Posts Tagged ‘quote’

What Amazon Alexa pays the people building its skills

January 8, 2018

What $AMZN Alexa pays the people building its skills
https://www.CNet.com/news/amazon-alexa-economy-echo-speaker-google-assistant-siri Strange “pseudo-compensation” to encourage app development.
Market-based or at the whims of the central planner?

QT:{{”
“Wilson unexpectedly joined a new Alexa economy, a small but fast-growing network of independent developers, marketing companies and Alexa tools makers. They’re working to bring you voice-activated flash briefings, games and recipes through Amazon’s Echo speaker, Alexa’s primary home. By doing so, they hope to define the 3-year-old Alexa platform and make money from voice computing’s surging popularity.”
“}}

Remembering numbers: All it takes is a system

January 6, 2018

http://old.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030414numberman0413p5.asp
QT:{{”
Most people can remember between five and nine digits; unusual folks might recall 15 to 18.
Imagine the surprise of Carnegie Mellon University researchers in the late 1970s when they came across a student who could master 82 digits. …
A track and cross-country runner, Steve Faloon was accustomed to timed runs and, when forced to remember a string of numbers, tended to break them down into segments recognizable to him as typical times for a quarter mile, a mile, two miles, 10 kilometers, etc.
“}}

Storify is no more, but a few alternatives exist

January 6, 2018

QT:{{”
“Users can use Paper.li to tap into, and curate, some of today’s most trending topics from sources such as Facebook, Twitter, YoutTube and Google+ and other areas across the web. The program also allows anyone to share their curated content on social media platforms, and while the overall function of Paper.li is very similar to Storify, the way information is presented is quite different.”

“}}
https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/storify-is-no-more-but-a-few-alternatives-exist/97764 https://paper.li/

How Storify Users Can Keep Their Content Before the Company Deletes It

January 6, 2018

https://wakelet.com/

QT:{{”
“In response, Wakelet (a free tool that provides similar functionality to Storify) is quickly stepping up to give Storify users a new, free “home” for their content with no technical work-arounds or effort required.”
“}}

How Storify Users Can Keep Their Content Before the Company Deletes It
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-storify-users-can-keep-their-content-before-the_us_5a4d10cce4b0df0de8b06eb6

Limits of Amazon..

January 3, 2018

Even Amazon, a Colossus, Has Its Limits, by @mims
https://www.WSJ.com/articles/the-limits-of-amazon-1514808002 Quote: “Imagine the data-collecting power of $FB wedded to the supply-chain empire of $WMT — that’s $AMZN.” But I thought Wal-mart was pretty good at data collection & analytics!

QT:{{”
All of these moves fit into Amazon’s core mission as a data-driven instant- gratification company. Its fanaticism for customer experience is enabled by every technology the company can get its hands on, from data centers to drones. Imagine the data-collecting power of Facebook wedded to the supply-chain empire of Wal-Mart—that’s Amazon. “}}

Estonia, the Digital Republic

January 3, 2018

#Estonia, the Digital Republic
https://www.NewYorker.com/magazine/2017/12/18/estonia-the-digital-republic Great description of an advanced nation built on a public rather than private computing infrastructure (X-road). Systems built on a national ID card. Laws & tech explicitly protect personal info even from a casual glance.

QT:{{”
““Let me show you how,” Beljuskina said, and led me into a room filled with medical equipment and a computer in the corner. She logged on with her own I.D. If she were to glance at any patient’s data, she explained, the access would be tagged to her name, and she would get a call inquiring why it was necessary.

“Instead of setting up prisoner transport to trial—fraught with security risks—Estonian courts can teleconference defendants into the courtroom from prison.”


Lift99, which houses thirty-two companies and five freelancers, had industrial windows, with a two-floor open-plan workspace. Both levels also included smaller rooms named for techies who had done business with Estonia. There was a Zennström Room, after Niklas Zennström, the Swedish entrepreneur who co-founded Skype, in Tallinn. There was a Horowitz Room, for the venture capitalist Ben Horowitz,”

“In what may have been the seminal insight of twenty-first-century Estonia, Martens realized that whoever offered the most ubiquitous and secure platform would run the country’s digital future—and that it should be an elected leadership, not profit-seeking Big Tech. …
“Kaevats told me it irked him that so many Westerners saw his country as a tech haven. He thought they were missing the point. “This enthusiasm and optimism around technology is like a value of its own,” he complained. “This gadgetry that I’ve been ranting about? This is not important.” He threw up his hands, scattering ash. “It’s about the mind-set. It’s about the culture. It’s about the human relations—what it enables us to do.””
“}}

A Robot That Has Fun at Telemarketers’ Expense

January 3, 2018

QT:{{”

After being harassed by spam calls, a telephone geek took matters into his own hands and devised a way to keep the person on the other end of the line engaged endlessly…..

“The idea is to keep the telemarketer on the call for as long as possible. The longer the conversation goes on, the more eccentric the robot becomes. In one sequence, the robot tells the telemarketer that a bee landed on his arm, and asks the telemarketer to keep talking as he focuses on the bee.

After seeing that the service worked, Mr. Anderson made it freely available to anyone; it works with landlines (with conference call or three-way calling service) and cellphones. To send telemarketing calls to the robot, add the phone number 214-666-4321 to your address book. Then, the next time you get a call from a telemarketer, patch the number in, merge the calls and put your phone on mute while the robot does the talking.”
“}}

A Robot That Has Fun at #Telemarketers’ Expense
https://www.NYTimes.com/2016/02/25/fashion/a-robot-that-has-fun-at-telemarketers-expense.html Quote: “The idea is to keep them on…as long as possible….The next time you get a call from a telemarketer, patch…in” 214-666-4321 & merge calls

Difference between Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat? | Karima Hirani MD MPH – Holistic Doctor – Los Angeles – Alternative and Functional Medicine

December 30, 2017

http://www.drhirani.com/diabetes/difference-visceral-fat-subcutaneous-fat/

QT:{{“Most know that having a large belly may be unhealthy. But did you know that not all belly fat is bad? Much of the fat in the stomach area lies directly under the skin. This is called
subcutaneous fat and is not necessarily hazardous to your health. The fat that is harmful is the unseen fat around your organs, otherwise known are visceral abdominal fat. You may have visceral fat but yet not be obese.”}}

iPad Notebook export for The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body’s Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You

December 30, 2017

Some quick quotes from
{{
The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body’s Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You
Tara, Sylvia
Citation (MLA): Tara, Sylvia. The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body’s Least Understood Organ and What It Means for You. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016. Kindle file.
}}
that I really liked

Each short quote below is preceded by the words “Highlight” & indication of the location in the book.

Notebook Export
I. All About Fat
Highlight(pink) – 2. Fat Can Talk > Page 42 · Location 721
No longer could fat be considered simply blubber; it was a verifiable endocrine organ with wide influence in our bodies. Through leptin, fat could talk. It could tell the brain to stop eating. And by refusing to deliver the message, fat could induce us to eat more.
Highlight(pink) – 3. Your Life Depends on Fat > Page 56 · Location 950 The other organ that is surprisingly affected by body fat is the brain. The fat in mice with ob mutation produces virtually no leptin, leading to reduced brain weight and volume.
Highlight(pink) – 4. When Good Fat Goes Bad > Page 69 · Location 1155 Excess visceral fat is the most dangerous kind of fat, and high levels of it correlate directly to diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and even dementia.
Highlight(pink) – 4. When Good Fat Goes Bad > Page 71 · Location 1177 However, when sumo wrestlers retire and start to consume processed foods and veer away from their exercise program, they almost immediately develop more visceral fat and the classic problems of obesity such as high levels of insulin, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
Highlight(pink) – 4. When Good Fat Goes Bad > Page 72 · Location 1205 Exercise has been shown to increase adiponectin levels,
Highlight(pink) – 4. When Good Fat Goes Bad > Page 75 · Location 1256 “In our program we have seen that just a 7 percent weight loss can improve insulin sensitivity by 57 percent.
Highlight(pink) – 4. When Good Fat Goes Bad > Page 76 · Location 1256 That is the equivalent of two medications for diabetes management at maximum dose.
II. It Is Not Only Food That Makes Us Fat
Highlight(pink) – 7. I Blame My Parents—Genes in Obesity > Page 126 · Location 1996
For example, individuals with variations in a gene called FTO tend to desire high-calorie foods more and have more fat as a result. This gene causes an almost twofold increased risk of obesity compared with those who do not inherit the gene variation.
Highlight(pink) – 9. Fat Can Listen > Page 153 · Location 2424 Testosterone is perhaps the most potent fat burner we have.
Highlight(pink) – 9. Fat Can Listen > Page 157 · Location 2483 Not eating anything also increases our levels of fat-burning hormones. Many body builders and work-out enthusiasts swear by intermittent fasting. When blood sugar becomes low, it triggers the release of fat-burning hormones including adrenaline and growth hormone. Growth-hormone release peaks at night and during sleep. Intermittent fasting is powerful partly because it prolongs the overnight fast, extending the release of growth hormone, which burns fat.
III. So What Is the Solution?
Highlight(orange) – 10. Fat Control I: How You Can Do It > Page 170 · Location 2632
Throughout this book you’ve seen how insulin, leptin, ghrelin, adiponectin, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, and other hormones influence our weight. Our body is an intricate communication system and hormones are key players.
Highlight(pink) – 10. Fat Control I: How You Can Do It > Page 170 · Location 2644
Though hunger is uncomfortable, intermittent fasting has been known to work wonders, especially for hard-to-lose fat. Fasting not only reduces intake but triggers the release of fat-burning hormones including adrenalin and growth hormone. Most growth-hormone release happens at night and during sleep.
Highlight(pink) – 10. Fat Control I: How You Can Do It > Page 171 · Location 2660
He suggests a low-carb diet, and trying to miss one meal first, letting the body get used to the drop in nutrients, and then extending the interval between meals.
Highlight(orange) – 10. Fat Control I: How You Can Do It > Page 176 · Location 2740
He’s observed that those who lose the most weight consistently keep a record of calories and frequently weigh themselves.

Computers That Can Run Backwards

December 29, 2017

Computers That Can Run Backwards
https://www.AmericanScientist.org/article/computers-that-can-run-backwards Discusses the relationship between adiabatic, reversible & quantum #computing to energy expenditure per bit. Introduces Koomey’s law that “computations per unit of energy have been doubling about every 1.6 years.”

QT:{{”
Koomey’s law, a relative of Moore’s law, says that over the first 70 years of electronic computing (as represented above by typical computers of the time), computations per unit of energy have been doubling about every 1.6 years. Had this not been happening, each doubling of components would have doubled the heat to be dissipated and would have shut down Moore’s law long ago. Koomey’s law is also good news for mobile computing, which relies heavily on battery power.”
“}}