2015-11-28

Notes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pathfinding.

• Ben Thompson on Google's decision to open source TensorFlow.
• As a country, Taiwan is a microchip *powerhouse.* But they've got basically no supercomputers.

Building.

• Toshiba announced a directed energy deposition metal 3D printer.
• Pareto efficiency is the state in which it is impossible to make any one individual (or any individual optimization factor) better off without making at least one individual (ditto) worse off. And yes, this is named after the same Pareto who is the namesake of the 80/20 rule.
• An interesting piece on Nils Frahm's ultra lightweight piano.
• By using inexpensive copper foil as a substrate for CVD, researchers were able to save a lot of money on graphene production.
• Did you know that bone china is actually made from bones? I figured it was a euphemism or something.

Logistics.

• A mysterious company bought an old DHL logistics operation in Ohio, and is running flights loaded with "general consumer goods" out of there a few times a day. Rumors say it's Amazon.
• A pretty good video explaining plastic injection molding.
• California is finally going to issue regulations on autonomous vehicles.
• From Reilly Brennan's Future of Transportation newsletter: A back-of-the-envelope calculation showing that suburban ride-sharing just won't work.

Evaluation.

• The first genetically engineered salmon was (were?) approved for human consumption by the FDA. There are some valid objections to introducing GE organisms into the world, but it strikes me that this decision is appropriate: genetically engineered salmon is (apparently) suitable for human consumption. That's all.

Stuff that doesn't fit into my dumb/arbitrary categories.

• Kevin Durant gave an interview on his friendship with Russell Westbrook.

And.

My photos from The Public Radio's speaker factory in Dongguan.