WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.344 The Weekly Thing, issue 50. Apr 21, twenty eighteen. Published April 21, twenty eighteen. By Jamie Thingelstad. In this issue: Palantir knows everything, Jeff Bezos shareholder letter, Tim Wu, be a deletist, TweetDelete, open source management platform. 00:00:16.944 --> 00:00:43.405 The Weekly Thing was highlighted in the April thirteenth issue of Noticing, the new newsletter from kottke.org, along with a number of other blogs and newsletters. It was awesome to be included, and it resulted in a bunch of new subscribers discovering the Weekly Thing! To all the new folks here, welcome to this weekly summary of new content, apps, books and many other "things" of interest! Grab a coffee and look around a bit. 00:00:43.905 --> 00:01:32.805 I'm trying something new this week with the links. When I first started publishing the Weekly Thing I shared all links with commentary. Later I started putting them in groups based on content. This week I'm trying something new with three sections of links. Featured links are a handful of links that I really liked in the week and am highlighting above everything else. The Links are in a list with commentary, and I've removed the groupings. Too often groups only had a single link. Breadcrumbs shows links that were of interest to me but these are just a list. I hope this gives people that would like a couple things to focus on the featured links, and those that want to dive into all the deep tracks can dig in as far as they want. I would love to hear if you find this useful. 00:01:34.205 --> 00:01:35.549 Now, the Blog section. 00:01:36.149 --> 00:01:38.240 My blog posts from this last week. 00:01:38.740 --> 00:01:39.892 Minnebar 13. 00:01:40.392 --> 00:01:42.656 Recap of my day at Minnebar 13. 00:01:44.056 --> 00:01:45.324 That's the end of Blog. 00:01:46.724 --> 00:01:48.004 Now, the Photo section. 00:01:48.604 --> 00:01:50.595 My favorite picture from the last week. 00:01:51.095 --> 00:01:54.946 People enjoying the Cherry Blossoms in A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden. 00:01:55.446 --> 00:01:59.422 April 18, twenty eighteen at 9:26 AM Kiev, Ukraine. 00:02:00.822 --> 00:02:02.066 That's the end of Photo. 00:02:03.466 --> 00:02:04.940 Now, the Featured section. 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:07.687 Don't miss these gems from the past week. 00:02:08.187 --> 00:02:12.163 Peter Stern: A Birthday Note for my Daughter | LinkedIn www.linkedin.com. 00:02:12.663 --> 00:02:45.875 I have had the pleasure of meeting Peter Stern on a few occasions. We first met when he was CTO of Datek, which was one of the early firms to bring trading to the masses, and also one of the first customers of BigCharts. Even after Peter and team sold Datek to Ameritrade, I had the great pleasure of having dinner with him in New York. Peter has a mind that devours any topic in front of it. This letter he wrote for his daughter recommending the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is a strong recommendation, but not just of this book. 00:02:46.375 --> 00:03:23.432 Quote. History, philosophy, religion, biology, economics, linguistics, law, evolutionary biology, behavioral economics, topics I don’t even know how to explain. Tens of thousands of pages I read. Many of these books were unrewarding and were left on a stoop before you were born or simply tossed. The ones that are worth reading still line our bookshelves, with a few exceptions. Some books were really good, but your mother found their titles upsetting, awkward, or difficult to explain to guests. Those also got left on stoops. Sorry about that. You can ask me about them if you really want to know. End quote. 00:03:23.932 --> 00:03:28.444 This is a recommendation to be a lifelong learner and to always be curious. 00:03:28.944 --> 00:03:32.585 Jeff Bezos twenty eighteen Letter to Shareholders www.sec.gov. 00:03:33.085 --> 00:03:44.648 Bezos annual shareholder letters aren't as well known as Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway ones, but they are very spirited and go back to Amazon's core values. This Prime milestone is amazing. 00:03:45.148 --> 00:04:03.268 Quote. 13 years post-launch, we have exceeded 100 million paid Prime members globally. In twenty seventeen Amazon shipped more than five billion items with Prime worldwide, and more new members joined Prime than in any previous year – both worldwide and in the U.S. End quote. 00:04:03.768 --> 00:04:04.333 Also on AWS. 00:04:04.833 --> 00:04:22.306 Quote. AWS has also accelerated its pace of innovation – especially in new areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and serverless computing. In twenty seventeen, AWS announced more than 1,400 significant services and features… End quote. 00:04:22.806 --> 00:04:34.392 I’m amazed that the pace of change at AWS is increasing as it has scaled up. I think it may be the first example in existence of a software platform that moved faster as it got larger. 00:04:34.892 --> 00:04:38.232 Palantir Knows Everything About You www.bloomberg.com. 00:04:38.732 --> 00:04:47.037 Interesting article that highlights Palantir, a company that originally started by servicing defense and government functions, and the spying it can enable. 00:04:47.537 --> 00:04:58.634 This tidbit was amazing to me, but made sense when I thought about it for a while. Combine municipal camera systems with this facial data from drivers license and you can monitor people at scale. 00:04:59.134 --> 00:05:08.717 Quote. Tapping databases of driver’s license and ID photos, law enforcement agencies can now identify more than half the population of U.S. adults. End quote. 00:05:09.217 --> 00:05:14.141 We are dealing with systems that will change how we behave -- constantly being surveilled. 00:05:14.641 --> 00:05:38.019 Quote. JPMorgan’s experience remains instructive. “The world changed when it became clear everyone could be targeted using Palantir,” says a former JPMorgan cyber expert who worked with Cavicchia at one point on the insider threat team. “Nefarious ideas became trivial to implement; everyone’s a suspect, so we monitored everything. It was a pretty terrible feeling.” End quote. 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:50.829 I've read a bit about how companies are using video feeds along with machine learning to monitor employees. I’m guessing that is all very entry level and basic compared to what state of the art is. 00:05:52.229 --> 00:05:53.408 That's the end of Featured. 00:05:54.808 --> 00:05:56.047 Now, the Links section. 00:05:56.647 --> 00:05:59.305 Commentary on interesting links from the week. 00:05:59.805 --> 00:06:03.683 How to Write a Thank-You Note - The Morning News themorningnews.org. 00:06:04.183 --> 00:06:27.708 I believe that sharing a sincere Thank You with individuals at your office can be very impactful. I've received some, and it always generates a very positive feeling in me. I try to write them to individuals, but writing them can be hard. This article is specifically about writing a Thank You note for a gift, but I think the learnings can apply to a note to a colleague as well. 00:06:28.208 --> 00:06:46.899 This article also highlights how poorly I executed the Thank You cards I sent when I graduated high school. I put all the gifts in a AppleWorks database, and then used mail merge to print them on my dot-matrix printer. To make it even worse, I actually put "Thank You for the 20 dollars." if people gave me cash. 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:54.431 Majority of teens worry about school shootings, and so do most parents | Pew Research Center www.pewresearch.org. 00:06:54.931 --> 00:07:08.390 57% of teens are either very or somewhat worried about a shooting happening in their school. This should stand as an indictment on us in charge that we haven't done anything meaningful to make our kids feel safe in school. 00:07:08.890 --> 00:07:13.693 Titus, the Netflix container management platform, is now open source medium.com. 00:07:14.193 --> 00:07:17.271 Another major piece of software open sourced by Netflix. 00:07:17.771 --> 00:07:59.537 Quote. Over the last three years, Titus evolved initially from supporting batch use cases, to running services applications (both internal, and ultimately critical customer-facing). Through that evolution, container use at Netflix has grown from thousands of containers launched per week to as many as three million containers launched per week in April twenty eighteen. Titus hosts thousands of applications globally over seven regionally isolated stacks across tens of thousands of EC2 virtual machines. The open-sourcing of Titus shares the resulting technology assembled through three years of production learnings in container management and execution. End quote. 00:08:00.037 --> 00:08:04.713 How I Use: Search in Mail on macOS — MyProductiveMac www.myproductivemac.com. 00:08:05.213 --> 00:08:16.058 Mail on macOS has more powerful search capabilities than you think. I also know Outlook does very similar things. Knowing how your mail client tokenizes searches can be very powerful. 00:08:16.558 --> 00:08:18.045 Be a Deletist deletist.xyz. 00:08:18.545 --> 00:08:43.388 An attempt to coin a word to refer to the act of deleting or expiring content on third party platforms. I've tried to do this on Twitter for a while using TweetDelete, which never seems to get tweets deleted for me anymore. It’s an interesting concept but I would always assume that nothing is deleted. All of these third party platforms may hide the content, but they certainly don't delete it. 00:08:43.888 --> 00:08:51.912 Facebook Uses Artificial Intelligence to Predict Your Future Actions for Advertisers, Says Confidential Document theintercept.com. 00:08:52.412 --> 00:08:58.737 Oh great, another vector that Facebook can use to monetize you, based on things you haven't even done yet. 00:08:59.237 --> 00:09:03.604 Opinion | Don't Fix Facebook. Replace It. - The New York Times www.nytimes.com. 00:09:04.104 --> 00:09:18.281 This article caught my attention because the author is Tim Wu, who wrote The Master Switch, which is still one of my favorite books to understand net neutrality and the attempts over many years to achieve vertically integrated media companies. 00:09:18.781 --> 00:09:23.662 The Diary of a Settler of Catan - McSweeney's Internet Tendency www.mcsweeneys.net. 00:09:24.162 --> 00:09:28.191 Funny read for anyone that plays Catan, or even those that don't. 00:09:28.691 --> 00:09:33.789 How to Use Static Type Checking in Python 3.6 – Adam Geitgey – Medium medium.com. 00:09:34.289 --> 00:09:41.391 Perhaps now some of the type safety arguments can be put to rest for Python? This is a good add, and I like the syntax. 00:09:41.891 --> 00:09:45.912 Drafts 5: The MacStories Review – MacStories www.macstories.net. 00:09:46.412 --> 00:10:10.307 An incredibly detailed, almost book-length review of the new version of Drafts. Drafts is one of those iOS apps that scales down and up. You can use it very simply to capture text quickly, as well as build incredibly powerful workflows around it. If you find yourself wishing for a powerful way to deal with snippets of text, this review will help you understand what Drafts can do. 00:10:10.807 --> 00:10:13.456 Training Partners | superteam jimbernard.net. 00:10:13.956 --> 00:10:20.556 My friend Jim writing about running with his running group, and with his Dad. Made me want to go out and run. 00:10:21.056 --> 00:10:24.810 For Everyone - PagerDuty Security Training sudo.pagerduty.com. 00:10:25.310 --> 00:10:32.462 PagerDuty is making their internal security training available to everyone. Cool idea and a great way to give back. 00:10:32.962 --> 00:10:35.821 Whimsical | The Visual Workspace whimsical.co. 00:10:36.321 --> 00:10:41.650 Very impressive collaborative flowchart tool. This seems like it would have a lot of potential. 00:10:42.150 --> 00:10:43.888 LambStatus lambstatus.github.io. 00:10:44.388 --> 00:10:53.226 A serverless open-source solution to run a status page. It’s a little simple as-is, but this is something that a serverless structure could make more sense for. 00:10:53.726 --> 00:10:58.905 How to give feedback effectively: A guide for managers — Quartz at Work work.qz.com. 00:10:59.405 --> 00:11:07.610 Five very good aspects to keep in mind to give better feedback. Good advice for any person manager, and in fact, anybody in the workplace. 00:11:09.010 --> 00:11:10.257 That's the end of Links. 00:11:11.657 --> 00:11:13.308 Now, the Breadcrumbs section. 00:11:13.908 --> 00:11:16.442 Additional links of interest from this week. 00:11:16.942 --> 00:11:20.667 First, richard Stallman, RMS, on Privacy, Data, and Free Software. 00:11:21.167 --> 00:11:24.940 Second, python 3.7: Introducing Data Classes | PyCharm Blog. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:30.106 Third, how founders can write a quality blog post in 1 hour - Baremetrics. 00:11:30.606 --> 00:11:33.289 Fourth, Feature/Product Fit | Casey Accidental. 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:38.748 Fifth, support #MNtech and Join Minnestar's 100 Day Challenge! - Minnestar. 00:11:39.248 --> 00:11:45.212 Sixth, far more than 87m Facebook users had data compromised, MPs told | UK news | The Guardian. 00:11:45.712 --> 00:11:47.848 Seventh, cybersecurity Tech Accord. 00:11:48.348 --> 00:11:58.875 Eighth, tesla Model 3 production aims for 6,000 units per week in June after upgrade in May – ~5,000 with margin of error, says Elon Musk | Electrek. 00:11:59.375 --> 00:12:02.339 Ninth, twenty sixteen Transparency Report —GitHub. 00:12:02.839 --> 00:12:05.815 Tenth, going Back To Blogging – whatevernevermind. 00:12:06.315 --> 00:12:09.198 Number 11, Facebook’s Second Life —Om Malik. 00:12:09.698 --> 00:12:16.192 Number 12, data Lords: The Real Story of Big Data, Facebook and the Future of News – Talking Points Memo. 00:12:17.592 --> 00:12:19.132 That's the end of Breadcrumbs. 00:12:20.532 --> 00:12:21.757 Now, the App section. 00:12:22.357 --> 00:12:23.245 1Blocker X. 00:12:23.745 --> 00:12:24.921 by Salavat Khanov. 00:12:25.421 --> 00:12:33.989 Fast and secure Safari content blocker that improves browsing experience by blocking unwanted content and protecting you from trackers. 00:12:34.489 --> 00:12:47.521 1Blocker has been my ad blocker and privacy tool of choice for Safari on iOS and macOS. 1Blocker X is a rethink of 1Blocker with new capabilities. This was an instant buy for me. Highly recommended. 00:12:48.921 --> 00:12:50.247 That's the end of App. 00:12:51.647 --> 00:12:52.986 Now, the Status section. 00:12:53.586 --> 00:12:57.157 These are my small updates shared on my microblog last week. 00:12:58.057 --> 00:12:59.665 Friday @ 4:34 PM. 00:13:00.165 --> 00:13:07.667 I always feel a little defensive for Minneapolis when I have to pick “America/Chicago” from a list populated by the tz database. 00:13:08.567 --> 00:13:10.158 Friday @ 8:35 AM. 00:13:10.658 --> 00:13:13.246 St Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine. 00:13:14.146 --> 00:13:15.708 Friday @ 8:11 AM. 00:13:16.208 --> 00:13:16.737 tag. 00:13:17.637 --> 00:13:19.269 Friday @ 4:27 AM. 00:13:19.769 --> 00:13:24.041 Time to head home! Successful eighth trip to Kyiv to visit #TeamSPS! 00:13:24.941 --> 00:13:26.573 Friday @ 4:15 AM. 00:13:27.073 --> 00:13:33.909 Just preordered 1Blocker X. I rely on 1Blocker to keep me protected on the web. I use it on all my devices. 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:36.441 Friday @ 3:52 AM. 00:13:36.941 --> 00:13:47.560 I’ve never understood why people wrap their luggage. I see this mostly on international travel. Turns out it’s mainly to prevent tampering! Why would you wrap your luggage in plastic? 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:50.185 Thursday @ 6:07 PM. 00:13:50.685 --> 00:13:54.271 Great Georgian dinner at Gogi with our Kyiv leadership team. 00:13:55.171 --> 00:13:56.837 Thursday @ 4:50 PM. 00:13:57.337 --> 00:13:59.909 My collection of travel cables is bonkers. 00:14:00.809 --> 00:14:02.489 Thursday @ 6:51 AM. 00:14:02.989 --> 00:14:04.501 Morning in Kiev, Ukraine. 00:14:05.401 --> 00:14:07.225 Wednesday @ 8:26 AM. 00:14:07.725 --> 00:14:11.013 Cherry Blossoms at Botanical Garden in Kiev, Ukraine. 00:14:11.913 --> 00:14:13.687 Tuesday @ 10:08 AM. 00:14:14.187 --> 00:14:16.841 Remember headphone cables? Those were bothersome. 00:14:17.741 --> 00:14:19.421 Tuesday @ 8:42 AM. 00:14:19.921 --> 00:14:24.273 Sunrise draping through Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport this morning. 00:14:25.173 --> 00:14:27.069 Monday @ 10:56 PM. 00:14:27.569 --> 00:14:30.263 Heading to Kiev to visit #TeamSPS! MSP - CDG - KBP. 00:14:31.163 --> 00:14:32.771 Monday @ 5:15 AM. 00:14:33.271 --> 00:14:34.546 Enjoyed Darkest Hour. 00:14:35.446 --> 00:14:37.270 Monday @ 12:10 AM. 00:14:37.770 --> 00:14:44.582 It is still snowing in Minneapolis. I am flying to Ukraine tomorrow and will be enjoying the actual Spring weather! 00:14:45.482 --> 00:14:47.090 Sunday @ 7:22 PM. 00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:53.444 Model trains are always fun. Tyler and I are running the train yard today. Z-Scale is hard though. 00:14:54.344 --> 00:14:55.952 Sunday @ 7:01 PM. 00:14:56.452 --> 00:14:59.778 Snow day seems like a good day to get the Z-Scale train out. 00:15:00.678 --> 00:15:02.286 Sunday @ 6:59 PM. 00:15:02.786 --> 00:15:07.961 Cleared three neighbors driveways out with my snowblower. Building karma points today. 00:15:08.861 --> 00:15:10.435 Sunday @ 4:52 PM. 00:15:10.935 --> 00:15:23.036 With all the amazing capabilities of the iPhone camera system, it still can’t expose snow properly. I have to up the exposure on all of them. Perhaps Apple needs some camera engineers that don’t live in California. 00:15:23.936 --> 00:15:25.568 Sunday @ 4:47 PM. 00:15:26.068 --> 00:15:32.944 Well over a foot of snow to deal this morning. Heavy too with the warm temperatures recently. Had to go at the slowest speed. 00:15:33.844 --> 00:15:35.474 Sunday @ 1:03 AM. 00:15:35.974 --> 00:15:39.946 My friend @dangrigsby is newly on micro.blog — you should follow him! 00:15:40.846 --> 00:15:42.235 Sunday @ 1:02 AM. 00:15:42.735 --> 00:15:53.170 Planning to just let the snow keep falling, and get completely snowed in until tomorrow morning, then I’ll get the snowblower out. Seems like time for family movie night! 00:15:54.070 --> 00:15:55.902 Sunday @ 12:07 AM. 00:15:56.402 --> 00:15:57.505 Minnebar lunch panorama. 00:15:58.405 --> 00:16:00.277 Sunday @ 12:05 AM. 00:16:00.777 --> 00:16:04.608 People flying their drones through VR goggles looks kind of creepy. 00:16:06.008 --> 00:16:12.795 That brings us to the end of the Weekly Thing, issue 50. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.