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Monday, July 30, 2018

Is almond milk fake milk?

Kate Yoder of Grist reports that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering the matter of plant milk.  More specifically, the US dairy industry is trying to get the agency to create regulation restricting the term "milk" to the product of lactation, e.g., cow's milk.  Such a rule would ban the application of "milk" to plant-based liquids, e.g., almond milk.

I had the pleasure to see The Incredibles 2 this weekend.  It was an enjoyable movie and a worthy sequel to the original Incredibles, in spite of the 14 years it took to bring out. (Spoiler alert!)

As with the original movie, an important theme of the sequel is the relationship between technology and the self.  The first film featured a conflict between superheroes and a hyper-technological villain named Syndrome. 

An interesting piece by Sophie Werthan in Slate reports that Facebook is developing a tool to change pictures so that closed eyes appear to be open.

In technical terms, the tool employs an Artificial Intelligence technique that learns to insert realistic, open eyes where closed ones are detected in photos.  The point is to help overcome disappointment when users blink in what would otherwise be a nice picture of them.

I recently discussed the matter of authenticity in connection with soymilk.  I asked: Is soymilk milk?  Fake milk? 

Adrienne Lafrance at the Atlantic has raised a similar issue regarding a basketball game. The first half of a recent Knicks-Warriors NBA game was played without the usual sound effects: Music, entertainment, sound effects, etc.  It was described by management as an opportunity to enjoy the game "in its purest form."

Monday, March 6, 2017

Is soymilk milk?

Candice Choi published an interesting article in STAT about a controversy regarding "fake milk".  Dairy producers in the USA are asking the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on products with names such as "soymilk", arguing that they are not really milk under FDA rules.

“Mammals produce milk, plants don’t,” said Jim Mulhern, president of the National Milk Producers Federation.

Monday, February 6, 2017

What makes a car authentic?

Mike Hanlon posted an interesting article centered on the upcoming auction of a 1952, Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle. This particular Beetle is distinguished by the fact that it has had only one owner since it was made and has been in storage for forty years.  Thus, it is in good shape with just the sort of wear that would be expected from a few years' normal usage.

It is expected to fetch between €55,000 to €80,000 ($60,000 to $85,000), considerably more than it cost the original owner.

An interesting article by Alice Hopton on CBC news discusses when people might be required to do without their smartphones.

The article describes Yondr, a small pouch in which smartphones may be locked during concerts, classes, and other social gatherings.  Yondr's inventor, Graham Dugoni, argues that some people's habit of recording concerts, rather than just experiencing them unfiltered, undermines the point of such events, which is:

Friday, October 28, 2016

The ultimate tuque

John Brownlee at FastCompany describes the "ultimate tuque",  a version of the hat most associated with Canada.  Designed by Toronto design firm Frontier, the tuque aims to get this iconic piece of headgear right.

In terms of function, the Frontier tuque is designed to address many common complaints about tuques, such as scratchy material, lack of warmth, retention of sweat, and being too tight. It may be the most technotonic tuque of all time!