Privacy is not an Option →

And as with the opt-in security settings of the past, today's opt-in privacy settings are leading to all sorts of problems. Every day we see headlines about privacy violations that could've been avoided if we used software that didn't treat privacy as an option.

Fitting analogy for the state of technology today. What will it take for companies to make privacy a default, not an option?

A Better Hangman Strategy →

It is impossible to come up with any English letter word that will fail at Hangman without a single letter appearing on the board (assuming the [opponent uses an] optimal search strategy).

Also revealed: 'brr' is a great Hangman word.

Apple Drops 'Thermonuclear' Patent Bombshell →

"When we sued Samsung in April of last year," Apple's SVP and general counsel Bruce Sewell told us, "one of our assertions was that that company had modified its original design to include 'square icons with rounded corners' that were copied directly from our iOS icons. How much of a legal leap is it from the assertion of owning squares with rounded corners to asserting that we own the rectangle?"

Possibly the best April Fool's joke this year. Close runners-up include Etsy taking over the city of Portland, and George Tekai announcing his lead role in a new Star Trek movie.

The Route 29 Batman →

Police pulled a man over on Route 29 in Silver Spring last week because of a problem with his plates. This would not ordinarily make international news, but the car was a black Lamborghini, the license plate was the Batman symbol, and the driver was Batman, dressed head-to-toe in full superhero regalia.

That'd be a good story in and of itself. But it turns out that Batman actually spends his time visiting sick children in hospitals, making it a great story.

Why Cooked Food Is Good →

Why do we cook? There are the classic answers: It tastes better, lasts longer, and can get rid of bacteria. But in the past decade or so, there has been a growing discussion of whether we cook food because it makes digesting more efficient.

Interesting...

Jeff Bezos Is Indulging His 11-Year-Old Self →

It's really true when you put it like that...

Benford's Law →

Your fraud-detecting probability distribution learning moment for the day.

The Midwest Mentality →

The steady life only gets you so far, but in the end, the pragmatism is both Chicago's greatest asset and its greatest liability. Which really is the entire problem with the Midwest Mentality. Midwesterners have their priorities straight, but nothing generationally disruptive comes out of being conventional.

So you'd rather have the Valley where "businesses" have millions of users but no path to profitability than the Midwest where pragmatism requires you to make money? I think the latter idea is actually quite disruptive in Silicon Valley.