It’s hard to believe that it’s already August 1st, and yet it felt like October early this morning. Looks like like we might be back to summer weather for a bit so enjoy it while you can. Here in Beachwood, we recently brought on employee #30 (assuming my math is right and the ‘about us‘ page on the website is up to date), and we continue to grow. #29 (Larry) wasn’t the new guy for very long (six weeks, maybe), and now it’s Nick. Chances are you won’t be speaking with him, though, as he’s an application developer and not an engineer. Instead of fixing problems for our users, he’ll be working on internal issues and is the first developer we’ve ever employed.
As for the outside world, there wasn’t any earth shattering technology news this week, but I still found a lot of good information to share on topics including ghost students, AI doctors, airplane toilets, and more. Sorry Clark…
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Power Outages
A proposed new AI data center in Wyoming would use more electricity than all of the homes in the state combined. Yes, Wyoming is the least populous state in the Union, but that’s still a big number.
Ghost Students
The ingenuity of hackers and cyber criminals will never cease to amaze me. Not sure why they can’t use their collective brain power to cure cancer or put a good team on the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium, but where would the fun be in that? “Ghost students” are people who use celebrity names to apply for colleges and financial aid. And amazingly (especially as it relates to the money piece of things), it works!
AI Doctors
As if people self-diagnosing using WebMD isn’t bad enough, it seems that people are now using AI solutions to figure out whether they need a knee reattached or finger amputated. And while this piece is clearly marketing fluff courtesy of Microsoft, it’s pretty interesting to see how well various AI solutions do when taking medical licensing examinations and what those AI tools may allow medicine to look like in the future.
Airplane Toilets
When my in-laws built a new house back in the late 90s, we were impressed with what we referred to as the ‘turbo flush’ toilets that seemed to have as much power as those found on airplanes. It turns out, however, that airplane toilets get their turbo boost from physics rather than mechanics.
And on the topic of sanitation and germs, a new report tells us the most germ-infested areas of hotel rooms. Note that the comments are at least as good (if not better) than the article itself.
Nation State Hackers
The news is full of stories about Russian and North Korean hackers and all the tricks up their collective sleeves (same goes for China). And while we hear little to nothing about the efforts our government-affiliated cyber spies are up to, it sure would be interesting to know how well we’re competing against the rest of the world and how we’re doing it.
Three Billion Served
THow many old iPhones do you have kicking around the house in various junk drawers? I know we have one or two, which contribute to the fact that Apple just sold its 3 billionth (with a ‘b’) iPhone. That’s a lot.
Nancy's Nuggets
I can’t stand Amazon and use it only as a last resort, but Nancy’s a big fan. So, I’m assuming she sent me this one for inclusion in this newsletter, and not for my own personal usage. If you’re an Amazon user, make sure not to fall for any of the scams currently making their way around the ether.
I’ll leave you this week with a couple of food items for your consideration. The first is on the best (according to one test kitchen) way to prepare bacon. Personally, some of the best bacon I’ve made recently has been on the flat top on our Weber grill, although the experts suggest that baking is the way to go. I’ll let you decide.
If you prefer sweet to savory, you might be excited to hear that Reese’s and Oreo have a pair of upcoming collabs; Reese’s Oreo Cups and Oreo’s Reese’s cookies. I’m not a huge sweets person, but Reese’s and Oreos are definitely my two favorites!
Go enjoy the nice weather!
Abbey