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Google’s Algorithm Is Lying to You About Onions

Google
Jason Tate

Tom Scocca, writing for Gizmodo:

A little under five years ago, I got angry about a piece of fake information, and I decided to do something about it. I was reading a recipe in the New York Times, and the recipe told me, as many, many recipes had told me before, that it would take about 10 minutes of cooking to caramelize onions.

I knew from personal experience that this was a lie. Recipes always said it took 5 or 10 minutes to caramelize onions, and when you followed the recipes, you either got slightly cooked onions or you ended up 40 minutes behind schedule. So I caramelized some onions and recorded how long it really took — 28 minutes if you cooked them as hot as possible and constantly stirred them, 45 minutes if you were sane about it — and I published those results on Slate, along with a denunciation of the false five-to-10 minute standard. […]

Not only does Google, the world’s preeminent index of information, tell its users that caramelizing onions takes “about 5 minutes” — it pulls that information from an article whose entire point was to tell people exactly the opposite. A block of text from the Times that I had published as a quote, to illustrate how it was a lie, had been extracted by the algorithm as the authoritative truth on the subject.

There are quite a few examples of how Google’s massively dropping the ball with their “one true answer” feature.

International Women’s Day/Day Without a Woman Strike

Women / Strike
Jason Tate

Today is International Women’s Day and the “Day Without a Woman” strike. Here’s a few articles I’ve found that are worth giving a read:

NARAL:

Today, we’re taking a moment to draw inspiration from the many moments in history where women have spoken truth to power, pushed back against oppression and injustice, and fought to make our country and our world safer and more equitable.

New York Times:

“This is the day to emphasize the unity between work done in the so-called formal economy and the domestic sphere, the public sphere and the private sphere, and how most working women have to straddle both,” says Ms. Bhattacharya. “Labor is understood to be work only at the point of production, but as women we know that both society and policy makers invisibilize the work that women do.” The strike calls for women to withhold labor, paid or unpaid, from the United States economy to show how important their contributions are.

The Guardian:

Our roundup of this year’s celebrations, featuring global events and rallies to mark the ongoing fight for women’s equality

The Washington Post:

That’s no coincidence. From the beginning, International Women’s Day was tied tightly to activism and labor strikes. In fact, the day was named in 1909 by the Socialist Party of America to honor a 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York City.

Errata Security’s Notes on the WikiLeaks CIA Leak

Technology
Jason Tate

Robert Graham, writing for Errata Security:

I thought I’d write up some notes about the Wikileaks CIA “#vault7” leak. This post will be updated frequently over the next 24 hours.

The CIA didn’t remotely hack a TV. The docs are clear that they can update the software running on the TV using a USB drive. There’s no evidence of them doing so remotely over the Internet. If you aren’t afraid of the CIA breaking in an installing a listening device, then you should’t be afraid of the CIA installing listening software.

The CIA didn’t defeat Signal/WhatsApp encryption. The CIA has some exploits for Android/iPhone. If they can get on your phone, then of course they can record audio and screenshots. Technically, this bypasses/defeats encryption — but such phrases used by Wikileaks are highly misleading, since nothing related to Signal/WhatsApp is happening. What’s happening is the CIA is bypassing/defeating the phone. Sometimes. If they’ve got an exploit for it, or can trick you into installing their software.

This is a good post that corrects a lot of misinformation floating around.

The ‘Garden State’ Soundtrack — Where Are They Now?

Jason Tate

Craig Manning, writing for Modern Vinyl:

Few soundtracks rise to the level of cultural ubiquity that the 13-song Garden State album achieved. Along with the music from the FOX teen soap The O.C., the Garden State soundtrack was probably responsible for getting a lot of us out of our shitty adolescent music taste stages and pushing us toward more interesting, left-of-the-dial material. The album, put together by writer/director Zach Braff, was described as a mix CD of the songs he was listening to when he was writing the film’s screenplay. Needless to say, his mix CD changed a lot of lives.

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Best Medical Images of the Year

Camera
Jason Tate

The Wellcome Image Awards have showcased the best images related to healthcare and biomedical science taken within the last year:

The Wellcome Image Awards are Wellcome’s most eye-catching celebration of science, medicine and life. Now in their 20th year, the Awards recognise the creators of informative, striking and technically excellent images that communicate significant aspects of healthcare and biomedical science. Those featured are selected from all of the new images acquired by Wellcome Images during the preceding year. The judges are experts from medical science and science communication.

The Hawaiian bobtail squid is a personal favorite.

JetSmarter Tries To Extort Positive Coverage

The Verge
Jason Tate

T.C. Sottek, writing for The Verge:

We’ve seen plenty of aggressive requests from companies that want positive coverage, but perhaps none as absurd as what we just got from JetSmarter — a startup that’s been called the “Uber for private jets.” In exchange for a demonstration of the service (a round-trip flight in the US), JetSmarter sent us an agreement that demands an uncritical puff piece.

The rub? JetSmarter wanted the credit card number of a Verge reporter, so that it could charge them $2,000 if they didn’t publish a positive story “within 5 business days.”

Bold. I’ve never had a band or PR person try that.

Father John Misty Explains His Taylor Swift Lyric

Father John Misty
Jason Tate

Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, explained the Taylor Swift lyric from his new song “Total Entertainment Forever” in an interview with Exclaim:

Human civilizations have been entertaining themselves in disgusting ways all through human history — I mean, whether it’s lighting Christians on fire, or whatever. We have to consider that maybe there are ways in which we entertain ourselves now that are equally as disturbing. I think that that’s important — to not assume that everything about the way we live is the direct product of progress.

The fact of the matter is, I don’t want that to happen to Taylor Swift. That is the worst thing I can think of; that is so horrible. But again, this plays into progress, where like, the internet was supposed to be this new democracy, a utopia of information where everyone had a voice and we were all interconnected, and we would experience true democracy — and it turned into pornography, followed only by outrage. The tools represent some kind of technological advancement, but if we can’t act like more than angry ecstasy freaks with the most advanced technology in the world, then how much have we really progressed?

And if you don’t think that this virtual reality thing isn’t going to turn into sex with celebrities, then you’re kidding yourself. That face recognition stuff? I mean, there are people working on it right now. It’s absurd. Someone sitting with this headset on, you know? Oh God, it’s just, how many different ways do human beings need to masturbate?

So on the album there are more than a few songs where I’m saying ‘Is this progress? Like, is this really what progress looks like?’

Future First Artist in History to Have Back-to-Back Number One Albums

Jason Tate

Future is the first artist in history to have two different number one albums two weeks in a row:

Future is the first act in the nearly 61-year history of the chart to achieve back-to-back No. 1 debuts in successive weeks. The rapper is also the first artist to succeed himself at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 at all (counting not only debuts) since 1968. He’s additionally the first soloist ever to claim the honor.

In Conversation: David Letterman

David Letterman
Jason Tate

David Marchese has a fantastic interview with David Letterman:

It’s still hard. I have trouble operating the phone. That’s the God’s truth. I needed a pair of shoelaces. And I thought, Hell, where do you get shoelaces? And my friend said, there’s a place over off I-84, it’s the Designer Shoe Warehouse. So I go over there, and it’s a building the size of the Pentagon. It’s enormous. If you took somebody from — I don’t know, pick a country where they don’t have Designer Shoe Warehouses — blindfolded them and turned them loose in this place, they would just think, You people are insane. Who needs this many shoes? It’s sinful. It’s one of these places where there’s no employees and every now and then there’s just a scrum of shoe boxes. I’m not finding the damn shoelaces, and finally I think, Maybe it’s one of those items they’ve got at the counter. I go up there and I’m nosing around the counter and, by God, there’s shoelaces. This is after about an hour. So now I’m waiting in line and the woman checking people out says in a big loud voice, “May I help our next shoe lover, please?” I just started to tremble. Nobody else seems to have a problem with going to a store! You don’t want to have painted yourself into some elite position where it’s “Bob, go out and get me some shoelaces.” It makes you feel stupid. Here’s where I’m comfortable: There’s a bait-and-tackle store near my house. They’ve got guys in there, and you can buy live bait, you can buy artificial bait, they’ll put new line on your reel. You can talk to them about rods. They’ll tell you where to go for a largemouth bass. That’s exactly where I want to be.

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Passion Pit Frontman Shares Essay About Mental Health

Passion Pit
Jason Tate

Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos has shared an essay on Facebook about mental health and horrific blog comments:

So in this tent, I had entered the lion’s den. It was the culmination of all of my childhood pain, but actualized on such an absurdly profound level, in that I was playing a show for a bunch of people I was absolutely certain did not like me, were not looking to be impressed but looking to watch me fail, and were, in fact, the comment section. They were my nightmare. And I was going to perform for them. Smiling.

And then I had, what I later learned, a literal breakdown. In front of the audience. That was not the art. But it was perceived as the art. It was perceived as insane, as melodramatic, as a cry for help. It was beyond a cry for help — that cry had been ignored, had been dismissed, had been mistaken for the antics of a “snowflake.”

‘Star Wars Rebels’ Renewed for Fourth Season

Jason Tate

Star Wars Rebels has been renewed for a fourth season:

Star Wars Rebels is set to return for a fourth season, Lucasfilm announced today, premiering later this year on Disney XD. Production is already underway. Marc Buhaj, senior vice president, programming and general manager, Disney XD said, “The team behind Star Wars Rebels delivers epic storytelling that has captivated fans of all ages across the globe. We’re excited to continue sharing the journey of these fan-favorite rebels with our audience in the fall.”

Carjacking Suspect Decides Not to Carjack Pennywise Guitarist in Redondo Beach

Pennywise
Jason Tate

Easy Reader News:

As Dragge sat at a stop, the Scion spun into his lane and came to a rest 10 feet away, he said.

A police squad car had apparently tapped the rear end of the Scion, in a maneuver known as a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique). Earlier during the chase, at Herondo Street and Hermosa Avenue, Hermosa Beach police had flattened one of the Scion’s rear tire with a tack strip.

“It looked like he was reaching for the driver side door handle and I thought for a moment he was coming for my truck. But if he was, he changed his mind when we made eye contact,” Dragge said. Dragge described the Scion driver as a small, Hispanic male in his early 20s, with a shaved head. Dragge is 6-foot-5, 300 pounds.

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Ford to Remove CD Player in New Car

NPR
Jason Tate

Ford will be removing the CD player from their upcoming 2018 EcoSport:

I’m going to pause for a moment and ask you all to fill in the blank. The Ford Motor Company is about to introduce a car that won’t have a – now, if you guessed steering wheel, you’re a bit early. If you guessed CD player, you’ve been paying attention. Ford is making a car without a CD player. Instead, it will let drivers stream music and receive satellite TV signals. NPR’s Sonari Glinton has this appreciation for the car CD player and a glimpse of the future.

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