CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-17 19:37:46 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Sam Harris takes something that most of us take for granted and which brings us comfort -- burning wood in a fireplace or backyard party fire -- and shows us how psychologically resistant we are, and what rationalizations we make, when we are emotionally staked on something that is irrational. The article isn't about not burning wood; it's about how we cling to irrational habits and beliefs, and how much resistance we create to avoid cognitive dissonance and discount or avoid unpleasant facts about them. It's a rather brilliant, compelling essay.

From: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

It seems to me that many nonbelievers have forgotten—or never knew—what it is like to suffer an unhappy collision with scientific rationality. We are open to good evidence and sound argument as a matter of principle, and are generally willing to follow whereverthe... more »

2013-05-17 19:19:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

We folks making Girl Genius comics need a little help.

2013-05-17 03:48:59 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Keeping chat windows out of G+ tabs

Edit: Silly me, I missed the dropdown within the Hangouts dropdown (green double quote button in the upper right, then the triangle dropdown next to "New Hangout") - you can sign out of hangouts there. Thanks +Scott Anderson!

Of course, this means that you can't participate in hangouts without having every G+ tab flooded with replica chat windows, regardless of whether you've popped them out elsewhere . . . but at least you can still use chat without too much clutter when not in an actual hangout.

---------
Anyone know how to sign out of chats (I guess now it has to be out of hangouts entirely, thanks to the big merge) on G+?

It used to be that you could have your gmail tab signed in to chat, and sign out in G+, thus avoiding replicas of every active chat in every G+tab (and the associated... more »

2013-05-17 01:43:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Exploit for local Linux kernel bug in circulation - Update"  http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Exploit-for-local-Linux-kernel-bug-in-circulation-Update-1863892.html/from/twitter <- Nice to see the +Ubuntu Security team taking lead on this.

2013-05-17 00:26:06 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

PLANET HUNTERS! How do you detect planets that are hundreds of light years away? Professor John Johnson and his team of scientists explains.

#scienceeveryday #sciencesunday   

2013-05-16 21:52:30 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

When I was a child (~6-7 years old), I once kept a caterpillar as a pet. I think it might have been a cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni) that I found amongst some cabbage or lettuce that my parents had bought. I fed it wel and kept a detailed diary of its development, taking notes everyday until it finally grew into a chrysalis, then metamorphosed into a moth. When it was a chrysalis, I had always wondered what went on inside it. Well now science has finally fulfilled something I've always wanted to do as a child - looking inside a developing chrysalis.
#biology   #entomology   #caterpillar   #butterflies   #scienceeveryday   

2013-05-16 21:45:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A brilliant reversal of gender stereotypes from a wicked smart and talented team. Well done. 

2013-05-16 21:20:15 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

AAHH!! The J and K keys work to skip though G+ posts just like in Gmail! How did it take me so long to figure this out?! 

2013-05-14 06:23:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

"It is now clear that without Dr. Kober’s work, Mr. Ventris could never have deciphered Linear B when he did, if ever. Yet because history is always written by the victors — and the story of Linear B has long been a British masculine triumphal narrative — the contributions of this brilliant American woman have been all but lost to time."

2013-05-14 05:49:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Top 10 Commander +Chris Hadfield  Youtube videos from his time as commander on +NASA 's International Space Station!  Which is your favorite?

2013-05-12 18:07:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

High costs of de-regulation of a GMO crop and scientifically unsound public resistance shape a company's decision to suspend transgenic efforts.  They simply noted that pesticides were cheaper and available now.  Anti-GMOers - 1, environment - 0. 

2013-05-12 17:20:38 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

2013-05-12 01:57:18 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Since there are a bunch of gatsby-related posts flying about, I'll kinda jump on the bandwagon.

And do check out the related article on orphan works, which the US Copryright office "is reviewing . . .  to advise Congress on possible next steps for the United States."
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/orphan-works-problem-time-fix-it
Obviously, Gatsby isn't an orphan work, but there's more possibility for near-term progress on orphans than there is on Mickey Mouse.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/why-isnt-gatsby-public-domain

2013-05-11 21:36:58 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

I missed this going by last week, but I seriously <3 this judge. Laying down the law on a notorious patent troll, complete with star trek references throughout.

Unfortunately, there are still plenty out there, including notorious groups like (the random-letter-named descendants of) Project Paperless, who ask for $1000 per employee for using scanners
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/patent-trolls-want-1000-for-using-scanners/
and enough others to file a significant majority (62%) of patent suits (particularly scary given that the usual tactic is to just extract fees by threat of more-expensive suit - the number of patent assaults on small companies is much greater than the number of suits)
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/05/survey-says-patent-attacks-scare-off-customers-kill-business/

(also, check out the entire set of "Team Prenda" posts on... more »

2013-05-11 21:25:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

So, Rep. Lamar Smith would like politicians to be in charge of evaluating NSF grants, instead of scientists in the relevant fields. This is not a good idea. (Lamar Smith was one of the architects of SOPA, among other things - he really seems to like messing with technical things about which he has very little understanding.)

There are a few petitions out against this, the watchdog.net one seems to be the most popular
http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/2901?ls=sRFew-9Fa9M
but there's a whitehouse.gov one as well (it seems nobody wants to bother with those anymore though)
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/keep-politics-out-national-science-foundation-nsf-funding-decisions/YXG7Hb8Y

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/04/us-lawmaker-proposes-new-criteri-1.html

hat tip +Christy Ramsey among others.

2013-05-11 19:25:21 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

"Oscillate" by Daniel Sierra

"I wanted the audience to begin with the widely recognized image and sound of the sine wave, and show them how it is a building block not just for sound but also complex visual forms by changing its interpretation over the length of the piece."
http://www.dbsierra.com/Work/Oscillate/

Whatever it is, it's hypnotizing.

2013-05-11 06:02:11 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Scratch 2.0: Kids learn to program, no download required!

It works right from within the web browser now! What a great update to an already great resource for kids to learn how to program.

Brought to you by the MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten Group. (Yes, that's a real thing! Wonderful, isn't it?)

2013-05-11 04:24:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

When we get away from black-and-white, yes-or-no, mine-or-yours answers to difficult problems, we find not just solutions but new opportunities.

2013-05-11 04:03:57 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

A MOOC where participants learn how to be philanthropists and have an opportunity to help the foundation decide how to distribute money to your community.

MOOCs bring together thousands of students, we can use this to accomplish great things. Register at: http://www.learningbygivingfoundation.org/#giving-with-purpose

2013-05-11 03:05:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Squishy eclipse!

This is quite simply one of the coolest and weirdest eclipse pix I've ever seen: today's annular eclipse at sunset, with atmospheric distortion squashing the Sun!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/05/09/setting_eclipse_annular_eclipse_at_sunset_squashes_the_sun.html

Pic by Geoff Sims: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondBeneath/posts/136825526506532

#SolarEclipse  

2013-05-10 23:41:20 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 2 +1s)

2013-05-10 23:05:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-09 16:44:12 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

2013-05-08 23:23:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Elizabeth Warren's first stand-alone bill as Senator is awesome and provocative.

Senator Warren announced today that she's proposing a bill that will make it so students going to college can borrow at the same rate that Wall Street does. 

It's a bill that calls attention to the wild disparity between how Wall Street is treated and how the rest of us are, and Senator Warren's proposal is wild enough (0.75% for student loans!) to wake up the politicians who want to keep the status quo.

Even if the bill doesn't pass, by playing such a strong hand right at the outset Elizabeth Warren has already changed the discussion that's sure to ensue when student loan rates jump to 6.8% on July 1st. After Elizabeth Warren's call today for 0.75%, 6.8% seems totally unacceptable. That is how to lead. 

"If those rates are good enoughf... more »

2013-05-08 21:48:16 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Happy Fibonacci Day!

2013-05-08 21:22:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

ScienceOnline Oceans registration begins today at 9am EDT (May 8th)

2013-05-08 21:00:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Another story about the re-identification of study participants by DNA analysis, focusing on the backstory to the work you may have heard about. This is mainly about the researcher who used 1000 Genomes data and genealogy sites to connect names and DNA sequence.

It's important to be thinking about this.

2013-05-08 20:16:53 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Time-Lapse | Earth

2013-05-07 21:51:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A Decade of Explosions: ‘Mythbusters’ Taught Me That I Could Do Science http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/05/06/a-decade-of-explosions-what-mythbusters-taught-me/ 

2013-05-07 19:30:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Cracked.com links you to  "5 Badass New (mini) Sci-Fi Movies You Can Watch on Your Lunch Break." The tech is moving along and there are fine artistic sensibilities in this vividly visual small flicks.  Alas, there are so many stories that could be told with these methods.  Cool and ORIGINAL short stories instead of old, old, old tropes, but these fellows apparently consider that to be their very last priority.  Still. They are visually stunning and worth a watch.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-badass-new-sci-fi-movies-you-can-watch-your-lunch-break/

2013-05-05 19:11:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

In other pretty news, an interesting and somewhat unusual picture on APOD today.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130505.html

Unfortunately, you can't get the 3156x1584 original without buying it :-/ .

(There are two ways to follow them on Google+ now: 
http://plus.google.com/+AstronomyPictureOfTheDay
and
https://plus.google.com/103211579003359376826 (APOD River, highlighting non-front-page images)
)

2013-05-05 18:29:43 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

The sun had a bit of a hissy fit yesterday. +Slate has video of the twisting solar eruption: http://wapo.st/YmzctY

#space   #solarflare  

2013-05-05 18:14:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Feel Good Friday

Want something good to share with your circles?  How about this awesome compilation of Russian dash cams that just might restore or confirm your faith in humanity.  

2013-05-04 15:20:25 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

The True Cost of Cheap Food

87 percent of the US supermarket meat (including beef, pork, chicken, and turkey products) tests positive for normal and antibiotic-resistant forms of Enterococcus bacteria. Between 2003 and 2011, antibiotic use on US livestock farms soared from 20 million pounds per year to 30 million pounds - a jaw-dropping 50 percent leap. These facilities now suck in 80 percent of the antibiotics consumed in the United States. The great bulk of these drugs are used not to treat sick animals, but rather to make them grow faster and keep them alive until slaughter under tight, filthy conditions ➜ goo.gl/mHPRU

Facts and Numbers (Source → goo.gl/AWxnM):
● In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court bythe m... more »

2013-05-04 13:09:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Fun, home-made toys! ( The laser used in this video is custom made from a flashlight body and the laser diode from a 12X speed Blu-ray burner drive and not purchased in a store or online. )

Pocket Blu-ray laser kills 100 black balloons in a row! IMG *

2013-05-03 17:30:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The APPR position paper (http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/appr-paper) makes some very good points, including

With a focus on the end of year testing, there inevitably will be a narrowing of the curriculum as teachers focus more on test preparation and skill and drill teaching.

Collaboration among teachers will be replaced by competition. With a “value added” system, a 5th grade teacher has little incentive to make sure that her incoming students score well on the 4th grade exams, for incoming students with high scores would make her job more challenging. When competition replaces collaboration, every student loses.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/30/have-standardized-tests-really-helped-kids-learn-more/

(Thanks +Esther Wojcicki)

2013-05-03 14:00:20 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Say 'No' to May the 4th (Paid for by the Emperor's Committee to destroy May the 4th). 
Star Wars Day Attack Ad: Say No to May the 4th

2013-05-03 13:37:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Celebrate the Day Against DRM

At O'Reilly Media, we've always published our ebooks DRM free, following the advice of Lao Tzu, who said, 2500 years ago, "Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you."

At first, it was pretty lonely out there, but as more and more of our competitors saw how well it was working for us, they agreed to join us, via our digital distribution services.

To make a long story short, in honor of the National day Against DRM, you can take 50% off on thousands of technical ebooks and videos from many top publishers, today only.

2013-05-03 07:26:09 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I work aerothermodynamics for the Orion Program. This means I look at how airflow heats a spacecraft as it comes back to Earth from outer space. I predict how hot the Orion spacecraft will get as it re-enters the atmosphere. Our goal is to protect the crew by making sure the capsule doesn’t overheat.

The most exciting part of my job is when I test scaled-down spacecraft in the wind tunnels. We simulate the airflow around the spacecraft and take heating measurements. The best part is when we use our computer programs to predict the measurements and they match the results from the wind tunnel test! 

Growing up in Iowa, I never thought that I would actually work for NASA. But I kept studying math and science through school and applied for a NASA internship while in college. Now that I work at NASA, I'm excited to keep exploring, to push our current understanding of the Earth andou... more »

2013-05-03 07:07:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

In a school notorious for its lack of discipline, where backpacks were prohibited for fear the students would use them to carry weapons, Bott’s bold decision to replace the security guards with art teachers was met with skepticism by those who also questioned why he would choose to lead the troubled school. 

But now, three years later, the school is almost unrecognizable. Brightly colored paintings, essays of achievement, and motivational posters line the halls. The dance studio has been resurrected, along with the band room, and an artists’ studio.

The end result? Orchard Gardens has one of the fastest student improvement rates statewide. And the students — once described as loud and unruly, have found their focus. 

2013-05-03 06:44:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Reasonable reactions to kids messing up in dangerous ways. http://j.mp/15cOdUk

2013-05-03 05:27:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Voting for my favorite Doodles is the most fun I am having today. Also I am totally floored and a wee bit envious that I am not able to make incredible drawings like these kids.

2013-05-02 03:18:32 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

by Bruce Schneier

2013-05-02 02:40:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Who do you trust?
EFF: Trust Twitter -- but not Apple or Verizon -- to protect your privacy - Network World
http://m.networkworld.com/news/2013/043013-eff-privacy-269280.html

2013-05-02 01:58:32 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I can understand a penalty of some sort for making safety mistakes, but an adult felony charge is way over the line. This is how to actively discourage talented, inquisitive teens from trying science. Way to stomp on budding innovation.

Hope the attention this is getting results in a more sane response.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2013/05/01/florida-teen-charged-with-felony-for-trying-science/

2012-07-11 18:53:59 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Wise words from +Maggie Koerth-Baker. My favorite parts include old studies and few of them, and "Big Conspiracy".

2012-07-11 18:51:07 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

Male feminists - interesting and good post

2012-07-11 17:21:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

We reached a goal of "Likes" on another site, so here's another new video clip! "Not 100% complete in the FX work and, as always, ignore the audio track as it's just temp, but it is how Boba's voice will sound :)"

2012-07-11 16:59:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Sign this White House petition to restore original copyright term (14 years plus 14-year renewal). If enough people sign, the administration has to at least respond. We all know that the response will be, "No way," but why not get yourself on the record anyway? I am. 

2012-07-09 02:13:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

BBC News Nasa Mars image ;next best thing to being there - YouTube