Not A Thing!

Episode 181

The Panama Papers prove tax evasion is still alive and well.

A Chinese funeral home offers 3d printing services.

The TSA spent (at least) $47k on an app that randomly points left or right.

Mississippi (like Georgia and North Carolina) passes a patently discriminatory law.

A Video-Vigilante (and all around creepy person) uses a drone to catch people in the act.

The USGS finds Texas and Oklahoma are more likely to have earthquakes than California!

The FCC creates a template for broadband information borrowing from Nutrition Facts labeling.

Spoiler Alert:
Air Quotes are Not A Thing on a podcast.

Episode 180
Microsoft releases then silences its Twitter AI bot after it turns horribly racist.

The CRACUN is unleashed – drones that can sleep underwater for two months then fly out!

Palo Alto, CA considers housing subsidies if you make less than $250k.

Ideal Conceal looks to make a gun that appears like a cellphone.

There are at least two methods theoretically for the FBI to unlock a phone without Apple compromising the OS.

Boom Aeronautics looks to make commercial supersonic transport A Thing.

Spoiler Alert:
Brendan prefers katanas. Alan prefers claymores. #OpenCarrySwords

Episode 179
You can buy a human sized personal quadcopter.

Drones can now be launched from F-16 fighter jets.

Genetically modified mosquitos to be released in Florida.

Google’s AlphaGo AI has a 5-game tournament with a human grandmaster.

Honda to release an entry-level car with self-driving features.

Cross-platform play is announced between XBox One, PS4, and PC.

Silicon Valley is getting its own comic convention.

Spoiler Alert:
Alan knows too much about Latin.

Episode 178

Scientists work out how to mind control mice with magnets.

When is it okay to torture a robot?

Scary but interesting tech: the Hotplug for stealing a computer.

The best (only?) arcade emulation software MAME goes open-source.

On group chat and its place in electronic communication.

FCC extends universal lifeline service to broadband and wireless.

Spoiler Alert:
We still don’t know. Magnets. How do they work?

Episode 177

A quickish Thing! and Not A Thing! about Norway.

China is building a huge radio telescope and relocating 9000 people to do so.

A French Pasta maker is selling out of pasta made with insects.

The FDA clears an exoskeleton for home use.

Facebook closes down pages related to recreational marijuana.

Parents are hiring drug sniffing dog teams to search their children’s houses.

California considers doing away with Daylight Saving Time.

Apple stands up to the FBI’s request for an iphone backdoor.

Spoiler Alert:
Dogs that sniff for specific Things are a Thing

Episode 176
Twitter eschews Reverse Chronological for an algorithmic timeline.

Hackers hold a hospital in Los Angeles for a bitcoin ransom.

Monopoly goes paperless.

ODately looks to be an online dating concierge service.

We get it Congressbro, you vape.

Girl Scout Cookies and the wine they pair best with.

Mattel releases a 3D printer for kids called the Thingmaker.

Spoiler Alert:
We talk of Deadpool

We are A/B Testing #LizardPeople and #ReptilianOverloads

Episode 175
The White House released its cybersecurity plan, BONUS: The EFF responds.

A bipartisan bill in Congress for blocking those that are out to block strong encryption.

A company hopes to combine drones, photography, and 3d-printing.

Researchers discover that horses can recognize people’s negative emotions.

Cryonics scientists achieve a breakthrough in preserving mammal brains.

Spoiler Alert:
We talk briefly about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

We would like a #PodcastPony

Episode 174

We’re retiring #FlatEarth along with the tweetfight and RAP BATTLE between B.o.B. and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Instagram model responds to unsolicited dick pics in a novel way.

A programmer finds a way to troll telemarketers with an AI bot.

Microsoft is testing modular, underwater datacenters.

A Dutch company makes fireproof, flexible ceramics.

Alan took a very metal class for blacksmithing at The Crucible in Oakland.

The Dutch police are testing drone interdiction via eagle.

Spoiler Alert:
In light of retiring #FlatEarth we are introducing #LizardPeople.

Episode 172
Verizon is selling data cap exemptions.

Netflix is cracking down on VPN users (but VPN providers won’t be deterred).

A supposed “trend” in parenting: 3d printing fetuses.

Using 3d-scanning to make shoes fit better.

Univision buys a stake in The Onion – ¡Ay, Dios mio!

GoPro and GPS enabled vultures find garbage in Peru.

Implantable, wireless sensors that dissolve in the body.

Spoiler Alert:
We’ll never get to Star Trek without sensors.