Tretakoff Musings
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Clearly Insecure
When I wrote my blog post on the Clear program for airport security, I had no inkling of just how it could transform from a scam to an outright security threat. However, it seems it has come to pass, as a laptop with over 30K members' information has vanished.
Clearly, a bad decision.
When I wrote my blog post on the Clear program for airport security, I had no inkling of just how it could transform from a scam to an outright security threat. However, it seems it has come to pass, as a laptop with over 30K members' information has vanished. Clearly, a bad decision.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Yer All Wet
We may, as a society, disagree with many things, but there has been one truth we all seem to instinctively agree on: drinking lots of water is good for your health. However, as with all good maxims, it's occasionally important to test them for reality. And, according to the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, this wives' tale is all wet.
Turns out, drinking more water not only does not improve skin tone or reduce appetite, but actually can even be harmful, possibly causing kidney damage. The irony of this to me is not that yet another accepted truism has fallen by the wayside, but more that this was forecast by the most unlikely of prognosticators, Lewis Black. He of the waggling finger, and apoplectic screaming fits, the man predicted this very thing years ago in his HBO Broadway special, Black on Broadway, as well as a hilarious and wry look at the history of this admonition, as well as it's possible origin.
Take 10 minutes, sit back and prepare to laugh.
Turns out, drinking more water not only does not improve skin tone or reduce appetite, but actually can even be harmful, possibly causing kidney damage. The irony of this to me is not that yet another accepted truism has fallen by the wayside, but more that this was forecast by the most unlikely of prognosticators, Lewis Black. He of the waggling finger, and apoplectic screaming fits, the man predicted this very thing years ago in his HBO Broadway special, Black on Broadway, as well as a hilarious and wry look at the history of this admonition, as well as it's possible origin.
Take 10 minutes, sit back and prepare to laugh.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Big Brother Takes Flight
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAV's, were once the subject of science fiction (Real Genius, anyone?), but the one thing this illegal invasion of a sovereign nation (aka, the horribly misnamed "Iraq War") has proven is that UAV's are here to stay. With "an astonishing 80%" of all military flights in Iraq being flown by UAV's today, these remote controlled/robot planes have proven their worth as bloodless soldiers in the military skies, from surveillance to full on hunter/killers.
Despite the rampant warning we have received from countless scifi films about the wisdom of allowing semi-autonomous vehicles of speed and strength roaming the skies, these UAV's are slowly seeping their way into the civilian skies. This Popular Mechanics article focuses on their ever increasing presence in our day to day lives, as Big Brother straps on his goggles and takes to the air. As with all such adoptions of military technology to civilian matters, the first incursions are benign: forest fire monitoring, border patrol, even search and rescue. However, it doesn't take an oracle to see the black and white paint being slapped on in less than 5 years to assist police with urban pacification.
It's awe-inspiring, creepy, and generally good when humans can be spared dangerous jobs, but the applications of this technology to the individual are definitely worth keeping an eye on. After all, that next speeding ticket you get might not be from the cruiser with the radar gun, but from the cruise missile with the laser target designator.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAV's, were once the subject of science fiction (Real Genius, anyone?), but the one thing this illegal invasion of a sovereign nation (aka, the horribly misnamed "Iraq War") has proven is that UAV's are here to stay. With "an astonishing 80%" of all military flights in Iraq being flown by UAV's today, these remote controlled/robot planes have proven their worth as bloodless soldiers in the military skies, from surveillance to full on hunter/killers.Despite the rampant warning we have received from countless scifi films about the wisdom of allowing semi-autonomous vehicles of speed and strength roaming the skies, these UAV's are slowly seeping their way into the civilian skies. This Popular Mechanics article focuses on their ever increasing presence in our day to day lives, as Big Brother straps on his goggles and takes to the air. As with all such adoptions of military technology to civilian matters, the first incursions are benign: forest fire monitoring, border patrol, even search and rescue. However, it doesn't take an oracle to see the black and white paint being slapped on in less than 5 years to assist police with urban pacification.
It's awe-inspiring, creepy, and generally good when humans can be spared dangerous jobs, but the applications of this technology to the individual are definitely worth keeping an eye on. After all, that next speeding ticket you get might not be from the cruiser with the radar gun, but from the cruise missile with the laser target designator.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
$1 Million says there are no psychics
It was 1981. That's Incredible ruled the TV landscape. On came a man who could move the pages of a phone book with his mind, complete with yoga suit. "That's incredible!" Fran Tarkenton cried out.
Then, from backstage, out walked a man who looked like a cross between Santa Claus and a professor. He was introduced as James Randi, a professional debunker. He went by his stage name of "The Amazing Randi," and claimed he could duplicate any so-called psychic tricks with standard cons used by magicians. Even more, he said he could smoke out these people as charlatans, and proceeded to do so, live, to the "psychic". I would never take things at face value again.
Over 20 years later, and I am still a skeptic, thanks to James Randi. And so is he: he is offering $1 Million to the high profile Psychics to just agree to be tested for their feats scientifically. He's spent years offering the prize to anyone, but the kooks come out. Now, let's see John Edwards or the like explain why they won't pick up a $ 1 million check.
Keep the strength up, Randi.
Then, from backstage, out walked a man who looked like a cross between Santa Claus and a professor. He was introduced as James Randi, a professional debunker. He went by his stage name of "The Amazing Randi," and claimed he could duplicate any so-called psychic tricks with standard cons used by magicians. Even more, he said he could smoke out these people as charlatans, and proceeded to do so, live, to the "psychic". I would never take things at face value again.
Over 20 years later, and I am still a skeptic, thanks to James Randi. And so is he: he is offering $1 Million to the high profile Psychics to just agree to be tested for their feats scientifically. He's spent years offering the prize to anyone, but the kooks come out. Now, let's see John Edwards or the like explain why they won't pick up a $ 1 million check.Keep the strength up, Randi.
