they describe the never-ending process of shrinking the size of transistors and increasing the number that processors have, not just to make electronics faster and smaller, but also to keep up with Moore’s Law. the ‘nm’ refers to ‘nanometer,’ a very small measurement that is so small perspective becomes mandatory. A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter, or for a more immediate comparison, a human hair is around 75,000 nanometers.
Haven’t seen one of these in a while
I usually get a few spam emails daily, some are clearly phishing or attempting to get me to install malicious software. But the ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam (or 419 scam as it is more commonly known) hasn’t been popping up as often as I like. They’re entertaining to read, and I wish I got more of them. If you want to experience some Schadenfreude, there are even websites set up to turn the tables on the scammers.
Anyway, I just got one! So I’ll share it with you, let you know the ‘.co’ extension represents Colombia, and hopefully you all know not to respond to messages like this. As usual, we’ll talk about it more in class.
| From: | “Thomas Kohler” <[email protected]> |
| Subject: | Greetings and Good news |
| Date: | Fri, February 20, 2015 3:28 pm |
| To: | undisclosed-recipients:; |
Greetings, My name is Dr Thomas Kohler. I am an independent external auditor for the World Bank handling the Foreign Banks Debt Management Office. I have in front of me an abandoned transfer file containing details to an escrow account setup in your name. The file shows that you have correctly made application to have your funds released to you. It is also clearly noted on the file that the beneficiary could not handle the financial commitment required of him. Due to this the funds were pegged and abandoned.As an international independent external auditor i think it is very absurd to abandon ones funds for this simple reason. To tell you the truth i do not believe this to be true and my reason is simply because of the irregularities i noticed while compiling the audit report for the end of the financial year. I have perfected plans to have this funds transferred to you within the next 24hrs. Upon your confirmation i will give you further directives. Regards, Dr Thomas Kohler Tel/Fax: +44 709 287 5848 |
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