Weak in review - November 11, 2014

Science: Learning How Little We Know About the Brain - NYTimes.com-“The brain has to compute what’s self-generated versus what’s external,” said Dr. Sawtell, who studies weakly electric fish. This may not sound like a grand advance, but, Dr. Abbott said, “I think it’s pretty deep,” adding that it helps illuminate how a creature begins to draw a distinction between itself and the world. It is the very beginning of how a brain sorts a flood of data coming in from the outside world, and gives it meaning.Hats off to pseudo-color.
Click to read.

Space:Look out baby there's a planet coming - The Philae lander on the distant comet 67P has sent another stream of data back to Earth before losing power. The little probe delivered everything expected from it, just as its failing battery dropped it into standby mode. Click here to read.

Jim Masik 1951-2014 - I remember Intellectual jam sessions in the Midnight kitchen (Heglling over Marx). Finding Kerouac's grave in the bright afternoon.  On the roof at my place in Boston (at left with Jeff DeMark) the night Nixon resigned.

But so remember playing music with him at Bowen Ct. He'd finish his studies. Late in evening.

Come into the attic and sit down and plunk out chords, a signature song, one he had down, and I'd sing: was the Kink's: Set me Free.

Technology  - It takes two to Tango - Bleeding-edge users have been working with open-source Hadoop and MapReduce for a few years. Now a Hadoop-compatible MapReduce alternative known as Spark is coming online to provide a timely streaming type of analytics. Hadoop and Spark have much in common. Click to hear Talking Data podcast.

Sports:Reporter Smiling Jack reports: Melvin Gordon sets FBS rushing record with 408 yards vs. Huskers Pretty incredible. Go Badgers in the sleet and snow. At old Camp Randal where I saw the Grateful Dead-o.http://es.pn/1uqzBvJ

The Body Politic - Charles Blow has it: Why opposition so specifically focused on denigrating a sitting president. Skin anyone? Click here to read.



GIFarama - Finally below is a gif I made through the wondrous Sterogranimator widget of the NYPL Labs

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator