IEEE Hosts Three Silicon Valley Historic Events – Part 3

The last of the three events to honor six IEEE Milestones and the 50th Anniversary of the Internet took place on Monday May 20^th, 2024 at the Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mountain View, CA.

Titled “IEEE Milestone Celebration: TCP, 802 Standards, and Google” the event added three new plaques to the CHM’s Front Wall IEEE Milestone Plaques. These are duplicate plaques as the originals are placed at a location related to the work that led to the Milestone Award. In addition to the three mentioned, the three Milestones awarded to SRI PARC on Friday, May 17 were also added to the CHM Front Wall, bringing the total number to 26!

Continue reading →

The Truth About Bulls##t

Growing up, almost everyone learns about bulls##t (BS). Often the schoolyard is the first exposure and classroom for this topic. There is a distinct definition and hierarchy. First, BS is different than regular lying. Let’s start with some basic definitions.

Has Personalization Gone Too Far?

Recently my oldest childhood friend asked me an interesting question about Google search results – “When you type in a request on Google, it gives you a list of possible websites you might be looking for. These change as you continue to type. Are the prompts they list the result of algorithms that are user specific or general (the same for everybody)? Would you and I get the same suggested websites if we each typed in identical requests on our own laptops or is it based on our Google search history or even our entire browser history?”

Continue reading →

Do Not Close the San Carlos School Libraries!

My wife and I do not have any children, but we do have nieces and nephews with children of their own. We are big believers in education. My entire career was built on the education I received in the New York City Public Schools, then Queens College and finally San Jose State University (SJSU).

Continue reading →

Do You Believe In Science?

I’ve always been a science person. I remember reading Popular Mechanics and doing science projects when I was still in elementary school. When my neighbor received a really nice telescope as a Christmas gift, we were out in the freezing New York City weather trying to view the rings of Saturn. This was way before telescopes had GPS and finder devices, so it took considerable effort to find and focus the telescope on our target.

Continue reading →