Well, "social science", at least.

Well, "social science", at least. The thing is, most of these are questions from Western culture, and really they may either be the "wrong" questions, or culturally loaded. It might not matter in the end if there is an after life or not, provided you make an effort in this one.

Also of course, if say we all live in an "ancestor simulation", then things like numbers and afterlife's might just be part of the substrate, the program running it. It may not matter what the answers are also, because the important this is actually the questioning.
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5945801/8-philosophical-questions-that-well-never-solve?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Nice

Nice

Originally shared by Polynomial -C

https://benice-equation.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/fractal-spirograph.html

This is a cool analysis of this issue.

This is a cool analysis of this issue.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-disk-formats-of-star-wars-rogue-one-spoilers

Not the talk you'll be expecting.

Not the talk you'll be expecting.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-talk-3

No, Tesla Autopilot Didn't 'Predict a Crash'

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a32073/no-tesla-autopilot-didnt/

I have friends and family "along the spectrum".

I have friends and family "along the spectrum". Most are often more reliable than "normal" folk, once you reach common ground. It's only the framing of things, including extreme portrayals in media, that makes any group an outsider group.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/feature/different-way-thinking

One of the open source rippers that's actually understandable. Doesn't rip protected disks.

One of the open source rippers that's actually understandable. Doesn't rip protected disks.
http://lifehacker.com/handbrake-finally-leaves-beta-improves-presets-gets-a-1790520699

Cool!

Cool!
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/14-amazing-gravitydefying-funiculars?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page

This one step closer.

This one step closer.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/harvard-scientists-think-they-might-have-pinpointed-the-source-of-human-consciousness?utm_content=buffer4e989&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Hmmm

Hmmm
http://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-just-discovered-a-second-state-of-liquid-water

Nice list.

Nice list.

Originally shared by GIMP
https://opensource.com/article/16/12/yearbook-top-open-source-creative-tools-2016

Actually they all look like more of the same...

Actually they all look like more of the same...
https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/latest-eye-popping-inventions-that-you-didnt-know-about.html

Might be a while off yet.

Might be a while off yet.

Originally shared by The Grateful-3000

If only.......

I use Cyberlink Power Director, myself, but that costs $$ and only works on Windows.

I use Cyberlink Power Director, myself, but that costs $$ and only works on Windows. This is open source (free) and will work on Win, Mac, and Linux.  It looks like 2.2 has some really good improvements.
http://www.openshotvideo.com/2016/12/openshot-22-released-4k-video-editing.html

Urk!

Urk! I got a mysterious "error 1" message when trying to run Photoshop CS6 (and later Illustrator as well) this morning. I followed the procedure to fix this but nothing worked, so I'm reinstalling both versions again today. Annoying. I just want to use it to redo a comic of mine from  2000. :(

“Privacy Bed” That Converts Into A Fort Is A Dream Come True For People With Anxiety

http://www.boredpanda.com/tent-bed-privacy-pop/

Downloaded and installed the Clip Studio Paint upgrade to 1.62.

Downloaded and installed the Clip Studio Paint upgrade to 1.62. New features include (somewhere) direct access to online materials, new blend modes, the opacity of the brush can be adjusted according to pen pressure, and a whole host of other changes and fixes I probably won't find for a while.
http://www.clipstudio.net/en/dl/release_note

Ah, the pre Internet era!

Ah, the pre Internet era!

Originally shared by Sarraute Sebastien

Souvenir...
http://68.media.tumblr.com/9474d22e6b857f4a467b31c42e67235d/tumblr_oghc7eMM9y1tr4l5uo1_1280.jpg

The singularity just called, and wants to know what you're doing Sunday.

The singularity  just called, and wants to know what you're doing Sunday.

Originally shared by Jeff Dean

An inside look at the Google Brain team

For the past few months, we've had NY Times Magazine reporter Gideon Lewis-Kraus visit the Google Brain team several times and hang out with us for a few days at a time, with an eye towards writing an article about how our research team operates and what we're working on. We gave him pretty open access to our building, the people in the team, many of our meetings, etc., and over the course of several visits, he decided to focus his story on the origins of the Brain team, and on our in-progress collaboration with the Google Translate team to replace the old phrase-based translation system with a neural machine translation system (essentially part of the article is a behind-the-scenes look at how the scientific work in https://arxiv.org/abs/1609.08144 and https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.04558 came about).

This long article is the result of his visits and synthesis of what he learned. Gideon, I think the article turned out really well!



http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/magazine/the-great-ai-awakening.html?_r=0

I think this was inevitable, but is it enforceable?

I think this was inevitable, but is it enforceable?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-15/federal-court-orders-pirate-bay-blocked-in-australia/8116912

An interesting idea, but don't we have enough paranoia already?

An interesting idea, but don't we have enough paranoia already?
https://curiosity.com/topics/the-zoo-hypothesis-says-aliens-are-secretly-studying-life-on-earth-from-afar-curiosity/?utm_source=facebookSCAL&utm_campaign=2016q4xxfbk03SCALzoohyp&utm_medium=social

Sorry, but I think this article is a WANK. "Ideal"?

Sorry, but I think this article is a WANK. "Ideal"?
http://www.mydomainehome.com.au/attractive-traits

An interesting concept.

An interesting concept. Many people may not even conceive of their future selfs, let alone have empathy for them. I never thought I'd live past 30.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/12/self-control-is-just-empathy-with-a-future-you/509726/

Well this is a surprise - the networked drives are a LOT faster when they're on the RecRoom PC.

Well this is a surprise - the networked drives are a LOT faster when they're on the RecRoom PC. They used to be on the Lounge PC and were only half as fast. Wahoo!

I moved the server to my RecRoom PC.

I moved the server to my RecRoom PC. As it's all based on N and J network drives, it was a smooth transition. Now to find my external backup drives and see what space I have left. 

Extra thought:
It occurred to me that when I get some extra $$$, I could get a dedicated server box built, one that was ultra reliable, and with very FAST storage. That would be the place to put a hypergrid-connected grid.

Well, my Lounge Room PC stopped working, and that was that!

Well, my Lounge Room PC stopped working, and that was that! I think it's the power supply. It spontaneously rebooted twice in the last two months, and on one occasion gave an error message about the power supply. I was going top wait until I got back from New Zealand to replace that - which I still might do. Trouble is that the Lounge Room PC is also my home network server. Oops!

UPDATE:
I flicked switch at the back OFF and then ONE, and pressed the "On button" on the front again, and it booted! However, that switch is part of the power supply, so I think my diagnosis is still correct. Time to backup while I can, and move the stuff on the server to another PC.

If this is practical and affordable I can see plenty of applications in Australia!

If this is practical and affordable I can see plenty of applications in Australia! The "won't corrode" part is what interests me.
http://themindunleashed.com/2016/11/sustainable-salt-water-battery-wont-corrode-and-can-power-your-home-for-10-years.html

Be impressed.

Be impressed.

Originally shared by Kevin Clift

Triple Pendulum Control

A few years ago Dr. Tobias Glück from Technische Universität Wien, found that along with his mathematical insights, computers and numerical methods were now fast enough to swing-up and balance a pendulum, on a pendulum, on pendulum on a sliding rail under computer control.

IEEE CSS Video Clip Contest 2014 Submission

Triple Pendulum on a Cart (YT ~1 min.): https://goo.gl/XkKxHL


The presented work deals with the swing-up of the triple pendulum on a cart. The swing-up maneuver is accomplished within a two-degrees-of-freedom control scheme consisting of a nonlinear feedforward controller and an optimal feedback controller. Based on a precise mathematical model, the feedforward controller was obtained by solving a nonlinear two-point boundary value problem with free parameters. A time-variant Riccati Controller was developed in order to stabilize the system along the nominal trajectory and an Extended Kalman Filter was used to estimate the non-measurable states. The overall control strategy for the swing-up maneuver was successfully implemented and tested on an experimental test bench. Up to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first contribution so far providing numerical and experimental results of the swing-up maneuver for a triple pendulum on a cart.

Paper (open pdf): https://goo.gl/oT1cQY

Tobias Glück: https://goo.gl/RZtSte


Here is an easy to follow and graphic explanation of Kalman filters due to Tim Babb, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is Lighting Optimization Lead for Pixar Animation Studios.

Related Post: https://goo.gl/5X2ZpV

Image: https://goo.gl/nt6jPW

The blue bits on toothbrushes was about the only thing I didn't already know. Now it makes sense.

The blue bits on toothbrushes was about the only thing I didn't already know. Now it makes sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWo_tYF0nAc&feature=share

This is an old article.

This is an old article. I should imagine that the same analysis could be used on any MMO as well. I have also (some years back) come across an online calculator that would calculate what a second life avatar's carbon footprint was. However, it seemed to "double count" the cost for the linden servers and  on home computers, and I suspect that's an error, because it fails to account for the other uses of the home computer. 

Also see:
http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/researchers-use-second-life-to-gauge-peoples-green-attitudes.html and
http://www.roughtype.com/?p=611
https://ict4peace.wordpress.com/2007/11/10/second-life-avatars-arent-as-eco-friendly-carbon-neutral-as-first-thought/

Looks like Open Canvas is getting an update, which includes adding GIF animation capability.

Looks like Open Canvas is getting an update, which includes adding GIF animation capability. I can't help thinking that this is in response to Clip Studio Paint getting animation capability. I used OC for a while a few years back, but committed to Manga Studio for various reasons. Open Canvas is very popular with anime/manga fans and has a replay function where you can see how an image was drawn.
http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/oc/

How the Way You Breathe Affects What You Remember -- Science of Us

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/12/how-the-way-you-breathe-affects-what-you-remember.html

The repeat of a Star Trek: The Next Generation mentioned that this "still hadn't been solved after 800 years".

The repeat of a Star Trek: The Next Generation mentioned that this "still hadn't been solved after 800 years". Oh dear, sometimes TV shows date unexpectedly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr7NuyvBzfE&feature=share

This is incredibly important and the reactor that could one day maintain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction.

This is incredibly important and the reactor that could one day maintain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction.

I think they still have a long way to go to a commercial fusion reactor.
https://www.slashgear.com/german-nuclear-fusion-machine-creates-3d-magnetic-fields-as-predicted-06466533/

More images of lighter-than-air craft, both real and imagined.

More images of lighter-than-air craft, both real and imagined.
http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=28095.60

I had to chase down more info on the futures of airships which never happened.

I had to chase down more info on the futures of airships which never happened.
http://www.airships.net/futurism/

If you DON'T build it, will they come? I so love the idea of lighter-than-air warships, though really I think...

If you DON'T build it, will they come?  I so love the idea of lighter-than-air warships, though really I think they'd be downed pretty quickly.

Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger

A few weeks ago, I posted (goo.gl/mE052w) about one of the stranger legacies of the Cold War – a never-launched (for obvious reasons) American plan involving an Atomic Zeppelin fleet, which would patrol over the world's oceans 24/7, carrying Minuteman ICBM's on board.

Now, this plan was raised as part of a fairly transparent ploy by various groups at the Department of Defense to claim that they had "thought through all options" and could therefore justify the M-X Missile program.

So I have no idea what the excuse is behind this thing, a description of a plan for nuclear-powered Zeppelins to be fielded by the Soviet Union. I'm suspecting that this appeared in Tekhnika Molodezhi for much the same reason that bizarre designs show up in Popular Mechanics: that is, as an "imagine this neat future!" gimmick rather than serious engineering.

But I'm oddly pleased to discover that both sides of the Cold War had people that looked at nuclear reactions, looked at Zeppelins, and immediately thought these are two great tastes that taste great together.

This really strange bit of lore brought to you by @PulpLibrarian over on Twitter.

Adam Ruins Everything - Why the Internet is Good for Society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNIHBEBsoKg&feature=share&list=PLZxWJ6CTr63Z4OYR3gdMEEog5Zju5ihyu&index=2

Very handy on dual boot systems, though usually I put the data on the NTFS partitions.

Very handy on dual boot systems, though usually I put the data on the NTFS partitions.
http://www.howtogeek.com/112888/3-ways-to-access-your-linux-partitions-from-windows/

Floating trains eh? Gosh, what a cliched prediction.

Floating trains eh? Gosh, what a cliched prediction.
http://thefutureishere.economist.com/blogs-future-transportation.html

Free MIT courses, including videos, audio, simulations, lecture notes, and exams.

Originally shared by Phorcyte X

Free MIT courses, including videos, audio, simulations, lecture notes, and exams.
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/

also see

also see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3aQDHP-7Ao

BIG DOG, as you've never seen him before! ;)

BIG DOG, as you've never seen him before! ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXI4WWhPn-U

Maths is an art as much as a science, at least for anyone into it. :)

Maths is an art as much as a science, at least for anyone into it. :)

Originally shared by alias inkhorn

"People who appreciate the beauty of mathematics activate the same part of their brain when they look at aesthetically pleasing formula as others do when appreciating art or music, suggesting that there is a neurobiological basis to beauty.

Beautiful formula
There are many different sources of beauty - a beautiful face, a picturesque landscape, a great symphony are all examples of beauty derived from sensory experiences. But there are other, highly intellectual sources of beauty. Mathematicians often describe mathematical formulae in emotive terms and the experience of mathematical beauty has often been compared by them to the experience of beauty derived from the greatest art.

In a new paper published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to image the brain activity of 15 mathematicians when they viewed mathematical formulae that they had previously rated as beautiful, neutral or ugly.

The results showed that the experience of mathematical beauty correlates with activity in the same part of the emotional brain – namely the medial orbito-frontal cortex – as the experience of beauty derived from art or music.

Activity in the brain is strongly related to how intense people declare their experience of beauty to be – even in this example where the source of beauty is extremely abstract.
Professor Semir Zeki (Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology at UCL)..."
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0214/13022014-Mathematical-beauty-activates-same-brain-region-as-great-art-Zeki

Including, but not exclusively, Gernsback's “Teleyeglasses”which were meant to give a stereoscopic image, and...

Including, but not exclusively, Gernsback's “Teleyeglasses”which were meant to give a stereoscopic image, and apparently his “headphone TV,” where images would be transmitted to an individual’s mind! Gernsback was a much better magazine editor and more less invented the term Science Fiction.
http://blog.fyitelevision.com/2015/03/tv-technology-history-involved-some.html#sthash.P3vUKVeg.dpbs