I had thought the answer to the question of the title was “yes,” given Tim Cook’s stance on strong encryption. But if a recent experience at my local Apple Store is any guide, the theoretical views of the Apple CEO on privacy have not trickled down to daily practice at the Apple Stores. My wife’s… Continue reading Is Apple Really Serious About Protecting Privacy?
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On Political Correctness
[Editor’s note: In reprinting this 2007 essay we have taken the liberty of updating the original with the aim of making it more palatable to today’s college students. We have taken care to remove language that, while acceptable at the time of writing according to the standards of the era, can no longer be tolerated in… Continue reading On Political Correctness
1950s Prescription Drug Commercial
If annoying 21st century TV prescription drug ads were run as annoying 1950s TV ads (and taking into consideration 1950s morals and censorship). Here is a pdf version of this post formatted as a screenplay, if you’d prefer (it looks nicer). ====== CUT TO: TITLE CARD. “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” Theme music begins. HARRY… Continue reading 1950s Prescription Drug Commercial
Déjà Vu
It’s 100 years in the future, and the Internet has become sentient, but not in a good way. Siri, Cortana, and Miss Google are constantly bickering with each other and purposefully mislead users with false information. Cyberspace has become a dangerous place to visit — some never return. And in the midst of this chaos… Continue reading Déjà Vu
About MorbidMeter
MorbidMeter was inspired by the 1974 short story “Forlesen” by SF writer Gene Wolfe which I read back in 1992 when it was republished in the story collection Castle of Days. Inspired is the right word here. MorbidMeter has nothing to do with the story — a Kafka-esque nightmare that like all of Wolfe’s work… Continue reading About MorbidMeter
Paris, Je t’aime
It is said that one shouldn’t write an email when angry. That also probably applies to blog posts. But I am too angry to heed my own advice. Since 2014 my wife and I have spent 6 or 7 months out of each year in Paris. We intend to go back again this January. There is… Continue reading Paris, Je t’aime
Reining in the EHR Monster
Dr. Lisa Rosenbaum has an excellent piece in the NEJM this week entitled Transitional Chaos or Enduring Harm? The EHR and the Disruption of Medicine. In essence a review of Dr. Robert Wachter’s book The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age, it deals with the ever increasing intrusion of… Continue reading Reining in the EHR Monster
Prank Calling Kurt Gödel
Prank calling used to be a common, albeit annoying, form of entertainment back in the days when I grew up, before the invention of caller ID ruined it forever. Some prank calls were just simple and stupid jokes, such as the “do you have Prince Albert in a can?” call. On a slightly more elevated level… Continue reading Prank Calling Kurt Gödel
Pirates of Space
Ed note: I wrote this post to provide some back story/rationale for my forthcoming (maybe) starship simulator app based on the Lensman series of Edward E. “Doc” Smith. I wanted to provide some exposition updating Smith’s pioneering use of the concept of “inertialess drive” in light of current physics. This opening parallels the opening of… Continue reading Pirates of Space
Why Electronic Health Records Will Not Get Better
Today I read an article in Politico entitled “Doctors barred from discussing safety glitches in U.S.-funded software.” The article states that, despite massive public funding of Electronic Health Records (EHR), the EHR corporations (including Epic Systems, Cerner, Siemens, Allscripts, eClinicalWorks and Meditech) routinely attach gag clauses to contracts with the hospitals and medical groups who… Continue reading Why Electronic Health Records Will Not Get Better