linkstream2 microblog

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/23/hands-on-with-clamcase-pro-for-ipad-air-2/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/06/obamas-should-probably-move-to-brooklyn.html

http://voices.suntimes.com/business-2/andy-ihnatko-iphone-6-plus-keyboard/

Ageing does not have to bring…frailty http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11326136/Ageing-does-not-have-to-bring-poor-health-and-frailty-say-Kings-College-scientists.html Good #cyclists are as fit at 79 as 55 but how many are there at 79 HT @timjph

Distributed Info. Processing in Biological & Computational #Systems http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2015/1/181614-distributed-information-processing-in-biological-and-computational-systems/fulltext Contrasts in strategies to handle node failures

QT:{{"
While both computational and biological systems need to address these similar types of failures, the methods they use to do so differs. In distributed computing, failures have primarily been handled by majority voting methods,37 by using dedicated failure detectors, or via cryptography. In contrast, most biological systems rely on various network topological features to handle failures. Consider for example the use of failure detectors. In distributed computing, these are either implemented in hardware or in dedicated additional software. In contrast, biology implements implicit failure detector mechanisms by relying on backup nodes or alternative pathways. Several proteins have paralogs, that is, structurally similar proteins that in most cases originated from the same ancestral protein (roughly 40% of yeast and human proteins have at least one paralog). In several cases, when one protein fails or is altered, its paralog can automatically take its place24 or protect the cell against the mutation.26 Thus, by preserving backup functionality in the protein interaction.

…
While we discussed some reoccurring algorithmic strategies used within both types of systems (for example, stochasticity and feedback), there is much more to learn in this regard. From the distributed computing side, new models are needed to address the dynamic aspects of communication (for example, nodes joining and leaving the network, and edges added and being subtracted), which are also relevant in mobile computing scenarios. Further, while the biological systems we discussed all operate without a single centralized controller, there is in fact a continuum in the term “distributed.” For example, hierarchical distributed models, where higher layers “control” lower layers with possible feedback, represent a more structured type of control system than traditional distributed systems without such a hierarchy. Gene regulatory networks and neuronal networks (layered columns) both share such a hierarchical structure, and this structure has been well-conserved across many different species, suggesting their importance to computation. Such models, however, have received less attention in the distributed computing literature.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/us/obama-to-request-research-funding-for-treatments-tailored-to-patients-dna.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1

This Cold House
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/opinion/this-cold-house.html Low ‘excess’ winter #mortality for Scandinavians; their motto: “No bad weather, only bad clothing.”

“Excess winter mortality” seems to be a useful number to remember in keeping warm in the winter

QT:{{”
Life at 45 degrees isn’t for everyone — I wouldn’t recommend it for the sick, the elderly or children. And there are, of course, legitimate hazards to the cold. The National Weather Service reports that there were 66 cold- and winter-related deaths in 2013 in the United States. A more useful measurement, popular in Europe, is “excess winter mortality,” which simply compares deaths during winter to those during the rest of the year. The resulting figures tend to be much higher than the weather service’s: In England and Wales there were an estimated 31,100 such deaths in the 2012-13 winter.

Using this measure, paradoxically, warmer countries like Spain and Portugal suffer more cold-related deaths than colder countries, because they aren’t as well versed in the art of keeping
warm….Scandinavians, who also have a low excess winter mortality rate, have a common saying: “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”
“}}

podfather candidate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Fadell

podfather candidate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Rubinstein

James Vincent

http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/ipod-silhouettes-2000-2011/