10 Thoughts for June 2, 2015

1. Google Cardboard 2.0 came out. On the same day, I ordered a bunch of them from Unofficial Cardboard's website, with the adjustable PD, for $19.95. It currently says, "Ships by June 15", but when I ordered it, it said it would ship by the 11th -- shows just how popular it is. I was going to buy a Cardboard based on the original design from last year, from Amazon, until I read an article suggesting that 2.0 was coming out. Good thing I waited. I've previously mentioned that I've tried out Oculus' VR headset. That hasn't yet been released for sale, but in the meantime Google has now pumped out two versions of a VR headset. 
2. Speaking of VR and Google Cardboard, Google also previewed an open platform, Jump, to allow anyone to produce immersive 360° video / photo VR. The rig includes 16 specialty GoPro cameras and utilizes software to splice together the images to produce depth perception. This gets me excited; very soon, we'll be able to design buildings and objects with VR, on the cheap, as a primary tool.
3. My Nexus 7 (2012) tablet got its 5.1.1 update just a few days ago, while my Nexus 5 got it a few days earlier. It seems that the rollout is being pushed out faster. Previously, the gap was a couple of weeks between my two devices. There's a rumor that Nexus devices will be limited in updates to a max of 2 years, once Android M is released. I'm curious if they hold steadfast on that one, but right now Google's policy is, "Nexus devices may not receive the latest version of Android if they fall outside of the update window, which is usually around 18 months after a device has been released." At some point after the updates end on my Nexus 7, I might load CyanogenMod onto it; mind you, once you go with a custom ROM, you lose access to Google Play Store and Google apps, which must then be sideloaded from other sources.
4. I now have a special setup with my work space. On my main screen is my trusty old 24" monitor attached to my i7-4790 rig as my main work station, and to my side, sitting on a 42" high rig (IKEA desk + legs + wall support) is my 4 year old lappy, and my 12.2" tablet in-between the two. Think of it as an alternative to a multi-monitor rig, but with the benefit of using multiple CPUs that won't slow down with the workload. I still have to unload all the stuff from my old Xeon workstation, so that's still sitting to the left of me, taking up space.
5. The Ebola outbreak is probably within a few more weeks of reaching its end. The number of new cases -- 80 -- and new deaths -- 11 -- over the past week, is the lowest since last summer, and is rapidly falling. At its height in December, there were separately 1210 new cases and 673 deaths in a week. If you add up all of the cases and deaths from all previous outbreaks, it doesn't come close to the current outbreak. This outbreak will be researched for decades.
6. Earlier this week, NOAA issued a prediction that central Pacific (Hawaii) would have an above-average hurricane season, with 7-8 tropical cyclones. If you take a glance at the sea surface temperatures, you can clearly see an El Nino (note: the link is to a constantly updated png) pattern setting up. Current temperatures off Hawaii (southern shores) are roughly 27°C, or about 2 degrees warmer than average.
7. Nonstick woks are an oxymoron. The nonstick surface is damaged at the optimal heat for stir-frying. Just buy a cast-iron / iron wok and treat it well.
8. I just ordered a ream of 11x17 copy paper from Amazon. I tried in vain to find it locally (via website) at Staples and Office Depot, but what they had in-store was their own brand, and it cost $4 more. If you wanted to buy cheaper (and better) paper, you had to order at least $50 worth of goods. Amazon had lower prices on paper, and a lower threshold for free shipping.
9. Yes Virginia, the Russian Internet Troll Army exists.
10. You know, I had a suspicion that our government was conducting some sort of surveillance, when at night, I'd see a single plane circle overhead a dozen or so times in roughly the same area. I had never seen this in the day, but within the last 3-4 years I had seen this plane circling at night, at least 5 times. Now I know that it really was government spying.