The TechTalk Radio episode in which I predict the future (and talk Congressional astronauts)

One of my New Year's resolutions was to note here at my blog when I appear on TechTalk Radio. I call in most Saturdays, so I got out of the habit of reposting the shows here (and Mike, the show's host, got out of the habit of posting the podcasts so I could link to them). We're (both) going to do better in 2015.

So here's our first swipe of 2015: TechTalk Ep 371 – Prognostications and Prevarications for 2015!

My contributions include predictions about how cyberwars will escalate to open combat this year, and a quiz about the intersection of US Congressmen and the NASA astronaut corps. It's more nerdy than it sounds. Give a listen.

And if this short stint doesn't satisfy you, my (admittedly incomplete) history of podcast appearances is available here.

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The (nearly) unimaginable future of the American tax code

Let me begin this essay by stating I am in no measure an economist and have no real credentials for advocating the economic viability of what I'm about to propose. I come at this as someone trained in both narrative and sociology, which is to say this is how I expect the political story of American federal taxation to eventually end.

And it will end, at some point in my lifetime, with the demise of the income tax and the rise of the federally guaranteed basic income. Put another way, the federal government will stop taxing your personal income and will instead underwrite it, for everyone.

The TechTalk episode where I talk about the secret history of Steve Ballmer

In this TechTalk radio episode, I reveal what dark history Steve Ballmer lived out between his days at Harvard and his illustrious run as a minion of Microsoft. Here's a hint: it involved a midwestern state, pastries and another legendary Fortune 100 CEO. No foolin'.

Mercifully, we spent much more of the episode discussing Oyster and its "Netflix for ebooks" pitch, as well as the future of the prose-for-pay industry. The parts when I'm not talking are definitely worth a listen.

As always, my complete archive of podcasted misdeeds is available here.

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I am returned to Techtalk Radio, discuss the end of the Space Shuttle program

After weeks of missed connections and conflicts, I'm finally back to dragging down the quality of TechTalk Radio. This week, I throw out a quick missive on smartwatches, some trivia on the last cargo item the Space Shuttle placed into orbit, and lay down a challenge about the secret history of Steve Ballmer.

More importantly, Mike and Dave go deep on Google Maps tech with Daniel Seiberg. You can fast-forward past my drivel to the good stuff, no worries.

Listen to the TechTalk podcast here.

Kickstarter doesn't validate your product; it validates your pitch (and that's okay)

I came here to praise Kickstarter, not to bury it, but this article on major corporations using Kickstarter for product research reminded me of a lesson we covered at the Louisville Digital Association's crowdfunding workshop a few months ago: Kickstarter is sales training, not product research.

Well, that's not entirely fair. Kickstarter does provide some basic market research about your product description and maybe your price point, but only in the context of your marketing. Kickstarter can't validate a product that doesn't exist. It can only validate what you're putting in front of the consumer and all Kickstarter puts in front of the consumer is your marketing pitch.

Kickstarter validates your marketing pitch, not your product.

Some poor fools think I'm an authority on startups

Photo (Photo credit: Jay Garmon)

Here's me getting profiled by Insider Louisville, which characterizes me as...

"[A]bout as close as Louisville has to a start-up nomad. That specie of homo technicus so common in San Francisco and Silicon Valley is vital to creating, then sustaining, any city’s entrepreneurial culture. The swashbuckler who jumps from big corporation to start-up, start-up to big corporation. At the Louisville level, it’s extremely rare because there aren’t that many viable startup-to-corporate-to-startup opportunities."

It goes on from there. I'll be over here wondering who the heck they're actually talking about, 'cause surely that can't be me.

Which Manhattan Project scientist won the betting pool to determine the explosive yield of the first atomic bomb?

Image via WikipediaRemember when those wacky Los Alamos boys inaugurated the nuclear arms race by detonating the world's first atomic explosive?

Well, as humans are wont to do, those Manhattan Projectors laid out a little wagering action as to exactly how explosive said atomic gadget would turn out to be. So the question becomes: Who won the Trinity Test betting pool? 

You can find out one of two ways:

• Audio, via one of my appearances on TechTalk radio in Chicago (which includes some additional content about Chip Bell and John Patterson's new book Wired and Dangerous)
• Text, via a recent Geek Trivia column (which includes pithy commentary from my Geekend readership)

Hint: The guy who won the pool is probably more famous in medical circles than he is in the halls of physics. Maybe.

TechTalk Trivia: What classic board game was used by the Allies to help rescue POWs during WWII?

Image via WikipediaAnother of my various and sundry appearance on the TechTalk radio show has been archived online for long-suffering posterity. In this episode, I divulge which classic board game was used by the Allies to help rescue POWs during WWII?

I promise, this is far more useful information in the podcast than my trademarked pedagogical ponderings. I invite you to seek it out.

What happened to the FIRST American flag raised over Iwo Jima -- the one that DIDN'T appear in the famous photo?

Image by luvi via Flickr

Sixty-six years ago today, one of the most recognizable and inspirational military photographs in history was taken: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. On Feb. 23, 1945 a group of five US Marines and one US Navy corpsman were photographed erecting an American flag atop Mt. Suribachi during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. The iconic image came to win Pulitzer Prize, serve as the inspiration for the US Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and -- perhaps most importantly -- to represent the courage and valor of American armed forces (particularly the Marines) during the second World War.

Not bad for a backup plan.

The flag immortalized in Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph was the second US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Another US flag had been raised a short time earlier, one that the rather more famous (and larger) US flag was brought in to replace.

What happened to the first US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima?

The 3 causes of polarized politics -- and how to fix 2 of them

Image via WikipediaTo my mind, there are three basic causes of our highly polarized perception of contemporary American politics, and at least two can be fixed with relative ease. (Be forewarned, I'm about to engage in an exercise of armchair political analysis. Here there be anecdotes; data junkies need look elsewhere.)

Beyond the general tribal nature of the human condition to pick a side and stick with it regardless of the facts -- I point you at sports fandom for base evidence of the trend -- American politics seem especially rancorous, divisive and partisan these days because of...

1. Improved political polling and voter data analysis
2. Gerrymandered districts
3. Expansion and fragmentation of news sources, especially television

What geekworthy technique was used to locate the lost Palomares hydrogen bomb?

Image via WikipediaForty-five years ago today, the US Air Force suffered a real-life Broken Arrow when a hydrogen bomb was lost in a mid-air collision over rural Spain. The so-called Palomares Incident occurred on Jan. 17, 1966 when a KC-135 airborne refueling tanker collided with a B-52G bomber that was carrying four Mk28 hydrogen bombs. The entire crew of the KC-135 was killed, three of the seven men aboard the B-52G died, and all four hydrogen bombs separated violently from the destroyed aircraft.

This is a classic Broken Arrow event, wherein US-owned nuclear weapons are lost in a fashion that does not lead directly to nuclear war. (The film Broken Arrow actually depicts an Empty Quiver incident, wherein a nuclear weapon is stolen by hostile forces. The thieves attempt to disguise the theft as a mere Broken Arrow. The result is a Nuc Flash, as the stolen nuke is detonated.)

Two of the Palomares hydrogen bombs detonated their conventional explosive components upon impact with the ground, spreading plutonium fallout over a 2-square-kilometer area of Spain. A third bomb landed intact in a riverbed. The fourth bomb was lost when its descent parachute miraculously deployed after the collision, allowing the weapon to drift into the Mediterranean Sea.

It took nearly three months for a massive naval expedition to locate what was a essentially a metal cylinder 22 inches wide by 170 inches long in the vast expanse of the Mediterranean. Fortunately, the US Navy had some serious math geeks around to help them increase their odds of tracking down the nuclear needle in the aquatic haystack.

What geekworthy technique was used to locate the lost Palomares hydrogen bomb?

What secret ingredient in Coca-Cola is illegal for every other US beverage-maker to import or use?

Image via WikipediaJan. 15 is the 122nd anniversary of the Coca-Cola Company, which is a perfectly good excuse for recycling an old Geek Trivia column rather than writing a new Truly Trivial for this blog. Thus:

The Coca-Cola Company took one of greatest media shellackings in history when New Coke debuted on April 23, 1985. The American consumer considered Coca-Cola a cultural icon that was above revision, so Coca-Cola Classic was released on July 10, 1985 (less than three months after being discontinued)...

Problem is, the Coca-Cola Classic that was released after the New Coke fiasco wasn’t the same as the Coca-Cola released before New Coke. The “logic” behind New Coke was two-fold: First, to make the drink sweeter in order to compete with sweeter-tasting rival drink Pepsi; second, to switch all domestic Coca-Cola bottlers from cane sugar to the cheaper high-fructose corn syrup sweeteners. When Coca-Cola Classic came back on the market, it too was made with corn syrup rather than sugar.

And that was far from the only change to the Coke formula over the years. In 1935, the formula was tweaked to be certified kosher. Moreover, John Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola, actually sold several different versions of the formula to different buyers — and that was after he had converted it to a carbonated drink, rather than its original alcoholic cocawine formulation.

One ingredient unique to American Coca-Cola is still used — after a fashion — in the formulation. Coca-Cola can rightly claim this additive as a brand differentiator, as it has received special dispensation from the U.S. government to be the sole American corporation to employ this ingredient in a consumer beverage.

WHAT INGREDIENT HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT GIVEN COCA-COLA SOLE AND UNIQUE PERMISSION TO USE IN CONSUMER BEVERAGES?

The answer is right here.

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Of the 75 artificial objects on the moon how many weren't put there by the US and USSR?

Image via WikipediaThree years ago this week, China's first lunar probe, Chang'e 1, entered orbit around the moon. Roughly 15 months later, Change'e 1 was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface (after recording the most complete and accurate 3D survey of the moon ever made), adding yet another item to the growing list of man-made objects on the moon.

Humanity has been chucking technology at the moon for over 50 years. The first human creation to contact the lunar surface was the Soviet Luna 2 probe in 1959. Since then, a total of 75 man-made objects have achieved lunar touchdown (or impact). Most of those items are of American or Soviet origin, products of the Cold War space race. Twenty years ago, Japan broke the Russo-American duopoly on lunar littering by crashing the orbiter portion of the Hiten probe on the moon. Since then, four more non-US and and non-Soviet/Russian space agencies have placed objects on the moon -- but the rest of the world has a long way to go before it overtakes the American-Russian rivalry in lunar tech-tossing.

Of the 75 artificial objects on the moon how many weren't put there by the US and USSR?

'Wet moon would make a great launchpad' and 9 more must-read links

Image via Wikipedia

1. Wet moon would make a great launchpad
2. Creating stronger privacy controls inside Google
3. Supreme Court Chief Justice Admits He Doesn't Read Online EULAs Or Other 'Fine Print'
4. If Google TV Has To Pay To Make Hulu Available To Viewers, Will Mozilla Have To Pay To Access Hulu Via Firefox?
5. The Future Of TV Is HTML
6. Four-legged bomb detectors still top dog
7. Movie Description FAIL
8. Expand the Shelf Life of Free
9. Why Direct Mail Can't Help Your Business Grow
10. Backup For Cloud Apps

What did a 404 error signify in the Apollo 11 computer guidance system?

Image via Wikipedia

Today is the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and I'm too busy celebrating to write an original Truly Trivial piece. Thus, I leave you with one of my old Geek Trivia columns regarding some historically significant computer errors experienced during Apollo 11:

When Apollo 11 set forth for the moon in 1969, it carried with it what were then arguably the two most advanced computers ever built. The Apollo Guidance Computer — two of which went on every manned moon mission — was the first computer to use integrated circuitry and was thus the first modern embedded computer system ever put to use. ...

That isn’t to say the Apollo Guidance Computer — advanced as it was for its era — was error free. The AGC that ran the Apollo 11 lunar module’s Primary Navigation, Guidance, and Control System (PNGCS, pronounced pings) malfunctioned during the first lunar descent. Fortunately, the error codes 1201 and 1202 didn’t faze Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong when they popped up, informing the astronauts of a critical buffer overflow. ... 

If the Apollo Guidance Computer had thrown a 404 error, it might have been a different story.

WHAT DID A 404 ERROR CODE SIGNIFY IN THE APOLLO GUIDANCE COMPUTER SOFTWARE SYSTEM?

Find out here.

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What Silicon Valley legend creates "custom" versions of US currency that are totally legal to spend?

Image by ericskiff via Flickr

On July 14, 1969, The United States Federal reserve removed from circulation any denomination of US currency larger than the $100 bill. While the $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $100,000 bills are still valid currency, they are rarely spent, as any such bill that makes it into the Federal Reserve system will be retired -- and these rare bills have collectible value well above their denomination.

Still, some idiots just can't resist counterfeiting large and/or fictional denominations of US money, even though they're almost invariably caught trying to pass these bills off. What's even more shocking are the imbeciles that try to pass these fake notes off at Las Vegas casinos -- perhaps the single most counterfeit-aware group of businesses on the planet.

Thus it's apropos that Vegas gave the most trouble to a legendary Silicon Valley businessman who creates unusual -- but perfectly legal -- "custom" versions of US currency.

What Silicon Valley legend creates "custom" versions of US currency that are totally legal to spend?

The top 10 (+1) least original college sports mascots

Image via Wikipedia

College football is just around the corner, so its time to start ginning up the smack talk between traditional rivals -- and there's no easier way to cheapshot an enemy than by berating their beloved school mascot.

Luckily, that's pretty easy, because one out of every four mascots is braindead, lame-ass copy of somebody else's cherished logo-spawn. It's time to call out the top ten unoriginal D-I mascots.

For you stat geeks, there are 347 schools in NCAA Division I. There are not 347 D-I mascots. In fact, 93 schools -- 27 percent, as in more than one in four -- use variations on one of just ten mascots. That, my friends, is plain and simple me-too laziness and deserves to be mocked outright for its inanity. So, here we go.

Below, I rank each mascot by its lack of originality. The number of schools that employ the basic form of a mascot is listed first, then additional tiebreaker points are listed in parentheses for schools that use lame variations -- like appending a color (Red, Blue, Black, Golden, Scarlet) or habitat (Wild, Sky, Sea) -- to spice up a tired avatar.

Variations with a little more effort (Bengals instead of Tigers, for example) get cut some slack, mostly to break ties. Tired mascots used by a greater number of BCS schools are also ranked higher, because clearly the big dogs could afford to rebrand themselves with something unique. Also, Auburn, which has three mascots -- Tigers, War Eagles, and Plainsmen -- is cited more than once, and thus earns a place in the tenth circle of Unoriginal Mascot Hell.

And now, the Least Original NCAA D-I Mascots:

1. Bulldogs - 13 (+1) schools - Alabama A&M, Bryant, Butler, The Citadel, Drake, Fresno State, Georgia, Gonzaga, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, NC Asheville, Samford, South Carolina State, Yale. (Runnin' Bulldogs) Gardner-Webb.
   For pure, unadulterated unoriginality, nothing tops a Bulldog as a mascot. We get it, you're tough and scrappy and look like Winston Churchill. Also, you make a mess on the rug, are easily domesticated, and everyone prefers you neutered. Pick a new dog, dawgs.
   
2. Tigers - 13 (+1) schools - Clemson, Grambling State, Jackson State, Louisiana State, Memphis, Missouri, Pacific, Princeton, Savannah State, Tennessee State, Texas Southern, Towson, Auburn. (Bengals) Idaho State.
   The only reason that Tigers don't top this list is because Idaho State had the mild burst of creativity to call themselves the "Bengals." This, however, does indict LSU, who attempt to cover up their bland tigerness by referring to themselves as the "Bayou Bengals." Nice try, but you're still part of a baker's dozen (plus one) of mindless copycats. If you need a nickname to distract and distinguish from your actual mascot, maybe you need a new avatar for your athletic teams, pal.
   
3. Eagles - 11 (+5) schools - American, Boston College, Coppin State, Eastern Michigan, Eastern Washington, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Morehead State, NC Central, Southern Mississippi, Winthrop. (Golden Eagles) Marquette, Oral Roberts, Tennessee Tech. (Purple Eagles) Niagara. (War Eagles) Auburn.
   American U is about the only school on this list who could make a reasonable case for claiming the Eagles, as the bald eagle is the official mascot of America, and if you're going to take your brand image from the USA, you might as well go whole hog...er, bird. The rest of you are just trying to cash in on the cachet of Uncle Sam's favorite fowl, losers.
   
4. Wildcats - 9 schools - Davidson, Arizona, Bethune-Cookman, Kansas State, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Northwestern, Villanova, Weber State.
   A mascot so unoriginal none of these guys could even be bothered to switch it up. No Fightin' Wildcats or Golden Wildcats? Nope, just nine tame pussies squatting over the same kitty-litter name. Five of the six BCS conferences are represented here. Davidson, expect your ACC invite any day now to complete the set.
   
5. Bears - 7 (+5) schools - Baylor, Brown, California, Central Arkansas, Mercer, Missouri State, Morgan State, Northern Colorado. (Grizzlies) Montana. (Golden Grizzlies) Oakland. (Black Bears) Maine. (Bruins) Belmont, UCLA.
   There is only one bear, and his name is Smokey. Until one of these institutions single-handedly teaches multiple generations of Americans to prevent forest fires, they can all go take a crap in the woods. Also, when Goldilocks is your archnemesis, you aren't very intimidating.
   
6. Panthers - 6 (+1) schools - Eastern Illinois, Georgia State, High Point, Milwaukee, Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh, Prairie View A&M. (Golden Panthers) Florida International.
   Okay, for those that don't know, Panther is generic for "big scary cat." In Africa it means a leopard, in South America it means a jaguar, and in North America it means a cougar. Get back to us when you figure out exactly what kind of feline you want to be, and then we'll divvy up an actual mascot amongst the lot of you.
   
7. Cougars - 6 Schools - Brigham Young, Chicago State, College of Charleston, Houston, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Washington State.
   Just to be clear, you're not trying to associate yourself with an over-40 woman on the prowl for younger men, right? The fact that I have to ask you this question should tell you something.
   
8. Huskies - 5 schools - Connecticut, Houston Baptist, Northeastern, Northern Illinois, Washington
   Yes, there are three different mascots that are shared by five schools, so which is worst? The Huskies are the prime offenders amongst the fiver-timers as two different BCS schools are proud to call themselves sled dogs, proving that at least four of these guys should have known the moniker was taken. Also, unless you lay eyes on the (entirely unintimidating dog-food-label-inspired) logos for each school, you could be forgiven for assuming that each team is populated entirely by moderate fat-asses. Time to to put this puppy down, fellas.
   
9. Spartans - 5 schools - Michigan State, NC Greensboro, Norfolk State, San Jose State, South Carolina Upstate
   At least Michigan State is the lone BCS outfit to lay claim to the people of Sparta, but even they have to nickname themselves Sparty to prevent confusion with the mid-majors. Leonidas would spear you in the gut for such effrontery. And when a guy who goes into battle wearing nothing more than a red cape, leather thong, and body oil thinks you're soiling his legacy, you need to consider a new namesake.
   
10. Rams - 5 schools - Colorado State, Fordham, Rhode Island, Virginia Commonwealth, Winston-Salem State
    Five squads fall under the this ungulate, none of them BCS schools. Nobody on this list has ever made a Final Four or a BCS Bowl. Clearly, the male sheep is a sign of great success, eh boys? The first school to switch out the horn-head logo with a screenshot of some Random Access Memory gets excused from the karmic beatdowns for...oh...let's say five minutes.
    
11. Hawks - 4 (+11) schools - Hartford, Maryland Eastern Shore, Monmouth, St. Joseph's. (Hawkeyes) Iowa. (Jayhawks) Kansas. (Mountain Hawks) Lehigh. (Redhawks) Miami of Ohio, Seattle, Southeast Missouri State. (Seahawks) NC Wilmington, Wagner. (Skyhawks) Tennessee Martin. (Warhawks) Louisiana Monroe.
    Honorable mention goes to a mascot that enjoys such a wide range of minor variations, but the sad truth is, if someone shouts "Go Hawks" from the stands, they could mean any one of 15 schools. That isn't distinction, that's just dumb.

Healthcare reform explained using napkin illustrations

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

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Nerd Word of the Week: Crit

Image via Wikipedia

Crit (v.) - A shortened vernacular form of critical hit, critical attack, or critical success; to inflict a particularly devastating or unusually effective attack on an opponent or object, usually within the context of a tabletop roleplaying (RPG) or video game. Used as a verb, as in "I totally critted that orc," or a noun, as in "Was that a crit or just normal damage?" Like all such game-centered terms, it creeps into common usage for geeks, sometimes used to describe any particularly successful action. The accepted antonym is a critical failure, also known as a crit-fail, wherein the worst possible outcome of a situation or attempted action comes to pass. Geeks often use crit-fail to describe their attempts at socialization or romance which, given that we use terms like crit-fail in basic conversation, is a pretty good indication of why we crit-fail socialization and romance.

In a gaming context, crits and crit-fails are most often associated with rolls of a twenty-sided die, otherwise known as a D20. In a significant number of tabeltop roleplaying game systems, rolling a 20 on a D20 is an automatic critical success or critical hit, and a roll of one is an automatic crit-fail. Thus, the ubiquity of geek t-shirts that invoke D20s and their related terms (see here, here, here and here).

I bring it up because: Today is the first day of Gen Con 2009, one of the two largest tabletop gaming conventions in the United States, the other being the Origins Convention. For the next four days, 25,000 hardcore gamers will descend on Indianapolis and large sectors of the geek blogosphere will be overcome with news of the latest Dungeons & Dragons supplements, miniature wargaming models, and collectible card game (CCG) franchises. Pretty much any and every major non-electronic geek game will be on display, so brace yourself for an online tidal wave of nomenclature only slightly less obtuse than that employed by Internet daytraders. And if you get cornered by one of the us nerdspeakers, just tell us we crit-failed the explanation and we'll downshift to English. Maybe.

Depressed I'm not going to South by Southwest,

Image by cackhanded via Flickr

For most of 2008, I had plans to attend South by Southwest Interactive for the first time. Initially as an employee of CNET, then as an employee of VuPal, then as a co-founder of GameJabs. (It's been an eventful year, employment-wise.) For various business and economic reasons, all those plans fell through, and as I search for my next day-job, I have to be more conservative with my discretionary funds.

Theoretically, I could go to SXSWi on the pretense of finding a day-job, but I'm not truly convinced that any job I'd find there would be different from most of the other jobs I've already found for which I'm qualified. As to why I'm having trouble getting one of those jobs? I don't want to take a drastic hit to my standard of living. As a Web content/product/social media guy, most of the work for me is in New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco. Thus, I'd either need to telecommute from Louisville (where my wife, family, and insanely affordable 3-bedroom house are employed and/or located) or I'd need to be paid far more than anyone is willing to pay me.

Paying several hundred dollars to attend an event that help me discover jobs I can't accept is bad business, which is a shame, because I'd very much benefit from the educational and networking opportunities to be found there. I'll just live vicariously through the 15 or so friends and colleagues that are attending, and hope that if any of them find out someone is looking for a kickass, SEO-savvy writer/editor/strategist, that they think of me.

Alas.

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