A quiet weekend in California, whereupon I mostly fixed and flew my Phantom 1 a bit. Next step is adding an Ardupilot APM. Planning to learn how to do 3D mapping with Autodesk. My hobbies are very chic.
In recent Interesting Internet News…
Boko Haram ‘to sell’ Nigeria girls abducted from Chibok – BBC News
The truly horrifying saga of these girls continues. Make no mistake: they are not “child brides.” They are child slaves, sold for $12 a head.
Disaster in the age of McMansions: America’s dangerous addiction to suburban sprawl – Salon
A fascinating look at the history and probably downfall of the suburbs. Millennials who spent their overprotected childhoods with their asses firmly welded to the backseat of a minivan: don’t you all rush out to buy massive homes in the burbs’ at ONCE.
40 Maps That Explain the Middle East – Vox
This explainer exemplifies what’s wrong with the Vox model: 7th-grade level writing and analysis that is (inexplicably) aimed to a well-educated and well-informed audience. You can do much better than this, folks — although I’m glad someone has informed me in my woeful ignorance that “The Phoenicians… were pretty awesome.”
Check out the DustDuino project, which aims to crowdsource enviromental reporting on air pollution with the assistance of desk-top dust sensors.
Rough Justice in Southern Thailand – UCA News
Not nearly enough international attention has been paid to the ongoing sectarian conflict in Thailand’s south. Southeast Asian Muslims are treated as second class citizens here, too.
The Thankless Work of a Fixer – CJR
Shamefully, many foreign correspondents don’t bother to credit the fixers who help them get the story out. We all need to get better about this.
The Man Behind the Vampire Squid: An Interview with Matt Taibbi – Mother Jones
Love him or hate him, Taibbi is interesting. And coined the phrase “vampire squid” which does make me like him.
A video displaying that curious anthropological oddity of a bunch of white, straight guys apologizing.
The Ultimate Guide to Shutting Down Conservative Anti-Piketty Hysteria – Salon
One wonders how many have actually read our society’s most recently-popular doorstep book. (I in fact have – there’s a Kindle edition, you fools, there’s NO excuse!)