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Every Sunday I do my ironing. I have to wear reasonably "smart" clothes to work four days a week and on Friday we're allowed to dress down. Every Sunday night, depending on how tired I am, I try to iron four shirts and a pair of trousers.

It has always occurred to me that ironing clothes is a waste of time and energy. It serves no purpose other than to adhere to a social convention. If I were putting Lean Six Sigma onto my life, I think it would probably come under the category of "necessary waste" since it is there to comply with the law (an unwritten social law enforced by the Central Scrutinizer) which adds no value to the value stream.

I just found a calculation I did about three years ago to work out the impact to atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions that ironing clothes causes.

I used official UK government statistics on the proportion of electricity generated by fossil fuels and the carbon dioxide gas produced.

I have no idea if these links are still valid.

Carbon Dioxide (Equivalent) Emissions from Electricity Generation (2013)

Historical elctricity data: 1920 to 2013

For my calculations. my electrical iron is rated at 2kW and I estimated the heater to be operational 50% of the time. It takes me about 5 minutes to iron a single item, and I do 5 at a time.

To cut a long story short, I calculated that in the UK, given 2013 electricity generation data, 1 million of me doing my ironing would produce about 244.5 Te of carbon dioxide gas.

Here's my data:

Constants
Seconds per Minute    60
kcal/joule 0.000239005736
1 billion 1000000000
Seconds per Hour 3600
1 million 1000000

Iron Power (W)    2000
Time to Iron (mins)    5
Time Heating (%) 50
Energy per Item (J) 300000
Energy per Item (kcal) 71.7017208

MtCO2e 178.5
Energy Supplied (Gwh) 304155

CO2(kg) 178500000000
Energy Supplied (J) 1.094958E+018
Mass of CO2/unit energy (kg/J)    1.63019951450193E-07

CO2e(kg) per item ironed     0.048905985435058

CO2e(kg) per million items ironed 48905.9854350578
CO2(Te) per million items ironed 48.9059854350578

Items/person/week 5
1 Million People (Te)    244.529927175289

Thousands of 'Second Life' Bunnies Are Going to Starve to Death This Saturday

Any bunny who is Everlasting will continue to function, as he or she does now: without cost.
Any bunny who is not Everlasting will be unable to eat and will hibernate within 72 hours.

"Hibernate" is a very kind word for it, considering that these bunnies are unlikely to ever be revived. In essence, every mortal rabbit in Second Life is going to starve to death on Saturday morning.

I’ve built a simple inductance meter based on an Arduino Pro Mini. Here’s a picture. The inductance measurement circuit is based on this but I have made some minor modifications to make use of an I²C LCD I managed to get for cheap and provided for an LM7805-based regulator so it could be powered from a 9V battery. The two large maroon things between the LM339 comparator IC and the Arduino (the board with the surface mount chip and the red LED) are a pair of 1 µF PET capacitors in parallel for a total capacitance of 2 µF. This is set in parallel with the test inductor to produce a tank circuit. The Arduino sends a 5 ms pulse into the tank circuit, which sends its response into the LM339 comparator, and the output of the comparator is a damped square wave at the resonant frequency of the tank circuit. The Arduino can measure this resonant frequency by measuring the width of a pulse it receives from the comparator. The theoretical resonant frequency of the tank circuit is 1/2π⋅√LC, and given that the capacitance is known it is possible to solve for the inductance L = 1/4π²f²C. Seems to work well enough, although actual inductors whose inductances are known are in short supply. The test inductor I have used in the picture is a ferrite core inductor I salvaged from a dead CFL bulb. I’ve tried winding and unwinding coils from it and it seems that the inductance changes, so I think it works, sorta.

Next step will be to perform calibration. I need to somehow find actual inductors with an inductance known to a high tolerance, and use them to calibrate the circuit. Those aren’t easy to find in the electronics stores around here. And then I need to fix up the case. I managed to fortuitously find that plastic box which fits the prototype circuit boards I have almost perfectly (it’s actually one of a set of three food storage boxes I got from the equivalent of a dollar or ¥100 store here). Now I need to find a way to make clean holes in the lid for the LCD, the probe terminals, and the power button. I’m not using a box cutter to do that… I’m too clumsy to do that properly and mistakes will result in waste. I’ll probably just glue the standoffs that hold the circuit board up to the bottom of the case, so it will be necessary to unscrew the circuit board from the standoffs to replace the battery, which I will also have to fix to the bottom of the case somehow. Enclosures are harder than they have to be. I’ll go scouting around for 3D printing services when I have the time, so I can make a real honest to goodness case.

In the future I’ll perhaps make a few changes to the circuit so it can measure capacitance as well, but in order to do that I’ll need an inductor with a known inductance, and then it will be the test capacitor in parallel with the inductor forming the tank circuit. It will just be a matter of adding a reed relay controlled by a switch and the Arduino to alternate between L and C measurement.

Cloud Computing wins Preakness Stakes, dashing Always Dreaming's chances for Triple Crown

2017-05-16 15:11 UTC
Canadian transport minister Marc Garneau Introduces New Passenger Bill Of Rights

"We have all heard recent news reports of shoddy treatment of air passengers," Garneau said at a news conference. "Such incidents will not be tolerated in Canada. When Canadians buy an airline ticket, they expect the airline to keep its part of the deal."

2017-05-17 00:21 UTC
And here we go again..
Air Canada Abruptly Cancels Tickets, Costing N.L. Couple $6,000 (Canadian dollars?)

While Air Canada apologized to Earle for the "inconvenience,'' it said the suspension of their tickets was "a necessary fraud prevention technique to protect our passengers, credit card holders and Air Canada.''

IBM has over a few years built up a remote work program for its 380 000 employees. Now they are "quietly dismantling" this option, and has told its employees this week that they either need to work in the office or resign (alternative source). From the report: IBM is giving thousands of its remote workers in the U.S. a choice this week: Abandon your home workspaces and relocate to a regional office -- or leave the company. The 105-year-old technology giant is quietly dismantling its popular decades-old remote work program to bring employees back into offices, a move it says will improve collaboration and accelerate the pace of work. The changes comes as IBM copes with 20 consecutive quarters of falling revenue and rising shareholder ire over Chief Executive Ginni Rometty's pay package. The company won't say how many of its 380 000 employees are affected by the policy change, which so far has been rolled out to its Watson division, software development, digital marketing, and design -- divisions that employ tens of thousands of workers. The shift is particularly surprising since the Armonk, N.Y., company has been among the business world's staunchest boosters of remote work, both for itself and its customers. IBM markets software and services for what it calls "the anytime, anywhere workforce," and its researchers have published numerous studies on the merits of remote work.

This is despite that teams may not even be in the same town so it's effectively a telecommute at work anyway. And sometimes there's isn't even a desk assigned to the employee anyway. Instead employees get a locker room type closet with a trolley suitcase like thingy to stash all their junk that people used to leave on their desks. IBM employees are not allowed to leave any items on the desk, since it is not their desk. Every morning it's the "musical chairs" and everyone will try to grab a desk in a good location. What's a good location might however be different for a programmer needing concentration in silence . . . . and a salesperson next to you doing "Lines Of Calls" (LOC) instead of "Lines Of Code".. LOC like you . . . . well, that just ruined the day for you.

Managers at IBM know that this is a stupid idea, but the goal was to save money, which trumps everything. So they tried to sweeten the deal a bit by letting people work at home. Basically, they have outsourced their office space building services to their employees. But if you can't at least put a picture of your wife and kids on your desk there won't be any attachment to the "place of work". Neither will there be any attachment to the company either so turnover rates goes high.

Adding to the dismal situation is that these IBM e-places are as pleasant to visit as a trip to concentration camp with very loud, greying chipped concrete colored paint, rickety desks and chairs that make IKEA furniture look like luxury items.

Maybe IBM just have become a simple maintainer of large amounts of software they primarily had already or purchased from others and then branding it IBM. SPSS was bought but hasn't changed since they purchased it yet they still want thousands of dollars in licensing every year. At least their net promoter score (NPS) has gone to 27 compared to say Tesla at 97. Out of a range -100 to +100.

Some companies have started using the strategy to move office often and far enough to get rid of employees as the housing market punish them. Without having to pay out for firing them.

Already a year ago IBM have begun the usual India replacement, but the people getting that treatment didn't have any work at home policy. The key thing to understand about this company is that it's like a small city. They have more than 300 000 employees world wide. And just like cities there are good and bad parts of town. Working at Watson, that's upscale. Working for IBM Global Services as a NOC engineer, sysadmin or Java developer is the slum. Workers at IBM "true blue" probably let you have an easier time to opt for work at home in the past than a red-headed stepchild working at IBM Global Services. The clients in IBM Global Services are the table pounding types and mostly in financial industries. They'd just have to complain to the sales representative that they heard a dog in the background of a conference call and the work at home ends for everyone. Incidents like that has been observed to occur at IBM. But you can also bet your ass that the Ph.D researchers at Watson who have any work at home privileges are keeping them. The company was always scared shitless to upset that apple cart. People doing security scans at IBM, always had to give those guys a pass, no matter what. Bottom line is that it's where you are inside IBM that will ultimately matter.

TD;LR: IBM treats everybody who isn't a Ph.D like shit and won't let them work from home. The hauling back of employees to offices is just an excuse to get rid of employees. and yes their offices suck. As an investor, it might be advisable to reconsider being that in IBM as they seems to live on their name more than substance.

Fox's WTTG-TV interviewed a "former DC homicide detective and Fox News contributor" about the murder of Democratic National Committee staff member Seth Rich. According to the story, the former detective-contributor said that Mr. Rich had exchanged e-mails with Wikileaks. The story was echoed by Breitbart News and the Washington Times. Rich's family and the interviewee cast doubt upon it. WTTG-TV posted "an important clarification" (archived copy) about the recantation. Breitbart News, Infowars and the Washington Times (not to be confused with the Seattle Times) had carried the story as originally presented. World Net Daily, under the headline "News media blackout over Seth Rich revelations," had observed that

The story that many conservative media considered a “bombshell” Tuesday didn’t even register as a blip on the screens of CNN, ABC and CBS.

Right Wing Watch made a similar observation:

In recent days a report from Washington D.C.’s Fox affiliate on the death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich has dominated the conservative media world, including Fox News, Breitbart, InfoWars, and the Drudge Report, while most other outlets are covering the ever-increasing number of White House scandals.

From an archived copy of the story:

A federal investigator who reviewed an FBI forensic report -- generated within 96 hours after DNC staffer Seth Rich's murder -- detailing the contents Rich's computer said he made contact with WikiLeaks through Gavin MacFadyen, a now-deceased American investigative reporter, documentary filmmaker, and director of WikiLeaks who was living in London at the time.

        "My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks."
        - Rod Wheeler, former DC homicide investigator

"I have seen and read the emails between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks," the federal investigator told Fox News, confirming the MacFadyen connection. He said the emails are in possession of the FBI, while the stalled case is in the hands of the Washington Police Department.

The revelation is consistent with the findings of Rod Wheeler, a former DC homicide detective and Fox News contributor and whose private investigation firm was hired by a third party on behalf of Rich's family to probe the case.

—Fox News (archive link)

A report on Monday evening claimed to find links between slain DNC staffer Seth Rich and WikiLeaks. But Rich's family told BuzzFeed News, "[W]e see no facts, we have seen no evidence, we have been approached with no emails."

—BuzzFeed News

[...] Wheeler told CNN he had no evidence to suggest Rich had contacted Wikileaks before his death.

Wheeler instead said he only learned about the possible existence of such evidence through the reporter he spoke to for the FoxNews.com story.

—CNN Money

[...] Wheeler himself admitted he had "never seen the emails directly." Furthermore, his claims of "evidence" were based on the fact that an unnamed federal investigator had told him he saw the emails between Seth and WikiLeaks but that when he went to the police with concerns, he had been "shut down" and the investigation was being impeded by "a high-ranking official at the DNC."

—Haaretz

additional coverage:

• Media Matters for America
• Infowars
• Heavy
• Washington Times (earlier story)
• Breitbart News
• Breitbart News
• Breitbart News
• Washington Times
• The Guardian
• Mic
• Newsweek
• The Independent
• 1011 News
• The Week

previous story:
WikiLeaks Announces $20k Bounty For Murderer(s) of DNC Staffer

I deleted these Seth Rich submissions and threw them here with some updates.

takyon writes:

The Washington Post reports:

The family of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich refuted Fox News reports that he had leaked work e-mails to WikiLeaks before he was fatally shot last year in the District.

The reports, which gained traction on social media, said an FBI forensics examination showed Rich transferred 44,053 DNC e-mails and 17,761 attachments to a now-deceased WikiLeaks director.

[...] Several federal and local law enforcement authorities also said Tuesday they were not aware that Rich sent any DNC information to WikiLeaks. "There is nothing that we can find that any of this is accurate," said Dustin Sternbeck, the chief spokesman for D.C police, which is leading the investigation into Rich's death.

[...] The allegations were reported by Fox News, including WTTG-TV, the District's Fox News affiliate. The reports cited a private investigator, Rod Wheeler, who Fox said was hired by the family and had previously worked for D.C. police. He also has been an on-air contributor to the Fox-5 news station. Fox also cited an unnamed federal official who said Rich had transferred thousands of emails to a WikiLeaks director. Fox's source asserts those emails were transferred between January 2015 and May 2016.

Also at MarketWatch, Fox News, and Washingtonian. Original Fox 5 DC story which now includes details of Wheeler backtracking on his claims multiple times during the week:

On Wednesday, just before our newscast, Wheeler responded to our requests via a telephone conversation, where he now backtracks his position and Wheeler characterizes his on-the-record and on-camera statements as "miscommunication."

And here is a reddit thread about some new "evidence".

-----

butthurt writes:

—Fox News (archive link)

—BuzzFeed News

—CNN Money

—Haaretz

additional coverage:

• Media Matters for America
• Infowars
• Heavy
• Washington Times (earlier story from 1 May)
• Breitbart News
• Breitbart News
• Breitbart News
• Washington Times
• The Guardian
• Mic
• Newsweek
• The Independent
• Right Wing Watch
• 1011 News
• The Week

• previous story:
  WikiLeaks Announces $20k Bounty For Murderer(s) of DNC Staffer

-----

Original Submission #1   Original Submission #2

Too much going on in the world. Can't get anything done.

Shadow Brokers threaten to release even more NSA-sourced malware 2017-05-16

In June, Shadow Brokers will launching a monthly subscription model. With security exploits for:
  * Web browsers, router, handset exploits and tools
  * Select items from newer Ops Disks, including newer exploits for Windows 10
  * Compromised network data from more SWIFT providers and Central banks
  * Compromised network data from Russian, Chinese, Iranian, or North Korean nukes and missile programs

More details in June.

Looks like right now can be a good time to up those security measures.