Category Archives: Recommendations

Recommendations from around the web.

Big Pharma Finds Itself in the Spotlight Again

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Now and then, the dirty tactics of Big Pharma burst out into the open. At the end of 2015, the disgusting maneuvers of Valeant came to light^. Then-CEO, Martin Shkreli, laughed at and insulted the representatives of the people^. We might sometimes dislike politicians, but the arrogance and greediness of these pharmaceutical companies is absolutely staggering.

Last week, another drug maker entered the spotlight. Mylan, makers of allergy shot EpiPen have been greedily and unscrupulously raising the price of their products:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/24/white-house-epipen-price-hiles-raise-moral-questions/89269028/^

Mylan promised to do something about the situation^, even though the company’s decision has left more than a few experts in the field rather confused. In the meantime, people with low income that depend on these products are sacrificing the quality of their life to fill Mylan’s coffers. This takes “unfair” to a whole new level.

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The Elevated Bus That Rides above the Traffic

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With ever-undented ambition, China rediscovers its innovative mojo. In the past decade, we’ve seen quite a few impressive Chinese projects. It doesn’t matter if this bus will not see wide-spread use, it still stands (ahem, rolls) as a testament that China Has Talent.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/02/china-has-actually-built-that-elevated-bus-that-travels-above-car-traffic/^

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/china-s-futuristic-straddle-bus-goes-test-drive-n622131^

Still, I’d rather see China’s Talent invested in ways that can reduce motor traffic rather than work around the problem by throwing more metal (and fuel) at it. Beijing and other major cities around in the world would love to get rid of the smog epidemic.

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Zika Used as an Excuse for Releasing Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes

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According to some researchers, the Zika virus, which causes the Zika fever^, can cause microcephaly and other brain malformations in some babies if the mother is infected during pregnancy. However, there have been indications that there might be other causes for the infants’ malformations, such as the parents’ exposure to toxic pesticides. In 12000 Zika-infected Colombian pregnancies there wasn’t a single case of microcephaly. Unfortunately the sources for this last information are unreliable and contested, so take this with a grain of salt.

While the jury is still out on what is causing microcephaly, let’s take a look at one solution that’s being considered for fighting the spread of Zika:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/05/health/fda-approve-gmo-mosquito-zika-florida/^

OX513A is a genetically engineered male mosquito produced by a British company. The USA is tentatively playing with the idea of releasing this species into the wild with the purpose of controlling mosquito populations. This male mosquito passes a gene that makes females’ offspring die before reaching adulthood. It may even work.

As is often the case, humans scramble to find quick solutions for their own speciest interest, tampering with complex ecosystems about which they barely have developed an inkling of understanding. And also as is often the case, this might end blowing up in our faces.

Then again, the people working on such projects are top scientists so they know what they’re doing, at least momentarily. But that’s the thing. Momentarily, we’ve always been good at patching things up. It’s the long term effects^ that usually end up hurting us the most.

Bioengineering plants is one thing, but insects are highly mobile and I just don’t want to imagine what might happen when a certain mosquito’s genetic material combines with another’s, producing who-knows what sort of super-mosquito. This will probably not happen, but at times I can’t help thinking that our playing with the ecosystem is at best risky and at worst misguided, arrogant and deadly.

Fortunately, the proposal to trial OX513A in the wild will most likely be voted down, but the very fact that they’re considering it, is worrying – also from an ethical perspective. What right do we have to decide if another species can or cannot have offspring? Perhaps we’re taking “survival of the fittest” a bit too far?

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That Foul Thing We Buried in Greenland

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Late in the sixties, the USA, along with Denmark who controlled Greenland at the time, thought that it’s pretty safe to bury the remnants of a military nuclear reactor within the ice sheet. They assumed continual snowfall would only bury the waste deeper.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0805/What-to-do-about-toxic-waste-buried-in-Greenland-s-rapidly-melting-ice-caps^

Needless to say, the assumption was not only wrong, but the exact opposite is happening. Due to global warming, in as little as 75 years, the buried remnants will resurface and will have to be dealt with, or else. Or else they’ll enter our ocean.

Taking care of the problem isn’t really rocket science. Extract the waste, haul it some hundred kilometers north and bury it again, this time in a concrete or metal sarcophagus. It won’t be cheap but it’s probably the easiest solution. A more complicated solution would be to mail it to Washington.

Sadly, we’ve proven ourselves once again to be incapable of finding a good long-term solution for the mess we’re making through irresponsible use of technology (which is more often than not related to the military industrial complex). But humans eventually learn from past mistakes, even if sometimes the lesson needs to be repeated a hundred too many times.

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About Those Animals Again

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Recent studies show that ducks may be capable of abstract thinking. Scientists have reached this conclusion after hatching about a hundred ducklings and playing shape games with them while they were imprisoned in an enclosure:

www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0714/Ducks-might-be-capable-of-abstract-thought-say-scientists^

The fact that we’re the dominant species on this planet certainly has its perks. I suppose it would also be just fine if a race of curious aliens starts taking our babies away and make them crawl after floating spheres and cubes in order to examine how their curiosity develops.

Oh, did you know we’re able to hatch chicks without eggshells?

http://www.snopes.com/chicks-hatched-without-eggshell/^

Wouldn’t it be great if those aliens would start to populate our planet with babies grown in grocery bags with tubes rather than a mother’s womb? Do you think those children would turn out smarter and perhaps less merciless than we are?

And last but not least, here’s one last bitter pill for the day:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/worlds-saddest-zoo-grandview-aquarium_us_578c8b3be4b03fc3ee514af2^

Congratulations brothers and sisters, both for causing this and for fighting against it. Sarcasm doesn’t go well with optimism, does it?

Sharkasm
Sharkasm

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Is Yoga Really an Entry Drug to Buddhism?

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Among the strangest things I’ve read lately is how a group of (Christian) parents prevented yoga exercises from being taught at a Swedish school. Among others, the motivation was that the exercises might tamper with their children’s religious beliefs:

http://www.thelocal.se/20160427/swedish-parents-block-gateway-yoga-exercises^

Fairness champion Sweden interdicts religious interference in schools. However, yoga is tied to Buddhism the same way fasting is tied to Christianity or Islam (not at all). Yoga and fasting are disciplines that test the body and mind. Both practices have been proven time and again to be beneficial. And while fasting requires a careful understanding of one’s biorhythms, yoga is a readily available for improving one’s body, balance, physical and mental discipline.

One parent is quoted as saying: “Yoga is used by Buddhists as a form of meditation. We don’t know what it might lead to.” Maybe the person could be informed that it could lead to less violence^. How can anybody have a problem with meditation? Meditation is inherently non-religious and Buddhism itself is not a religion. It could perhaps be considered a religion of no religion. It’s scientific spirituality and encourages experimentation and a personal understanding of spiritual matters.

It’s sad that people aren’t well educated at all when it comes to other cultures. Maybe it’s natural to fear what you don’t know, but these things are actually quite easy to get to know and understand. But then again, the educational system that is used in constructing the foundations of our society has serious issues.

How can we expect to live in a healthy society when most children are put through a schooling system that encourages obedience, conformity and competition? There are no lessons in school about empathy and compassion.

Children are discouraged from challenging the authority of their parents and their leaders. They’re treated as second the class citizens of an adult family so it’s no surprise one of the first things they do in life is to discriminate between themselves and others. In the same time, they’re conditioned to think that being a leader is something reserved to an entirely different class of people.

Nature vs Culture
Nature vs Culture

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Some of Today’s Overpriced Tech Products

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It’s full of overpriced devices out there. Here’s a short list of shame that I’ve compiled during years of reading hardware & technology news.

Lenovo PCs – they’ve took over IBM’s high quality laptop business and proceeded to thoroughly exploit it. Almost all competing brands offer a lower price for identical hardware configurations. Dell, another high quality manufacturer is also among these competitors (and unlike Lenovo, they’re much more upfront with drivers & servicing manuals, both of which are available online). Did I mention that Lenovo was recently involved in a major spyware scandal^?

Razer – oh no, it’s those guys who try to make their devices seem more capable or expensive by adding fancy LED lighting and cool logos. Razer’s gaming laptop is nice but overpriced, so is most of their product catalog. What’s worse is that the company also has lots of quality issues^. Admittedly, Razer has innovated quite a bit in the past decade, so at least they’re putting the money to (some) good use.

Any top CPU or GPU model – unless you’re swimming in money, don’t buy the fastest CPU or GPU. Their price-performance ratios are terrible (around twice the price for just 50% extra bang). Always buy mid-range or mid-to-high-range, unless you urgently and imperatively need everything you can get and are sure you will fully exploit it.

Oculus Rift – despite being cheaper than the competing Vive, the Rift comes with no special VR-designed controllers and lacks room-scale (the ability to track the position of the player’s body). Oculus controllers will only come out in Q4 2016 and the platform will probably continue to lack room-scale. Add to this a rather arrogant approach to cross-platform compatibility and you got a product that definitely needs some additional time to mature.  For those that want to get into VR, I recommend the Vive. This is a completely unbiased recommendation since I do not own either of them, nor do I intend to buy anything just yet.

What about Apple? Their products are indeed over-priced, but this is at least partially justified. The quality of Apple hardware is among the highest I’ve ever seen. The software is highly optimized so that it requires fewer resources. This is especially important when it comes to mobile devices. Apple devices have impressive battery life. The company also deserves credit for currently having the highest standard in terms of privacy and security for its customers. All things considered, with Apple, you get what you pay for. And no, I do not own any single Apple product, being a long-time PC / Android user.

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Flight MH17 Was Indeed Downed By A Russian Rocket

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It took a couple of years, but finally the Dutch have completed their investigation concerning the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The plane crashed in Ukraine during the Russian intervention there a bit over two years ago. There were no survivors:

http://www.businessinsider.com/animation-of-mh17-hit-with-buk-missile-2016-7^

Here’s a video too, by the Dutch Safety Board^.

Surprise! Not…

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These Mobile Homes Are Awesome

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One day, when I grow older, I’d like to roam the cities of Earth and enjoy the diversity and beauty of the 21st century society (hopefully things will be better than they are today). I always thought that a motor-home is a good idea to do this. However, the engine would lie unused for long periods of time and the sewage requires a lot of maintenance. Not to mention that any reasonably priced motor-home is also quite small.

So then how about a detachable apartment?

https://www.facebook.com/CollectiveEvolutionPage/videos/1887653478127712/^

You come, you visit and then you take the daily truck, moving you to wherever you wish. While being transported, you sit in your comfortable home, doing whatever you wish to do.

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World Teeters on the Brink Of…

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Welcome to mid-2016. Science and technology have progressed immensely. We’re continuously maximizing our agricultural output and we’re getting better at renewable energy^. We’ll soon have self-driving vehicles^ and our computers are getting better at understand our speech. We can escape to virtual worlds^ and we’re more connected than ever. At least in the developed world, even the poor have the luxury of running water and electricity. Are we on the brink of a new golden age, or is it all just clever brain-washing^?

Welcome to mid-2016. A scary politician and a clever manipulator are tied^ for ruling one of the world’s superpowers (and owner of the largest nuclear arsenal). In Turkey, a failed coup^ provided an excuse for strongman Erdogan to purge his adversaries and head the country towards Islamic dictatorship^. We’re talking here about the country with the 2nd largest standing army in NATO. This is probably the single scariest event in 2016, at least until the elections in the USA. Topping things off, the UK decided to leave the EU. It also decided to prolong and upgrade its nuclear weapons-bearing submarine program^. And then there’s China^ and Australia^. Are we on the brink of war, or is it just the same old game of measuring who has the bigger gun?

Erdogan - the Lucky Caliph
Erdogan – the Lucky Caliph

Welcome to mid-2016. The idealistic peace-loving project called the European Union seems to slowly unfold under the pressure of fear and terror. The USA and Russia are slowly squeezing the life out of Syria and Iraq, but it’s the EU that has to deal with most of the resulting fallout (sheltering refugees and dealing with a spate of terrorist^ attacks^). Are we going to vote in the next Hitler and give up our privacy, praying for protection from Big Brother? Or are we going to sit down at the same table with our worst enemies and enact sweeping social and political changes?

Disclaimer: yes, both the USA and Russia are to blame for the crisis in Syria. Even though historically the USA has attacked the region most heavily, the superpowers never agreed on how to tackle the social disaster there. This is probably because they both stand to profit (enormously) from the economic and social failure of the EU. Divide et impera is the name of the game.

Disclaimer: if it’s unclear who’s the “scary politician” and who’s the “clever manipulator” I’m referring to in the second paragraph, that’s as it should be. Welcome to 2016 ;).

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