May 6, 2020
Never gonna flarb frum glotch, ruckle stom lusk sunt rulk
In the last year on the blue we have seen neural nets name kittens, auth some lyric poetry, send us troubling holiday greetings, and produce some dubious recipes. Can one generate more of Rick Astley?
she's a sewing machine mechanic
Where is the president in Blade Runner?
Government, as experienced for much of the 20th century, is largely absent from the lives of characters in cyberpunk stories. Police are a durable feature, but government services and functions beyond the security state are absent. ¶ Yet for all the aggressive visibility of politics in our daily lives, we’re not that far off from the powerlessness of a cyberpunk future. Cyberpunk speaks to the present because the conditions that inspired cyberpunk remain largely unchanged. We’re on the Brink of Cyberpunk -- It’s not just the technology, surveillance, and dystopian vibes—it’s the culmination of decades of deliberate governmental erosion. (Kelsey D. Atherton for Slate's Future-Tense)
OK Branding
A quarter-century ago, a really big soda company attempted to subvert itself to reach Gen X. The problem? Coca-Cola’s OK Soda was a couple of decades too early. By Karen Corday.
Wild fox cub saved from menacing wheel, given drugs.
All you have to do is win the last point
Fifteen years ago this week: the 'Best Table Tennis [match] comeback EVER'. Michael Maze(Denmark), ranked #19 in the world at the time comes back from the brink against Hao Shuai(China), #28. In a best-of-7 match in the quarterfinals at the 2005 World Championships in Shanghai, Hao has convincingly kicked Maze's butt the first 3 games, and the fourth game looks like he's got it sewed up.
You can watch the whole match- it's pretty good, but let's start the video with Maze down 3 games to none, 5-9. Hao needs to only win 2 of the next 7 points to win the match. [more inside]
Exporting a horse from the USSR
An excellent story recounting the thrills and spills of overcoming bureaucracy, the sad tale of the Finnish Ambassador's parrot, and packing up early to go to lunch, to export a pair of horses gifted to the British government by Saparmurat Niyazov - former leader of Turkmenistan - from the Soviet Union in 1993. Read the whole story on Twitter. [more inside]
Robot at Rest
The Floor Is...
Game designer Holly Gramazio ran a survey to find out what floors were made of.
user RedPooD2thehemodroid has offered an authoritative answer
How big are dicks in Skyrim? [Reddit] “Since my friend and I have been fiercely debating this, I would like to see the community's thoughts on what we have come up with. All of this is open for discussion, but I would prefer that you use evidence rather than personal bias. [...] As for the question about the shape of a Khajiits’ appendage raised by user Mrvalenti2000, it seems actual official Elder Scrolls lore has got that one covered – according to this Daggerfall: The Real Barenziah, Part III extract, their penises have “tiny little barbs”.” [via: PCGamesN] [Warning NSFW: discussion of dick.] [more inside]
"I'm talking with you against the advice of my attorney."
On Twitter, reporter J. David McSwane reports on "one of the most bizarre stories of his career," as he travels via private jet with the CEO of two-year-old company Federal Government Experts LLC, which had previously advertised "block chain" AI procurement solutions, chasing down vanishing leads for N95 facemasks, trying to fulfill a no-bid contract with the VA for procuring masks. Here's the complete story at ProPublica.
Come on and get up
So how's that work from home working out for you at home?
Managers turn to surveillance software, always-on webcams to ensure employees are (really) working from home, Washington Post, Drew Harwell, 4/30/2020 — Always-on webcams, virtual “water coolers,” constant monitoring: Is the tech industry’s new dream for remote work actually a nightmare? With nearly half of office employees working from home to avoid COVID-19 exposure, management tracks their work using: digital avatars in virtual offices; always-on webcams/microphones; productivity stats; monitored web browsing and active work hours; multiple daily check-ins (via email, calls, text messages and Zoom video calls); not-so-optional company happy hours, game nights and lunchtime chats; hidden screen captures; logging of apps used and websites visited; key word flagging; keyboard/mouse usage; unscheduled video conferences; and endless online meetings, meetings, meetings.
Lope, you things with feathers
Air Cargo's Coronavirus Problem
Air Cargo's Coronavirus Problem. Wendover Productions does an in depth dive into the recent history of the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of air cargo, aviation and logistics.
Aren't You a Little Short For a Stormtrooper?
Stormtrooper attracts the wrong kind of force as Star Wars promotion takes a turn [CBC] [more inside]
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