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Daily Archives: November 22, 2018

This Grammar Guru Will Solve the World’s Problems

The New York Times – “…Ms. Jovin is a new member of a city subway ecosystem known for its string-instrument musicians, break-dancers and religion preachers. About four times a week, she schleps a foldable table and a chair to locations such as a triangular sidewalk plaza outside a subway entrance off 72nd Street or inside the underground expanses of Grand Central Station or Times Square and sets up the Grammar Table. Its laminated sign reads: “Vent! Comma crisis? Semicolonphobia? Conjunctive adverb addiction! Ask a question! Any language!” Ms. Jovin, 53, knows that a better understanding of the role of conjunctions will not put a stop to political divisions. But in a world of coarse discourse, why not create a little common ground by parsing past participles? “Language studies is something people can bond over and enjoy without getting into a huge fight,” she said. (Unless you’re 4 or 5, perhaps.)..”

The Largest Ever Tropical Reforestation Is Planting 73 Million Trees

Fast Company: “There are more habitable planets in our galaxy than humans living on planet Earth. But the nearest one is about 70 trillion miles away, which means that, for now, and for the foreseeable future, Earth is the only life-supporting rock hurtling through infinite space we’ll ever know. It’s really not the best idea… Continue Reading

Passwords Aren’t Enough. The Key to Online Security is a Key

The Key to Online Security is a Key These physical devices by Yubico and Google are helping guard you against online hackers. Just don’t lose them [Paywall] “NO MATTER how much alphanumeric complexity you add to passwords, chances are they’re still not strong enough. Don’t worry, mine are even weaker. Against all advice, I’m only… Continue Reading

More companies are chipping their workers like pets

Engadget – “The trend of blundering into the void of adopting new tech, damn the consequences, full speed ahead, continues this week. The Telegraph tells us about “a number of UK legal and financial firms” are in talks with a chip company to implant their employees with RFID microchips for security purposes. Ah, security purposes,… Continue Reading

Legal Research Companies Post Laws Online, but Do They Own the Data?

Legal Tech News – Experts note that laws and regulations, for the most part, aren’t copyrightable and that the prohibition is geared toward continuing easy access of laws for citizens “As more private companies upload judicial opinions, state and federal regulations and other public court documents, attempting to copyright those documents may prove futile. After… Continue Reading

How Archivists Could Stop Deepfakes From Rewriting History

Gizmodo – “…While many have feared the potential of deepfakes to spread misinformation in the here and now, these videos could distort reality long after today’s fake news goes viral if they’re improperly archived as legitimate. Gizmodo spoke with several historians, archivists, and professors who were familiar with the deepfakes phenomenon, some of whom had… Continue Reading