It is time for Ask Jeeves to step aside: there's a new kid on the block, and its name is Wolfram Alpha.
The Independent has declared Wolfram Alpha "An invention that could change the internet," which could equal or even exceed the influence that Google has had. The new search engine processes questions rather than keywords and provides direct answers to simply constructed queries. The results are appropriately referenced, omitting entries from sites whose data might be compromised, such as Wikipedia.
Some might fear this is a step in the direction of conscious artificial intelligence, while others may see this as a threat to the Google Empire. Me? I look forward to this new way of searching the "interwebs."
[Independent]
Adam Dubbin, TheSequitur.com's assistant managing editor, is a second year graduate student in audiology at the University of South Florida.
Some communities have begun printing their own local currencies, and the idea is spreading like wildfire as U.S. dollars are becoming more scarce in this recession, CNN reports. It sounds like an innovative new idea, but it's really as old as civilization itself. Written records have been used as a medium of exchange for millennia, be they on clay or on paper.
These local examples will not benefit from legal tender laws...[T]he whole experiment relies on the whimsy of public opinion.The list of problems with startup local currencies is long. The first that comes to my mind is that the example reported by CNN has an exchange rate of $95 U.S. for 100 units of local currency – so conceptually, if dollar scarcity is the reason for designing the new currency system, how is this going to help? Next, any earners of the local currency will have those earnings taxed in U.S. dollars, so there will have to be conversion back to U.S. dollars – better hope that exchange rate stays constant. And there are the problems that kings, governments and central bankers have faced for millennia: have they printed enough, did they print too much, yadda, yadda, yadda. And then there's confidence: currency only works if people believe they can exchange the notes they get today for something of roughly the same value tomorrow. These local examples will not benefit from legal tender laws, so the whole experiment relies on the whimsy of public opinion.
So why not implement a unit that has intrinsic value, you may ask. Well, that has its challenges too. CNN quotes George Washington University law professor Lewis Solomon as saying the alternate currency cannot be coins, so that rules out the monetary metals or the pot metal constituting our coins in circulation today.
So what are the disgruntled consumers to do? Well, there have been many commodity currencies. Arab traders used slabs of salt. Tea pressed into tablets was also used in some regions. Iron was once used in Africa as money. Even alcohol and moonshine have served as mediums of exchange in some regions when times were tough.
It seems the answer is to find something that everyone needs and which has an agreed-upon value. Something like gasoline or home-grown food products could be perfect. Or moonshine – there’s always that. [CNN]
Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
The smartest man of our generation – and possibly of all time – Stephen Hawking has been hospitalized today likely due to a persistent chest infection and described as "very ill," according to the Associated Press. He is currently being treated at a Cambridge hospital.
Professor Hawking broke into mainstream fame with his book "A Brief History of Time," which opened the doors of physics to non-physicists all over the world. He was stricken with an unusual form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during his 20s, but has made remarkable contributions to science in the subsequent four decades. His particular manifestation of the degenerative disorder is a form that progresses slowly and is non-lethal, unlike its more famous relative known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Despite being nearly completely paralyzed, Dr. Hawking persisted to ponder the mechanisms of the universe. We hope that he has a speedy recovery. [AP]
UPDATE: Steven Hawking expected to make a full recovery. [ABCNews]
Adam Dubbin, TheSequitur.com's assistant managing editor, is a second year doctoral student in audiology at the University of South Florida.
Ben Nyaumbe proved Kenyan farmers to be some of the most badass people on Earth this week when he resorted to biting a giant python that dragged him up a tree, Reuters reports. Nyaumbe was able to smother the snake with his shirt and call for help on his cellphone. His supervisor arrived with police in time to pull the two out of the tree, freeing Nyaumbe, who escaped with a few bumps and bruises.
This goes to reinforce the fact that Kenyan farmers are badass following the 2005 story (TerraDaily) about Kenyan Farmer Daniel M'Mburugu, who killed an attacking leopard with his bare hands. Damn! [Reuters, TerraDaily]
Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
In late March, Briton Richard Jenkins broke the world land sailing speed record in a device made almost entirely of carbon fiber composite, CNN reports.
Reaching a speed of 126 miles per hour, his attempt bested the previous record of 116 miles per hour, held since 1999 by American Bob Schumacher. Both Schumacher’s and Jenkins’ attempts took place at dry Lake Ivanpah near the California and Nevada borders.
The vehicle, the Ecotricity Greenbird, uses fundamental aerodynamic properties not only to harness the power of the wind and transform it into face-melting speed, but also to produce the drag necessary to keep it from flying off the ground.
Next up, the team at Greenbird will try to tackle the ice speed record with their Greenbird ice craft. Jenkins, however, acknowledges that ice sailing can be extremely dangerous: “Depending on when you go, the ice can be a lot more unstable. There is the risk that you could go through a water-hole into the ice. We try not to think about it,” he told CNN.
Jenkins may not think about it, but it sounds terrifying to me. I’ll take the safe speeds I achieve in my Toyota Corolla over record breaking any day. It might not be as fast or as green as the Greenbird, but it gets me from point A to point B just fine, with an additional “no need to worry about the wind smashing you to little bits” bonus. [CNN, Greenbird]Branden Hart, TheSequitur.com's managing editor, works as an editor in San Antonio.
There is much buzz about a fairly new Internet worm making its rounds named Conficker. What is causing speculation is that the worm, and its variants, are set to begin communicating to do whatever they are designed to do on Apr. 1, CNET reports. The very sophisticated malware uses strong encryption to hide its payload (by payload I mean its clandestine executable instructions) so researchers really don't know what it is going to attempt.
Will it clog all the Internet's tubes with spam or simply cause a global Internet doomsday scenario where the whole Web becomes one giant Rick-Roll? No way to tell.
Bottom line: Update your software.
Go to Microsoft Windows Update and get all the security updates. Also you should update your antivirus software. If you don't have an antivirus solution, might I suggest AVG, as they have a free version. [CNET, Microsoft Windows Update, AVG]Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
The United States is sending warships to the South China Sea after an incident when a U.S. Navy surveillance ship was harassed in the area, presumably while looking for submarines, Times Online reports. The incident took place about 75 miles south of Hainan Island, where the Chinese had built a huge (formerly secret) submarine base, which I wrote about last year.
This naval mess comes at a time when Chinese-U.S. relations are already strained and China seems to be seeking to diversify out of U.S. government debt, according to Asia Times. Also this week, the Federal Reserve committed to buy over $1 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, agency and mortgage-backed agency debt, according to Bloomberg, a move that sent the dollar tumbling the most in one day since 1971. The Chinese can't be too happy about that, seeing how much of the dollar-denominated debt they still have. [TimesOnline, AsiaTimes, Bloomberg] Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
A much-hyped battle of the personalities culminated last week when Jon Stewart interviewed CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer on "The Daily Show." Stewart kept trying to focus the interview on the advice given by financial news networks to invest and stay in the market. Stewart argued that long-term investors (i.e., workers) got bad advice from Wall Street talking heads while some influential hedge funds and career traders fleeced the long-term investors. Cramer kept trying to bring the conversation back to himself, trying to explain why he didn't see it coming, to which Stewart paraphrased Carly Simon's song by saying "this song ain't about you." Classic. I recommend you watch the unedited interview; the first part is embedded below.
I gather from Cramer's explanations that myopic greed ("30 percent returns, year after year" validated 30-to-1 leverage) caused Wall Street and its cheerleaders to fail to warn investors of the coming tsunami. Really? I'm sure they got the message, maybe they just failed to process it; regardless, they did fail to warn the average investor. I saw it coming (here, here, here, and here). But this song ain't about me. Plenty of "bears" with actual accomplishments in finance saw it coming. Just search YouTube for videos from Jim Sinclair, Jim Rogers and Peter Schiff, just to name a few (who don't have the "rock star status" of Nouriel Roubini or Nassim Taleb). But they didn't get much air time compared to others, and virtually no talking head's views really coincide with any of the "bears" mentioned above. CNN had a reporter that was willing to tell the truth, Greg Hunter, but he doesn't work there anymore for reasons unknown to me. It seems to me the "bears" always get cut off when they try to get out a complete thought their interviewers can't handle. [TheDailyShow, Youtube1, Youtube2, Youtube3, Youtube4, Youtube5]
Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
Apple has unveiled a smaller, sleeker, more advanced model of their iPod Shuffle. At 1.8 inches tall and 0.3 inches wide (rather, 0.3 inches thin), this anorexic wonder boasts 4 Gigabytes of storage, 10 hours of battery life, and a mouth of its own.
That’s right: it talks. The new “VoiceOver” feature is Apple’s solution for conveying song info, toggling between playlist names and even updating you on battery status without a display, CNET News reports. Imagine your song quiets as a robot voice comes in: “Don’t stop believing,” your diminutive friend whispers, and continues, “Journey.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve taken enough commands from robots that I don’t need to start listening to one smaller than my pinky. Aristotle said that mankind is special for our ability to speak, but he forgot to envision a future where men choose to cut themselves off from conversation by devices that speak for us.
Okay, it won’t say anything other than titles and basic status info. For now.
But if Apple hasn’t already been inserting subliminal messages into their commercials, software, music and devices, well, we’re that much closer.
[Apple, CNET News]Jeff Dubbinis a senior editor for TheSequitur.com.
On Mar. 10, accused swindler Bernie Madoff showed up at court in a Kia Sorento (video below). For those who do not know, Kia is a car manufacturer that offers economy-class automobiles.
Mr. Madoff is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges on Mar. 12. For the alleged Ponzi scheme mastermind, being seen in one of the cheapest cars available has to hit the ego. Could it have been planned? He hasn't been forced to give up his apartment yet, and I'm sure he could have hired a limo service or perhaps still has luxury cars of his own. Maybe this was a PR stunt meant to humble the alleged fraud king before he got to the court. If that is the case, it is totally unbelievable, and he probably overshot.
Brian Williams, a TheSequitur.com senior editor and systems director, studies sociology at Morehead State University.
Morning Coffee is a collection of top-fold news, oddities, observations and wisecracks, peppered with financial advice, movie reviews and more, gathered by TheSequitur.com contributors and the editors of the magazine's Nation, World, Culture and Progress sections.
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