the door close button
https://computer.rip/2023-03-13-the-door-close-button.html [computer.rip]
2023-03-14 18:19
tags:
article
factcheck
hoipolloi
life
media
ux
Elevator control panels have long featured two buttons labeled “door open” and “door close.” One of these buttons does pretty much what it says on the label (although I understand that European elevators sometimes have a separate “door hold” button for the most common use of “door open“). The other usually doesn’t seem to, and that has lead to a minor internet phenomenon. Here’s the problem: the internet is wrong, and I am here to set it right.
source: HN
The Meteorologist Monks of Mt. Washington
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2016/01/25/mt-washington-observatory/ [www.bostonmagazine.com]
2023-02-05 14:46
tags:
hoipolloi
science
A journey to the Northeast’s highest peak, where researchers live and work for eight days at a time, proudly studying the worst weather in the world.
All the (open) world’s a stage: how the video game Fallout became a backdrop for live Shakespeare shows
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/25/the-open-worlds-a-stage-how-the-video-game-fallout-became-a-backdrop-for-live-shakespeare-shows [www.theguardian.com]
2023-01-27 04:24
tags:
fiction
gaming
hoipolloi
social
The Wasteland Theatre Company is not your average band of thespians. Dotted all across the world, they meet behind their keyboards to perform inside Fallout 76, a video game set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic America.
There are no ticketed seats, and the company makes no money. The majority of audiences stumble across the performances accidentally in the wasteland, and sit to watch the show for free – or tune in on Twitch, where the company broadcasts every performance live. Characters stride across stages that are cantilevered together from in-game objects. Lighting cues provide atmosphere. Soliloquies are passionately delivered.
source: HN
Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India
https://restofworld.org/2023/youtube-scam-call-vigilantes/ [restofworld.org]
2023-01-16 16:41
tags:
article
hoipolloi
social
Los Angeles-based Trilogy Media took “scambaiting” to a new level, but some claim they’re gaining viral fame at others’ expense.
Trilogy’s pursuit of vigilante justice has proved a hit with their many fans, whom they refer to as “the squad.” But for some, their antics lay bare an uncomfortable power dynamic in which YouTubers in Los Angeles gain viral fame at the expense of Indian call center workers, physically harassing people whose situation they may know little about.
The Men Of China Hill
https://hahnscratch.com/2017/02/24/the-men-of-china-hill/ [hahnscratch.com]
2022-12-30 23:23
tags:
food
hoipolloi
life
By the time I got to Folsom Prison in 2007, there were no longer any fruit trees on China Hill, and it was covered with the knee-high grass typical of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The stories as to why inmate agriculture on China Hill was shut down vary and they depend upon the people telling the story.
Florida Woman Bites Camel
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/27/florida-woman-bites-camel [www.newyorker.com]
2022-05-22 17:41
tags:
essay
hoipolloi
language
media
Some thoughts on the art of the newspaper lede.
It’s Time to Stop Talking About “Generations”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/18/its-time-to-stop-talking-about-generations [www.newyorker.com]
2022-04-03 22:33
tags:
article
history
hoipolloi
From boomers to zoomers, the concept gets social history all wrong.
The Art of the Bad Faith Argument
https://www.thebellows.org/the-art-of-the-bad-faith-argument/ [www.thebellows.org]
2020-07-08 00:16
tags:
essay
hoipolloi
ideas
language
social
The person who types “lol” is never actually laughing; the person who types I’M SCREAMING is silently dabbing at a screen. In the same way, the person who is perpetually shocked and outraged and brimming with righteous fury is almost always lying to themselves. They’re as affectless as the rest of us: play-acting, downloading synthetic emotions, and then passing them on.
source: jwz
Man who tokenized himself on Ethereum becomes AI deepfake
https://decrypt.co/29070/ethereum-tokenized-man-becomes-synthetic-deepfake [decrypt.co]
2020-05-17 03:43
tags:
ai
blockchain
hoipolloi
Ethereum’s tokenized man just became a synthetic deepfake—and you can decide what he says for $99.
source: MR
Long Con
https://tedium.co/2020/04/20/con-artists-nature/ [tedium.co]
2020-04-21 18:22
tags:
history
hoipolloi
ideas
links
Cognitive scientists have identified a number of common ways in which people avoid being gullible. But con artists are especially skillful at what social scientists call framing, telling stories in ways that appeal to the biases, beliefs and prominent desires of their targets. They use strategies that take advantage of human weaknesses.
Good collection of cons.
Cross post: https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-believe-con-artists-130361
Dressing for the Surveillance Age
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/16/dressing-for-the-surveillance-age [www.newyorker.com]
2020-04-10 06:24
tags:
ai
hoipolloi
life
opsec
As cities become ever more packed with cameras that always see, public anonymity could disappear. Can stealth streetwear evade electronic eyes?
I liked this article because it at least acknowledged that these countermeasures are only a training data update away from becoming useless.
VB2019 paper: 2,000 reactions to a malware attack – accidental study
https://www.virusbulletin.com/virusbulletin/2020/03/vb2019-paper-2000-reactions-malware-attack-accidental-study/ [www.virusbulletin.com]
2020-03-25 19:08
tags:
email
hoipolloi
malware
security
In this paper I present an analysis of 1,976 unsolicited answers received from the targets of a malicious email campaign, who were mostly unaware that they were not contacting the real sender of the malicious messages. I received the messages because the spammers, whom I had described previously on my blog, decided to take revenge by putting my email address in the ‘reply-to’ field of a malicious email campaign. Many of the victims were unaware that the message they had received was fake and contained malware. Some even asked me to resend the malware as it had been blocked by their anti-virus product. I have read those 1,976 messages, analysed and classified victims’ answers, and present them here. The key takeaway is that we need to train users, but at the same time we should not count on them to react properly to Internet threats. Despite dealing with cybercrime victims daily for the last seven years I was surprised by most of the reactions and realized how little we, as the security industry, know about the average Internet user’s ability (or rather inability) to identify threats online. We need to build solutions that will protect users, without their knowledge, sometimes against their will, from their ability to harm themselves.
The fifth group is actually the most worrying. I call this group ‘MY ANTI-VIRUS WORKED, PLEASE SEND AGAIN’, as these are recipients who mention that their security product (mostly anti-virus) warned them against an infected file, but they wanted the file to be resent because they could not open it. The group consisted of 44 individuals (2.35%).
source: grugq
The 1918 Parade That Spread Death in Philadelphia
https://daily.jstor.org/the-1918-parade-that-spread-death-in-philadelphia/ [daily.jstor.org]
2020-03-10 02:20
tags:
history
hoipolloi
medicine
philly
urban
The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 killed between 50 and 100 million people around the world, more than died in the battles of World War I. In the United States, the hardest-hit city was Philadelphia, where the spread of the disease was spurred by what was meant to be a joyous event: a parade.
The Case of the Missing Hit
https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/o2h8bx/158-the-case-of-the-missing-song [gimletmedia.com]
2020-03-08 04:07
tags:
audio
hoipolloi
investigation
music
A man in California is haunted by the memory of a pop song from his youth. He can remember the lyrics and the melody. But the song itself has vanished, completely scrubbed from the internet. PJ takes on the Super Tech Support case.
Or: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reply-all/id941907967
source: ML
Desperate for High-Paying Wall Street Jobs, Penn Students Try Buying Their Way Into the Right Classes
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/02/18/penn-finance-internships-recruiting/ [www.phillymag.com]
2020-02-19 08:01
tags:
academia
business
hoipolloi
Five years ago, sophomores like Current might not have been so desperate. Back then, finance companies hired for their all-important junior-year summer internships just a few months ahead of time. But recently, in an attempt to scoop up the best students before anyone else, companies have moved up the timeline. It’s now standard practice for finance firms to recruit sophomores like Current — who has only completed three semesters of college and hasn’t even declared a major — for those same junior-year summer internships a full 18 months in advance.
What is a 'Weenus' ('Wenis,' 'Weenis')?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/weenus-weenis-slang-definition-origin [www.merriam-webster.com]
2020-02-17 05:38
tags:
hoipolloi
language
The loose skin at the joint of one’s elbow
In Carlos Ghosn’s Escape, Plotters Exploited an Airport Security Hole
https://www.wsj.com/articles/plotters-exploited-airport-security-hole-in-ghosns-escape-11578270953 [www.wsj.com]
2020-01-06 18:06
tags:
flying
hoipolloi
opsec
My Semester With the Snowflakes
https://gen.medium.com/my-semester-with-the-snowflakes-888285f0e662 [gen.medium.com]
2019-12-30 23:40
tags:
academia
essay
hoipolloi
At 52, I was accepted to Yale as a freshman. The students I met there surprised me.
Add a little Canada to your website
https://cira.ca/stock-images [cira.ca]
2019-12-30 23:28
tags:
archive
hoipolloi
photos
web
hockey player checks out lumberjack while woman in Canadian tuxedo looks on in disbelief
source: K
How the scourge of cheating is changing speedrunning
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/12/how-the-scourge-of-cheating-is-changing-speedrunning/ [arstechnica.com]
2019-12-23 01:06
tags:
gaming
hoipolloi
investigation
How do you catch fakes when it’s easier than ever to manipulate video?
source: ars