Man throws 4,800 bottled notes into the ocean, gets 3,100 replies
It's now been 15 years since Harold Hackett began making friends all over the world. He never meets them in person, and doesn't use the phone or internet for contact, but rather leaves his acquaintances up to the tides. Since … Continue reading →
Hasnain has not yet written a summary for this.
Posted on 2011-11-08T10:12:27+0000
HDD Pricewatch: You know where it’s going — we tell you how much it’s going to hurt | ExtremeTech
Hard drive prices continue to climb, with no relief expected for at least 6 months.
Hasnain says:
Apparently hard drive manufacturers forgot the golden rule, "Don't have a single point of failure".
ALL of the major ones had their factories in a single place, which got flooded..
Posted on 2011-11-08T09:07:48+0000
» Why Is This Cargo Container Emitting So Much Radiation?
On July 13, 2010, a cargo container arrived in Genoa, Italy. It had torrents of radiation coming out of it. No one knew what was inside, and no one knew what to do next.
Hasnain says:
Really good read. Plus this stands out:
"It was hardly the first fishy shipment to pass through Gioia Tauro. Famously, just six weeks after 9/11, workers there heard noises coming from inside a container being transshipped to Nova Scotia via Rotterdam. Inside, police found an Egyptian-born Canadian carrying a Canadian passport, a satellite phone, a cell phone, a laptop, cameras, maps, and security passes to airports in Canada, Thailand, and Egypt. The container’s interior was outfitted with a bed, a water supply, a heater, and a toilet. Nicknamed Container Bob, the man posted bail in Italian court and was never seen again."
Posted on 2011-10-29T07:14:27+0000
John McCarthy (computer scientist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John McCarthy (born September 4, 1927; died October 24th, 2011 [1][2][3], in Boston, Massachusetts), was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist who received the Turing Award in 1971 for his major contributions to the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He was responsible for the c...
Hasnain says:
How come a lot of the big shots in CS are dying this month?
Posted on 2011-10-25T04:31:58+0000
Chimp to Human to History Books: The Circuitous Path of AIDS
In “The Origins of AIDS,” Dr. Jacques Pépin starts from 1900 to work out the most likely path the virus took during the years it left almost no tracks.
Self Study
Below is my final set of photography work as a student. These last few months as a college student have been so bitter-sweet, I can’t make up my mind if I’m excited or sad about graduation. I guess both.
ongoing by Tim Bray · DMR, 1941—2011
It’s hard to believe that there was a time when any of these weren’t conventional wisdom, but there was such a time. Unix is composed of more obvious-in-retrospect engineering design choices than anything else I’ve seen or am likely to see in my lifetime.
Hasnain says:
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2011/10/12/DMR
Posted on 2011-10-13T04:56:02+0000
Gamasutra - News - Steve Jobs, Atari Employee Number 40
Steve Jobs was a brilliant thinker, an inspiration, and a leader, but back in 1974 he was an 18-year-old dropout soldering resistors onto Atari's arcade games to save up for a spiritual journey to India.
Hasnain says:
"Steve Jobs was called many things during his tragically short life -- innovator, entrepreneur, leader, father -- but back when he showed up at the Los Gatos doorstep of arcade game leader Atari in May of 1974, he was an unwashed, bearded college dropout more interested in scoring some acid than changing the world."
Acknowledging the Trade-Offs in Differentiation - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com
Teachers tend to focus on the middle of the pack. Or, more typically of late, on the least proficient students.
Pakistani Family Refuses to Kill Daughter Who Was Raped, Drawing Anger
A Pakistani girl who was kidnapped and gang-raped faces a new threat: honor killings, a tradition here, but one that her family has defied