2017 – The Zedman

UK press doesn’t understand chemistry or Amazon, launches bomb-making panic

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

UK public broadcaster Channel 4 sparked a presswide panic with a story: “Potentially deadly bomb ingredients are ‘frequently bought together’ on Amazon.” But the ingredients are common black powder ingredients. Black powder is useful for many hobbyist applications (“fireworks, model rockets, antique firearms, or to blow up the occasional stump”) but it’s not a useful bomb-making compound (that would be... Read More

DHS informs 21 states that Russian hackers attacked their voting systems in 2016 election

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

The Department of Homeland Security today revealed which states were targeted by Russian hackers trying to break into voting systems during the 2016 election cycle. DHS said “most” states were unsuccessfully attacked, but didn’t make clear how and where the hackers were successful, or whether the sustained cyberattacks helped Donald Trump win the presidency. BREAKING: US government tells election officials... Read More

Nuclear War Survival Skills (PDF)

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Nuclear War Survival Skills is a guide to getting through the inevitable forthcoming nuclear devastation of America and the radioactive immolation of the last and greatest of human dreams. Written in 1986 by Cresson Kearny, it’ll take you through everything from gathering food to the proper ventilation of backyard bunkers. This updated and expanded edition of Nuclear War Survival Skills... Read More

European Commission spent 360,000€ on a piracy study, then buried it because they didn’t like what it said

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Estimating displacement rates of copyrighted content in the EU is a 360,000€ study commissioned by the European Commission from the Dutch consulting firm Ecorys, whose mandate was to “research the effect piracy had on sales of copyrighted content” — the report was completed in 2015, but never made public. That’s because the report concluded that “the results do not show... Read More

‘Boil the Frog’ creates a seamless playlist between any two musical artists

September 22, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

This is cool. “Boil the Frog” is a 2012 web app by Paul Lamere that creates a “seamless playlist between any two artists.” Boil the Frog lets you create a playlist of songs that gradually takes you from one music style to another. It’s like the proverbial frog in the pot of water. If you heat up the pot slowly... Read More

We Review the Top Feedback and Review Services for Techs

August 9, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Wouldn’t it be great if you could wave a magic wand and get clients to review your business? Maybe not, because if they’re unhappy they’ll leave negative reviews. What if you could make sure that only happy clients review you publicly, and unhappy clients criticize you privately? Fortunately, there are now services out there that will help you with review... Read More

Avoid A Bad Client with Initial Call Curation

July 12, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Problem clients can suck the life out of you. Sometimes you have to fire them, but what if you could avoid them all together? Wouldn’t it be nice if they came with big warning signs: fragile and handle with care! We can’t guarantee that, but we can put the odds in your favor by listening to the language the client uses... Read More

Predicting Personality Traits from Content Using IBM Watson

June 24, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Would you like to know what your customers want before they do? Of course. Every business wants to be able to anticipate the needs of their customers. And that starts by understanding customers in a deep and meaningful way. Unfortunately, that is getting harder and harder in our digital world… Consumers are increasingly less trusting and loyal Consumers have more... Read More

Sci-Fi Sundays: The Original Science Fiction Stories, March 1957

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 James Robinson

This is such a wonderful cover. The look on the lady’s face, the ridiculous zero-G fighting, and the bullets in the ray-gun are all fantastic. As I was looking over all the details on this cover though, I began to see a different story. Look at their clothing. The style is about what you’d expect from 50’s science fiction, with tight boots... Read More

Smart leggings by Wearable X vibrate to correct imperfect yoga poses

June 11, 2017June 12, 2017 James Robinson

These responsive leggings by tech brand Wearable X use gentle pulses to give instant feedback to the wearer on their yoga postures. The Nadi X leggings has five sensors embedded into the fabric. These connect via Bluetooth to an accompanying smartphone app to determine what yoga position the wearer is in. The app displays the pose and uses vibration to... Read More