Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Happy New Year?

I cannot think of any year I have looked forward to with more anxiety and gloom than 2017. But maybe low expectations is the secret to getting through it.

Meanwhile, here’s the Miami New Times’s list of The Weirdest 2016 WTF Florida Stories, including “Malachi Love-Robinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Florida Alligators Galore!”

Posted in Miami | 1 Comment

Odd Bedfellows

In my effort to avoid starting grading, I followed a link from Lifehacker to Amazon’s sale of a white-noise machine. I was somewhat surprised to see what Amazon paired it with:

I suppose sleeping better makes you a better worker/investor/whatever thus perhaps increasing your odds of becoming a billionaire from almost zero to …. still almost zero?

Didn’t buy the machine as I don’t think it makes a good gift, although the $35 price seemed very reasonable.

Posted in Shopping | 1 Comment

500+ UM Faculty Stand Against ‘Hate and Intimidation’

I’m one of the more than 500 signatories to this letter in which UM faculty take a stand against hatred, intimidation, and a “post-truth” world. The letter was written by members of the English Department.

Media coverage in Miami Hurricane and Miami Herald.

Text of the letter is below.

Continue reading

Posted in Trump, U.Miami | 1 Comment

This is What an Informer Society Looks Like

Miamians Are Going on Twitter to Ask Donald Trump to Deport Their Exes.

According to the New Times, “dozens of folks,” many in the Miami area, are tweeting addresses and photos, some cc’ing the police, in the hopes of getting their revenge. They have screenshots of examples.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Trump | 1 Comment

Find Out if You are Among 1 Million Android Users Whose Gmail Got Hacked

Check here.

Posted in Android | Comments Off on Find Out if You are Among 1 Million Android Users Whose Gmail Got Hacked

The Most Disturbing News Article of the Week?

And it isn’t even directly about Donald Trump. Or then again maybe it is.

Across numerous countries, including Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States, the percentage of people who say it is “essential” to live in a democracy has plummeted, and it is especially low among younger generations.

— Amanda Taub, How Stable Are Democracies? ‘Warning Signs Are Flashing Red’

This graph says it all:

xxint-essential-democracy-jumbo

Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics: International | 2 Comments