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Daily Archives: February 7, 2021

How to use Gmail: The best tips and tricks to conquer your inbox

Mashable: “Gmail is a fabulous free tool from Google. However, email itself can really get on top of you. One way to keep your Gmail account from getting you down is to learn all the nifty tips and tricks for the Gmail interface that will up your productivity, improve your efficiency, and even save you some precious time.  From scheduling emails to be sent at a future point to un-sending an important email you’ve just realized contains a massive blooper, these hacks will see you mastering your Gmail account instead of being scared of it…”

How a Google Street View image of your house predicts your risk of a car accident

MIT Technology Review: “Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike. But researchers have found more insidious uses. In 2017 a team of researchers used the images… Continue Reading

Where Do Vaccine Doses Go, and Who Gets Them?

The New York Times – “The Algorithms Decide Health agencies and hospitals are using different formulas to allocate the coronavirus shots, exacerbating disparities in vaccine access. Faced with the daunting task of parceling out a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines, Trump administration officials came up with a seemingly simple formula last year to streamline distribution… Continue Reading

See Amanda Gorman light up Super Bowl with poem honoring pandemic heroes

CNET – “…In a video, Amanda Gorman delivered an ode to hard-working Americans who have persevered through the pandemic. She told the stories of James Martin (a warrior who “still shares his home with at-risk”), Trimaine Davis (an educator) and Suzie Dorner (an ICU nurse manager).  “They’ve taken the lead, exceeding all expectations and limitations,… Continue Reading

National Court Reporter and Captioning Week February 8-15

National Court Reporters Association – “These videos explore the world of stenography. Get a firsthand look at the venues in which captioners and court reporters work.” [h/t Karen Blair] How do they do it? Quick & dirty explainer, real-world video example Wikipedia Why does it matter? Comparison of automatic speech recognition vs. human stenographer why stenographers… Continue Reading

This is how we lost control of our faces

MIT Technology Review – “The largest ever study of facial-recognition data shows how much the rise of deep learning has fueled a loss of privacy. In 1964, mathematician and computer scientist Woodrow Bledsoe first attempted the task of matching suspects’ faces to mugshots. He measured out the distances between different facial features in printed photographs… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 6, 2021

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 6, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading

The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment

CRS Legal Sidebar – The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, January 29, 2021: “In the aftermath of the events of January 6 in and around the Capitol, there have been calls for accountability for those who participated, as well as leaders who may have helped instigate it. The breach of… Continue Reading

CDC study: Mask mandates reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations

The Hill – “States and counties that implemented mask mandates saw a substantial decline in the number of people admitted to the hospital to treat COVID-19 symptoms in the weeks after the mandates took effect, according to a new study published Friday. The study, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity… Continue Reading

Paper – A First Look at Zoombombing

A First Look at Zoombombing. Chen Ling, Utkucan Balcı, Jeremy Blackburn, Gianluca Stringhini. Computers and Society. arXiv:2009.03822 [cs.CY]. “Abstract—Online meeting tools like Zoom and Google Meethave become central to our professional, educational, and personal lives. This has opened up new opportunities for large scale harassment. In particular, a phenomenon known as zoombombing has emerged, in… Continue Reading

It Takes a Village: How School Librarians Support Virtual Learning

Book Riot: “It’s no secret that virtual learning has been a challenge in the United States. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many K–12 students have been engaged in some version of distance education since March 2020. Whether hybrid or entirely remote, the learning curve has been steep for teachers, caregivers, and students. However, teachers are… Continue Reading