tingilinde

what we've avoided to point ...

except at the beginning..

A dramatic look at the cold war.  A representatation of all of the nuclear detonations through 1998 in locatoin, size and country.  It starts slowly, but then takes on a disturbing pattern.

And this short video of the most powerful H bomb ever tested - about 3,500 times as powerful as the device that was used against Hiroshima.

glasses

style

 

the navy stopped shouting

Navy messages can now use lower case characters.  (via NPR)

 

 

a serious active transportation route in indianapolis

Making a city more liveable...

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: The Next-Gen in U.S Protected Bike Lanes from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

rock and roll economics - on not making it in the usa

Alan Kruger explains some of the current economic situation in terms of the music business.  Some interesting points (although one can nitpick a bit).  worth the read

 

...

I gave this talk the title, “Land of Hope and Dreams: Rock and Roll, Economics and Rebuilding the Middle Class” because many of the forces that are buffeting the U.S. economy can be understood in the context of the music industry. I have also learned from 25 years of teaching that the best way to explain economics is through the example of the rock ‘n roll industry.

The music industry is a microcosm of what is happening in the U.S. economy at large. We are increasingly becoming a “winner-take-all economy,” a phenomenon that the music industry has long experienced. Over recent decades, technological change, globalization and an erosion of the institutions and practices that support shared prosperity in the U.S. have put the middle class under increasing stress. The lucky and the talented – and it is often hard to tell the difference – have been doing better and better, while the vast majority has struggled to keep up.

These same forces are affecting the music industry. Indeed, the music industry is an extreme example of a “super star economy,” in which a small number of artists take home the lion’s share of income.

The music industry has undergone a profound shift over the last 30 years. The price of the average concert ticket increased by nearly 400% from 1981 to 2012, much faster than the 150% rise in overall consumer price inflation (slide 1). And prices for the best seats for the best performers have increased even faster.

At the same time, the share of concert revenue taken home by the top 1% of performers has more than doubled, rising from 26 percent in 1982 to 56 percent in 2003 (slide 2). The top 5 percent take home almost 90 percent of all concert revenues.

This is an extreme version of what has happened to the U.S. income distribution as a whole. The top 1% of families doubled their share of income from 1979 to 2011 (slide 3). In 1979, the top 1% took home 10 percent of national income, and in 2011 they took home 20%. By this measure, incomes in the entire U.S. economy today are almost as skewed as they were in the rock ‘n roll industry when Bruce Springsteen cut “Born in the U.S.A.” 

...

 

 

(tip of the hat to Bjarne)

 

 

challenges

Hans Rosling is a statistician and something of a showman who is famous on the TED circuit.  He makes some solid points but often glosses over or misrepresents others along the way.  Here he is on washing machines while making a larger point.



It should be pointed out that even free washing machines would be little more than useless boxes in many parts of the world.  You need adequate running water and an electric infrastructure.  To bridge the gap you need to think about appropriate technologies that can work within the constraints.  The Gates Foundation is famously working on a re-invention of the toilet. Hundred of others are working on efficient and alternate fuel cookstoves, although that has been a very tough sell for social reasons. Likewise for localized electricity to run lighting and charge cellphones (cellphones are deeply deployed in many third world areas that lack most other modern efficiencies).  

Some work has been done on locally meaningful washing machines.  I've seen some units which adapt to another technology that is becoming more widely deployed in these areas - the bicycle.  Much more work needs to be done.  It is unlikely that companies see incentive here - at least initially - but this is something very well suited to engineering schools and could benefit from collaborations with design schools, anthropologists, and grant giving foundations.  Involving clever people in the populations that need these machines would be even better and might lead to high chances of success.

 

the one big telco ceo who refused to work with the nsa

Back in the day Joe Nacchio had a reputation for being something of a street fighter.  Norm notes this piece.

snip

...

Back in 2006 Leslie Cauley of USA Today, citing multiple people with direct knowledge of the arrangement, reported that shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks America's three largest telecoms signed contracts to provide the NSA with detailed call records from hundreds of millions of people across the country.

Cauley noted that Qwest's refusal to participate "left the NSA with a hole in its database" since the company served local phone service to 14 million customers in 14 states.

...

 

 

"nothing to hide" is simplistic

danah on the surveillance state

snip

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And here’s where the implications are particularly devastating when we think about how inequality, racism, and religious intolerance play out. As a society, we generate suspicion of others who aren’t like us, particularly when we believe that we’re always under threat from some outside force. And so the more that we live in doubt of other people’s innocence, the more that we will self-segregate. And if we’re likely to believe that people who aren’t like us are inherently suspect, we won’t try to bridge those gaps. This creates societal ruptures and undermines any ability to create a meaningful republic. And it reinforces any desire to spy on the “other” in the hopes of finding something that justifies such an approach. But, like I said, it doesn’t take much to make someone appear suspect.

In many ways, the NSA situation that’s unfolding in front of our eyes is raising a question that is critical to the construction of our society. These issues cannot be washed away by declaring personal innocence. A surveillance state will produce more suspect individuals. What’s at stake has to do with how power is employed, by whom, and in what circumstances. It’s about questioning whether or not we still believe in checks and balances to power. And it’s about questioning whether or not we’re OK with continue to move towards a system that presumes entire classes and networks of people as suspect. Regardless of whether or not you’re in one of those classes or networks, are you OK with that being standard fare? Because what is implied in that question is a much uglier one: Is your perception of your safety worth the marginalization of other people who don’t have your privilege?

 

 

 

finding paul reverse with metadata

fine explaination of how some simple techniques work

(hat tip to Jim)

 

christopher pyle on snowden and the nsa

While doing my morning exercises I sometimes listen to the As It Happens podcast from CBC.  Great news from the Canadian perspective and I've been listening on shortwave from the mid 70s until they began to podcast.

This morning was great - the June 10^th show has an interview with Christopher Pyle - one of the people who triggered the whole Watergate affair and an expert on these matters.  The show starts with excerpts from Edward Snowden's earlier interview, but the Pyle segment begins around 4:30.  Excellent and highly recommended.  If you haven't heard Snowden, I recommend starting at the beginning for a brief update.

 I fear most Americans just won't care...

It may be useful to remember this famous quote:

When the President does it, that means it is not illegal

Richard M Nixon - 1977

You may or may not trust the current President.  Will you trust all to come?  Do you trust Congress?  Are check and balances important to you?