Some cliches, some interesting ones, some short, some long…
The Graduation Advice We Wish We’d Been Given – Gretchen Gavett – Harvard Business Review.
Author: Aditya
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FOOF: The stuff of nightmares
Remember the VX nerve gas from the movie The Rock? This is a lot worse:
FOOF is only stable at low temperatures; you’ll never get close to RT with the stuff without it tearing itself to pieces. I’ve seen one reference to storing it as a solid at 90 Kelvin for later use, but that paper, a 1962 effort from A. G. Streng of Temple University, is deeply alarming in several ways. Not only did Streng prepare multiple batches of dioxygen difluoride and keep it around, he was apparently charged with finding out what it did to things.
via xkcd what-if
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Mythbusters RFID episode banned
But the people who can exploit the system probably know it already:
In a fit of foot-stomping reminiscent of the recent court-ordered ban on a talk regarding the vulnerabilities in the MiFare Classic-based CharlieCard transport payment system, the Discovery Channel – which owns the show – were told in no uncertain terms that “they were not going to air this episode talking about how hackable this stuff was, and Discovery backed way down, being a large corporation that depends on the revenue of the advertisers.” Savage continues with the explanation that the idea of an RFID-busting show is now “on Discovery’s radar and they won’t let us go near it.”
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What’s the shrewdest, smartest maneuver you’ve ever seen in business?
Quite a lot of smart ones there including Harshad Mehta and Ford. Of course, not all the smart moves were good for the society at large.
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3-D printers for the kitchen
A very interesting concept that has mass appeal – definitely more appetizing than 3D printed guns. Plus, people spend more on kitchen appliances than on printers, and the “ink” should be a lot more affordable:
But Contractor, a mechanical engineer with a background in 3D printing, envisions a much more mundane—and ultimately more important—use for the technology. He sees a day when every kitchen has a 3D printer, and the earth’s 12 billion people feed themselves customized, nutritionally-appropriate meals synthesized one layer at a time, from cartridges of powder and oils they buy at the corner grocery store. Contractor’s vision would mean the end of food waste, because the powder his system will use is shelf-stable for up to 30 years, so that each cartridge, whether it contains sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein or some other basic building block, would be fully exhausted before being returned to the store.
via The audacious plan to end hunger with 3-D printed food – Quartz.
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xkcd on Glass Half Empty
Read on and you’ll know:
The lesson: If the optimist says the glass is half full, and the pessimist says the glass is half empty, the physicist ducks.
via Glass Half Empty.
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Prehistoric cave animations
Looks like we’ll have to take a new look at prehistoric art. Wonder what they’ll do about movies like 10000 BC:
3D realisation has thrown up a further indication that some of the pitoti are, literally, in suspended animation.
via Major motion pictures from our prehistoric past | University of Cambridge.
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Headline of the day: Big rig carrying fruit crashes on 210 Freeway, creates jam
Headlines don’t get sweeter than this
Big rig carrying fruit crashes on 210 Freeway, creates jam – latimes.com.
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Spell to hack your Mac
Who’d have thought that Apple had such huge Harry Potter fans:
The SMC, or system management controller, is a chip used to regulate a Mac’s current and voltage, manage its light sensor, and temporarily store FileVault keys. Turns out that the SMC contains undocumented code that is invoked by entering the word “SpecialisRevelio,” the same magic words used to reveal hidden charms, hexes, or properties used by wizards in the Harry Potter series written by author J. K. Rowling.
via “SpecialisRevelio!” Macs use Harry Potter spell to unlock secret “backdoor” | Ars Technica.
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Bechdel test
Interesting way to evaluate gender bias in fiction:
The Bechdel test is used to identify gender bias in fiction. A work passes the test if it features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Commentators have noted that a great proportion of contemporary works fail to pass this threshold of representing women.
