Introducing the marvelous Marilu Henner: actress, author, and HSAMer. What is HSAM you ask? HSAM stands for Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. There are less than 100 people worldwide who have been identified as having HSAM. However, this unique ability allows them to remember distinct details from nearly every single day of their lives. This can… Continue reading An Unforgettable Life: Part 1
No, I'm not talking about the action of subtraction as in a tax deduction... BORING. I'm talking about the art of observation, a process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion, from ignorance to knowledge and understanding. What do the popular genres of thriller, crime, and legal dramas all have in common? They use suspense… Continue reading A Study in Deduction
Yes, today is Memorial Day. No, this post is not about literal war, it's about music. My idea for this post initially came from my discovery of the Spotify setting for "normalized volume." It is on by default but can be turned off manually. I have chosen to turn it off and here's why: Normalized… Continue reading The Loudness War
So, uh, how'd we get here from my other posts on privacy/security/surveillance? Well, I finished out my spring semester and the writing course which I started this blog for... but realized I still have lots I want to share! Some topics I love to explore are psychology, sociology, philosophy, history, geopolitcs, etc. I'm gonna try… Continue reading The Science of Supertaskers
The whole of the internet can be broken down into three categories: the surface web, the deep web, and the dark web. The surface web includes sites that are indexed and can be found using a search engine such as Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Facebook. The Deep Web includes sites that are not indexed and… Continue reading The Darkest of Webs
While scrolling through the Tech section of the New York Times, I came across a book review for a new publication by Joanne McNeil, a writer well known for her essays on technology. From her website (currently under construction), I found a collection of video essays entitled "Just Browsing." I meant to only watch one… Continue reading [ Lurking ]
Due to COVID-19 and quarantine, the video communication software company, Zoom, has seen an exponential increase in their user base. On Sunday, the 12th of March, Zoom saw its largest increase of users in a single day, 600,000, and on Monday was rated as the top free iOS downloaded app. Founded in 2011, Zoom was… Continue reading Zoom Boom
While many think of cybersecurity as protecting hackers from stealing information such as passwords, bank accounts, etc., it also includes protecting medical facilities. For example, a recent cyber-attack targeted one of the largest COVID-19 testing hospitals in the Czech Republic, shutting down all of their computer servers. It was suspected to be a ransomware attack,… Continue reading COVID-19 Cybersecurity Concerns
Countries all around the world are increasing surveillance in order to monitor and contain the spread of coronavirus. In China, CCTV cameras are installed outside apartment buildings to ensure quarantine and drones fly overhead, telling people to wear their masks (see drone footage here). In South Korea, the government is using credit card transactions and… Continue reading Rise in Government Surveillance to Fight COVID-19
The city of San Diego has installed around 3,200 smart street lights and hopes to install 1,000 more in the near future. Before then, however, critics have asked that policy be reviewed and discussed regarding data collection and usage. Sensors on the street lights collect audio and video footage as well as "pedestrian and vehicle… Continue reading Watching Over
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