I love technology (and science)
-
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
I know someone who also uses this here newsletter writing software who used Python to automate tasks related to publishing his newsletter. I should probably take a little time to learn this language, but I should probably also learn a foreign language. - C
Issue 65
-
People who post selfies are seen as less likable and less successful, WSU study finds
In the highly competitive fantasy football league that Brian and I participate in, there is a "punishment" for finishing the season in last place. Each year we have a meeting where part of the agenda is suggesting new punishment options; one year, I submitted that the loser had to post a bathroom selfie weekly during the entire offseason. As I recall, no suggestion has ever been so quickly and utterly rejected. That has something to do with this study, maybe. -C
Issue 64
-
YouTube will experiment with ways to prevent dislike button 'mobs'
Hot take alert. Showing the amount of times an action has been taken in your product's UI is going to influence whether or not the user is more likely to take one action over another. Actions that a user takes to show that they like or dislike something, or that they engaged with something, should at most be used to fuel the recommendation algorithms for that individual user and not as social proof that something is "good" or "bad". -C
Issue 64
-
In one of the first issues of this newsletter that was co-authored by yours truly, Calvin and I went head to head on Net Neutrality. To recap, one of the first things the incoming Trump administration did as part of their general elimination of bureaucratic red tape was to eliminate the restrictions on ISP's and their ability to play any role in the content and website part of the internet (this is a vast oversimplification but works for this purpose).
For some reason the blue tribe on the internet and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself), including almost all of big tech co's (FB, Twitter, Reddit, etc) decided this was the worst thing that had ever happened. Ajit Pai (the chairman of the FCC) was painted as a huge villain (people said he had a punchable face...) and doomsday scenarios (the end of the internet as we know it) were sure to come pass... not only would it be bad but it would be worse than anyone could ever imagine. But all was for naught and the removal of the regulations took place.
Fast forward three years and the internet has not died. The average bandwidth of the average American has almost tripled. No-one is charging you a per-diem access charge to visit wikipedia.com. If anything, the power of the social media giants has increased not decreased (as they had feared, which is a whole separate problem; but I digress).
As a cynical libertarian who is both opposed to almost all governmental regulation and extremely skeptical of whatever the mob consensus is on the internet I was extremely sure this is where we would end up. And I'd like to include this link to a twitter thread of someone making fun of all the news media outlets' bad takes on the Net Neutrality debate, 3 years later. You can call it a victory lap... I'm ok with that framing. -B
Issue 64
-
The Falkirk Wheel: A Modern Day Miracle of Engineering
Ferris wheel for boats?? -B
Here's a strangely calming video of the wheel in action. The narration sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom, but aside from that it's very enjoyable. -C
Issue 62
-
Rust: The funniest video game I have ever played
26 minutes of bizarre emergent behavior and confusion. -B
Issue 62
-
Some dude set up a program to try to place a frosty order with every McDonalds in the world every 3 minutes so that YOU can know in advance if the ice cream machine at your favorite maccers is working before you go. Never let it be said American innovation is dead... -B
Issue 62
-
Super Soaker Inventor Lonnie Johnson: The Water Gun Oral History
Placing a link about the Super Soaker in our tech and science category may be a stretch but it's about a water gun technology, OK? It's also a great story about product development. - C
Issue 61
-
Reconstruction of a Mass Hysteria: The Swine Flu Panic of 2009
Echoes of the pandemic that wasn't from 2009 are eerily similar to the early days of 2020. Disheartening to see the same mistakes being made again. History doesn't repeat but it does rhyme, as they say.
I saw a tweet I can't find now from circa December 2019 highlighting that 1820 and 1920 both had notable outbreaks of disease. The author wondered if we were due in 2020 for something similar. A followup tweet from post-March just said "I'm so sorry". -Brian
Issue 59