The Weekly Weird - 2016-01-22

"Tom Watson's apocryphal prediction of a world market for maybe 5 computers seems likely to come true, it's just that their names will be AWS, Azure, GCE, Aliyun, and SoftLayer."

-- Nick Coghlan

• Well, I guess Bitcon is over. Or, you know, not. Or yes?
• NAME IT PLUTO II: WHO YOU CALLING A DWARF?
• Yet another Amazon business: ocean freight.
• Docker and Unikernels, sitting in a tree.
• I found this brief Economist article on whether equities are actually best in the long term interesting.
• Maybe we can just ask an algorithm if it's right.
• Someone once said that the median human is going to be an older asian woman soon so it's interesting to see elder care being the target of innovation. Some HN comments.
• If you liked Sean Penn's OPSEC, you'll love El Chapo's. "Mirroring" is actually a thing.
• "Doomsday planning for less crazy folk".
• Can I buy a Chinese drone on ebay yet? I love that anyone with a moderate bank account can just buy an air force now. You won't even need GPS and, of course, robots are good at cooperating.
• The Space Shuttle is the Zoolander of launch vehicles. Dumb as a box of rocks but so pretty (loud).
• I've always figured that Osseointegration is so obviously the right way to do prosthetics that it being uncommon must mean I don't know what I'm talking about. Johns Hopkins agrees with me though so who knows.
• Roomba has their camera robot, now Neato has a wifi model. I've had a few of the dumb roombas which were fine and a Neato which was quite nice until it broke and the warranty replacement never really worked.
• Did...did we invade Iraq because of Gog and Magog?
• We're going to be awash in sensors that will digitize and quantify everything about ourselves soon. Of course, if you don't want to wait, just get shot in the head first
• Are cities the new countries? The associated HN comments thread points to Jane Jacobs' thoughts on the matter as well as a lengthy essay on the global elite (and this book which I haven't read. Of course, letting local decisions be made locally can actually decrease diversity.
• If you're one of the seven people who still talk on your phone, you might find it interesting to know that the gyro in your phone can be used to record what you say.
• Blatant PR but Rolls Royce engines are pretty damn shiny. If you like building jet engines, this guy will be relevant to your interests.
• The Dream Chaser got an investment from the ESA (who fired Airbus). I really do want to see one of these puppies land at JFK (seriously, they put a a lot of thought into commercial landing). SpaceX also has grand plans for landing though the SuperDraco runs on the delightful mix of hate and anabolic steroids known as Hydrazine so you probably don't want to be anywhere near it until it's been properly hosed down. This is also why the Shuttle took like four hours to make safe after landing and why the Dream Chaser uses nontoxic rubber and laughing gas.