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22 Sep 23:43

What everyone reads

by Seth Godin

Everyone used to read the morning paper because everyone did. Everyone like us, anyway. The people in our group, the informed ones. We all read the same paper.

Everyone used to read the selection of the book of the month club, because everyone did.

And everyone used to watch the same TV shows too. It was part of being not only informed, but in sync.

Today, of course, that's awfully unlikely. Only 1 or 2 percent of the population watch the typical 'hit' show on cable. Of course, it's entirely possible that everyone in your circle, the circle you wish to be respected by, is watching the same thing, but that circle keeps getting smaller, doesn't it?

And when 'everyone' isn't part of the picture any more, when the long tail is truly the only tail, plenty of people stop trying. They stop reading difficult books or watching less-than-thrilling video, and they don't push themselves to do the hard stuff, because, really, why bother?

Society without a cultural, intellectual core feels awfully different than the society that we're walking away from.

       
22 Sep 23:39

Texas considera prejudiciais os livros que contenham “alterações climáticas”

by Silmar Geremia
texas-flag

Po**a, Texas!

Texas, com aqueles suculentos cataventos geradores de energia eólica e as cheerleaders mais lindas do mundo, nós te amamos. Mas isso não se faz. Como assim você vai e nega as mudanças climáticas?

Vários veículos estão noticiando que o conselho de educação do estado norte-americano está considerando usar livros no ensino médio que ensinam, erroneamente, aos alunos que existe discordância científica sobre a causa das mudanças climáticas. Algumas das informações sendo inclusive atribuídas a uma organização conhecida por usar a negação do aquecimento global como posição política.

Ciência ruim: 97% dos cientistas que estudam o clima concordam que as emissões de gases de efeito estufa pelo homem impulsionou as mudanças climáticas. Mas esta seção de um livro a ser analisado pelo conselho estadual de educação do Texas coloca a ciência em pé de igualdade com a ideia desacreditada que as mudanças são resultado apenas de “causas naturais”.

Alguns dos artigos analisados continham afirmações como:

  • “Os cientistas concordam que o clima da terra está mudando. Eles não concordam sobre a causa”.
  • Sobre a causa primária das mudanças climáticas, a emissão de gases do efeito estufa, “Muitos cientistas discordam do IPCC sobre esse problema”.
  • “Alguns cientistas dizem que é normal a Terra ficar mais quente por alguns anos. Eles acham que teremos alguns anos mais frios no futuro”.

 
O relatório também aborda uma seção onde o texto confunde as causas da mudança climática com aquelas que causam o buraco na camada de ozônio (e nem isso descreve direito):

  • “A queima das florestas e dos combustíveis fósseis (gasolina, óleo e gás) liberam dióxido de carbono para a atmosfera. Os buracos na camada de ozônio deixam a luz do sol passar e ela fica presa por causa da poluição, sendo absorvida e aquecendo a atmosfera terrestre”. O.o

 
A escolha de livros didáticos é assunto sério para os norte-americanos, pois são a base para o formação dos futuros cidadãos, inclusive sobre posições políticas que eles podem vir a ter. O que eles estão julgando são livros com erros factuais, além de textos propositalmente vagos e superficiais. E isso não se faz. Ciência não deve ser ensinada assim.

No Brasil, o MEC é responsável por selecionar os livros que são usados nas escolas do país inteiro. Como andam os livros que os seus filhos estão usando?

Fonte: PS.

The post Texas considera prejudiciais os livros que contenham “alterações climáticas” appeared first on Meio Bit.








22 Sep 23:23

September 19, 2014


That time a BAHFest entry was cited on parents.com.
22 Sep 22:53

10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

by Raphael Mendes

41 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 31 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

21 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 12 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

Desde quando foi lançado no Brasil, pelo SBT, Chaves teve um grande sucesso. Hoje, a série alcançou o status de cult.

Veja algumas curiosidades sobre a série e os bastidores que provavelmente você desconhece:

1 - Em 1974, a atriz Maria Antonieta de las Nieves, que interpreta a Chiquinha, engravidou e teve que se afastar das gravações. Na história, a desculpa usada era que a Chiquinha foi passar uns tempos na casa de uma tia no interior.

2 - A atriz que interpreta a Bruxa do 71, Angelines Rodrigues foi considerada uma das mulheres mais boitas do México, na década de 40.

111 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 22 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

33 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 44 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

3 - Em 1978, Carlos Villagrán, que interpretava o Quico, decidiu sair do elenco para ser astro de seu próprio seriado na Venezuela. Os últimos episódios com o personagem são os da viagem para Acapulco. A canção “Boa Noite Vizinhança”, tocada no episódio, é uma homenagem ao ator. Ela foi composta por Roberto Gómez Bolaños, intérprete de Chaves e criador do seriado. icon smile 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

4 - Ao contrário do que muitos pensam, Chaves não mora no barril. Ele mesmo deixa isto claro em um episódio, reforçando que mora na casa número 8 da vila. Aliás, o nome original do seriado é “Chavo del Ocho”, ou “Chaves do Oito” em tradução livre.

5 - O nome de Chaves tem uma origem bem curiosa. “Chavo”, na gíria mexicana, significa garoto, menino na idade de travessuras. No caso, o Chavo morava em uma vila pobre. Como o movimento labial de Chavo em espanhol é idêntico ao de “Chaves” em português, foi escolhido esse nome para o garoto.

11111 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 22222 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

6 - Em 1978, Florinda e Roberto Bolaños começaram a namorar, depois de uma viagem ao Chile. Eles se casaram na Cidade do México no dia 19 de novembro de 2004, após mais de 25 anos de união não-oficial. Antes de se casar com Bolaños, Florinda teve um romance com Carlos Villagrán, o Quico. Dizem que por conta disso os dois se mantiveram afastados por mais de vinte anos.

7 - A música que toca toda vez que dona Florinda e professor Girafales se encontram é ‘Tema de Tara’, trilha sonora original do filme ‘E o Vento Levou’.

8 - Na década de 90, correu um forte boato na imprensa brasileira afirmando que os atores do Chaves teriam morrido em um acidente de avião. Esse acidente jamais ocorreu.

111111 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos 222222 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

9 - Angelines, que interpretava dona Clotilde, faleceu em 1994, com câncer no pulmão. A atriz, que morreu por conta do fumo, era melhor amiga de María Antonieta de las Nieves, a Chiquinha.

10 - Apesar da roupa cafona e dos rolinhos nos cabelos, Dona Florinda era moh gostosa:

dona florinda 10 curiosidades sobre Chaves que você não sabia #Chaves30Anos

Fontes: Chaves Gifs BR, A Melhor Party, Me Salva Bátima.

 

BÔNUS: Apesar de ser sua iguaria favorita, Chaves nunca comeu um sanduíche de presunto na série. Mas a Seara vai dar um jeitinho, e nos 30 anos de Chaves no Brasil ela resolveu fazer uma bela homenagem a série que nós amamos:

ISSO ISSO ISSO!

22 Sep 16:43

UK company working on a Hoverbike

22 Sep 15:35

Combinação fatal

21 Sep 23:26

My Programming Class

21 Sep 23:23

pb_heads.jpg (JPEG Image, 400×524 pixels)

by sazacat
21 Sep 23:18

MinION, the USB-sized DNA sequencer, goes through real-world testing

by Mariella Moon
Back in 2012, a UK company called Oxford Nanopore announced a chewing gum packet-sized DNA sequencer, something that people found hard to believe since rival machines can be as big as fridges. After dealing with technical issues and bugs (as well as...
21 Sep 22:43

[maximoni]

20 Sep 14:06

Newswire: Univision finished its version of Breaking Bad in less than four months

by Kayla Reed

While American viewers spent years engrossed in the rise and fall of Walter White on Breaking Bad (or at least an intense few weeks with seemingly endless months in between new seasons on Netflix), Univision viewers got to experience all the murder, knocking, and breakfast in a little over three months. Metástasis aired in the same manner as a traditional telenovela–that is, one new episode every Monday through Friday night—and so although the show began airing in June, the series finale is set for September 18. And as much as Americans yearned for less down time between seasons, it’s somewhat daunting to consider only having 24 hours to reflect on (and dissect) the vast multitudes of shit going down.

Metástasis seems to be purely a translated, almost shot-for-shot remake of Breaking Bad, differing in only small, somewhat arbitrary details. A large selection of scenes can be seen ...

19 Sep 20:41

Photo



19 Sep 15:50

Pirate Jokes

by Doug

Pirate Jokes

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!! Here be all me scurvy-ridden pirate chickens!

19 Sep 07:29

Mind-Blowingly Good Chicken

Mind-Blowingly Good Chicken

Submitted by:

Tagged: jfkfc , kfc , jfk
19 Sep 06:35

unexplained-events: Tyson the Swan Tyson will attack you if you...











unexplained-events:

Tyson the Swan

Tyson will attack you if you come within a two-mile stretch of the Grand Union Canal in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire. Joe Davies learned this the hard way and capsized.

19 Sep 06:33

Website:...

19 Sep 06:33

The Power of the Dreamcatcher

19 Sep 06:32

The Next Reboot of The Legend of Zelda

19 Sep 06:25

[zomato]

Tadeu

Toilet paper side also.





















[zomato]

19 Sep 06:18

Photo



19 Sep 06:17

Photo



19 Sep 06:07

Why Legal Pot is Better Than the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS

by Nick Gillespie

The ice bucket challenge has raised a huge amount of awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or "Lou Gehrig's Disease," which affects about 30,000 Americans.

Writing in The Hill, Andrew Gargano talks about an existing, effective way to ameliorate the disease's devastating symptoms: Medical marijuana.

A number of studies have shown that cannabis functions in many ways that are beneficial to those with ALS, from serving as an analgesic to acting as a soothing muscle relaxant. Cannabis also functions as a saliva reducer, and so it has the ability to reduce symptoms of uncontrollable drooling that is common among those with ALS. Additionally, cannabis has been found successful in use as an antidepressant, results which have also been confirmed by an anonymous, self-reported survey of ALS patients conducted by the the MDA/ALS Center at the University of Washington.

Most importantly, however, is that a 2010 study found that cannabis offered anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects when tested on laboratory mice. The researchers found that cannabis slowed the progression of the disease and prolonged cell survival, ultimately concluding that “it is reasonable to think that cannabis might significantly slow the progression of ALS, potentially extending life expectancy and substantially reducing the overall burden of the disease.”

While this information may seem incredibly relieving to anyone who suffers from ALS, only 34 percent of Americans live in the 23 states, and the District of Columbia, that currently recognize the important medical uses of cannabis.

Read the whole thing.

Hat Tip: Students for Liberty Twitter feed.

19 Sep 06:04

Apple's "Warrant Canary" Has Died

by samzenpus
HughPickens.com writes When Apple published its first Transparency Report on government activity in late 2013, the document contained an important footnote that stated: "Apple has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. We would expect to challenge such an order if served on us." Now Jeff John Roberts writes at Gigaom that Apple's warrant canary has disappeared. A review of the company's last two Transparency Reports, covering the second half of 2013 and the first six months of 2014, shows that the "canary" language is no longer there suggesting that Apple is now part of FISA or PRISM proceedings. Warrant canaries are a tool used by companies and publishers to signify to their users that, so far, they have not been subject to a given type of law enforcement request such as a secret subpoena. If the canary disappears, then it is likely the situation has changed — and the company has been subject to such request. This may also give some insight into Apple's recent decision to rework its latest encryption in a way that makes it almost impossible for the company to turn over data from most iPhones or iPads to police.

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19 Sep 06:03

Teen with lymphatic malformations has profile photo deleted by Facebook

by Sam Machkovech
"I am what I am, and I look like me, not everyone else."

On Tuesday, Norwegian news site VG reported that a 16-year-old boy found his newest Facebook profile photo deleted automatically by the site, but not for containing offensive content or misrepresenting himself. Embret Henock Haldammen, a high school student in Kristiansand, Norway, had posted his latest school portrait weeks earlier, only to receive a notice stating that "the profile picture violated Facebook's policies."

Without receiving a response clarifying what those policies were, Haldammen came to the conclusion that the image was deleted because of his face's lymphatic malformations, which he's had since birth.

"We're used to people pointing, looking, and laughing at him," Haldammen's father said to Norwegian news site Fædrelandsvennen (translated by Google). "But that Facebook acts as a youth, and not a company, is appalling." The reports also include a photo of Haldammen posing with a former Norwegian Prime Minister, which he had used as a profile photo in the past with no incident.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

19 Sep 06:01

iOS 8’s New Key Logger

by Gabe

I was pretty excited to see the new options for keyboard extensions in iOS 8. My excitement rapidly evaporated when I saw this notification while enabling a new keyboard.

So, I dug into the developer documentation for keyboard extensions to see what could possibly go wrong. I don’t like it.

This is what I found (quoted from the documentation):

  • All capabilities of a nonnetworked custom keyboard
  • Keyboard can access Location Services and Address Book, with user permission
  • Keyboard and containing app can employ a shared container
  • Keyboard can send keystrokes and other input events for server-side processing
  • Containing app can provide editing interface for keyboard’s custom autocorrect lexicon
  • Via containing app, keyboard can employ iCloud to ensure settings and autocorrect lexicon are up to date on all devices
  • Via containing app, keyboard can participate in Game Center and In-App Purchase
  • If keyboard supports mobile device management (MDM), it can work with managed apps

My interpretation of the documentation is that a keyboard extension can enable network access if it is for the purpose of improving the application. What improvements warrant this, is up to the app developer.

I love that Apple is asserting strong language in the documentation:

Each keyboard capability associated with network access carries responsibilities on your part as a developer, as indicated in Table 11-2. In general, treat user data with the greatest possible respect and do not use it for any purpose that is not obvious to the user.

But the only gate keeper is the app approval process. While that has kept iOS comfortably safe for me, the additional benefit of a new keyboard does not warrant this added risk. Some have pointed out that password fields are excluded from using an alternative keyboard. This tells me that even Apple is a bit concerned about the consequences of logging key strokes. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I generally use a password to protect all of the other things I write with my keyboard. If every other keystroke is logged and transmitted to a server, my password becomes far less relevant.

Of course, we can secure the data even while it's transmitted and stored somewhere else. Let’s use Swiftkey as an example here. They’re up front about what they do with data right now.

That "Allow Full Access" warning still haunts me though.1

Everyone is different, but I don’t feel comfortable using a key logger from a VC backed company.2 Privacy policies have a tendency to change when money starts to dry up or the company is acquired.


  1. It should be noted that not all keyboard extensions enable network access. For example, the TextExpander keyboard did not require full access, so I presume it does not do anything more than read the snippets from the application on the device. (CORRECTION: The TE keyboard does require full access. I must have already approved it. Thanks to Michael in the comments) 

  2. I actually don't feel warm and fuzzy about any key logger. I'm just more suspicious of companies that lack a business plan I can understand. I'm weird that way. 

19 Sep 05:46

It's Delicious...


Tuesday!! Woahhh... Then Thursday for a new one! Crap that means I gotta make another comic now CRAP!!!!!



PATREON! + BACK! + STORE!
19 Sep 05:43

Mystery Signal Could Be Dark Matter Hint In ISS Detector

by samzenpus
astroengine writes Analysis of 41 billion cosmic rays striking the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle detector aboard the International Space Station shows an unknown phenomena that is "consistent with a dark matter particle" known as a neutralino, researchers announced Thursday. Key to the hunt is the ratio of positrons to electrons and so far the evidence from AMS points in the direction of dark matter. The smoking gun scientists look for is a rise in the ratio of positrons to electrons, followed by a dramatic fall — the telltale sign of dark matter annihilating the Milky Way's halo, which lies beyond its central disk of stars and dust. However, "we have not found the definitive proof of dark matter," AMS lead researcher Samuel Ting, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and CERN in Switzerland, wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Whereas all the AMS results point in the right direction, we still need to measure how quickly the positron fraction falls off at the highest energies in order to rule out astrophysical sources such as pulsars." But still, this new finding is a tantalizing step in the dark matter direction.

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18 Sep 21:15

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18 Sep 21:12

(12) Tumblr

by walkman
18 Sep 21:10

September 17, 2014


New exclusive comic at The Nib!