Qlaras's Friends

EmpowerCon in Topeka

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Wednesday February 24 2016, @11:38PM (#1782)
2 Comments

Speaking of things that will rile up TheMightyBuzzard (oh wait that was a submission, you can't see it yet...well, it's in the queue, you'll just have to wait):

Empower Comic Con

“We are a minority based convention and we are a fundraising convention. So every year we will have a minority based theme,” says organizer Charity DeLay. “This year is empowering women, next year’s will be pride and we will go on for there. We are a comic-convention with a cause.”

Christie Koehler's epic tweetstorm upon leaving Mozilla

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Saturday August 08 2015, @06:38PM (#1368)
2 Comments

This storify page hits on a number of internal issues at Mozilla. I left the Mozilla fold a few years (when the "let's be Chrome!" bullshit started), but I do know people that currently work there...and this make me feel kind of bad for them.

Absurdity

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Sunday July 12 2015, @12:46AM (#1334)
1 Comment

Some cat named Ariana is licking the greece off of Donald Trump’s Chinese donuts and thus threatening Hillary Clinton’s bid to elected as the new flag of South Carolina.

(Shamelessly stolen from a commenter on John Scalzi's blog. Not linking, I'm sure that you're capable of Googling it.)

Richard Stallman Cube Craft

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:09PM (#964)
1 Comment

Apparently you print it out on a color printer, cut out the pieces, fold them up into a Minecraft-esque Richard Stallman doll, and....uh....stare at it, I guess. But at least everyone will know that you're a GNU purist.

Stallman Cube Craft

Daily link dump

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Thursday November 06 2014, @12:04AM (#779)
1 Comment

Just going to link to my post on G+ this time, mostly because I don't feel like doing a whole bunch of work to reformat things for here. (It's set to "public", so you don't have to log in.) As usual, feel free to use any of these as submission to Soylent News!

One of these days, I'll write some sort of script to process the list into various formats for different outlets...that day is not today, though.

Daily link dump

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Tuesday November 04 2014, @12:15PM (#775)
0 Comments

Technically, this is yesterday's edition - I forgot to post it here because I was up late. Feel free to mine this for site submissions.

How Universal Basic Income Will Save Us From the Robot Uprising
There's a list of six suggestions for "Navigating the transition to a better world" in this article, and I'd like to address these suggestions briefly:
1. Protecting Employment: This is dumb - if the robot doesn't need to have an operator, why build one into the system? It's another point of failure.
2. Sharing Work: This is probably the dumbest of the bunch. The most-difficult jobs to automate are those that involve creativity and those that involve a lot of knowledge about different components interact - which means that a worker needs to understand the current state of a project in order to continue to work on it.
3. Making New Work: If people hate make-work at their jobs now, how will they feel when their entire jobs are make-work?
4. Redistribution: Finally some smarts from these people. This happens today. It's called "your taxes going to welfare". It will continue to happen in the future. Trying to get it to not happen in the future is leaving future generations a world where they are ruled over by oligarchs.
5. Education: This is necessary; but today's education is based around a system designed to turn out people who are capable of working in a factory producing widgets. We need to totally re-evaluate our educational system.
6. Fostering a New Social Contract: Isn't the whole point of a universal basic income to turn the existing social contract on its head?
Okay, off my soapbox. Here's the link:
http://io9.com/how-universal-basic-income-will-save-us-from-the-robot-1653303459

Predictors of Kidney Failure in Middle Age Found in Teenagers
My wife's kidneys have failed, so kidney disease is something that I'm always looking at the causes of, as well as the treatments for it. This article suggests that damage may start early.
http://www.oru.se/English/News/Predictors-of-Kidney-Failure-in-Middle-Age-Found-in-Teenagers/

A possible alternative to antibiotics
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are no joke - and overprescription (and poor compliance) of antibiotics over the past few decades have lead to their spread.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=146793&CultureCode=en

Ultracold disappearing act: ‘Matter waves’ move through one another but never share space
I think (maybe) that this experiments gives some support for other interpretations of quantum mechanics that the standard "Copenhagen Interpretation" that is generally accepted in scientific circles.
http://news.rice.edu/2014/11/02/ultracold-disappearing-act/

Ferguson no-fly zone aimed at media
Unfortunately, I can't say that I'm surprised that a local police would abuse its authority and influence. David Brin (who I link to quite often in these posts) recommends "sousveillance" - it would have been excellent if some of the protestors had camera-equipped quadcopters or similar, that are small enough to avoid FAA notice, to document what was going on. Such items are, unfortunately, probably priced out of reach of those most in need of them.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/674886091e344ffa95e92eb482e02be1/ap-exclusive-ferguson-no-fly-zone-aimed-media

GeekDad Speaks Out About Gamergate – UPDATED
If it's about ethics, why are the women in gaming being attacked, instead of the journalists who are willing to trade "favors" for positive game reviews? (Although personally I think that gaming needs a magazine like "Consumer Reports" - one that goes out and purchases, then plays, the actual delivered game, rather than preview copies provided to reviewers well before the actual release date.)
http://geekdad.com/2014/10/geekdad-gamergate/

Why we must explore space
The dinosaurs are extinct because they didn't have a space program. Let's not follow in their footsteps - although once we move beyond our own planet, I think we'll likely also evolve beyond our current definition of humanity. Well, there were lots of types of dinosaurs - let's have lots of types of humans as well.
http://boingboing.net/2014/11/03/why-i-believe-space-exploratio.html

A World of Ruperts - back to the future
I mentioned I link to David Brin a lot, right? He's usually too scattershot to make any sort of coherent comment on the entirety of his blog posts that (at least, in any way more specific than "lots of interesting information here!"). I thought that the Rupert in this post would be Rupert Murdoch, but it's Rupert Sheldrake - but in typical Brin fashion, he gets around to Murdoch in this post, too...and gerrymandering...and transhumanism...and evolution... You really need a flexible brain to keep up with this guy!
http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-world-of-ruperts-back-to-future.html

Rethinking Term 'Invisible Cyclist'
Hour-long discussion. Probably won't interest most of you. I'll be watching/listening tomorrow.
http://bikeleague.org/content/rethinking-term-invisible-cyclist

Here's the page from the biology textbook that Arizona conservatives tore out
About - what else - contraception.
http://boingboing.net/2014/11/03/heres-the-page-from-the-biol.html

The Introvert's Corner: If You're Lonely, Try Loosening Up
"It's not that hard if you don't overthink it." I'm just glad that the author didn't suggest alcohol (although that does work for some people).
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-introverts-corner/201411/if-youre-lonely-try-loosening

When island nations drown, who owns their seas?
An interesting economic question for Tuvalu, Maldives, and Kiribati.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/10/18/when-island-nations-drown-who-owns-their-seas/hyH9W5b1mCAyTVgwlFh7qO/story.html?Src=longreads

Scientists Experiment With Robotic Bacteria?
Nanoscale! This is in the very early stages, though.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3037594/scientists-experiment-with-robotic-bacteria?partner=rss

Daily link dump, weekend edition.

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Monday November 03 2014, @01:36AM (#772)
1 Comment

*Massive geographic change may have triggered explosion of animal life*
http://phys.org/news/2014-10-massive-geographic-triggered-explosion-animal.html

*Research Suggests That Psychiatric Interventions Like Admission to a Mental Facility Could Increase Suicide Risk*
Very import to note the "could" in the title - this is correlation, not causation. No need to sensationalize! The second page of this three-page article suggests an intriguing possibility...
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/research-suggests-psychiatric-interventions-admission-mental-facility-could-increase

*Secret recording of corporate lobbyist is a dirty-tricks playbook*
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/31/secret-recording-of-corporate.html

*People Change Their Moral Values to Benefit Themselves Over Others*
http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/news/general/141031moralvalues.php

*Efficient genetic editing*
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/hu-ege102914.php

*'Divide and rule' -- raven politics*
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/uov-ar103114.php

*Green spaces don't ensure biodiversity in urban areas*
http://now.uiowa.edu/2014/10/green-spaces-dont-ensure-biodiversity-urban-areas

*Demonization and the deliberate destruction of U.S. politics*
http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2014/11/demonization-and-deliberate-destruction.html

*In Social Networking, 'Weak' Connections May Be the Most Powerful*
http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/in-social-networking-weak-connections-may-be-the-most-powerful

*Who's Buying the Midterm Elections? A Bunch of Old White Guys*
http://m.thenation.com/blog/186873-whos-buying-midterm-elections-bunch-old-white-guys

*We must still hate our kids: Philadelphia and “education reformers” fight demented war on elementary schools*
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/01/we_must_still_hate_our_kids_philadelphia_and_education_reformers_fight_demented_war_on_elementary_schools/

*UK cultural institutions leave their WWI cases empty to protest insane copyright*
http://boingboing.net/2014/11/02/uk-cultural-institutions-leave.html

*Seeing dinosaur feathers in a new light*
http://phys.org/news/2014-10-dinosaur-feathers.html

*Why Don't More People Work As Programmers?*
http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/10/31/why-dont-more-people-work-as-programmers/

*Gravity in the World’s Biggest Vacuum Chamber: Dropping Feathers vs. a Bowling Ball in a Vacuum*
http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2014/11/02/gravity-in-the-worlds-biggest-vacuum-chamber-dropping-feathers-vs-a-bowling-ball-in-a-vacuum/

Daily link dump

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Saturday November 01 2014, @01:31AM (#768)
0 Comments

Feel free to mine this for SN submissions. I'm going to get busy reading all of these links.

*Magic Mushrooms Create a Hyperconnected Brain*
http://www.livescience.com/48502-magic-mushrooms-change-brain-networks.html

*Big Brother’s Liberal Friends*
I couldn't get through this; I can't tell if it's dense with actually commentary or just dense with crazy.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/big-brother%E2%80%99s-liberal-friends-11515?page=show

*Asides: on Pax Americana, Libertarians and where the #$#! are our Roosevelts?*
http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2014/10/asides-on-pax-americana-libertarians.html

*New frog discovered inhabiting I-95 corridor from Connecticut to North Carolina*
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/ru-nfd102714.php

*Aortic Valve Replacement Appears Safe, Effective in Very Elderly Patients*
http://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/aortic-valve-replacement-appears-safe,-effective-in-very-elderly-patients

*Falsehoods programmers believe about time*
http://infiniteundo.com/post/25326999628/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-time

*“Multiple roads lead to Rome” To reap the brain benefits of physical activity, just get moving!*
http://www.nouvelles.umontreal.ca/udem-news/news/20141029-multiple-roads-lead-to-rome-to-reap-the-brain-benefits-of-physical-activity-just-get-moving.html

*Cinema-like environment helps audiences become immersed in movies even when shown on small screens*
http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/17666_ENG_HTML.php

*New solar power material converts 90 percent of captured light into heat*
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/uoc--nsp102814.php

*Researchers identify potential target for treating triple-negative breast cancer*
http://www.kucancercenter.org/about-us/news/researchers-identify-potential-target-for-treating-breast-cancer

*Liberal or conservative? Reactions to disgust are a dead giveaway*
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/cp-loc102314.php

*Microrockets fueled by water neutralize chemical and biological warfare agents*
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2014/acs-presspac-october-29-2014/microrockets-fueled-by-water-neutralize-chemical-and-biological-warfare-agents.html

*A mechanism that allows a differentiated cell to reactivate as a stem cell revealed*
http://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/news/a-mechanism-that-allows-a-differentiated-cell-to-reactivate-as-a-stem-cell-revealed

*Walking Workstations Improve Physical and Mental Health, While Building a Healthier Workplace*
http://science.iupui.edu/news/walking-workstations-improve-physical-and-mental-health-while-building-healthier-workplace

*Supersonic Laser-Propelled Rockets*
*http://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2014/supersonic_laser-propelled_rockets/*

*The Science of Charismatic Voices*
http://www.newswise.com/articles/the-science-of-charismatic-voices

*Same Votes, Different Districts Would Change Results*
http://today.duke.edu/2014/10/mathofredistricting

*NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Completes Initial Assessment after Orbital Launch Mishap*
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/october/nasa-s-wallops-flight-facility-completes-initial-assessment-after-orbital-launch/index.html

*Gottfrid Svartholm Found Guilty in Hacking Trial*
http://torrentfreak.com/gottfrid-svartholm-found-guilty-in-hacking-trial-141030/

*Nicely preserved teenage wooly mammoth carcass to be cloned into new wooly mammoths*
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/30/nicely-preserved-teenage-wooly.html

*Copyright Redux*
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/30/copyright-redux.html

*When Will Humans Live on Mars?*
http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/when-will-humans-live-on-mars

*Ancient Stone Circles in Mideast Baffle Archaeologists*
http://www.livescience.com/48532-big-circles-archaeological-mystery.html

*Physical Salary*
http://what-if.xkcd.com/118/

*David Graeber and Thomas Piketty on whether capitalism will destroy itself*
http://www.thebaffler.com/odds-and-ends/soak-the-rich

*Could daylight saving time be a risk to diabetics?*
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/could-daylight-saving-time-be-a-risk-to-diabetics/

*High-Intensity Sound Waves May Aid Regenerative Medicine*
http://www.newswise.com/articles/high-intensity-sound-waves-may-aid-regenerative-medicine

*Take a walk in the sun to ease time change woes, says Vanderbilt sleep expert*
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/10/take-a-walk-in-the-sun-to-ease-time-change-woes-says-vanderbilt-sleep-expert/

*Superior Firepower: The Making of Aliens*
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/31/superior-firepower-the-making.html

*Debuting "Shudders," MC Frontalot's spooky new video*
http://boingboing.net/2014/10/31/debuting-shudders-mc-fron.html

*Who ordered THAT?!?*
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2014/10/who-ordered-that-1.html

*How My Week Went*
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/10/31/how-my-week-went/

*quote of the week: "rail is only part of the equation"*
http://www.humantransit.org/2014/10/quote-of-the-week-rail-is-only-part-of-the-equation.html

*Jian Ghomeshi and the Women He Knew*
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/10/31/jian-ghomeshi-and-the-women-he-knew/

*Eleven countries studied, one inescapable conclusion – the drug laws don’t work*
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/30/drug-laws-international-study-tough-policy-use-problem

*Fed pushes largest US banks to shrink*
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0909/Fed-pushes-largest-US-banks-to-shrink?cmpid=addthis_twitter

Payment processing is MANIC

Posted by AndyTheAbsurd on Friday October 10 2014, @11:08PM (#720)
0 Comments

Okay, so I've been having a long discussion on Google Plus about Apple Pay and whether or not it will get greater adoption than Google Wallet and other NFC-based payment options. As part of that, I needed to explain the credit card processing industry as it stood when I left the acquiring bank that I worked for up until the beginning of 2014. Banks and the financial industry move very slowly, so I expect nothing has changed.

The mnemonic that you need to know is MANIC. It stands for:

Merchant
Acquirer (or payment processor)
Network
Issuer
Customer

These are the five types of entities involved in a credit card transaction. Each one has a formal relationship (some sort of contract) with the entities on either side of it. The merchant and customer have an INFORMAL relationship with each other. For the rest of this discussion, I'm going to say "customer" when I really "customer's account" as held at the issuer.

"Network" is one of the interbank networks - in the US, that's Visa, MasterCard, and now Discover and American Express as they've started to allow their card brands to be issued with other banks backing the credit. (Discover and AmEx used to do their own issuing, no other banks allowed, but that's changed in the last few years.)

Transaction process

When a credit card transaction is started, the merchant takes the card data - from the chip in the case of EMV transactions, which includes NFC-based payment; or from the magnetic stripe, which has three "tracks" on it, two of which contain the necessary data for a transaction; or by keying the data into a terminal; or from the internet - adds their merchant information, the amount, and a bunch of data about the transaction including how the data was entered, and sends it to their acquirer.

The acquirer then validates the information - including that the merchant has an active account - and reformats it (to what degree depends on the message structures involved, if you want your head to hurt, study up on ISO8583 messaging), figures out what network it belongs to by looking at the first few digits of the card number, then sends it on to the appropriate network.

The network receives the message, does their own validation on it (and may reject it if they don't like something about it), examines the first part of the card number, uses that figure out which bank is the issuer. The network may then do their own reformatting of the message, adds a bunch of network information (such as "Transaction ID" that you sometimes see on receipts), and forwards it on to the issuer.

The issuer then checks the customer to make sure that the account is in good standing, there's enough money available to cover the transaction, and a number of other things. If everything's okay, they respond with an approval response code ("00" in ISO8583) and an authorization number, and reduce the amount of money that the customer has available. If there isn't sufficient money available to cover the transaction, or there's some other problem, the issuer responds with a decline code, which there are a lot of (including codes for "violation of law" and "stolen card", among TONS of other things).

Once the issuer has made a decision on whether or not to approve the transaction, the whole thing is routed backwards through the same set of entities until it hits the merchant's terminal, and a receipt is printed showing the status of the transaction.

Some end notes:

1. For a credit card, this is just the authorization portion. There's a second step after authorization called "settlement" that's required before the merchant actually gets paid for the transaction. Settlement is the step where things like restaurant tips get added; as well as a number of things that are included for corporate cards that aren't included for personal cards. Authorizations do eventually expire; how long that takes depends on your bank. Debit is also different in that generally the authorization and settlement are essentially one piece.

2. This is the general case; there's a bunch of complications that I didn't go into around things like lodging transactions when you change the length of a stay and automated fuel dispensers that authorize for one amount but send a message giving the final amount when you put the nozzle back on the pump.

3. Sorry if my use of the bold tag has annoyed you.