Potential Distributed Reading Group on Distributed Systems — for some folks, this will be a great time to start reading groups to work through papers. You’ll never get a time with less physical distraction. (Just remember to ration your socials time or you and your time will vanish into the maelstrom.) Jitsi Meet — open […]

In a world focused on buzzword-driven models and algorithms, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the unreasonable importance of data preparation and quality: your models are only as good as the data you feed them. This is the garbage in, garbage out principle: flawed data going in leads to flawed results, algorithms, and business decisions. […]

If you’re already a software product manager (PM), you have a head start on becoming a PM for artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). You already know the game and how it is played: you’re the coordinator who ties everything together, from the developers and designers to the executives. You’re responsible for the design, […]

Medtronic Releases Ventilator Designs — not open source, as the license is a limited-time limited-purpose license that retains rights. I imagine some corporate lawyers have done some frantic Googling for open meditech licensing clauses. dolt — version history for tabular data. Compare to sno, which is version control for geospatial and tabular data. Toast UI […]

Data Governance sounds like a candidate for the most boring topic in technology: something dreamed up by middle-managers to add friction to data scientists’ lives. The funny thing about governance, though, is that it’s closely related to data discovery. And data discovery is neither dull nor additional friction; it’s an exciting process that enables great […]

Since early in March, technology news has been all Coronavirus, all the time. That’s a trend we expect to continue through April and probably beyond. So let’s start with Coronavirus news, and hope that we have something different for next month. Coronavirus The Coronavirus pandemic is forcing reconsideration of how private data is used.  Maciej […]

Three months ago, Apple released a new credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs that aimed to disrupt the highly regulated world of consumer finance. However, a well-known software developer tweeted that he was given 20x the credit line offered to his wife, despite the fact that they have been filing joint tax returns and […]

We’ve all seen that the world (well, governments, specifically state governments, to say nothing of the banks) is screaming for COBOL programmers—a cry that goes up roughly every five years. We somehow muddle through the crisis at hand, then people forget that it was ever a problem. It’s time we asked what the crisis really […]

After last month’s “all coronavirus, all the time” report, I was concerned that this month would be more of the same.  And there is, indeed, a lot of coronavirus. But there are many other trends and interesting items to look at–possibly a sign that people are working effectively from home. Coronavirus Coronavirus prompts serious discussion […]

Nicholas Love's Penguin Classics cover generator lets you upload an image and set type in humorous imitation of the label. It can also do the similar but inverted Oxford World Classics look. But sadly not the classic classics look.

Many excellent designs in this twitter thread; embedded here is my contribution. Read the rest

Yesterday saw the online premier of a mini-episode of a new animated comic series based on the classic Gilbert Shelton underground comic, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. As a hippie wannabe teen in the 70s, this (and Zap! Comics) was everything to me.

In 1969, life in San Francisco consists of free love, communal living, and political protest. Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek (Harrelson), Fat Freddy Freekowtski (Goodman), Phineas T. Phreakers (Davidson) and their mischievous, foul-mouthed cat, Kitty (Haddish) spend their days dodging many things —- the draft, the narcs, and steady employment -– all while searching for an altered state of bliss.

But after partaking of a genetically-mutated strain of marijuana, the Freaks wake up 50 years later to discover a much different society. Quickly feeling like fish out of water in a high-tech world of fourth-wave feminism, extreme gentrification and intense political correctness, the Freaks learn how to navigate life in 2020 -— where, surprisingly, their precious cannabis is now legal.

OK, sounds good. But is it? If the reaction to the first mini-episode is any indication, maybe the Freaks should have remained in their drug-induced coma. As one Facbooker commented: "Get yourself a collected set of the original comic and skip this drivel!"

Read the rest

A couple of days ago, Thomas Dolby posted this video to Twitter and YouTube of a track called "Corona and the Pirate Twins," a spoof of his 1982 hit, "Europa and the Pirate Twins." The song is credited to Dolby Kids. Thomas included the following note:

"This is what my mischievous offspring have been getting up to during the Lockdown."

Here is the original video for "Europa..."

Bonus track:

And here is Thomas Dolby doing a touching home solo version of his achingly beautiful "Screen Kiss" from 1984's Flat Earth. He did it as a tribute to Matthew Seligman, the celebrated bassist who recently died of COVID-19. Seligman played bass on Dolby's recordings, including Flat Earth, and also played for Bowie, Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Murphy, and countless others. He was also a member of the Soft Boys.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

The Leopards Ate My Face subreddit is dedicated to mocking people who thought the Republican party would hurt their enemies only to be surprised to find that it hurts them, too. Inspired by a tweet by Adrian Bott—'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party—it has now banned posts about people who claimed Covid-19 was bullshit only to die of Covid-19. There are simply too many, and it's getting depressing.

"We've seen a billion of them in the past two weeks and the vast majority of them don't fit the subreddit," writes moderator u/ROBOT_OF_WORLD. "People dying from their decisions isn't justice, karmic, or funny." Read the rest

It took hundreds of exposures and a complex method of removing occlusions, but this "lucky" shot is the result: a depiction of the hot regions lurking under Jupiter's uppermost clouds.

The picture was captured in infared by the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, and is one of the sharpest observations of the planet ever made from the ground. To achieve the resolution, scientists used a technique called "lucky imaging" which scrubs out the blurring effect of looking through Earth's turbulent atmosphere. This method involves acquiring multiple exposures of the target and only keeping those segments of an image where that turbulence is at a minimum.

Ironic toxic masculinity is in fashion! The Duke Cannon Naval Supremacy Big Brick of Bar Soap for Men [Amazon] promises that those thusly-soaped will smell of "naval supremacy", "productivity" or other humorously-abstract scents. (More traditionally "manly" odors such as tobacco, leather, burned vegetation, etc. are also available).

The veil of humor is threadbare -- "get clean and smell good without using feminine shower gels and accessories" -- but I'll admit that I do bathe in warm turpentine and it really helps.

Are you ready for images of the best “soap but for MEN” product you’ve ever seen? pic.twitter.com/kVAWb57UlF

— Shayna Moon, Unity Lich (@qorquiq) May 8, 2020

UPDATE: Here's a balding treatment called "Lethal Uprising", spotted by Greg Sideyr.

I'll see your Naval Supremacy, and raise you pic.twitter.com/UJE9wxeRvp

— ????Greg | Applied Eschatology ???? (@Greg_Sideyr) May 8, 2020

Looking forward to Internecine Violence Toothpaste, Shambolic Venezeulan Coup Ice Cream, and Silently Endure Prison Abuse Hemmorhoid Cream with Aloe Vera. Read the rest

Jennifer Usellis-Mackay, aka the Klingon Pop Warrior, sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in her native tongue. The performance took place in 2015 at Chicago's iO Theater. From the video description:

Opening for Improvised Star Trek, I sang a new (old) song. Got some newly translated words the day of the performance... enjoy this little slice of nerdiness... or don't.

Vocals - The Klingon Pop Warrior (Jennifer Usellis-Mackay) Guitar - The Red Shirt (Joe Mizzi) Translation - Admiral qurgh (Christopher Lipscombe) Video - Eric Scull

(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

This Sunday, Weezer will cameo on The Simpsons and as a teaser, the band released their cover of "The Simpsons Theme" by Danny Elfman. From Rolling Stone:

In the new episode of The Simpsons, Weezer will play a cover band called Sailor’s Delight, which serves as the house act on a romantic cruise Homer and Marge are taking. Sailor’s Delight will “perform” a handful of tracks from Weezer’s 2019 self-titled record (also known as The Black Album) and their 2017 effort Pacific Daydream, while the episode will also boast the premiere of the band’s new song, “Blue Dream,” from their upcoming LP, Van Weezer.

CNBC reports that an aide to Pence has tested positive for COVID-19. This follows yesterday's report that Trump's personal valet tested positive for the virus.

A spokeswoman for Pence did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Pence was scheduled to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, but his departure from Andrews Air Force Base was delayed by nearly an hour as staff dealt with news of the diagnosis. Reporters traveling with Pence said several staffers disembarked from Air Force Two just before takeoff.

Photo of Pence: Know Your Meme Read the rest

Who is Patrick Mason? I just ran across a few short horror films he wrote and directed, and they're truly scary. Like edge-of-your-seat gasp-out-loud scary. Not only that, but they're beautifully made with good actors, especially Ayuda (see below). The three videos posted here are the ones I've seen so far, but there are more on his site, which I plan to watch tonight. Can't wait to see where this director takes us next.

Read the rest

An array of scientific evidence suggest that in some cases, the bacteria in your gut–your microbiome–could be tied to neurological and psychological disorders and differences, from anxiety and autism to Parkinson's and schizophrenia. The journal Science published a survey of the field and the Cambridge, Massachusetts start-up Holobiome that hopes to use insight into this "psychobiome" to develop treatments for depression, insomnia, and other conditions with a neurological side to them. From Science:

For example, many people with irritable bowel syndrome are also depressed, people on the autism spectrum tend to have digestive problems, and people with Parkinson’s are prone to constipation.

Researchers have also noticed an increase in depression in people taking antibiotics—but not antiviral or antifungal medications that leave gut bacteria unharmed. Last year, Jeroen Raes, a microbiologist at the Catholic University of Leuven, and colleagues analyzed the health records of two groups—one Belgian, one Dutch—of more then 1000 people participating in surveys of their types of gut bacteria. People with depression had deficits of the same two bacterial species, the authors reported in April 2019 in Nature Microbiology.

Researchers see ways in which gut microbes could influence the brain. Some may secrete messenger molecules that travel though the blood to the brain. Other bacteria may stimulate the vagus nerve, which runs from the base of the brain to the organs in the abdomen. Bacterial molecules might relay signals to the vagus through recently discovered “neuropod” cells that sit in the lining of the gut, sensing its biochemical milieu, including microbial compounds.

"[F]lying during a pandemic turned out to be more stressful—and surreal—than I’d planned for," writes McKay Copkins in The Atlantic. After two months of social distancing Copkins went on a reporting trip that required a plane flight. He was looking forward to the trip, but as soon as he got on the plane he realized that air travel is no fun during a pandemic.

I arrived at my assigned row, and found a stocky, gray-haired man in the seat next to mine. When I moved to sit down, he stopped me. “Sit there,” he said gruffly, pointing to the aisle behind us. “Social distance.”

Not eager for a confrontation, I decided to comply. Within seconds, though, a flight attendant materialized and ordered me back to my assigned seat. My recalcitrant would-be seatmate, vigorously objecting to this development, responded by blocking my entrance to the row with his leg.

Photo by Ethan McArthur on Unsplash Read the rest

A family in lockdown performs the Beatles' "Come Together." Read the rest

The Gothamist is reporting the sad news that Gem Spa, the iconic NY corner store that has been a fixture at St. Marks Place and Second Avenue for around 100 years is being forced to shutter its doors and windows for the last time. The Spa has been struggling to keep up with increasing rent prices and COVID-19 has apparently proven to be the final nail in its coffin.

"It’s where Robert Mapplethorpe bought Patti Smith an egg cream on the day they met. It’s on the back cover of the New York Dolls’ 1973 debut (and where, according to lore, Johnny Thunders and others went for post-heroin sugar fixes between sets at CBGB). Before that, it was where Abbie Hoffman gathered Yippies to rain money on the New York Stock Exchange. It’s where Allen Ginsberg, Ted Berrigan, and other neighborhood poets went to pick up the Sunday New York Times on Saturday nights (and which was inevitably commemorated in their poems)."

Read the rest.

Image: Alex Lozupone, CC BY-SA 4.0 Read the rest

The LockPickingLawyer easily opens this Yale Y500 Combination Key Access padlock with just a sliver of aluminum from a soda can.

Read the rest

These little silicone rubber bowls come in handy in so many ways.

I use them with my digital scale to measure the bulk powder supplements I take. We use them at the dinner table to hold condiments. We use them while preparing meals to hold spices and minced herbs. I keep finding new ways to use them. For instance, when I fry or scramble eggs, I now crack the eggs over one of these bowls so I can pull out shell pieces and woogers (I wish I had a wooger snatcher but the bowl will have to do). Read the rest

Here's a fun puzzle with an easy setup that makes for a good stay-at-home time-filler. Like sudoku, see if you can rearrange these cards so that no face or suit repeats itself in any column, row, or diagonal. Watch the video if you need some help. Read the rest

If you’re an entrepreneur or marketer who hasn’t embraced webinars yet, you probably need to rethink your strategies. Over 60 percent of marketers say they use webinars as a key part of their content marketing strategy — and over 70 percent say it’s the best way to generate high-quality business leads.

Thankfully, one of the silver linings to our new quarantine, work from home lifestyles lately is the explosion of conferencing software and Americans’ newfound enthusiasm for video group meetups. 

Vidthere is one of the services that has considered the needs of large and small groups trying to maintain connections over distance, offering a suite of web-based communication tools that centralizes everything in one easy-to-use place.

Vidthere is a live video platform for everyone, featuring loads of internal communications features as well as options to sell and market directly to customers.

With webinars emerging as a key means to engage customers and sell products, Vidthere gives you all the tools to do that from any location. Vidthere offers the opportunity to deliver live video webinars that are easy for both presenters and users. 

Vidthere is entirely web-based, so users never need to download any software to join a Vidthere session. As for sessions, they combine no-lag high-quality performance with the ability to scale to the size of an audience with no video loss. Plus, every Vidthere meeting or webinar has a powerful chat feature so users can engage easily.

As for presenters, Vidthere events support up to 30 meeting participants and an unlimited number of webinar viewers, with options to support screen sharing, video in video presentation, and a whiteboard mode, a full basket of tools to help contour any presentation just the way you want it. Read the rest

Magician Roy Horn, 75, died Thursday after developing symptoms of Covid-19 several days ago. Horn and partner Siegfried Fischbacher ran the most popular stage show in Vegas throughout the 1990s, featuring hundreds of performers, pyrotechnics and a coterie of white tigers at the Mirage hotel. Horn was forced to retire after suffering a stroke before or as a tiger dragged him from the stage by the neck.

TMZ received a statement from Fischbacher:

"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend. From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

Siegfried goes on ... "Roy was a fighter his whole life, including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life."

My first visit to the U.S. was a trip to Vegas in 1999. The first thing I remember seeing of America, stepping blearily out of the taxi at the Mirage Hotel after 15 hours in the air, was a colossal fiberglass statue of Siegfried and Roy. God bless America.

Read the rest

One positive upside of the past two months is how sheltering at home has all but emptied area animal shelters. It’s tough to get solid numbers nationally, but shelters in cities and regions all across America are reporting massive surges in animal adoptions. 

Even the steep increase in Google searches for “adopt a pet,” up a whopping 335 percent in April, proves what we probably all knew anyway — that in times of stress, having a furry friend is a huge comfort for millions.

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the past two months is there are no trainers available to help whip some of these new family pets, particularly puppies, into shape. From barking and jumping to house training and scratching, The Complete Guide to Puppy and Dog Training Bundle is a full plan for getting the newest member of your family integrated into the house safely and sanely all by yourself.

The collection includes eight courses all geared toward getting a new dog or puppy behaving the right way. And if you’ve ever had any thoughts about starting a dog training business of your own, this coursework is a perfect starting spot.

Puppies: A-Z Guide to Puppy & Dog Training kicks off the learning, explaining the best way to train, teach and socialize your puppy so they grow into a joyful, well balanced, and well-behaved dog. 

Of course, most puppies each have their particular issues, so a handful of courses look more closely at some of the tactics for helping your puppy overcome certain challenging behaviors. Read the rest

Drummers hear all the jokes. What do you call a drummer with half a brain? Gifted. How is a drum solo like a sneeze? You know it's coming, but there's nothing you can do about it. What do you call a drummer that breaks up with his girlfriend? Homeless.

Drummers hear the jokes — and laugh. Because they know they’re the thumping heartbeat of any band. They’re the ones with loads of equipment. And they’re the ones making all that noise while practicing. Yet try to play almost any song without drums and the lack of propulsion and power is instantly palpable.

Drummers are essential. Now, users can join their ranks — and they don’t even need to buy a massive drum kit or rattle their walls to do it. Created by drummers, Senstroke by Redison is the first sensor device that can teach anyone to play the drums and even reproduce the drummer experience, all without any physical drum set.

Just attach the patented Senstroke sensors to a pair of drumsticks and your feet, connect via Bluetooth, and instantly you can turn any surface into a virtual drumhead. Using the impact of the drumsticks and your feet positioning, the sensors reproduce the exact sounds your chosen drum element would make through the Senstroke app. 

Your legs, some cushions, a coffee table, they all become fair game as a drum surface while you refine your skills. And when you attach a pair of headphones, no one else even has to know you’re playing...well, Read the rest

Tear down all the Robert E.T. statues and stop celebrating his invasion tactics.

The creator of Full House Without Michelle returns with a documentary on General Robert E.T. [Reid McCarter / AV Club] Read the rest

The "transient bazaar" known as Lost Horizon Night Market is a covert operation. Worlds are imagined and then built inside the blank canvasses of empty box trucks. For the event, all the "proprietors," and their appointed box trucks, convene in an unsanctioned, though discreet, location. This location is disclosed to would-be "shoppers" via text just a few hours before it starts. Word of the market generally spreads rapidly but not publicly, definitely not by social media. If you're lucky enough to hear about it, you should go.

So, Happy Mutants, this is your heads up. Lost Horizon Night Market: Quarantine Edition is happening Saturday, May 9, from 6:59p EST until 11:59p EST, "rain or shine." This one is a little different, as the spaces are virtual, not in actual, physical trucks. I got a sneak peek yesterday of what's been created and can't wait to dive in deeper. Admission is free, though tips are appreciated. RSVP here.

Previously: Secret box truck 'night market' pops up again in NYC Read the rest

"Little" Richard Penniman, singer of Tutti Frutti and countless other hits, died Saturday morning. He was 87 years old. Rolling Stone reports that he died of cancer.

Starting with “Tutti Frutti” in 1956, Little Richard cut a series of unstoppable hits – “Long Tall Sally” and “Rip It Up” that same year, “Lucille” in 1957, and “Good Golly Miss Molly” in 1958 – driven by his simple, pumping piano, gospel-influenced vocal exclamations and sexually charged (often gibberish) lyrics. “I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it,” Elton John told Rolling Stone in 1973. “I didn’t ever want to be anything else. I’m more of a Little Richard stylist than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder.”

Photo: Anna Bleker (Public Domain) Read the rest

My pal Jake has been taking regular "cigar walks" (as he calls them) here in our lovely island city of Alameda, California. On those walks, he started spotting some creative flyers...

(I saved the best two for last...)

photos by Jake Schaffer, used with permission

Thanks, Susie! Read the rest

I have a love/hate relationship with musical reaction videos. There are kids reacting to heavy metal (or The Beatles), vocal teachers and opera singers reacting to rock vocalists, millennials reacting to classic rock, and on and on. Some of these are quite moving, for instance, a 20-something hearing Zep's "Since I've Been Loving You" for the first time or a vocal teacher reacting to a Black Metal vocalist's cookie monster growl.

In these two videos, Heline, a classical flutist and music teacher, listens to Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson performing "Bouree" at a 1969 concert and then she listens and reacts to a performance from 1976.

I didn't realize that Anderson had only been playing the flute for a year and had no formal training at the time of the 69 video (their first tour). Heline can appreciate his chutzpah in the first performance and the fact that he's only been playing for a year(!), but is perhaps predictably critical of his playing. She is more impressed with what she sees and hears in the 76 performance.

Personally, I always thought his playing was inspired and his playing, vocalizing, singing and playing, and his other stage antics (the goofy one-legged stance) were a perfect example of "the street finding its own uses for things," using technology in ways in which it was never intended. As with all things artistic, your mileage may vary.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act's famed white tigers, has died. He was 75.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who reported 81 new cases of the disease in her daily update, says there are 4,020 recovered and 1,963 active cases.

Quebec public health officials announced Saturday that a total of 2,786 people have died from COVID-19 and there are now 36,986 confirmed cases.

A transit centre in north Edmonton was evacuated for about two hours Saturday morning due to a suspicious package.

Tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world -- long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers' disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but are no longer getting paid.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says three children in the state have now died from a possible complication from the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

Canada Post's main plant in Calgary has six confirmed cases of COVID-19. That news was confirmed Friday by Dr. Deena Hinshaw at her daily update.

RCMP say a 50-year-old man died and a 60-year-old man is in hospital following a crash involving a CP Rail train Friday morning.

The flood stricken Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo says it is on track to lift its boil water advisory sooner than it was originally projected.

While the birds are is still listed as endangered in Canada and Alberta, the population has experienced a comeback in recent years.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will not pay the full price for medical masks that do not live up to medical standards.

Rafael Nadal insists all players, including Novak Djokovic, will need to take a coronavirus vaccine should one become available.

Andy Robertson admits he would "love" the chance to play for Scottish giants Celtic one day.

The Vuelta a Espana organisers have confirmed that a race already rescheduled and shortened would also now cut its foray into neighbouring Portugal from the 2020 itinerary.

Former England opener Alex Hales is confident he has matured as a player and believes he is ready to make a return to international cricket.