White Noise takes a break

But only for a week. We're off to San Diego.

See you soon!

Things I learned lately 18 May

• Jericho was the biggest city in the world in 7000BC with 2,000 citizens. In 200AD, Rome had 1,200,000 citizens, but that dropped to less than 500,000 by 273AD just prior to the fall of their civilization.
• Hointer is changing the way you shop for clothes by using a robotic sales staff. You download an app, go to the showroom, and scan the QR codes of the clothing you'd like to try. The clothes are delivered automatically right to the fitting room, customers swipe their card on the tablet, and walk out.
• Actual kids voiced the Peanuts characters on the TV shows. This was not something the suits at CBS liked.
• Almost half of the world's chameleon species live on the island of Madagascar.
• The price of gas in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is $0.13 / litre. 5 years ago, it was $0.16 / litre. That's right, it went DOWN.
• In Maryland, the Prince George’s County Board of Education is proposing that the school system copyright all work created by students and teachers. That would mean that anything from a drawing to a lesson plan becomes the property of the school system, not the creator.
• Berlin Ontario was renamed Kitchener Ontario during WWI.
• Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is the only city name in the world that features two exclamation points.
• The surface of the sun may only be 6000C, but the interior is 15,000,000C (we think).
• Up until recently, it was technically illegal for women to wear pants outdoors in Paris. The exception was if the woman is holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse. This law had been in effect since the French Revolution.
• It was common in the 1940's and 1950's for women to have to resign from their jobs once they got married. IBM stopped doing that in 1951.
• One of the things that sets Google apart in terms of what it can offer consumers as a service has been born in the form of Google Now. The idea is that Google Now can offer you tidbits of information about your day, your surroundings, your preferences, because it know a lot about you and what you look for already. I think this is the future of mobile computing. Predictive offerings of information, personally tailored to you. The days of having to search for things may be almost over.
• Citi Bike in New York City will start out 27 May with 6000 bikes and 330 stations. Long term costs are: 0-45 mins = free; 45-75 mins = $2.50; 75-105 mins = $9; $9 for each 30 mins after that.

Butter versus margarine

Science explores the difference and begins the discussion of which is healthier for you.

I loves me some butter. It's natural.

Value for the Defense dollar

If I were Peter McKay, the Canadian Defense Minister, I would be pretty embarrassed right about now. We spent $200 million and all we basically got was a brochure on a possible future Arctic patrol vessel. For $100 million the Norwegian Navy gets two fully functional floated ships.

It's official - red wine - good for you

A natural ingredient found in red wine, resveratrol, found in the skin of grapes, combats diseases related to getting older, like type 2 diabetes, cancer or Alzheimer's. Specifically, resveratrol increases the activity of sirtuins, which makes mitochondria — the cell part that turns food into energy in our cells — more efficient.

Hate

SOTD - Homme

This Brazilian Girls' song reminds me of those times when I'm listening to a foreign language film or song where I think the person talking is saying something nice and sweet. But they're not.

Facebook advertising is brainwashing you

A lot of people don't click on Facebook ads. So how does Facebook advertising work?

Clicks don’t matter. But the ads you see on Facebook are working. Sponsored messages in your feed are changing your behaviour. They’re getting you to buy certain products instead of others, even if you think you’re ignoring the ads. Studies show that just seeing the ad will influence a future purchase, similar to way ads work on television. This is called "demand-generation," which plants ideas in your head for the future.

How Google Glass could revolutionize the way we do things

GPS directions right in your field of vision. First person video. Augmented reality - see information about your surroundings and current plans in real time based on what you're looking at. Fix or build something while a professional guides you in real time based on what you see. A surgeon can see your vitals while operating, or see an overlay of your organs to know where to cut, etc. Computerized tour guides based on what you see. Students could live stream lectures to those unable to attend. Law enforcement officers could identify criminals or people with outstanding warrants on sight. Businesses could stream targeted advertising and offers based on your vicinity and what you're looking at. Voice activated (if you want).

The future is so bright, you'll have to get the shades lens attachment for the Google Glass frames.

Honey

SOTD - Call me

When I heard this song pop up in my shuffled playlist, the sound of the surf reminded me that in 4 days we'll be listening to just that sound from the comfort of our hotel room in San Diego. So thank you Bran Van 3000 for setting the mood for the beginning of my vacation.

Wealth inequality in US

How Americans think wealth is distributed, versus how they think it ought to be distributed, versus how it IS distributed.

Watch this to the end. Then ask yourself - how is this fair? I think this is greed made visual.

Canadian versus American real estate values over time

The pic kinda speaks for itself. We're out of control!

SOTD - Is this love?

What can I say about this artist that hasn't already been said? Nothing.

Let us retire to our relaxed positions and just listen to the music, 'kay? Is that a doob I see in your hand. Sneaky.....

Things I learned lately 12 May

• Mitt Romney told SVU grads that they should get married and have a quiver full of kids as soon as possible.
• Young adults that just purchased clothing at a great price, make a creative and entertaining video talking about their purchases, which is then uploaded to YouTube or Facebook, etc. There are roughly 700,000 haul videos on YouTube, with 34,000 uploaded just over the past month. Some do this because they are really interested in clothes, others use 'hauling' to star in their own videos. For some, hauling has evolved into lucrative profession where they can make a six-figure income, because clothing companies start paying them to review their product.
• Microsoft is working on Mohoro, a version of 'desktop-as-a-service' that will allow users of any device (even an iPad) to run Windows and Windows apps in a browser. This is nothing new of course. Google already has a web OS (Chrome) as does Firefox.
• Ke$ha spends more on glitter per month than most people spend on their mortgages.
• A pastor who ate at an Applebee's wrote on the check in the tip field '0' and added "I give God 10% why do you get 18". The waitress posted a pic of the check to The Consumerist website, and she was promptly fired by Applebee's.
• An 11 year old Massachusetts boy who spray-painted graffiti on his neighbour's homes was ordered by a judge to get a job so he can pay the victim’s $1,000 restitution – and learn a life lesson at the same time.
• There are over 100 species of living bacteria in the clouds 30,000 ft above us. They ride the water vapour to get up there.
• Pacman was originally called Puckman, but the name was changed because the manufacturers were concerned about vandals changing the P to F on the game cabinets.
• Between the time it was discovered and the time it was unclassified as a planet, Pluto didn't even get to complete one revolution around the sun.
• Fly like an ego.... off American Idol. Mariah Carey, a judge on Idol (for now) has fired Randy Jackson as her manager and Randy Jackson has indicated that he won't be staying for another season. Likely nobody will be staying for another season. Now if only we could get Ryan Seacrest to jump ship and host The Voice. Yeah, I know. Not going to happen.
• Colorado voted to legalize marijuana and tax and regulate it like any other substance. On 10 May 2013 the legislature passed a framework for cannabis production, distribution and sale. Colorado is set to make a lot of tax from this. There will be a 15% excise tax and an initial 10% tax on recreational pot sales. The money will fund the regulatory apparatus and also go toward Colorado schools. All marijuana stores will have to be licensed by the state and be owned by residents of Colorado.

OffStar

A woman has a Cadillac vehicle with GM’s OnStar system that provides emergency and roadside assistance with the push of a button inside the car, no cell phone needed. Unfortunately, she didn't subscribe to OnStar. Lately, she accidentally locked her purse and keys in the car. And her infant daughter. She managed to contact OnStar and asked them to help, just this once, because there was a baby in the car. They refused. It was a pure accident. She set the purse down in the car and closed the back door, when all four doors locked spontaneously.

I have a problem when car companies nickel and dime you to have to subscribe to a service in order to use a feature built-in to your car. If GM wanted to maintain great customer relationships, they should offer OnStar as a value-added bonus. For free. If they can't afford to do that, it should be built into the price of the vehicle. It makes no sense to have a safety feature that you can only use if you pay extra for it.

Imagine if your air bags only worked if you paid a yearly subscription fee......

"Am I free to go?"

US citizens lawfully exercising their rights against Immigration checkpoints that are nowhere near a US border.

To err is human.....

SOTD - Grown so ugly

What is it about the simple, bluesy rock that can pierce your soul with such simple melody and please just pull my heart out and show it to the world feel? The Black Keys know, because they are experts at this kind of music. Does the devil own their souls? One may never know. Good trade though......

Songs that are 40 years old this year (2013)

Alice Cooper - Hello hooray
Bob Marley - Stir it up
David Bowie - The jean genie
Elton John - Bennie and the jets / Daniel
Genesis - I know what I like
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free bird
Pink Floyd - Money
Marvin Gaye - Let's get it on
Mike Oldfield - Tubular bells
Paul McCartney - My love / Band on the run
Steely Dan - My old school
Stevie Wonder - Living for the city
ZZ Top - La grange
Fleetwood Mac - Hypnotized
Rolling Stones - Angie
Sweet - Ballroom blitz
Stories - Brother Louie
Doobie Brothers - China grove
Seals and Crofts - Diamond girl
Aerosmith - Dream on
Led Zeppelin - D'yer maker
Steve Miller - The joker
BTO - Let it ride
Paul Simon - Loves me like a rock
Billy Paul - Me and Mrs Jones
Wings - My love
Ian Thomas - Painted ladies
Allman Brothers - Ramblin' man
Joe Walsh - Rocky mountain way
Three Dog Night - Shambala
Golden Earring - Radar love

PING!! Tweet!

Have you ever wanted to see metrics of tweets in real time? Like a world war map of the twitterverse?

Wait until you see this.

The pic is a screen grab after just over 5000 world-wide tweets had been sensed (which took all of a minute and a half).

SOTD - Needles in my eyes

This is definitely one of my favourite Beta Band tunes. Soul-wrenching bass line. Fewer sound effects than normal (not that their little audio toys are a bad thing). Catchy melody. Beta feel - like a tune still in development, but perfect in its candid-ness. Is that a word? Google doesn't think so. Candidity? Candidosity? Yeah, I think we're done here. Just listen to the tune and leave me alone.

Modern times

How Elizabeth I and Shakespeare would look in modern times.

Things I learned lately 7 May

• It turns out that a proton (found in the nucleus of atoms) is only 0.84087 femtometres across, not 0.8768 femtometres. I know, I'm shocked too. [a femtometre is a millionth of a billionth of a metre]
• Under Canada's newly gutted environmental laws, anyone who wants to comment on the upcoming hearings on the new Enbridge oil pipeline must fill in a ten-page questionnaire and submit a CV.
• The top 10 native countries that are the source of Canada's immigrants are the UK; China; India; Philippines; Italy; USA; Hong Kong; Germany; Poland; Vietnam.
• The Chinese have built a fully functional cell phone with Bluetooth, mp3 player, OLED display and quad-band GSM for $12.Incredibly, it's actually worth less than $2. You can buy it at Shenzhen's Mingtong Digital Mall. 
• In 1982, the median income for the bottom 99% of wage earners in Canada was $28,000 and the top 1% earned a median of $191,600. In 2010, the median income for the bottom 99% of wage earners in Canada was $28,400 and the top 1% earned a median of $283,400. 21% of the top 1% earners were women, up from 11% in 1982. Calgary is Canada's most unequal city in terms of earnings, as its top 1% earns 26X as much as the bottom 10%.
• The percentage of Canadians who only watch TV content online (no cable TV) is now at 5%.
• Netflix plans to release all 14 new episodes of Arrested Development at once (never mind all the other new content), because "It's the future of television. The days of 'managed dissatisfaction' are over."
• The average Apple retail store generates $5600 per square foot. 
• The world's largest mobile provider is China Mobile. It has almost 700 million subscribers and counting.
• Corporate profit margins are higher than they've ever been before. That also means they're not investing in their employees and products as much. Wages as a percentage of the GDP just hit an all-time low. Lastly, the employment to population ratio has collapsed. These kinds of conditions typically result in social revolutions. Just sayin'.

Brian Eno on Nuclear energy

[Condensed from a lengthy letter from Brian Eno to Nassim Nicholas Taleb]

Indeed our geographical 'circle of empathy' grows decade on decade: a hundred years ago it would have been impossible to imagine millions of people raising hundreds of millions of pounds for tsunami victims on the other side of the world - people they didn't know and would almost certainly never meet. In terms of geography, we inhabit a much bigger picture than we used to, and we sense our interconnectedness within it.

In terms of time, however, the picture seems to be narrowing. Public attention is increasingly focused on very near futures: Businesses live in terror of the bottom line and the quarterly results, while politicians quake at tomorrow's opinion polls and formulate policy in terms of them. We've heard tales of farmers planting olive trees or vineyards for their grandchildren to harvest, or of foresters cultivating groves of oaks to replace a chapel roof hundreds of years in the future, but by and large, we don't do that anymore. We have less active engagement with our future than our ancestors did.

To illustrate this, think about nuclear power. Start with FUKUSHIMA, that dread word. As a result of over-excited media reporting ('great story!' I heard one journalist say) that single word has probably condemned nuclear power for another generation, when in fact the accident produced no radiation-related deaths (and it's doubtful that it will produce a discernible statistical blip in cancers in the future). In a conspiracy which seems almost dishonest, most Green groups failed to acknowledge this - it was too good as propaganda for them to let the facts get in the way - and of course the press never returned to the subject with any correctional follow-up. It became one of those little nuggets of received, and totally incorrect, wisdom: Nuclear=Fukushima=Catastrophe.

That received non-wisdom has persuaded Green Germany to begin decommissioning its nuclear reactors - which means more coal-fired plants. Japan too will probably turn back to coal. Coal is - even Greenpeace would agree - the worst option, though they'd claim that the gap can be filled by renewables. It can't, not now and probably not for decades. In the meantime - and it may be a long, mean time - we'll use coal. It's cheap and very, very dirty.

So the real catastrophe of Fukushima is in the future, waiting for us in the form of vastly increased atmospheric CO2.

The nuclear issue - which I've used as an example in this letter - is only one of many I could have chosen. The fact is, we're facing a lot of complex and interrelated problems which demand that we take positions now. To some extent, that position is going to have to be 'let's improvise' because there's a distinct limit to how well we can make predictions. The de facto nuclear storage arrangements currently in use in America are examples of 'let's improvise' and in this case seem to be a not-too-bad arrangement. But 'let's improvise' has its limitations: in fact it's sort of what got us where we are now, in a place that's both wondrous and problematic. We might need some other intellectual weapons in our arsenals, no matter how good we become at jamming.

Fascinating.....

Audi hired the two Spocks to play in one of their latest commercials.

It's cute. Thanks to my friend Bernie for the tip.

Release the quacken!!

SOTD - We dance alone

Every time this song comes up in my shuffled music collection, I keep thinking it's some R&B artist like Alicia Keys or Sunshine Anderson or Janelle Monae. But nope, it's Beck.

Surprise!

Going from passive consumer to active creator

Maybe you've heard the term '3D Printing' but you don't know what all the hoopla is about. This video should get you up to speed in 7 minutes.

It's very exciting and it will change the world forever.

It's all about senescence

Fascinating video about how we age from Scishow.