Who knew that Iran has more cyberpolice than China? The Enemies of the Internet infographic, that's who (Syria: 250,000, China: 30,000 according to the famously reliable Wikipedia; apparently China is better at automating its censorship). It also suggests that SOPA and PIPA are the first steps towards putting America on the list of Internet Enemies which includes China, Iran, Syria and North Korea. If those countries sound familiar, it is because they also top the list of countries using the death penalty. Distinguished company for sure.
Bob Newhart, one of my favorite comedians, did a sketch on the old Fox show, MAD TV, poking fun at psychotherapy. As the husband of a therapist and the friend of others, it tickled me.
Jon Carroll, America's greatest newspaper columnist, wrote about Carpe Diem 17 years ago. I probably read it at the time (although itg was over Christmas, when I was often out of town). In any case it is worth rereading. I was reminded of it by the Bob Greene item in the Dan Grobstein file.
My friend Kevin Sullivan writes:
I'm
just amazed that this
story hasn't achieved more traction, considering how sticky
it is! I know it will appeal to your journalistic appetite. And as a
commentary on the efficacy of the Mounties, how hard can it be to
find a gang of overweight bandits with a mile high stack of
pancakes, and a truck load of Egg-Os ?
When I reviewed Robot and Frank, I included a remark from a dimly remembered college lecture about the superiority of wheels over legs for robots, in part because walking is so hard and rolling is so easy. Craig Reynolds checked in:
I
must have had different professors. Where did you go to school again?
:-) Wheels are fine for the corridors of CS departments, and
roads, and yes, the bottom of Martian craters. but how would a wheeled
robot have ascended that incredibly steep staircase in Frank's house?
Who has driven to the peak of Everest? A relatively small part of
Earth's surface is accessible to wheeled vehicles. Note that since our
college days, there has been impressive progress in legged robotics.
Work at places like Boston Dynamics makes me confident that robust,
agile and highly capable legged robots are right around the corner.
BTW, as far as I could tell in a few minutes of Googling, while the rover will reach the lower slopes of Mt. Sharp, "The inclines are too steep for Curiosity to reach the peak..." (http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/a-voice-from-mars-as-curiosity-gets-ready-set-go-corrected) If only it had legs!
BTW, a recent video from Boston Dynamics
Like any complicated issue, there are lots of good answers. If you are comparing energy efficiency for say moving a given weight along a smooth corridor floor, wheels are much better than legs.
BTW, as far as I could tell in a few minutes of Googling, while the rover will reach the lower slopes of Mt. Sharp, "The inclines are too steep for Curiosity to reach the peak..." (http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/a-voice-from-mars-as-curiosity-gets-ready-set-go-corrected) If only it had legs!
BTW, a recent video from Boston Dynamics
Like any complicated issue, there are lots of good answers. If you are comparing energy efficiency for say moving a given weight along a smooth corridor floor, wheels are much better than legs.
I stand corrected. I forget who told me that "legs are an inefficient means of getting around," but it must be the same professor who told me "Modem speeds will never get over 3KB, because you can't put 10 pounds of (poo) in a five pound bag."
Dan Grobstein File
- Jeb Brovsky (@JebBrovsky) 9/3/12 11:07 AM You can tell Monopoly is an old game because there is a "Luxury Tax", "Community Chest" and the Banker can still get thrown in jail.
- Good point about population density. An an expensive energy future the subsidized expenses of the sprawl will really cost us.
- Michelle: serious and humorous.
- Clinton: The Corpus Callosum of Politics
- Voter Supression
- smartMeme (@smartMeme) 9/7/12 6:14 PM 10 ways to tell if a terrorist is white by @jricole bit.ly/UyBxhu
- Everyone knows who is running for president & has
an idea how they're going to vote. It's the downticket races
that are easy to sway with the flood of money coming in. The radio and
tv ads around election day get really crazy. There is very little
coverage of most races unless you make a point of going to look for it
so low information voters will vote for the last shiny object that
they've seen. I wonder if the Republicans don't care if Romney loses.
They work better throwing sand into the gears and will shirk any
responsibility for any bad outcomes.
Democrats: where do you put your money? - Disliking Bob Greene. Still. 10 years later.
- Two Centuries of Creating U.S. History
- David Kurtz (@TPM_dk) 9/14/12 9:07 AM oh my RT @meredithshiner: "Let's have a hand for the cute and curvaceous Jennifer Granholm!!" youtu.be/b4FJIP-eZCA #TheDatingGame
