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Four Fundamental Myths Derailing Academic Change
May 15th, 2012 at 12:33 pm

Why Creative People Are Eccentric

Ibot Dean Kamen

Dean Kamen on his Ibot invention.

He is one of the world’s best known and most successful entrepreneurs, with hundreds of patents to his name—including the Segway scooter. But you will never see Dean Kamen in a suit and tie: the eccentric inventor dresses almost exclusively in denim. He spent five years in college before dropping out, does not take vacations and has never married. Kamen presides (along with his Ministers of Ice Cream, Brunch and Nepotism) over the Connecticut island kingdom of North Dumpling, which has “seceded” from the U.S. and dispenses its own currency in units of pi. Visitors are issued a visa form that includes spaces on which to note identifying marks on both their face and buttocks…

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May 15th, 2012 at 10:59 am

In-flight cell phone calls to be allowed on Virgin Atlantic flights

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Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic announces that it will let customers make calls with their own cellphones on their flights — provided they’re on the airline’s new Airbus A330 flying between London and New York.

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May 15th, 2012 at 10:51 am

9 flawed assumptions that can be toxic to startups

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The Startup Owner’s Manual

Excerpts from a new step-by-step “how to” guide for startups is being published by Inc. Magazine.  The excerpts highlight the Customer Development process, best practices, tips and instructions contained in the book, The Startup Owner’s Manual.

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May 15th, 2012 at 10:26 am

Foreign banks turn away U.S. millionaires

UBS

UBS, the world’s biggest non-U.S. private bank, said in 2008 it would discontinue offshore accounts for U.S. citizens.

Some of the world’s largest wealth-management firms are wanting American millionaires to go away ahead of Washington’s implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Singapore and DBS Group all say they have turned away business.

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May 15th, 2012 at 10:11 am

On the meaningfulness of books bought, but not read: Daniel Silliman

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Who has read all the books they own?

In the documentary, Derrida, the documentarian is with Derrida in Derrida’s library, and asks, “Have you read all these” books?

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May 15th, 2012 at 10:10 am

Ruby on Rails popularity index 2012

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Are you using Ruby on Rails yet?

Ruby on Rails has taken the web development world by storm since its first full release in 2005. Yet with new web platforms arriving each day, usage share of frameworks has become quite fragmented. So in this post, I compiled the latest trends and figures of Ruby on Rails from different sources, as well as some stats of the Ruby language.

In a recent survey of Bestvendor.com, Ruby on Rails remains to be the preferred framework of choice among startups. But, how popular really is Ruby on Rails?

After the jump is an infographic created to show how far Ruby on Rails has gotten since its release in 2005…

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May 14th, 2012 at 10:51 pm

We’re heading towards a future where brain scans replace the SAT

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No memorization will be necessary in the future.

Imagine if the extent your natural intelligence could be determined with a simple scan where you’d have to do nothing at all. What if it became the new standard for college admissions. Deterministic as it may seem, at least we wouldn’t have anymore goddamn vocab flash cards to memorize.

According to Duke University professor Jonathan Wai, writing in Psychology Today, there’s been a study conducted at UC Irvine since 1988, in which test subjects were put through various aptitude tests while conducting brain scans. What they discovered is the smartest patients required less brain power to accomplish a task. Efficiency!

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May 14th, 2012 at 4:20 pm

GoGoFantasy is a new Kinkstarter for porn

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gogo-fantasy logo

GoGoFantasy is a patent-pending system for crowdfunding porn. Folks with fetishes, grandmas with groin urgings, and couples into copulating can create projects and request cash in return for filming certain acts. For example, one young lady will mount two cameras in a small plane and film her activity in the cabin. And she won’t be reading her Kindle and eating peanuts, if you catch my meaning…
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May 13th, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Low-Cost nanosheet catalyst discovered to split hydrogen from water

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This magnified image from a transmission electron microscope reveals details of the unexpected nanosheet structure of the nickel-molybdenum-nitride catalyst, seen here as dark, straight lines.

Hydrogen gas offers one of the most promising sustainable energy alternatives to limited fossil fuels. But traditional methods of producing pure hydrogen face significant challenges in unlocking its full potential, either by releasing harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or requiring rare and expensive chemical elements such as platinum…

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May 13th, 2012 at 10:27 pm

Star Wars AT-AT Walker For Geeky Seniors

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Geriatric geekdom in action.

If you’re having trouble getting around on your own these days, why not take a tip from Star Wars and get this sweet AT-AT styled walker?

It will make you the geekiest resident at the senior center, and a big hit with the Leias at bingo night. Cool hydraulic sound effects not included…

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May 11th, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Quantum object teleported 100 kilometers by Chinese Scientists

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Teleportation is one step closer to reality.

Though quantum teleportation has existed for well over 10 years, it has never actually happened at a distance that would be of any use to people in the real world. But for the first time, Chinese researchers were able to teleport a quantum object nearly 100 kilometers, ramping up the real world applications for the idea.

According to Technology Review, the quantum teleportation does not involve dematerializing and then re-materializing physical matter, but rather using a photon to transmit the quantum state of one object to another, thus allowing the recipient to become a clone of the sender (think of it kind of like your consciousness inhabiting someone else’s body)…

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May 11th, 2012 at 11:43 am

The Rise of the SuperProfessor

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Futurist Thomas Frey: For colleges and universities, the great age of experimentation is now upon us.

Last week, Harvard and MIT announced a new nonprofit partnership, known as edX, to offer free online courses from both universities.

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May 11th, 2012 at 9:43 am

HP busted for putting less and less ink into printer cartridges

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What you see is not what you get.

The price for HP ink cartridges isn’t shrinking but the amount of ink that HP puts into those cartridges sure has, according to an investigation by HP Ink Cartridges.co.uk.

The site took two of the same model of ink cartridges, the HP 350. One was produced in 2010, the other in 2012. They sawed off the top and measured the spot that holds the ink with a sponge. The one from 2012 held about half the ink from 2010. But from the outside they looked the same…

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May 10th, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Facebook to launch its own app store

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App Center

Facebook is launching a new App Center, The App Center will not just have Facebook apps but will be “a place to find social web, desktop, and mobile apps”, as well.

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May 10th, 2012 at 10:03 pm

Ugly pancake contest seeks your entries

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Nutritious and informative.

Saipancakes, who normally makesastounding pancakes like the ones above, had a rather spectacular pancakefail (below), prompting him to inaugurate an ugly pancake contest…

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Pancakefail example.

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