Enter the Braille Institute’s contribution, the Atkinson Hyperlegible computer font, especially designed for those of us with blurry vision. Follow the link to download your free copy, ready to install on a Mac or Windows PC. I gave it a spin yesterday with Microsoft Word, and it works like a charm, much more readable than Word’s default Arial or Calabri fonts. Continue reading Take a look at Atkinson Hyperlegible
Good news from a long-term experiment in Norway: painting a single blade of a power-generating windmill may reduce fatal birdstrikes by as much as 70%. This is certainly an experiment that bears replication, especially at facilities that (1) keep careful records of birdstrikes and (2) care enough to make the effort. It’s pretty sad that the Norwegians spent 7 years on this, and few other researchers got on board with it. If this were clinical research for a debilitating disease, mobs would be clamoring for more trials. Bird conservationists should be outraged at the pace. Of course, they’re not even … Continue reading Good news for windmill operators
The Babylon Bee finds a pearl in the oyster of distance learning: Public Schools Now Preparing Kids for a Lifetime of Soul-Crushing Zoom Meetings. Update: Damn it, Bee! You’re supposed to be doing satire, not straight reporting! Continue reading Distance Learning — an Unexpected Life Skill
WuFlu isn’t the only virus in the air; I’ve been getting a lot of chatter and questions about slide rules. Yes, partly because I’m old enough to remember them and remember (vaguely) how to use them. But what’s going on? Never mind. Here’s some great online resources for the curious and really curious History and tutorial in a set of…slides More of the same, in standard boring format, from Wikipedia An MIT student breaks it down for the mathematically inclined A More Complete Slide Rule Tutorial for the n00bs An astonishing gallery of slide rule emulators, like drinking from a … Continue reading Slide Rules!
I hadn’t seen this hoary old saw in years not since I was studying AI in grad school. The professors always used the phrase to show how difficult natural language processing could be. Tip from Maggie’s Farm, where there’s always something interesting. Continue reading Like, Ambiguous, Dude
Just read this delightful article about steamed hoagies, and recalled using a Fresh-O-Matic steamer. Right out of high school, starting in University, I started a weekend gig as a prep guy in a Mom and Pop hamburger stand in Big Bear, California. The owners patiently showed me the ropes, and over two years built me up into a virtuoso burger flipping short-order cook. One of our go-to gadgets was the Fresh-O-Matic steamer, good for frozen buns, a quick order of hot dogs, and the occasional pastrami on white. In retrospect, I’m baffled at the banality of 60s and 70s California … Continue reading Fresh-O-Matic!
Phylagen, a San Francisco biotech company, has developed a technique for tracking previous locations of objects based on the composition of dust the object has collected. In another experiment, the sampling technology allowed researchers to determine where a person had walked within 1 kilometer in San Francisco, because of the microbes picked up by their shoes. Right now, this technique is proposed for use in tracking manufacturing locations in supply chains. If it’s successful, expect it to be used first in forensics, and then in ubiquitous “backwards” location tracking for behavior profiling. Oh, great. Now, in addition to fresh clothes … Continue reading Dust Yourself Off
One of my techno-nerdy students got me hip to the Logitech Anywhere2 wireless mouse. It can be linked with a dedicated USB device AND paired with Bluetooth-capable devices. So now my old Windows desktop computer, my Surface laptop, AND my old Surface tablet can be clicked with a single mouse. How cool (and handy) is that? Continue reading Need a 3-Way?
At the Better Explained blog, Kalid Azad hits another home run with An Interactive Guide to the Fourier Transform. Here’s a plain-English metaphor: What does the Fourier Transform do? Given a smoothie, it finds the recipe. How? Run the smoothie through filters to extract each ingredient. Why? Recipes are easier to analyze, compare, and modify than the smoothie itself. How do we get the smoothie back? Blend the ingredients. Here’s the “math English” version of the above: The Fourier Transform takes a time-based pattern, measures every possible cycle, and returns the overall “cycle recipe” (the amplitude, offset, & rotation speed … Continue reading The Fourier Transform, explained beautifully
I give you…self-parking slippers! Tip from the Geek Press. Continue reading Add a Pair of These to My Frivolous Wish List!
The Home for Wayward Statisticians 