Author: neil

Hacker

As you read that word, did you think of someone taking control of your computer, getting into your online life, draining your bank account, & countless other endgame scenarios? You are not alone. The original meaning of the word hacker, before the media turned it into a pejorative, is “A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and stretching their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary”. This site is a bountiful example of all the hacks going on in tech-world that you’ll hear about in the next 2-5 years, while, in stark contrast, this article uses the same word to terrify, without giving any examples or evidence.

IgNobel

The Noble Peace Prize has, to my small mind, lost its once hallowed position as an award. Consider this: Barack Obama won it four years ago, apparently as an incentive to get the world together, after the havoc that his predecessor wreaked across the world. The Nobel Committee has publicly declared its regret for not awarding it to Mohandas Gandhi. And this year, despite the economic strife playing out in Europe, the European Union has been awarded the Prize, inviting derision rather than applause.

Choice quotes:  “This goes to show that the Norwegians really do have a sense of humour. The EU may be getting the booby prize for peace because it sure hasn’t created prosperity. The EU has created poverty and unemployment for millions.” – Nigel Farage, UKIP

“The Nobel peace prize was devalued when it was given to newly elected Barack Obama. By giving the prize to the EU, the Nobel committee has undermined the excellent work of the other deserving winners of this prize. Twenty years ago this prize would have been sycophantic but maybe more justified. Today, it is downright out of touch.” – Martin Callanan, the Tories’ leader in the European parliament.

They seem to award the peace prize to those they are hoping to nudge in the right direction these days. All the EU leaders are now going to have to make nice speeches about how cooperative they are all going to be.  – a comment on a newspaper article

Megacities

Humankind’s fascination with rapid growth, nay, eternal growth is an accepted tenet, to the extent that we don’t even think twice about it.  But what about the impact it has on how we live? The world recently passed a milestone (or is that a millstone?) – more people live in urban areas than in the countryside. This report explores the health challenges that megacities pose. Also check out this picture of how many megacities there are in the world