*1. Comrade Kim and the Workers' Party Congress
North Korea kicked off the 7th Workers' Party Congress on Friday, 6 May. Why is it important? Those in the know think not much will happen during the Congress. The important stuff happened in the lead up to the Congress. Specifically, a nuclear test that Kim claimed was a hydrogen bomb, and multiple ballistic missile tests to include one that launched a satellite into orbit and one that launched a missile from a submarine. Kim is moving fast to "operationalize" North Korea's ability to deliver nuclear weapons and modernize his military. That's scary to many Asian neighbors and the U.S.
*2. Siri, er, Viv, get me a pizza!
From Wired - SpaceX Landed a Freaking Rocket on a Robot Boat in the Dark
Defying its own predictions, the Hawthorne-based commercial spaceflight company has safely brought a Falcon 9 from the edge of space—where it was traveling at nearly six times the speed of sound—to a stationary platform floating several hundred miles off the coast of Florida. Safe and sound.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was skeptical this was possible, because the rocket’s payload, a communications satellite, was heading to an orbital altitude of 22,300 miles. Which means the rocket would be coming home very, very hot. “It wants to melt,” he said at an earlier press event. Just before launch, he put the odds of a successful landing at “maybe even.”
I! Can't! Remember! My! D@&%! Password!
From Wired - 7 Password Experts On How To Lockdown Your Online Security
North Korea kicked off the 7th Workers' Party Congress on Friday, 6 May. Why is it important? Those in the know think not much will happen during the Congress. The important stuff happened in the lead up to the Congress. Specifically, a nuclear test that Kim claimed was a hydrogen bomb, and multiple ballistic missile tests to include one that launched a satellite into orbit and one that launched a missile from a submarine. Kim is moving fast to "operationalize" North Korea's ability to deliver nuclear weapons and modernize his military. That's scary to many Asian neighbors and the U.S.
*2. Siri, er, Viv, get me a pizza!
From Washington Post - Siri's creator say they've made something better that will take care of everything for you
Viv, which will be publicly demonstrated for the first time...Monday, is one of the most highly anticipated technologies expected to come out of a start-up this year. But Viv is by no means alone in this effort. The quest to define the next generation of artificial-intelligence technology has sparked an arms race among the five major tech giants: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon have all announced major investments in virtual-assistant software over the past year.
+ From Re/code - Learning about deep learning
The concept is certainly compelling. Having a machine capable of reacting to real-world visual, auditory or other type of data - and then responding in an intelligent way - has been the stuff of science fiction until very recently.
*3. File this under the "Pretty Incredible" category
Viv, which will be publicly demonstrated for the first time...Monday, is one of the most highly anticipated technologies expected to come out of a start-up this year. But Viv is by no means alone in this effort. The quest to define the next generation of artificial-intelligence technology has sparked an arms race among the five major tech giants: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon have all announced major investments in virtual-assistant software over the past year.
+ From Re/code - Learning about deep learning
The concept is certainly compelling. Having a machine capable of reacting to real-world visual, auditory or other type of data - and then responding in an intelligent way - has been the stuff of science fiction until very recently.
*3. File this under the "Pretty Incredible" category
From Wired - SpaceX Landed a Freaking Rocket on a Robot Boat in the Dark
Defying its own predictions, the Hawthorne-based commercial spaceflight company has safely brought a Falcon 9 from the edge of space—where it was traveling at nearly six times the speed of sound—to a stationary platform floating several hundred miles off the coast of Florida. Safe and sound.
Amazing and exciting.
+This video footage of a GoPro camera attached to a rocket launch and subsequent entry into orbit is mesmerizing. It actually made me a little dizzy.
*4. A Bottle of Red. A Bottle of White.
Forty years ago 24 May, the Judgment in Paris took place. Wine lovers, especially California wine lovers, know the story well:
Steven Spurrier, a young British expat who owned the Académie du Vin and an adjacent store...in central Paris, and his American associate, Patricia Gallagher, held the tasting of Californian and French wines in honor of that year’s American Bicentennial. They wanted to draw attention to the revolutionary new wines of California. The judging panel included some of France’s wine and culinary elite. ...the surprising news [was] that “California defeats all Gaul” as the Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay and the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon were the top wines.
The Paris Tasting helped make Napa Valley’s reputation.
+ The movie "Bottle Shock" also describes (albeit heavily fictionalized) the Judgement in Paris events
*5. That time when Walt White (AKA Heisenberg) visited the White House to talk with Obama about LBJ
Barack Obama and Bryan Cranston on the Roles of a Lifetime
BC: I’m just interested in telling good stories.
BO: Let me pick up on that. I was having a conversation with a couple of actors who were insisting that what they do is different from what I do. No doubt, it’s different. But never underrate the power of stories. Lyndon Johnson got the Civil Rights Act done because of the stories he told and the ones [Martin Luther] King told. When L.B.J. says, “We shall overcome” in the chamber of the House of Representatives, he is telling the nation who we are. Culture is vital in shaping our politics.
*4. A Bottle of Red. A Bottle of White.
Forty years ago 24 May, the Judgment in Paris took place. Wine lovers, especially California wine lovers, know the story well:
Steven Spurrier, a young British expat who owned the Académie du Vin and an adjacent store...in central Paris, and his American associate, Patricia Gallagher, held the tasting of Californian and French wines in honor of that year’s American Bicentennial. They wanted to draw attention to the revolutionary new wines of California. The judging panel included some of France’s wine and culinary elite. ...the surprising news [was] that “California defeats all Gaul” as the Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay and the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon were the top wines.
The Paris Tasting helped make Napa Valley’s reputation.
+ The movie "Bottle Shock" also describes (albeit heavily fictionalized) the Judgement in Paris events
*5. That time when Walt White (AKA Heisenberg) visited the White House to talk with Obama about LBJ
Barack Obama and Bryan Cranston on the Roles of a Lifetime
BC: I’m just interested in telling good stories.
BO: Let me pick up on that. I was having a conversation with a couple of actors who were insisting that what they do is different from what I do. No doubt, it’s different. But never underrate the power of stories. Lyndon Johnson got the Civil Rights Act done because of the stories he told and the ones [Martin Luther] King told. When L.B.J. says, “We shall overcome” in the chamber of the House of Representatives, he is telling the nation who we are. Culture is vital in shaping our politics.
*Bottom of the News
In honor of International Password Day, which was 6 May.
From Wired - 7 Password Experts On How To Lockdown Your Online Security
1. Think Length, Not Complexity; 2. Keep It Weird; 3. Don’t Bunch Up Your Special Characters; 4. Never Double Dip; 5. Don’t Change Them So Dang Often; 6. Take the Panic Down a Notch; 7. Layer Up
+ Companies are betting on a new way to protect your identity: the selfie.
+ Companies are betting on a new way to protect your identity: the selfie.
+ Rethinking security for the Internet of Things
*Sign up below to receive Top of the News via email.
*Sign up below to receive Top of the News via email.
No comments:
Post a Comment