Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

More quick links to cool things, so they're written somewhere, so I can remember the cool thing I wanted to talk about.

• This is why we can't have nice things on the International Space Station.
• You might have guessed that being an asshole in online games translates to being a dick at work.  But Riot games did a study on their own employees, and has the data to back it up.
• Want to see some great mural work?  There's now an online archive of Clarion Alley art by some really cool fans.
• Speaking of the Mission, Mission Hipster Says is pretty funny until you realize how close to a documentary it is.

Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

It's been a while.  And I've got a cocktail party to attend on Saturday.  Here's what I'll be keeping in my back pocket so I don't look boring.

• Paranoid about quad-copters taking over the world?  So are the Tokyo police -- so they've deployed a drone-catching drone.  A drone just doesn't know who to trust, these days.
• If you missed it, Apple published a letter explaining why they refuse to weaken privacy protections on an iPhone, no matter who's asking for it.  How often does a corporation actually speak truth to power?
• Next time I renew my California Driver [sic] License, I'll be wearing a colander on my head.  In several legal interactions, Pastafarians have won the right to keep their spaghetti-straining religious head covering in place -- as long as their face is completely visible -- despite rules that require heathens to remove things like baseball hats.
• Well, the authors hand-picked their online-only data sources, and only worked with mean and standard deviation ... but who's going to stop a cocktail party conversation to check your sources?  You can now cite an actual article on average penis size.

Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

Got a lull in the conversation?  Try these:

• Data centers use a little over 1% of the world's electricity.  Is that big or small?  I don't know.  Fun to have a number to think about, though.
• You could say, "orange light makes you smarter," but a neuroscientist says it differently.
• Genetic analysis suggests that dogs were domesticated before agriculture arose.  They actually roved around with us.  Come to think of it, does that explain why they like walks so much?
• Amazing time-lapse dataset ... ever seen a volcano breathe?

Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

Fill those awkward I'm-just-not-terribly-interesting pauses in conversation with these things.

• A breathing dress .. fascinating and spooky.  Imagine the sorts of sensors you might add to it.  Pulse, proximity, noise, EEG ..
• And another robotic dress, with freaky insect-like epaulettes.  If we're willing to attach smart-phones, pedometers, prosthetic limbs, corrective lenses .. why not an autonomous exoskeleton?
• Rogaine for the Inner Ear?  Research suggests that altered gene expression can restore hearing loss (some), by regrowing hairs in the inner ear.  Crank it up to eleven.
• It occurred to me on a recent flight, that with everyone on e-readers, your neighbors can't see the cover of your book.  A paper book broadcasts its title to others folks -- perhaps inviting conversation, but certainly indicating your interests -- while the e-reader just shows its own branding.  Should we make digital dust jackets, so friends can see the smarty-pants books we're e-reading?

Now you're interesting.

Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

Here's what I'll be chatting about, while enjoying a tasty beer with interesting people.

• If you haven't already heard of the Facebook app, Bang With Friends, you're going to soon.  Tell it which of your friends you'd like to have benefits with, and if they pick you too, it lets you know.
• Will an app like that reverse the trend suggested by a recent Pew Internet study suggesting that Facebook users are scaling back their use?  Or will it keep them too busy offline, to check in?
• And there's always time for some high-tech eye-candy.  I've been drooling about Audi's new concept for OLED indicator lights.  I've got to make some of these for my motorcycle!

Remember to drink responsibly, when using/avoiding your Facebook apps.

Crib Notes for Cocktail Hour

Here are a few conversation starters and lull-breakers I'll be using at cocktail hour.

• The Library of Congress' Flickr Photostream is a great way to at least get something on your walls.  I like to think it's Lorem Ipsum for decorating.
• Can Blueseed, a start-up incubator in international waters, streamline visa/legislative/geographical hurdles?  So many other possibilities, if you let your mind wander....
• Frog's 20 Tech Trends for 2013 are out.  Agree or disagree, they're all thought-provoking.  Still conspicuously absent from the list: jet packs.