Fascinating list from Mandatory.com regarding the above. I knew of a few of them, didn’t about others, but found the list interesting nonetheless:
http://www.mandatory.com/2013/03/25/10-people-you-didnt-know-were-spies/
The inclusion of Walt Disney is interesting. I knew about his right wing/anti-union philosophy but didn’t realize it extended to being an informant against supposed communists. Different times!
Absolutely fascinating article by Farhad Manjoo for Slate magazine regarding what could be the breakthrough necessary to finally transition us into what may well be the next phase of energy usage, one that is significantly less expensive and easier to use than our current batteries. The process involves Graphene Supercapacitors, and the article follows:
I think we’re on the verge of exciting times, though the article does end with a note of caution. Hopefully, this new technology will indeed be the answer to humanity’s energy needs.
I do find it curious how we tend to find solutions to problems as they rear their heads. Gas/energy prices are on the rise and we use a whole lot of energy in our daily lives, not just for transport but for the very many gadgets we operate, from computers to tablets to cell phones. Given the lucrative market, it was only a matter of time before a “better mousetrap” would be created.
Fascinating article by Kieth Kloor at Slate magazine concerning the so-called “Wind Turbine Syndrome”, and whether it is real or not:
What is most fascinating to me is the concept of a “nocebo” effect. Just about everyone should be at the very least familiar with the term “placebo effect”. If you aren’t, check out this link. If you’re too lazy to click the link, a placebo effect occurs when a doctor and/or researcher gives a person with a certain problem/affliction a completely ineffective treatment yet this treatment seems to have some effect on the affliction.
If you are testing a new cold formula you have developed, you may have a group of subjects with colds come to your office. You would split this group into threes: One would receive your new cold formula, another would receive no treatment at all, and the third would receive the ineffective placebo “medicine” (this can take the form of sugar pills or flavored water). The point of doing such an experimentation is to see if your new medicine works better than those either receiving no treatment or an ineffective treatment.
Why test ineffective treatments? Because the human mind may at times perceive the act of taking a medicine, even one that has no effectiveness, as “helping” their situation.
In the case of the nocebo effect, we have people who claim physical maladies when confronted with negative information about certain situations. In the more specific case of the article above, it appears as more information about “wind turbine syndromes” appears, the more people claim to be suffering from said maladies.
As I said before, a fascinating article and an intriguing read, for those interested.
Fascinating (albeit far too brief!) article about photographs of New York City from the 1960’s and 70’s. Photography by its nature captures the past. The beauty of this medium (and film as well) is that you get to actually see the past for yourself.
In this case, these images of New York are, to me, fascinating. Somewhere among my (far too many) books is one that focused on New York in the 1930’s and 40’s. Though I’ve only been to New York once, the place is a source of fascination to me.
If it is for you too, then enjoy these pictures!
Didn’t realize that the character who (SPOILERS!) nearly kills the character of Roy Hobbs in both the book and the subsequent movie version of The Natural was based on one Ruth Steinhagen, who it was reported passed away last year:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/ruth-steinhagen-dead-_n_2900060.html
After reading this, the sequence in the movie (I haven’t read the book) takes on a more startling atmosphere. One of the more troublesome aspects of fame is that one can become a target of a stalker, just as Chicago Cubs baseball player Eddie Waitkus was and, afterwards, others have been. Luckily for Mr. Waitkus he survived the assault by Ms. Steinhagen and, in reading the article, one finds that the baseball player decided not to press charges against her following her psychiatric treatment.
Still, others, perhaps none as famous as John Lennon, weren’t so lucky.
Further evidence of the digitalization of media:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/time-warner-selling-magazines_n_2820894.html
I’ve felt it for a while now. It started during the heights of the economic downturn, when my local newspaper went from being thick with advertisements to becoming an emaciated ghost of its former self. At about that time the tablets were just becoming hot and I, like many others I suppose, gave it a try. Since then, I’ve read most of the information I’m curious about online…though one should realize in this age of near instant information sharing there are sites prone to spreading misinformation or downright untruths.
The Sunday edition of the my local paper has grown since the worst of times a couple of years ago, but I firmly believe we’re transitioning into a time when most “paper” works, be they magazines, newspapers, and, yes, books, will be picked up by the general population in electronic versus paper format.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
I suppose there are elements of both to be found. There is something undeniably comforting about carrying an actual a paper product and the risk of “breaking” it is far lower (especially if your reading takes you to the beach). Further, many readers/tablets are difficult to use in broad daylight. On the other hand, there is an incredible ease to purchasing any book/magazine/paper you want near instantly by downloading it to your computer. Plus, having electronic files versus physical products certainly frees up space in your home otherwise taken up by these products.
In time, I predict tablets and readers will become more weather/water resistant and easier to read in broad sunlight. Thus, it seems to me a matter of time before paper products become a very small part of people’s lives and, therefore, it does not surprise me that Time is intent on unloading those products.
Fascinating read from Huffington Post, concerning a waitress who, while serving a customer, made a rather incredible discovery:
So…what are the odds of serving a person who happens to have your stolen driver’s license on them? Pretty long odds, obviously. Which is why it certainly makes one smile to see the end result.
Fascinating and surprising -I hadn’t heard of some of these!- list related to the above:
http://www.mandatory.com/2013/02/15/the-scariest-secret-weapons-of-world-war-ii/
Of the ones listed, the very first one, the “Vortex Cannon,” intrigued me the most. Very interesting concept though understandable why it couldn’t/wouldn’t work.
Fascinating article, found on Slate magazine, concerning 1922 test footage of Kodachrome film. This represents some of the very earliest color film footage ever:
If you don’t want to read the article full article (it’s brief but quite fascinating), here’s the actual footage:
Another fascinating article, this on on Time magazine’s website, by Brad Tuttle concerning the declining rate of bank robberies around the country:
http://business.time.com/2013/02/06/bank-robbers-going-the-way-of-blacksmiths/
I tend to agree with the article: Bank robbery is too high risk/low reward. Interestingly, ATM machines are hit and electronic types of theft continue, but it appears actual, physical bank robberies are on the decline.