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GeekNights Monday - Tech News Roundup May 2013

MrPeriodMrPeriod
edited May 2013 in GeekNights

Tonight on GeekNights, we run through a tech news roundup, covering Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo's updates to Flickr, the FDA's upcoming decisions regarding triclosan in antibacterial soap, the first real augmented reality overlay glasses, and Yahoo in general. Rym challenges you to set up MRTG, and we talk at length about Scott's newfound love of reality television thanks to Strip Search and Kitchen Nightmares.

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Comments

  • YoshoKatanaYoshoKatana
    Bleh. I had to muck about with RRDTool in the past. That documentation reads like ancient sorcery lore. I'm not going anywhere near MRTG.
  • RymRym
    Bleh. I had to muck about with RRDTool in the past. That documentation reads like ancient sorcery lore. I'm not going anywhere near MRTG.
    Seriously, it's trivial to set up, is well documented, and requires a basic understanding of SNMP to monitor what I asked.

    I would never hire a sysadmin who couldn't set that up. It covers so many aspects of competency in one short, simple task.

  • YoshoKatanaYoshoKatana
    edited May 2013
    Oh blerg. My last sentence was supposed to be "If it's anything like RRDTool..." But after a cursory look over the documentation, it doesn't look nearly as arcane. Sorry, my brain's kind of burnt out tonight. 10 hours of bugfixes today.
    Post edited by YoshoKatana on
  • AndrewAndrew
    edited May 2013
    I think the best show featuring Gordon is his first documentary series, Boiling Point. It starts with him opening his own restaurant and really shows you how much of a perfectionist he is in his (then) goal to obtain three Michelin Stars.
    Post edited by Andrew on
  • RochelleRochelle
    I'm in the same boat as Scott. I've been getting into Kitchen Nightmares due to the huge internet broo-haha with Amy's Baking Company.

    I've stated in my Twitters that the US version is definitely sensationalized vs. the laid back UK version. I think Gordon Ramsay does a good job in trying to help each restaurant find their niche based upon locality and what is missing.

    However, that being said upon research, most of the restaurants that Gordon Ramsay helped have mostly closed down or were sold off. I think there is only one restaurant that still has the original owners/chefs. It's that Indian place in NY called Dillons. It was season 1 episode 2.

    Also one dude also apparently committed suicide.

    And on a related note, Amy's Baking Co is reopening today to bring "the other side" of the controversy. If anyone finds video of this, let me know.
  • AprecheApreche
    It's kind of crazy that Dillons is still open. That place was probably the nastiest, and was really portrayed as not having a chance in hell. A lot of other places really were much better off, but failed. The thing is, even though most of the restaurants failed in the long run, he was able to boost many of them to be the best they could possibly be in their circumstances. It's just that a lot of those at their best still weren't good enough. For a lot of the restaurants, relocation is one of the only ways to save them, but that isn't something he can do in a week.

    If he can get the worst possible restaurant situation and boost it up to almost normal, imagine what he could do with an ok-ish restaurant that is getting by. Instead of turning Fs into Cs, let's see him turn Bs into A+s.
  • AndrewAndrew
    There is a UK episode where he tries to help the chef obtain a Michelin star.
  • AprecheApreche
    Just watched that episode yesterday. The guy was basically making food that was overcomplicated in Scotland where nobody wanted to eat or pay for it. He tried to do too much with it.
  • AndrewAndrew
    My contribution of tech news is this video of the unmanned X-47B doing touch and gos on an aircraft carrier
  • ChurbaChurba
    edited May 2013
    However, that being said upon research, most of the restaurants that Gordon Ramsay helped have mostly closed down or were sold off. I think there is only one restaurant that still has the original owners/chefs. It's that Indian place in NY called Dillons. It was season 1 episode 2.
    Fourteen out of Twenty-four on the UK version(and two were sold, but still operate). The US version, 39 out of 59 closed, 22 remain open, counting the restaurants that were sold, but not closed.

    Though, keep in mind, some of these restaurants were closing down years after Ramsay came through, and more than a few of them closed as a direct result of Owners simply going back to what they were doing before.

    Post edited by Churba on
  • open_sketchbookopen_sketchbook
    Besides, restaurants tend to be pretty risky businesses anyway. There are no non-fast food places in my town right now which have been there more than five years, and most are less than two years old. New restaurants are constantly opening and closing in the same few buildings.
  • Anthony HemanAnthony Heman
    My town has a fairly healthy restaurant culture. The atmosphere is actually pretty sweet for small bars and restaurants. There are some failures every year, but there are some places that have been in business for a long time and are minor landmarks now.
  • jtvhjtvh
    SOAP joke. I see what you did there.
  • NisslNissl
    edited May 2013
    I work at an institute that has one of the half-dozen or so labs that released the bulk of the data on triclosan. Triclosan isn't actually very good at killing bacteria, and in addition to possible hormonal effects it also messes with calcium channel responses. Two places you're going to find a lot of calcium channels are your heart and brain. Triclosan is apparently very good at giving mice heart attacks; lots of humans are carrying otherwise lethal doses that have been somewhat inactivated by the liver. But who can say whether it actually has caused lots of heart attacks in marginal situations where the heart is damaged, not functioning at full capacity, or under stress. Triclosan also fucks up neural development pretty badly although it likely won't cross the blood-brain barrier in a healthy human.

    The largest soap companies are planning to phase it out over the next few years because the data looks really bad, but perhaps the FDA will force their hands faster.

    Also, Tumblr's been selling premium themes for about a year now already. It's not particularly obvious, though; I only found it because I went looking after reading an interview with the company head. Investing in Tumblr wasn't a terrible idea, either; most investors probably got a significant multiple return depending on when they got in.
    Post edited by Nissl on
  • Dragonmaster LouDragonmaster Lou
    Heck, I avoid just about all the antibacterial soaps and stuff out there mostly because it's of marginal effectiveness, at best (something I realized even before seeing some of the data you referenced), but also because even if it was effective, it could be aiding in the evolution of resistant strains of bacteria. Even if triclosan was effective, its use should be limited to hospitals and other environments where they need that sort of sterility. Regular ol' soap and water is more than effective for washing your hands with at home. For surfaces, just use diluted bleach or hydrogen peroxide to sanitize them.
  • NeitoNeito
    The main problem isn't just the immunity. It's that, until recently, Triclosan was the Megazord of antibacterials; you pulled it out when there was nothing left that could stop things.
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    Tech New Roundups are my favourite episodes. The reality TV talk at the start of this makes it a classic, in my book.
  • chaosof99chaosof99
    edited May 2013
    Some interesting thoughts in the wake of the Tumblr acquisition by Hank Green, who is basically a professional YouTuber (he runs like 6 channels, including SciShow and CrashCourse, and he runs VidCon):
    Post edited by chaosof99 on
  • XefasXefas
    edited May 2013
    If he can get the worst possible restaurant situation and boost it up to almost normal, imagine what he could do with an ok-ish restaurant that is getting by. Instead of turning Fs into Cs, let's see him turn Bs into A+s.
    There's another decent "Gordon Ramsay is helpful and doesn't yell" show, Ramsay's Best Restaurant.

    It's pretty short - only one season. At the beginning, he picks 16 of, in his opinion, the best restaurants in the UK, all already highly successful and popular, and tests them to determine a "best of the best". But, in the process, he also coaches them on how to improve beyond their current, lofty A+ status.

    Its on Netflix, I think?
    Post edited by Xefas on
  • MattMatt
    Yeah that just popped up on my Netflix front page last night. Tempted but I don't think I want to get into another reality series at the moment.
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