Taking a Short Break

[ripe]

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[avocado-babylon]

This cured everything I have

[takingashortbreak]

The Need For Speed

Mark Kermode on re-watching an old favourite - the 1994 action movie Speed with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock

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Proops On Point Break

a guilty pleasure - Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action movie Point Break...

[un-gif-dans-ta-gueule]

Bad Vodka…

[takingashortbreak]

The end of privacy - Dr Michal Kosinski, Stanford University

Keynote @ CeBIT Global Conferences - 23 March 2017

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[newyorker]

Happy Friday. A cartoon by Will McPhail. 

[aiweirdness]

New terms and conditions may apply

We may intercept or entity or without notice to you or onserate any provisions of your Service with, or online authorizes an any party speed of the Paymong or afterw the product on a Web site. Background Technology to respect to any actual or failure to order provider of Big Brother service is hange to any duties or misleading or advocating the acquisition of Big Brother may terminate or distance rights to or use address of the acquisition of a new line by 2 11000 (Consumer/Residential accounts). You agree to provide Big Brother will treat it will not attempt to penetrategute any Content or cancel defardment of the Site is account in any areas account during the name and otherwise make to line of a minimum specifically or we cannot terminated or account if using an appoint, prepare devices, or notice business records that may be befanded that: (a) in a federal volumer of your SER Any computer performance, log-or otherwise unlawful, provider, imalfuting, the cable service or in any manner than originate the directory require operate all speeds and claims ad installing the tind of other conperse services deliver based in a part to or services with the diaring to pay any claim is non-manufacturing department of account that you will be provided by an addressibling using the acquisition of a Web site, abive. Do not attempt to decire, or other computer personal information or conduct a legitimate communications. (d) HackItions or self-toons may be send to your use of the Site or Big Brother All Content or Service (include any Content the Site or Big Brother, howe offer publicity that may be send the Service will be responsible for use our Site to any and all required notice to you and Big Brother (include in a domated at the Site or Big Brother is survanced Service may be account has been permission or injordanted by the Service.

BIG BROTHER DISCLAIMS AND SERVICES ON OR THROUGH THE SITES OR OTHER BIG BROTHER OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR OTHER BIG BROTHER OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR OTHER OR OTHER BIG BROTHER DISCLAIMS OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR THE SITES OR OTHER CONTENT, OR OTHER PRODUCTS, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION, OR OTHER ANY DIRECT, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION, ANY DIRECT, SOFTWARE, INFORMATION, OR OTHER…

Imagine if your internet provider could choose which sites you see, favoring their business partners and political allies, and blocking or slowing others - maybe even this site. On Dec 14 2017, the US FCC voted to end net neutrality, making this scenario possible. But Congress can still stop them.

Learn more about net neutrality. Then TAKE ACTION!

If you have congress members, now is the time to contact them, by calling 202-759-7766 or by texting RESIST to 50409 (that’s resistbot, which is an awesomely easy way to turn your texts or Facebook messages into letters to Congress)

You can ask them to pass a resolution of disapproval. And ask them to pass legislation that will make net neutrality a law. You can also ask your state to join in suing the FCC. Here’s a bit more from Resistbot about how to step up.

(Terms and conditions were generated by a neural network trained on the terms and conditions of major internet providers) 

[pewresearch]

Decades after internet access became widely available, Pew Research Center surveys show that about a tenth of American adults (12%) remain offline. But what happens when some of them take the plunge and connect? A new analysis provides a glimpse of the online behaviors of those who are new to the internet.

[privacyandtechnology]

US | The Fifth Amendment, decryption and biometric passcodes

By: Kendall Howell (Lawfare)

From the article:

In October, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that in an 11-month period, the FBI had been unable to extract data from more than 6,900 devices; that is over half of the devices it had attempted to unlock. It’s a “huge, huge problem,” Wray said. One might think that a way around this problem is for the government to order the user to produce the password to the device. But such an order might face a big hurdle: the Fifth Amendment. A handful of cases have emerged in recent years on the applicability of the Fifth Amendment to demands for passwords to encrypted devices. The protections afforded by the amendment depend on, among other things, whether the password involves biometric verification via a unique physical feature, or the more typical string of characters (passcode). As we will see, the government has a bit more leeway under the Fifth Amendment to insist on the decryption of personal computing devices using biometric passwords that—as in the new iPhone X—are increasingly prevalent.

Read more: full text

[fallontonight]

“We take our next steps into the world…”

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[takingashortbreak]

trump, data analytics and the end of democracy

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Evelyn Brent (1924) or Carrie-Anne Moss time-traveler?

http://www.whizzpast.com/17-photos-prove-just-cool-1920s-really/

[philamuseum]

The Rodin Museum has one of the largest collections of the sculptor’s work outside of Paris AND is pay what you wish every day? What a place!

[oupacademic]

It’s Pi Approximation Day!

Pi is an irrational universal constant, the digits of which go on forever without ever forming a repetitive pattern. It is equal to the circumference of any circle divided by twice the radius (diameter).

Pi Approximation Day is 22 of July since the fraction 22/7 is used to approximate pi. In countries that write their dates mm/dd, pi day is the 3rd of March, since 3.14 is the first three digits of pi.

Either way, it’s a good excuse to eat lots of pie.

Gif via Giphy.

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Not sure how many of you were aware, but on July 12, people and companies around the world will be gathering around to fight for Net Neutrality. This will be similar to the event that transpired in January 2012–when multiple websites either temporarily shut down or changed the front of their page (in Google’s case) to keep the Internet free and open. Due to everything that has been happening in the FCC as of late, it looks like we’re gonna have to do this again. So again, call, email, and speak with your representatives to let them know that you oppose the FCC and their so-called “solution” to “fixing” the Web.