Improbable Insights Podcast: The IoT Invasion

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The IoT Invasion

It’s been a year since David, Eric, and I talked about IoT. Since then, the Internet of Things has been growing by leaps and bounds, particularly in the consumer space. As mainstream companies jump on the IoT bandwagon, we’ve seen some really cool stuff come along as well as the usual round of headaches. We talk about the teething problems as well as the promise of IoT to make our lives better.

Tools and Fun

I just wrapped up reading We Have No Idea by Jorge Cham of Ph.D. Comics and particle physicist Danial Whiteson, among other reading. The book is an excellent overview of the state of physics and cosmology for lay people. It’s funny, insightful, and makes you want to learn more.

I also recently rewatched seasons one and two of SyFy’s The Expanse on Blu-Ray. The show seems much better on the second viewing. I’m particularly impressed with the world-building that goes on in the first few episodes of the first season.

On the tools side, I recently drove 700 miles in a U-Haul truck. What kept me sane was listening to podcasts using a Bluetooth speaker. I kept the speaker and my phone powered up with a Foval 300W inverter which includes a pair of USB charging ports as well as two standard grounded plugs.

Finally, I discuss what you should the considerations for whether or not you should dive into building a high-end desktop PC. Should you adopt AMD’s Threadripper processor, with its massive thread count and horde of PCI Express lanes? Or should you go more conservative and stick with Intel’s Core-i9 or Core-i7 Skylake-E CPUs? Listen in to learn more about the issues.

Meanwhile, Eric’s acquired a Ryzen 1800X system to transition from an Intel Core i7-4770K-based PC. He also wrapped up Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch series (Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy). ERic gives thumbs up but found it wore on him a bit by the third book. He’s also loving the Netflix series Glow as well as Game of Thrones, season 7.

David had a blast chasing the total solar eclipse through northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming, and he has the pictures to prove it. He’s also watching the USA series Shooter as well as season 7 of Game of Thrones. 

We also talk about the games we’ve been playing and what we’re looking forward to. This fall looks like a rich compendium of games.