think thank thunk

We’re not living in an Orwellian Police state; it’s all just a conspiracy theory. However, that’s not what Pennsylvania’s government is telling their citizens. In what can only be described as a mafia-style intimidation tactic, the Pennsylvanian government is telling citizens there that they “know who you are”. The video shows a satellite image zooming in on and individual’s home while a computerized voice informs him that they know who he is and that he owes $4,212 in back taxes. The voice then proceeds to tell him that they can make it easy for him if he pays quickly. The ad then closes with a threatening message: “FIND US BEFORE WE FIND YOU”.

What is more disturbing than the ad itself is that governments are now finding it suitable to announce to us that we are living in an Orwellian police state and that we are all being monitored. “Pay up, or we will find you. We know where you live. We are watching you.” This commercial is a chilling confirmation that we are living in an Orwellian nightmare.

I actively avoid the "conspiracy theory" rhetoric of this site, but unless this TV commercial is supposed to be humor, it's hard to argue that it's benign.

Net of a large number of social and demographic factors, more intelligent children grow up to be more nocturnal as adults than less intelligent children.

Compared to their less intelligent counterparts, more intelligent individuals go do bed later on weeknights (when they have to get up at a certain time the next day) and on weekend (when they don’t), and they wake up later on weekdays (but not on weekend, for which the positive effect of childhood intelligence on adult nocturnality is not statistically significant).

For example, those with childhood IQ of less than 75 ("very dull") go to bed around 23:41 on weeknight in early adulthood, whereas those with childhood IQ of over 125 ("very bright") go to bed around 00:29.

Looking at that Sunday morning sleep-in time, I'm still trying to figure out if this article is a joke. :-)

some great insight into how a developer, designer and QA manager are using the iPad at work

It was quite an exhibition in "fair and balanced" TV news. And it demonstrated rather neatly what happens when corporate news channels control the flow of information: They pretend to offer "balance," but facts that undermine the predominant narrative are never given the light of day.

All the more reason to defend our Web freedoms by maintaining net neutrality.

When I use the Web, it’s first and foremost because I want to find or share information – what many call “content”. And that’s something the Web excels at. Yes, Web applications are popular. Especially among developers. But being a platform for creating and delivering applications is not what the Web does best.

How adults approach children aged 3 to 6 years during conversations has a major influence on their language acquisition. Those who address children as fully-fledged conversation partners lay an early basis for the development of 'academic language'...

Millenials...

• define loyalty by what’s challenging and interesting, rather than job security.
• expect reward and recognition on a regular basis.
• believe they are all “above average.”

“What can I tell ya, kid? Your parents loved you, and they did their best. But they created a false reality. Everyone isn’t above average in all they do. And in real life, only the winner gets the trophy.”

Stanford University economist Paul Romer has observed, "Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And every generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered. The difficulty is the same one we have with compounding: possibilities do not merely add up; they multiply.”