Hunch has been around the web for a while now, but there has been a lot of buzz the last several weeks since the Wired article came out about Caterina Fake and her new project.  You may know Caterina as one of the key people behind the photo sharing community Flickr, which I happen to love.  The basis for hunch is that they can take data about preferences, mix with demographic data, then crunch using complex algorithms that allow complex relationships to appear.  Based on what their system knows about your tastes, it can make amazingly profound suggestions. 

I have been playing with their system for a few days now, especially since they have a connection to Facebook and Twitter built in now.  It is playful and amusing, but I'll have to work with it over a longer period of time to see how accurate it is in regards to the suggestions that it provides.  I also wonder if it will naturally correct for changes in my preferences over a long period of time.  Maybe it is the fact that I watched Blade Runner again last night, but the "getting to know me" questions almost felt like a Voight-Kampff test. 

Links:

• http://www.hunch.com/
  
• http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/07/ff_caterina_fake/ 
  

Posted by spectrox at 10:21 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

When it comes to the internet, the value of your brand or name depends on who else is interested in what you have to say.  I was recently thinking about this concept and the idea of this social value, coined as a type of currency called a Whuffie by Cory Doctorow in his novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.  Of all the social networks, Twitter seems to fit that model the best, with the ability to RT or Re-Tweet messages, therefore ascribing more social status to the original poster.  Turns out that someone had this idea at least a year ago (they registered their domain in Aug 2009, so I assume it was around then).

I'm sure the exact algorithm to determine the actual whuffie value is as complex, changing and proprietary like that used in a FICO score, but it gives a rough measure of someone's standing in the social media space.

Here is a screen capture of Lance Armstrong's value.

For comparison, here is a capture of Tim Goodman's value, who is an excellent media critic and local celebrity in the SF Bay Area.

Link:

• http://www.thewhuffiebank.org/
  

Posted by spectrox at 06:46 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

In the neighborhood I live in, there is one street that has been blocked off for at least 20 years or so.  Unfortunately my local city hasn't updated the map GIS data properly, so map software like Google maps and most car GPS units try to route you directly through a solid wall. I was logged into Google services at the time and saw that there was an option to submit an error report on routing data.  They actually responded in a timely manner.  Not so bad for a service that does not cost anything for the end user.

While automated mapping technologies are great, it is always good to have some sort of backup whether it be paper or map data from another source.

** UPDATE July 22, 2010 **

Google completed their map update.  Yay!  A company that actually listens to complaints?  That is rare these days.

Posted by spectrox at 06:30 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My beloved cat Ely finally lost his battle with Cancer yesterday evening. There isn't much else to say except that I never chose him to be my cat, he chose me to be his human.  I miss him so much, but after 19 years it was his time.

 
If you want to see some photos of my friend throughout his life feel free to look here:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ely&w=29501028%40N00&ss=2&z=e

Posted by spectrox at 06:00 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

When I was in High School, we were lucky enough to have the ability to take two years of Electronics as electives.  I think they have some sort of robotics program or something now, but back in the day it was pretty basic.  You learned the basic skills like soldering, etching circuit boards and learning how to use a multimeter and oscilloscope.  Often times we received donated equipment and components from local high-tech firms like Measurex, HP and Apple.  Beyond that, there were several life lessons that were not intended.

(Photo Courtesy of Ravi Gaddipati on Flickr)

I learned several key things from my classmates that still ring true today:

• Shorting a line cord does not always blow the breaker.  Non-functioning breaker = BAD. 
  
• If you fabricate an enclosure out of sheet metal and the circuit board runs on 110VAC, there is a reason to use nylon spacers between the base of the board and your case.  (Or you receive a quick lesson in impromtu arc welding)
• It is not a good idea to discharge a 1/4 farad capacitor using human skin as a conductor.
• Use as much safety equipment as you can, because often times the safety interlocks become broken or are disabled over the years.  (You know about this one Jerry)
  
• As long as the paralysis doesn't last more than one period, everything is cool.
  
• Sometimes teachers just don't want to remember how to pronounce your name, because it causes them endless amusement. 
  

Posted by spectrox at 07:45 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

DiscoveryNews has an interesting article on the subject of commercial airliners minutely changing weather patterns.  In some cases snow and rain was caused by flying through clouds in certain types of conditions.  The hole punch clouds that can occur when this happens are even cited as "evidence" of UFO landings.

The part I thought was the most interesting was this excerpt:

"Still, Heymsfield and colleagues write in a new study in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society that on average, 7.8 percent of Earth is covered in clouds ripe for "plane seeding." Heymsfield notes that precipitation from this effect isn't likely to alter global weather patterns, it may have a local effect."

(Photo Courtesy of The Shade on Flickr)

• http://news.discovery.com/earth/airplanes-punch-holes-in-clouds-make-it-rain.html 
• http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2009BAMS2905.1?prevSearch=&searchHistoryKey=
  

Posted by spectrox at 07:00 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

For those of you that are stuck in a cave somewhere, you might not have been introduced to the maddening vuvuzela horn that is being used by rabid fans in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  (This is soccer to all the Americans). German fan and engineer Tobias Herre came up with a solution to digitally filter out the vuvuzela sounds from his TV.  By filtering out the B flat note using a channel EQ to build a notch filter around 233Hz, 466Hz, 932Hz and 1864Hz in real time, he is able to hear the game without the maddening vuvuzela sounds.  You can search on Youtube for the sound of ten thousand vuvuzelas going at once, but some people describe it as a bee hive inside your head.

(Photo Courtesy of Coca Cola South Africa on Flickr)

Links:

• http://www.surfpoeten.de/tube/vuvuzela_filter
• http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.surfpoeten.de%2Ftube%2Fvuvuzela_filter&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=Translate
  

Posted by spectrox at 07:00 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)