Dan W's Scrapbook

“We all knew the writing staff of Futurama was brainy, but this is something else. To work out the ridiculous brain switching plot line from last night’s hilarious episode, writer Ken Keeler (who also just happens to have a PhD in mathematics) ended up writing and proving an entirely new theorem.”

— Futurama | Futurama Theorem | The Prisoner of Benda | Geekosystem

“The nation’s two largest carriers added more connected devices last quarter than postpaid subscriptions, according to data released this morning by Chetan Sharma, a wireless analyst. Carriers added 2.6 million connected devices and 1.2 million contract customers. In his quarterly update, Sharma noted that wireless penetration in the U.S. reached 95 percent and surpassed 100 percent if one takes out children younger than five. While there are only 20 million connected devices out of 311.3 million subscriptions, the devices are where the growth is.”

— Stats: The Age of the Internet of Things Has Dawned

“On the other hand it’s a laborious, repetitive and time-consuming task and I can’t believe I’m still working my way through it two weeks later. This is the un-glamorous, data-creation end of the glitzy, showbiz world of online mapping.”

— “Week 374” from the blog “Weeknotes - Phil Gyford”

“Platinum is a vital component not only of catalytic converters but also of fuel cells - and supplies are running out. It has been estimated that if all the 500 million vehicles in use today were re-equipped with fuel cells, operating losses would mean that all the world’s sources of platinum would be exhausted within 15 years. Unlike with oil or diamonds, there is no synthetic alternative: platinum is a chemical element, and once we have used it all there is no way on earth of getting any more.”

— Further reading - New Scientist