Terry Elliott’s Newsletter

Withdraw. Resist. Make Intelligent Noise.

Sun, May 14

 

We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows.
Robert Frost

 

Daily Commentary

Just finished listening to Serial’s S*town and feeling like the protagonist, wondering who and what and why. I highly recommend the podcast here: https://stownpodcast.org/

‘Accidental hero’ finds kill switch to stop spread of ransomware cyber-attack
The Guardian – Olivia Solon – May 12, 6:41 PM
An “accidental hero” has halted the global spread of the WannaCry ransomware that has wreaked havoc on organizations including the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), FedEx and Telefonica. A cybersecurity researcher tweeting as…

 

Comments: The white hats win …for now. What we gonna do about this symptom of larger,less reconcilable structural aggravations in the net system?
White House ‘systems failed’ with Comey firing, but Trump pushed the buttons
Washington Post – May 13
In deciding to abruptly fire FBI Director James B. Comey, President Trump characteristically let himself be guided by his own instincts — fueled by his creeping anger and sense of victimhood about a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016…

Comments: Interesting choice of the word ‘buttons’. Hope he doesn’t extend his creeping victimhood toward North Korea or China or Russia. Hope is a frail reed; just look at how Obama broke it during his presidency. Hope Trump doesn’t push the wrong button.
Tracking of Teachers and Students in Edmodo
FunnyMonkey – May 13, 9:28 AM
This has been a rough week for Edmodo. Unlike many other people, I will not be writing about the data breach that leaked information about 77 million Edmodo users. Instead, in this post, I will look at ad tracking within Edmodo that affects both…

Comments: I have long ago cancelled my Edmodo account. What prescience! We all know how inexorable the bottom line can be. No student should be exposed to the proprietary power of Edmodo-like systems. Should we continue to use Google Classroom?
The Twenty-Five Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2017 – So Far
larryferlazzo.edublogs.org – Author: Larry Ferlazzo I’m a high school teacher in Sacramento – May 13, 7:19 PM
As regular readers know, it’s time for me to begin posting my mid-year “The Best….” lists. There are over 1,700 regularly updated lists now.

Comments: Faced with this listicle, what do you do? How do you parse your attention accordingly? This is a worthwhile question and an even better conversation to undertake. What must we attend to and why? I would love to have this talk.
Why Are Economists Giving Piketty the Cold Shoulder?
bostonreview.net – May 10, 7:14 AM
‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’ raised important questions about inequality that the Ivory Tower would rather ignore. When it was first published in English in the spring of 2014, Thomas Piketty’s book Capital in the Twenty-First…

Comments: Read Piketty’s ‘Capital’ and Raworth’s ‘Doughnut Economics’–change your paradigm. 80 years ago Hayek and company created a paradigm–the disaster called neoliberalism. Time to get out the wrecking ball and let it swing. Death to NeoLiberalism…now.
Tech’s Frightful Five: They’ve Got Us
New York Times – Farhad Manjoo – May 10, 7:27 AM
A few weeks ago, I bought a new television. When the whole process was over, I realized something incredible: To navigate all of the niggling details surrounding this one commercial transaction — figuring out what to buy, which accessories I…

Comments: Addicts of every stripe have always said, ‘I could quit any time I want to.’ Really? No, not really. Which of the ‘frightful five’ could you never give up? Cal Newport in Deep Learning suggest we really can control them. Is he right?
Manifesto: Rules for standards-makers
Scripting – May 9
I’ve used all kinds of formats and protocols in a long career as a software developer. I also have created a few, and have had to fight to keep them independent and unowned, with varying degrees of success. This set of rules represents what I’ve…

Comments: Some widely applicable advice to all standards-makers including admins/teachers. My takeaway rule: ‘Explain the curiosities.’ Read and extend to your own discipline. Or don’t and blunder on.
Blockchain for Development | From Poverty to Power
oxfamblogs.org – Duncan Green
Top tip: if you’re in a meeting discussing anything to do with finance, at some point look wise and say ‘you do realize, blockchain is likely to change everything.’ Of course, there is always a terrifying chance that someone will ask what…

Comments: Great bluffer’s guide to blockchain. This one says it is specifically targeted toward developers, but not to worry, the info buffet is for all. Great infographics and examples.