Cadillac will reveal its second take on the ELR plug-in hybrid in November, making a renewed attempt to challenge the Tesla Model S, the GM luxury brand has confirmed. Expected to take the stage at the 2014 LA Auto Show, the 2016 ELR has a big challenge ahead of it, with the original car criticized for its $76,000 sticker price … Continue reading
After the U.S. Forest Service’s announcement earlier this month that photographers may be required to get a permit to shoot on federal wild lands, the backlash was swift. First Amendment advocates expressed concern that the policy could impinge upon press freedoms and the rights of journalists, bloggers and individual photographers. “It’s pretty clearly unconstitutional,” Gregg Leslie, legal defense director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told The Oregonian after reports emerged that people could be fined up to $1,000 for taking photographs on federal wild lands without a permit. “They would have to show an important need to justify these limits, and they just can’t.”
It seems the adverse public reaction to these restrictions has made an impact. On Thursday, the agency said that it had heard the concerns of the public and would make changes to their policy to ensure that it does not violate First Amendment rights.
Tom Tidwell, chief of the Forest Service, told The Washington Post specifically that the restrictions wouldn’t impact the media at all. “Based on the feedback we’ve made so far, we’ll make changes to make sure this doesn’t apply to news gathering,” he said.
Previously, The Oregonian reported that the Forest Service would require reporters to apply for permits, except for breaking news coverage of events like fires and rescues. Concerns were then raised that these restrictions could be abused so that only select news outlets or journalists covering positive stories would be given permits.
But Tidwell asserted Friday that this would not be the case. “The fact is, the directive pertains to commercial photography and filming only — if you’re there to gather news or take recreational photographs, no permit would be required. We take your First Amendment rights very seriously,” he said in a written statement. “We’re looking forward to talking with journalists and concerned citizens to help allay some of the concerns we’ve been hearing and clarify what’s covered by this proposed directive.”
According to the Forest Service, individual professional and amateur photographers will generally “not need a permit unless they use models, actors or props.” Commercial filming that involves groups of more than two people, on the other hand, will require permitting. A group of up to three people would likely pay around $30 for a permit, the agency said, while a large crew of 70 or more people might need to shell out around $800.
Still, though the Forest Service has clarified who they intend to target with these restrictions, it’s not yet clear what exactly constitutes a “commercial” shoot, especially those that may involve a small number of people. Questions may also be raised about the broader issue of ownership of public lands and how access to them is regulated. “We own the forests,” commented one Oregonian reader on Friday. “[The Forest Service is] just supposed to be managing them for us!”
The Forest Service says that restrictions on photography and videography have been in place on a temporary basis for four years, but they are now looking to make them permanent. These restrictions are meant to ensure that the 36 million acres of federal wild lands are kept pristine and to prevent them from being exploited for commercial gain, the agency says.
Members of the public have been encouraged by the agency to comment on this directive online. The deadline for public comment is Dec. 3.
One of the lesser-known features of iOS 8 is its updated method of scanning for Wi-fi. Supposing your iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, or iPhone 6 Plus works with iOS 8 (chances are it does), it works with locally administrated random Wi-Fi MAC addresses when seeking connectivity. So your phone is more private than before, yes? Sort of. The privacy feature … Continue reading
Earlier this year, the first mind-to-mind communication took place. Hooked up to brain wave headsets, a researcher in India projected a thought to a colleague in France, and they understood each other. Telepathy went from the pages of science fiction to reality.
Using electroencephalography (EEG) sensors that pick up and monitor brain activity, brain wave technology has been advancing quickly in the last few years. A number of companies already sell basic brain wave reading devices, such as the Muse headband. Some companies offer headsets that allow you to play a video game on your iPhone using only thoughts. NeuroSky’s MindWave can attach to Google Glass and allow you to take a picture and post it to Facebook and Twitter just by thinking about it. Even the army has (not very well) flown a helicopter using only thoughts and a brain wave headset.
Despite the immense interest in brain wave technology, little attention has been paid to what translation apps–such as Google Translator–will mean to an upcoming generation that will likely embrace brain wave tech. Youth will surely ask: What is the point of learning a second language if everyone will be communicating with brain wave headsets that can perform perfect real-time language translations?
The question is valid, even if it’s sure to upset millions of second language teachers and dozens of language learning companies, like publicly traded Rosetta Stone. Like it or not, sophisticated brain wave headsets will soon become as cheap as cell phones. A growing number of technologists think the future of communication lies in these headsets, and not handheld devices or smart phones.
However, the question of whether it will be useful to learn a new language in the future is about far more than just human communication and what technological form that takes. Different languages introduce us to other cultures, other peoples, and other countries. This creates personal growth, offering invaluable examination on our own culture and how we perceive the world. The process broadens who we are.
Being proficient in other languages also offers certain nuances that knowing only one language cannot. French offers far more romantic and poetic gist than English ever can. But Arabic is steeped in more historical imagery and connotation than French. And nothing compares to Hungarian’s ability to effectively curse in ways that all other languages fall far short of.
Perhaps most importantly, learning a second language offers the physical brain a chance to grow in new and meaningful ways. The study of a new language, for example, is often suggested to early on-set Alzheimer’s patients to help stimulate the brain’s proper functioning.
Ultimately, the most quintessential question rests on whether there are more important things to be doing in today’s busy world than learning a new language. With radical transhumanist tech changing our most basic functions like communicating, is society better off pushing its youth to learn how to write code, or to speed read, or to play the violin? In hindsight, I would’ve rather spent my time becoming a proficient martial artist than the six years I studied Spanish in school.
Whatever your opinion, the future of learning languages and how we communicate is in flux. Speaking at the 2014 World Future Society conference in Florida, Singularity University Professor Jose Cordeiro said, “Spoken language could start disappearing in 20 years. We’ll all talk with each other using thoughts scanned and projected from our headsets and maybe even chip implants. This will radically increase the speed and bandwidth of human communications.”
Twenty years isn’t that far off. I’m not ready yet to drop my 4-year-old daughter’s Chinese lessons, but I am keeping my eye on whether technology is going to change some of our basic communication assumptions, like the value of learning a second language.
Books make great friends; they can pick you up when you are down, teach you something new, or transport you to another time and place. Whether you are looking for something to restore your faith in humanity, spend some time with friends, or be immersed in a world of mystery and intrigue, here are some titles to keep you company this fall.
If you are looking for something to restore your hope, check out:
Kirkus Review really captures the essence of Ann Garvin’s second book: “Garvin is insightful about grief and the pervasiveness of denial. With humor and compassion, (The Dog Year) is hopeful but not saccharine, this novel offers a deeply sympathetic view of recovery from grief.” Join Dr. Lucy Peterman on her journey from grieving to living as she discovers that a chaotic, unplanned life might be the sweetest of all.
The Widow’s Waltz by Sally Koslow
Chosen by both People and USA Today as a “great summer read,” The Widow Waltz answers the question, how well do we know those we love–or our own strength? Sally Koslow’s “witty and insightful” fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of a mother and two daughters who must dig deep in order to reinvent their lives. A smart and hopeful urban fairy tale with plucky heroines, wolfish villains, a magic garden, and an unlikely knight.
Looking for Me By Beth Hoffman
Each time Teddi Overman leaves her antiques shop in Charleston, South Carolina and visits the Kentucky farm of her youth, she’s drawn to the mysterious beauty of Red River Gorge where her brother Josh went missing. Though his absence remains unimaginable, Teddi builds a life as unexpected as the customers who frequent her shop. As she comes to terms with the events that shattered her family, Teddi must decide what to let go of and what to keep. New York Times and internationally bestselling author, Beth Hoffman, brings forth an evocative, multilayered story while exposing the fragile wounds and strengths of a woman who comes to understand the words once written in a simple note and the remarkable boy who penned them.
Are you looking to spend some time with friends? Check out:
At Hourglass Vintage in Madison, Wisconsin, every item in the boutique has a story to tell . . . and so do the women who are drawn there. Descriptions of vintage items at the beginning of each chapter lend texture and historical context to this multi-generational tale of second chances and unlikely friendships. A perfect book to read in front of the fire or while sipping cider on a chilly fall night.
The Undertaking of Tess by Lesley Kagen
During the summer of 1959, ten-year-old Theresa “Tessie” Finley has her work cut out for her. Not only is she attempting to come to grips with the devastating loss and guilt she feels after she witnessed her father’s drowning, her kid sister, Birdie, refuses to believe that their beloved Daddy is really gone. Tessie needs to make sure that she does before their Mom gets wind of how much “weirder” her sister’s getting. Heartbreaking, funny, nostalgic, and spiritually uplifting, you’ll cheer the Finley sisters on from the first page to the last of this charming novella that sets the stage for Kagen’s the upcoming novel, The Resurrection of Tess Blessing.
The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane by Kelly Harms
Harms, a veteran of the New York publishing scene, makes a confident debut with this windswept, beachy story of friendship and folly. Sharing the same first and last name but very little else, two very different women named Janine Brown see their worlds changed forever when they each hear themselves named the winner of a cable network’s million-dollar home giveaway. But when they both arrive at the house believing they–and only they–are the rightful owner, they find much more than a dream home waiting at water’s edge. Rich with quirky characters and wish-fulfillment, this is a story to be gobbled up in one sitting.
If you want to dive into mystery and intrigue, check out:
Bones and Roses by Ellen Goudge
New York Times bestselling author, Eileen Goudge’s Bones and Roses, is the first book in her Cypress Bay Mysteries series. Four years sober after flambéing her real estate career in an alcohol-fueled blowout, property manager, Tish Ballard, thought she’d put the past behind her until a gruesome discovery plunges her into solving a decades-old murder. Pitted against lead detective, Spence Breedlove, a one-night stand gone horribly wrong, she finds herself in jeopardy in more ways than one. Can she find the murderer before the man who broke her heart and trashed her reputation puts her behind bars?
Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb
Not your typical historical, in Becoming Josephine, Heather Webb mashes up women’s fiction and thriller elements in this sparkling debut about the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. The novel transports readers from the steamy jungles of Martinique and the revolutionary foregrounds, to the glittering courts of the French empire, all the while highlighting the inner life of a complex and fascinating woman.
Binds That Tie by Katie Moretti
If you are looking for something darker as the autumn nights grow longer, reach for Binds that Tie by New York Times bestselling author, Katie Moretti. Maggie never felt as though she belonged until Chris Stevens showed her what true happiness meant. Ten years into their marriage, miscarriages and infidelities have scarred them both. When a charismatic stranger offers the opportunity for a little harmless flirtation, she jumps into the game. But charm soon turns to malice, and a deadly split-second decision forces Maggie and Chris onto a dangerous path fraught with secrets, lies, and guilt. With no one else to turn to–no one she dares trust–Maggie will ultimately learn just how binding marital ties can be.
If you want to keep learning about wonderful new books, please connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. I’d love to know what books you recommend.
Two words, folks: robot cheerleaders. The Murata Cheerleader is the latest all-too-adorable mascot bot designed by sensor and component manufacturer Murata.It’s also a pretty good dancer, too.
Invisibility is perhaps the most ubiquitous of sci-fi dreams: Spy movies, video games, and classic cartoons all tantalize us with this trick. Researchers at the University of Rochester still haven’t unlocked the secret to that elusive invisibility cloak either, I’m afraid. But they made a very cool optical illusion that looks the part.
Big ports have always struggled to keep an eye on every single ship that passes through their waters—especially the part of the boat that’s underwater. Now, there’s a new sort of robotic barnacle that can stealthily slide along the hulls of incoming ships and scan for hidden compartments where smugglers hide their loot. And it’s only the size of a football.
Of the many theories swirling around why legendary Stradivarius violins are so great (aside from, you know, it’s just all in our heads ), almost all have something to do with the wood . Maybe it was trees growing in a Little Ice Age or logs being stored in Venice lagoons or a special wood preservative. It makes sense, then, that one way to spot a fake is to go back to the wood—specifically, back to tree rings.
BitTorrent: It’s how you get movies and music for free. That’s what most people think. But if the musicians and filmmakers who are losing to pirates want to survive, they’re going to have to give BitTorrent a big hug.
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