NBA: Warriors 121 v Thunder 118
Steph Curry wins the game with a three pointer from long range. Brilliant move or slack defence? Study the embedded video, at the 17 second mark (on the video not the game clock), Curry crosses the halfway line. Where is the Thunder defence? Curry is able to dribble unopposed to his favourite spot and he gets away an uncontested shot after a very long look.
This is bad defence from the Thunder. The coach has a lot of talking to do explaining this mess. Consider also that earlier in the game they gave up a handy lead over the Warriors, largely because the coach made some strange substitutions that let the Warriors back in the game.
Curry was simply being the class athlete that he is. His game winner wasn't even that hard a shot given the length of time he had to line it up. Study the video...
February 29, 2016
February 27, 2016
Azealia Banks The Big Big Beat
The new single from Azealia Banks is brilliant. Embedded below, if you don't like expletives then I'd advise not listening...
February 25, 2016
Trump as US President
Is there anything to fear from having Donald Trump as President?
Probably not. The office of President is balanced by Congress and the Supreme Court. If he were elected, it's likely much the same as happened to Obama would happen to Trump; that is, he'll be sidelined and distracted.
Will Trump be worse or better than Obama? That's more interesting, as the two have similarities and contrasting traits. I'll look at them here:-
Education: They were both solidly educated, with both interrupting their first degrees to complete somewhere else. In both cases they improved in moving. But intellectually they're both bright but not rocket scientists.
In their early years, Trump was subjected to discipline at a military academy while Obama hung out with the choom gang in Hawaii. Both played basketball, but Obama came off the bench, while Trump excelled in all departments athletically, not just basketball.
Trump takes the prize here then, he's more applied intellectually, and better athletically.
Writing: Both have written books. Obama's Dreams From My Father is beautifully written but I stopped half way through as Obama is a bigot, narrow minded and conceited. I didn't like him.
Trump's first book, The Art of the Deal, is entertaining and insightful. It's funny and informative. Trump comes across as a guy you'd like to know. The book contains advice every budding businessman should learn. Better learn from a book than the school of hard knocks.
Score this one for Trump.
Academic Rigour: Obama lectured in law, while Trump has hosted The Apprentice.
Score this one for Obama.
Business: Trump inherited wealth but, along with his siblings, built a major brand and real estate empire. Obama came from much humbler origins, but he did okay financially.
Score this one for Trump.
Parenting and Marriage: Trump has had multiple wives but his children are high achievers, he appears to be a really good father.
Obama's daughters are great kids too, but as yet untested. He's been married the whole time to Michelle but has been dishonest in acknowledging his previous live-in lover, an ethnic Chinese woman. Then there are persistent rumours of him being Gay. Divorce papers circulated between him and Michelle.
Trump appears a straight shooter. He marries but if it doesn't work he gets out. He's a devoted father. Obama is more devious, but he too is a good father. Score this one for Trump on the basis of his honesty.
Ethics: Both are unscrupulous. Trump's handling of the golf course in Scotland is an example. But then Obama has been accused of plagiarism or using a ghost writer.
Score this one even.
Politics: Both are neither right nor left. They tend to be populist and harness the media and social media. Obama's hope and change message was brilliant. He out organised Hillary. But Trump is learning that lesson and he's making waves.
Score this one for Obama.
Race and Sex: They're both racists and sexists. Score this one even.
Who is better? I score Trump 4, Obama 2, Even 2.
So this makes Trump potentially the better President, nothing to fear.
Probably not. The office of President is balanced by Congress and the Supreme Court. If he were elected, it's likely much the same as happened to Obama would happen to Trump; that is, he'll be sidelined and distracted.
Will Trump be worse or better than Obama? That's more interesting, as the two have similarities and contrasting traits. I'll look at them here:-
Education: They were both solidly educated, with both interrupting their first degrees to complete somewhere else. In both cases they improved in moving. But intellectually they're both bright but not rocket scientists.
In their early years, Trump was subjected to discipline at a military academy while Obama hung out with the choom gang in Hawaii. Both played basketball, but Obama came off the bench, while Trump excelled in all departments athletically, not just basketball.
Trump takes the prize here then, he's more applied intellectually, and better athletically.
Writing: Both have written books. Obama's Dreams From My Father is beautifully written but I stopped half way through as Obama is a bigot, narrow minded and conceited. I didn't like him.
Trump's first book, The Art of the Deal, is entertaining and insightful. It's funny and informative. Trump comes across as a guy you'd like to know. The book contains advice every budding businessman should learn. Better learn from a book than the school of hard knocks.
Score this one for Trump.
Academic Rigour: Obama lectured in law, while Trump has hosted The Apprentice.
Score this one for Obama.
Business: Trump inherited wealth but, along with his siblings, built a major brand and real estate empire. Obama came from much humbler origins, but he did okay financially.
Score this one for Trump.
Parenting and Marriage: Trump has had multiple wives but his children are high achievers, he appears to be a really good father.
Obama's daughters are great kids too, but as yet untested. He's been married the whole time to Michelle but has been dishonest in acknowledging his previous live-in lover, an ethnic Chinese woman. Then there are persistent rumours of him being Gay. Divorce papers circulated between him and Michelle.
Trump appears a straight shooter. He marries but if it doesn't work he gets out. He's a devoted father. Obama is more devious, but he too is a good father. Score this one for Trump on the basis of his honesty.
Ethics: Both are unscrupulous. Trump's handling of the golf course in Scotland is an example. But then Obama has been accused of plagiarism or using a ghost writer.
Score this one even.
Politics: Both are neither right nor left. They tend to be populist and harness the media and social media. Obama's hope and change message was brilliant. He out organised Hillary. But Trump is learning that lesson and he's making waves.
Score this one for Obama.
Race and Sex: They're both racists and sexists. Score this one even.
Who is better? I score Trump 4, Obama 2, Even 2.
So this makes Trump potentially the better President, nothing to fear.
February 24, 2016
Britain Leaving EU
The date for a referendum on Britain leaving the EU has been set. Should Britain leave the EU and if it does, what should it do?
You know, if an alien had landed on the planet in 1939 and taken interest in the news, he'd have seen that Britain, along with its allies (most of whom comprised members of the British Empire), had declared war on Germany and the Second World War was under way. Let's say that alien then returned in 2016, he'd think that Germany and its axis won the war. Hmm?
What happened? Several things as it turns out but one in particular stands out; Neville Chamberlain died. This was a disaster for Britain as he was its most capable leader in decades. What Britain got instead was a nut-job by the name of Churchill who set about bankrupting the country.
The USA meanwhile lusted after the British Empire, it wanted one of its own. Plausibly, the entire world.
Power here ladies and gentlemen. Compare the two, 1939 and 2016, Britain and the USA. If we take just warships, minesweeper and bigger and count the numbers alone, then the Royal Navy in 1939 was a lot bigger than the US Navy today. Bear in mind that when these numbers are done, you usually get tonnage figures, and of course ships now are much bigger. So the USA looks the biggest ever, right?
Hang on a minute. A gun back in 1939 was still a gun, so power in hands is relative. What I'm saying is that Britain in 1939, was more powerful than the USA today. Heck, they owned most of the planet worth owning.
Britain won the war but lost the peace. Without Chamberlain leading the Empire, the USA took over and reconstructed Germany and Italy. France was effectively subsumed as well (bear in mind they fought on both sides), while Britain got shafted. The USA got their empire. Just look at Australia if you doubt this for one minute.
What can Britain do about this? It's too late to cry over spilt milk. The empire can't be rekindled. What they could do is look around and consider their options. Who, culturally speaking do they have the most in common with? The USA of course.
I suggest Britain leave the EU and join the USA. In time Canada would join too, as would Australia and NZ. This would bring together English common law countries with similar cultures. The Royal family could remain heads of state of Britain and the dominions, within a structure designed for it. The military, which already share on so many levels would combine.
It makes sense, Britain has more in common with the USA than France or Germany.
You know, if an alien had landed on the planet in 1939 and taken interest in the news, he'd have seen that Britain, along with its allies (most of whom comprised members of the British Empire), had declared war on Germany and the Second World War was under way. Let's say that alien then returned in 2016, he'd think that Germany and its axis won the war. Hmm?
What happened? Several things as it turns out but one in particular stands out; Neville Chamberlain died. This was a disaster for Britain as he was its most capable leader in decades. What Britain got instead was a nut-job by the name of Churchill who set about bankrupting the country.
The USA meanwhile lusted after the British Empire, it wanted one of its own. Plausibly, the entire world.
Power here ladies and gentlemen. Compare the two, 1939 and 2016, Britain and the USA. If we take just warships, minesweeper and bigger and count the numbers alone, then the Royal Navy in 1939 was a lot bigger than the US Navy today. Bear in mind that when these numbers are done, you usually get tonnage figures, and of course ships now are much bigger. So the USA looks the biggest ever, right?
Hang on a minute. A gun back in 1939 was still a gun, so power in hands is relative. What I'm saying is that Britain in 1939, was more powerful than the USA today. Heck, they owned most of the planet worth owning.
Britain won the war but lost the peace. Without Chamberlain leading the Empire, the USA took over and reconstructed Germany and Italy. France was effectively subsumed as well (bear in mind they fought on both sides), while Britain got shafted. The USA got their empire. Just look at Australia if you doubt this for one minute.
What can Britain do about this? It's too late to cry over spilt milk. The empire can't be rekindled. What they could do is look around and consider their options. Who, culturally speaking do they have the most in common with? The USA of course.
I suggest Britain leave the EU and join the USA. In time Canada would join too, as would Australia and NZ. This would bring together English common law countries with similar cultures. The Royal family could remain heads of state of Britain and the dominions, within a structure designed for it. The military, which already share on so many levels would combine.
It makes sense, Britain has more in common with the USA than France or Germany.
February 19, 2016
Apple vs FBI
It can be done. Apple can access the Farook phone.
Here's the tech blog post that outlines how to do it. Farook had an iPhone 5C, which doesn't have a secure enclave, making the task much easier:-
>>CLICK HERE<<
Quotes:
As many jailbreakers are familiar, firmware can be loaded via Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) Mode. Once an iPhone enters DFU mode, it will accept a new firmware image over a USB cable. Before any firmware image is loaded by an iPhone, the device first checks whether the firmware has a valid signature from Apple. This signature check is why the FBI cannot load new software onto an iPhone on their own — the FBI does not have the secret keys that Apple uses to sign firmware.
<clip>
Even though this 80ms limit is not ideal, it is a massive improvement from guessing only one passcode per hour with unmodified software. After the elimination of passcode delays, it will take a half hour to recover a 4-digit PIN, hours to recover a 6-digit PIN, or years to recover a 6-character alphanumeric password. It has not been reported whether the recovered iPhone uses a 4-digit PIN or a longer, more complicated alphanumeric passcode.
<clip>
I believe it is technically feasible for Apple to comply with all of the FBI’s requests in this case. On the iPhone 5C, the passcode delay and device erasure are implemented in software and Apple can add support for peripheral devices that facilitate PIN code entry. In order to limit the risk of abuse, Apple can lock the customized version of iOS to only work on the specific recovered iPhone and perform all recovery on their own, without sharing the firmware image with the FBI.
The way I read this is, first you get access to the phone in recovery mode using a signature from Apple, then as there is no secure enclave to worry about on this model of phone, you force your way in, but the hardware key query on each attempt slows things down. It could take years without Apple's help in that regard if Farook used a long alphanumeric. If he didn't use an alphanumeric then it would take minutes or possibly hours.
Here's the tech blog post that outlines how to do it. Farook had an iPhone 5C, which doesn't have a secure enclave, making the task much easier:-
>>CLICK HERE<<
Quotes:
As many jailbreakers are familiar, firmware can be loaded via Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) Mode. Once an iPhone enters DFU mode, it will accept a new firmware image over a USB cable. Before any firmware image is loaded by an iPhone, the device first checks whether the firmware has a valid signature from Apple. This signature check is why the FBI cannot load new software onto an iPhone on their own — the FBI does not have the secret keys that Apple uses to sign firmware.
<clip>
Even though this 80ms limit is not ideal, it is a massive improvement from guessing only one passcode per hour with unmodified software. After the elimination of passcode delays, it will take a half hour to recover a 4-digit PIN, hours to recover a 6-digit PIN, or years to recover a 6-character alphanumeric password. It has not been reported whether the recovered iPhone uses a 4-digit PIN or a longer, more complicated alphanumeric passcode.
<clip>
I believe it is technically feasible for Apple to comply with all of the FBI’s requests in this case. On the iPhone 5C, the passcode delay and device erasure are implemented in software and Apple can add support for peripheral devices that facilitate PIN code entry. In order to limit the risk of abuse, Apple can lock the customized version of iOS to only work on the specific recovered iPhone and perform all recovery on their own, without sharing the firmware image with the FBI.
The way I read this is, first you get access to the phone in recovery mode using a signature from Apple, then as there is no secure enclave to worry about on this model of phone, you force your way in, but the hardware key query on each attempt slows things down. It could take years without Apple's help in that regard if Farook used a long alphanumeric. If he didn't use an alphanumeric then it would take minutes or possibly hours.
February 18, 2016
Apple and the Farook Phone
I find the below embedded BBC article on the issues surrounding the Farook phone compelling. It is a plainly worded article on whether it is technically possible to very simply and speedily hack the Farook iPhone (it is).
This is brilliant marketing by Apple, but is it socially and ethically correct to refuse the FBI's request? I think it is fairly easy to do, won't set a precedent that will impact us all, so do it.
Apple
I won't pretend to understand all the ins and outs, but I have to say I'm impressed with Apple standing up to the FBI. I've never owned an Apple anything, but you know, now I might.
Spark or Telecom NZ
Compared to Apple these jokers are plonkers aren't they?
I've just found out they now charge a 3% surcharge on online credit card payments. Yes I got caught out, paid a monthly bill by credit card, took the embedded link which says PAY NOW. More fool me I suppose, now I'll always remember to send them a cheque by post.
This is a company that provides internet services, like broadband. They're not very clever. Reword that, they're stupid. Whatever you do, don't buy shares in Telecom NZ or Spark or whatever they call themselves.
February 11, 2016
Food
Statement of the obvious, given New Zealand is a major food producer and exporter, how come food is so expensive in this country? Hmm?
A rough back of the envelope calculation on my part to illustrate; if NZ milk producers were to give away the milk they simply throw away, and if every person in the country was to drink their equal share of it, then everyone would die of milk poisoning as they'd be drinking far too much of the stuff (no, I'm not talking about milk that's bad or has gone off).
The point I'm trying to make here is that food should be very cheap, given its limitless quantity.
Why are food retailers also allowed to be wholesalers and so set the prices other competitors must charge (by setting their own wholesale price sometimes higher than they also sell in their own supermarkets)?
I mean, come on New Zealand, wake up.
The first thing this country needs is a food revolution, vote for politicians who are not funded by the big food companies.
A rough back of the envelope calculation on my part to illustrate; if NZ milk producers were to give away the milk they simply throw away, and if every person in the country was to drink their equal share of it, then everyone would die of milk poisoning as they'd be drinking far too much of the stuff (no, I'm not talking about milk that's bad or has gone off).
The point I'm trying to make here is that food should be very cheap, given its limitless quantity.
Why are food retailers also allowed to be wholesalers and so set the prices other competitors must charge (by setting their own wholesale price sometimes higher than they also sell in their own supermarkets)?
I mean, come on New Zealand, wake up.
The first thing this country needs is a food revolution, vote for politicians who are not funded by the big food companies.
February 06, 2016
Top 20 Movies of the 1970's
You hear a lot about which movies were the biggest hits of the 1970's. This was pre Avatar and Titanic, so there is a lot of artistic license exercised when talking about the period.
I looked the figures up and found the gross box office worldwide for each movie. The figures I have are for the twelve months following the year of release. I'm going to stick my neck out and say the order stays the same over time, statistically speaking.
Without further ado, here are the top 20 (click on image to enlarge):-
I looked the figures up and found the gross box office worldwide for each movie. The figures I have are for the twelve months following the year of release. I'm going to stick my neck out and say the order stays the same over time, statistically speaking.
Without further ado, here are the top 20 (click on image to enlarge):-