Opinion | Who Killed the Knapp Family? – The New York Times

by dldamore

Opinion | Who Killed the Knapp Family? – The New York Times:

“‘The meaningfulness of the working-class life seems to have evaporated,’ Angus Deaton, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, told us. ‘The economy just seems to have stopped delivering for these people.’ Deaton and the economist Anne Case, who is also his wife, coined the term ‘deaths of despair’ to describe the surge of mortality from alcohol, drugs and suicide.”

*Read this article. I’ve placed a hold on the book at my local public library.

Email Newsletter Links and Recognition

by dldamore

So, when you read good email newsletters and want to share links, thoughts and ideas that were started in or sparked by the newsletter how to you establish credit to the author and give them a proper link to?

Perhaps every newsletter should have a number system? Or maybe an issue and date sections that is created for you to include in any posts you create and want to credit them back properly. Should email newsletters be posted to the web? If yes, then link there. Or maybe the author will have a link history that you can get access to by subscribing to their newsletter. Or maybe you get to see the issue and you are asked to subscribe if you like what you are reading. 

Bob Lefsetz has a really interesting email newsletter. Think he’s been publishing his Letters since the mid 1980’s when they where on paper and distributed via mail. That I can not confirm. Was just reading a post by Bob that inspired me to write this post because I’d love to write about some things he shared and to properly credit him back.

January 6, 2020

9:32:08 PM EST

Sound waves used to separate microplastics from laundry wastewater

by dldamore

Sound waves used to separate microplastics from laundry wastewater:

“In lab tests, the BAW setup was found to capture 95 percent of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibers, and 99 percent of Nylon 6 fibers. Before the system can enter production, though, the fiber-separation process needs to be speeded up, as it would currently take washing machines quite a long time to drain.”

*Interesting advancement.

Hackers Can Use Lasers to ‘Speak’ to Your Amazon Echo or Google Home | WIRED

by dldamore

Hackers Can Use Lasers to ‘Speak’ to Your Amazon Echo or Google Home | WIRED:

“Hackers Can Use Lasers to ‘Speak’ to Your Amazon Echo or Google Home By pointing lasers tuned to a precise frequency at a smart assistant, researchers could force it to unlock cars, open garage doors, and more.”

*Interesting. Worth a read.

McDonald’s acquires AI company trying to automate the drive-thru

by dldamore

McDonald’s acquires AI company trying to automate the drive-thru:

“McDonald’s said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire a company that is trying to automate the drive-thru. It’s the fast-food giant’s third tech-focused deal this year.

Apprente, a Silicon Valley company founded in 2017, uses artificial intelligence to understand drive-thru orders, which could cut down on service times. McDonald’s said the technology also could be used someday in its self-order kiosks and mobile app.”

*Not only can technology be used to show people different menu items based on time of day to increase order size, AI could be used to reduce labor costs.