Category Archives: Computers

Plato Lives

Posted on March 19, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

I found this while reading an excellent article about the PLATO computing system, first developed in the 1960s: Things were a little different back then, including the choice of spokesmen…

Posted in Computers | 2 Comments

Biologists Should Not Learn How to Code

Posted on December 6, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

Update added here OK, that’s a little extreme, but over the Thanksgiving weekend, I came across some advice which essentially amounted to biologists should learn how to code. I’m not sure that’s great advice. Since I’m in the genomics bidness, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bioinformatics, Computers, Statistics | 5 Comments

AI, Go, and Self-Driving Cars

Posted on August 23, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

I came across this thread which lays out pretty clearly (with .gifs!) an argument against self-driving cars. Put simply: will that car pull out? does the driver see me? is that pedestrian going to cross? is it a child or … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Transportation | 7 Comments

Good Thing The U.S. Government Doesn’t Believe In Global Warming

Posted on June 26, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

Because if it did, we’re going to need more supercomputers (boldface mine): Sadly for America, the upgraded Piz Dain pushes the Department of Energy’s Titan supercomputer, which is housed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, into fourth spot. Able to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers | Comments Off on Good Thing The U.S. Government Doesn’t Believe In Global Warming

How Does One Even Make an URL Like This?

Posted on April 24, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

I receive emails with journal tables of contents, including Emerging Infectious Disease. Here’s the url of an article provided in the article: https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJlbWFpbCI6ImZlbGRnYXJkQG5jYmkubmxtLm5paC5nb3YiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoiMTE3Iiwic3Vic2NyaWJlcl9pZCI6IjM4ODkyOTQ3NSIsImxpbmtfaWQiOiIyNzIwMTc0MiIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpkaWdlc3QiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3bmMuY2RjLmdvdi9laWQvYXJ0aWNsZS8yMS81LzE0LTExODRfYXJ0aWNsZSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAxNTA0MjIuNDQzMzQzMzEifQ.y4oyeNbi_BwsWvqOtT6jNTmangPf1yPHG49FNMfZqtQ It resolves to this: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/5/14-1184_article Not clear to me why the first version is needed, or how … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Internet, Publishing | 6 Comments

Whatever Firefox Did to Kill Flash, It Is Awesome

Posted on December 15, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

One of the banes of the internet is all of the crap that loads in the background: all those damn Flash-driven ads. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but the most recent version of Firefox seems to kill most … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Computers | 3 Comments

How Many Hertz Do These Computers Clock In At?

Posted on April 11, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Some old school computers, observed at the MIT Museum, Cambridge MA: For surveyors: Some Mickey Mouse:

Posted in Computers | 6 Comments

Dear Tim Cook, Whatever You Do, Don’t Listen to Carl Icahn

Posted on August 18, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

By way of Matthew Yglesias, we learn that corporate raider Carl Icahn wants Apple to spend more of its cash reserve on buying back stock. I’ve been a long-term Apple shareholder and I think this is a dreadful idea. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Computers, Fucking Morons | 3 Comments

The First Computer Bug

Posted on May 4, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

I had forgotten the origin of the term ‘computer bug.’ Here it is:

Posted in Computers | 1 Comment

1980s Video Sprite or Chimu Culture Hanging?

Posted on September 5, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

You decide: The Museum of Fine Arts tells me that this is from the north coast of Peru and was made between 1000–1476 by the Chimu Culture. I think it’s an homage to 1980s video graphics object-oriented programing code.

Posted in Computers, Museums etc. | Comments Off on 1980s Video Sprite or Chimu Culture Hanging?