http://www2.mccombs.utexas.edu/faculty/Maytal.Saar-Tsechansky/Teaching/Documents/Harvard%20Business%20Review%20Online%20%20Competing%20on%20Analytics.htm http://hbr.org/2006/01/competing-on-analytics/ar/1
An early paper on big data analytics in commercial organizations. Nice overview.
Great quote at the end: “The Oakland A’s aren’t the only ones playing moneyball. Companies of every stripe want to be part of the game.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/us/booz-allen-grew-rich-on-government-contracts.html Leaker’s Employer Is Paid to Maintain Government Secrets
NSA Leaker’s Fate Could Lie With Beijing
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/06/10/contractors-fate-could-lie-with-beijing/
Data-Driven Tech Industry Is Shaken by Online Privacy Fears – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/technology/data-driven-tech-industry-is-shaken-by-online-privacy-fears.html
Contractor Edward Snowden Admits to Leaks – WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323495604578535653583992418.html
Peeping President Obama – NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/dowd-peeping-president-obama.html
Legal basis for PRISM
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/prisms-legal-basis-how-we-got-here-and-what-we-can-do-to-get-back/276667/
U.S. Official Releases Details on Prism Program – WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324299104578533802289432458.html
Original Guardian Story
NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others • Top-secret Prism program claims direct access to servers of firms including Google, Apple and Facebook
• Companies deny any knowledge of program in operation since 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/06/-qa-david-altshuler-on-how-to-sh.html
But how will a little player participate in this? MT @gtyrelle: Q&A: on How to Share Millions of Human Genomes http://bit.ly/19jlKNs
Interesting scientific primer, absorbers v reflectors (Zinc oxide), “Organic sunscreens often contain oxybenzone”. These have the issue of free radical formation.
QT:”
Some sunscreen companies add antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C to their formulations as well to absorb some of these reactive compounds. One 2011 study found that the addition of antioxidants to SPF 15 or 50 sunscreen formulations reduced the numbers of reactive oxygen species in skin more than two-fold.
…
Retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A, is an antioxidant added to many sunscreens and cosmetics (it’s also a food additive, used to fortify some dairy products and cereals). Although the FDA considers retinyl palmitate to be safe, research suggests that upon interaction with UVA light, the compound produces reactive oxygen species. …
And what about application method—sprays, gels, wipes, or
old-fashioned lotions? The Environmental Working Group warns against sprays because of the risk that the chemicals could be inhaled or get into the eyes. But if your child won’t let you near her with anything but a cool mist, by all means use it—just ask him to hold his breath and close his eyes as you apply it. The EWG also warns against combination sunscreen/bug sprays, which may increase absorption of the repellant chemicals, and sunscreen wipes, which might not deliver adequate protection.
”
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/06/choosing_sunscreen_for_your_kids_organic_or_mineral_spf_30_or_50_spray_or.html
Great sunscreen primer: organic absorbers (oxybenzone) v mineral reflectors (ZnO) in relation to radicals via @Slate:
http://bit.ly/1bqd9oM
>50% “Heritability” of social status tracked by surnames. Could it be done with genes instead? http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21571399-surnames-offer-depressing-clues-extent-social-mobility-over Nomencracy, Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21571399-surnames-offer-depressing-clues-extent-social-mobility-over Nomencracy | Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21571384-how-use-mobile-phone-networks-weather-forecasting-counting-raindrops
Clever way to use cell phones to help in weather forecasting #dataexhaust Counting raindrops | Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21571384-how-use-mobile-phone-networks-weather-forecasting-counting-raindrops
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/03/the-robot-will-see-you-now/309216 MT @drseisenberg: #Robot Will See You Now – Atlantic
http://bit.ly/15VdRtM #mhealth From med Watson, to genomics, to self-monitoring…
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/05/what-if-we-never-run-out-of-oil/309294
The recent article by Charles C. Mann in the Atlantic Monthly describing the changes in the worldwide petroleum supply was quite interesting. The article discusses how fracking and new oil extraction techniques have vastly increased the amount of oil that can be extracted from the earth, very much changing people’s estimates of the reserves in the ground. They have also shifted the current energy balance so that it is anticipated that within less than a decade the United States will be energy independent from the Middle East. This of course has profound geopolitical implications. Overall, the article explains a bit about why the US economy has been changing of late so as not to need as much energy conservation products, insulation and solar panels.
TECHNOLOGY. The article goes over a little bit about the actual technology of this transformation, explaining how fracking works by introducing small cracks in rock by injecting high pressure liquid and then allowing the gas to come out of the well. The article also goes into some other types of next generation fuels: (1) from extracting from tar sand such as in Canada and (2) perhaps more promising methane methane hydrate that could be released from deposits under the sea where it is trapped in ice. Methane hydrate is not as relevant for the United States because of its large amount of “frackable” reserves but it is extremely important for other countries such as Japan and China.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS. The article also discusses the
environmental implications of fracking. One on hand this would be good for global warming since natural gas will displace coal and it results only about half of the amount of carbon for a given amount of energy as coal does. However in the long run it will potentially make it even harder to wean the world from fossil fuels. One interesting statistic, now that coal is becoming relatively so uncompetitive for the United States and the fact that it is difficult to export the fracked natural gas the upshot is that the United States is now using more natural gas and exporting more of its coal, which is, ironically, going to the most green of places such as Germany. Another important environmental aspect of fracking is that the burned fuel is
potentially less polluting but unburnt methane or natural gas is an even more serious greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/14/philips-hue-app-update
Lightbulb can change according to the stockmkt MT @rmpilar @engadget: Philips Hue just got a little brighter http://bit.ly/1aVPa0L #gadget
MT @drbachinsky: Q: Is The 70-Hour Work Week Worth The Sacrifice? A: NO – Forbes http://bit.ly/12aXqLX
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelsimmons/2013/05/13/is-the-70-hour-work-week-worth-the-sacrifice/