Say goodbye to the password! New technology is making them irrelevant:

Say Goodbye to the Password: Cool new technology is making passwords irrelevant:

Passwords are effective when they are long, complicated, changed frequently, and most importantly, remembered. To combat these challenges, fingerprint readers, facial recognition, and voice recognition technologies are moving to replace them, but another strategy is being employed at Google. Google has recently given out token like USB drives containing encrypted security access to their employees. They plug them into their computer and access is granted. Looking into the future, some researchers have developed ways to identify patterns of an individual’s brain waves during certain tasks, which could be used as security access. Personally, I think the best idea to replace a password come from my friend Thai Nguyen who said that a Smart Watch (which I believe has little other use) may eventually grant access to all things in your life. Like a magic wand, the Smart Watch could open your garage door when you arrive home, unlock and start your car when you’re close, or allow you to access your computer by just sitting down in front of it. 

7 Mind-Blowing Numbers From the Lehman Brothers Disaster:

7 Mind-Blowing Numbers From the Lehman Brothers Disaster: Yesterday (9/15) was the 5th anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy filing. A couple highlights: 1. Lehman was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history by asset value at $639.4 Billion. 2. Lehman creditors will receive a paltry $.18 on every dollar they are owed. 3. The annual compensation of Lehman CEO Dick Fuld the year before the company went bankrupt…. $34.4 million. Wow.

 

Microsoft Offers $200 Gift Cards for Used iPads:

Microsoft Offers $200 Gift Cards for Used IPads:  In an effort to have their Surface Tablet gain market share, Microsoft will literally pay you to switch to their product. The intreiguing promotion runs from September 5th to October 27th and is limited to one iPad per person. While they will give you a minimum of $200 for your iPad, the Surface tablet starts at $349 and ranges to $799. I have a few questions: 1. if the Surface is so good, why are you paying me to switch? And more importantly, 2. What are they going to do with all the used iPads? I doubt they are going to ship them to a third world country like 2007, and 2011 Patriots Super Bowl gear. iPads have a very high resale value, so I can't believe that Microsoft is just going to have them destroyed, but they don't want them in circulation either. I feeling like Microsoft making a massive donation of iPads to a school somewhere would garner strange publicity they don't want. If you have an idea on what they might do with a huge supply of iPads leave it in the comments below. 

 

Why Fans of Bad Teams Are More Likely To Be Obese:

When teams lose, their fans eat fattier foods: Maybe this is why the Patriots’ fans are so good looking. Since the Patriots have only lost an average of 3.8 games/season since 2001 we don’t experience the drain of cognitive resources a loss causes and indulge in less healthy foods, like say a fan of the Cleveland browns, who average 10.3 losses/season in that same time span may. A team’s losses have also been linked to alcohol related crimes, domestic violence, and heart attacks for their fans. Victories seem to have the opposite effect on fans, boosting egos and enhancing the ability to delay gratification and resist temptation. I know that when the Patriots lose, I fall into a dark depression where I can’t watch ESPN or tolerate Jets fans. The emotional distress and lack of cognitive resources brought on by a loss make me irritable and less able to moderate my behavior. I may be an extreme case, but for the sake of Ohio, let’s hope this is the year the Browns figure it out.

The Forbes 400 Richest People in the US: 10 Facts and Figures I Found Interesting

The Forbes 400 Richest People in the United States: 10 Facts and Figures I found most interesting

1.       Bill Gates once again tops the list with $72 Billion.

2.       Warren Buffet grew his wealth by over $12 Billion last year.

3.       The average net worth of someone on the list is $5 Billion.

4.       Christy Walton, of Walmart is America’s richest woman with $34.5B

5.       T.Boone Pickens dropped off the list, but made up for it with this epic tweet.

6.       Mark Zuckerberg doubled his net worth last year on the back of the recent Facebook stock rally to land at number 6 with $19 Billion.

7.       The least wealthy person on the list is Nicholas Woodman. He only has good looks, youth and $1.3 Billion. That poor guy.

8.       The women on the list have a combined $156.6 illion.

9.       Elon Musk of Tesla, Solar City, Space X, and Hyper Loop fame came in at #61 with $6.1 Billion. I expect he’ll continue to rise quickly.

10.   The combined wealth of the list is $2.02 trillion dollars or the entire GDP of Russia. 

Managing your emotions in the aftermath of a shooting:

Managing your emotions in the aftermath of a shooting: Given today’s events, this post from the American Psychology Association is worth reviewing. You may wonder how these atrocities can happen, or feel helpless to stop them from occurring. It is typical for people to experience a wide range of emotions after an event like this. Even just hearing or reading about it can prompt shock, anger, sadness, fear, and a plethora of other emotions. The APA has several suggestions to help process and deal with the distress. I suggest reading the seven bulleted suggestions in the article.

 

How to survive a shooting at your office: Run. Hide. Fight.

How to survive an office shooting: Run. Hide. Fight.: With all the tragic acts of violence that have happened in the last 12 months, I can’t understate the importance of knowing how to respond when a violent situation erupts at the place where you spend much of your day; work. If you hear gunfire in your building or sense something dangerous your first act should be to run. Call 911 when you’re safe. If that isn’t an option, hide. If the worst happens and you’re confronted with the assailant, fight using whatever means or weapons you have available. Watch the six minute video for a quick overview of how to respond. Knowing your building’s exit routes and having a plan could save your life in the event of a terrible event like what happened today at the Navy Yard, last December at Sandy Hook Elementary,  last July in Aurora Colorado, or February 2012 at Chardon High School.

 

Summers withdraws from consideration as Fed Chairman, Yellen likely to get the job.

Lawrence Summers Withdraws his Name for Fed Chairmanship, Janet Yellen likely to get the nod: It’s the 5th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and current Fed Chairman Ben Bernake is stepping down after leading the economic recovery. Summers is a former Treasury secretary and top adviser to President Obama. He cites an acrimonious confirmation process that would not be in the best interest of the Federal Reserve and the nation’s economic recovery as his reason for withdrawing from contention. As he has been repeatedly questioned by congress, women’s groups, and the Senate Banking Committee for not being tough enough on Wall Street and hostile to women I understand his decision. Janet Yellen is likely to be the first female Fed Chairperson. Economic Justin Wolfers has Yellen atop the odds to be the next leader of the Fed.

 

Raising the Concordia

Attempt to right Costa Concordia begins: In one of the great tragedies of the Cruise industry, The Costa Concordia (owned by Carnival Cruise Lines) capsized when it struck a reef of the coast of Italy on January 13th, 2012 killing 32 people. Today, crews are working to remove the wrecked ship from the reef and are in search of the bodies that were never recovered. The captain is on trial for man slaughter. Today, I’m marveling at the engineering prowess being demonstrated as the ship is being rotated and lifted.