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Illinois Man: Bose Headphones Are Spying On Me! (He May Be Right)

By David Glance/The Conversation

Kyle Zak of Illinois is claiming in a lawsuit that headphone and speaker company Bose is secretly collecting information about what users listen to when they use its bluetooth wireless headphones.
Zak, through his lawyers at Edelson, claims that information about what he has been listening to through his Bose headphones was being collected without his knowledge or explicit consent every time he used a Bose companion mobile app called Bose Connect. The app allows customers to interact with the headphones, updating software and also managing which device is connected at any time with the headphones. If the headphones are being used to listen to something, details about what is being played will show up in the Connect App.
This information is then collected by Bose and sent to third parties, including companies like Segment, who facilitate the collection of data from web and mobile applications and make it available for further analysis.

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Posted on April 27, 2017

Chicagoetry: People Made Of Rain Could Wreck God

By J.J. Tindall

People Made of Rain Could Wreck God
1
Question: What is the shape of the sky?
Answer: The sun never lies.
You can’t always
See it but the sun is always
There, always aware,
Even when spring squalls
Like black jellyfish
Dangling rain
Approach slowly
From beyond the shapeless sky.

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Posted on April 18, 2017

Chase For Tastier Tortillas Starts With Age-Old ‘Mexican Gold’

By David Alire Garcia/Reuters

OTZOLOTEPEC, Mexico – Under a scorching sun, Clemente Enriquez tips his wide-brimmed hat up as he proudly displays in an open palm the conico corn seeds he plants on his small plot in the rolling hills outside this village west of Mexico City.
“These are very special,” said Enriquez, a 78-year-old farmer with shaggy gray hair and bushy black eyebrows, speaking on the edge of a neighbor’s field. “I’ve been growing these for years. I like the size of the seed and the color, and the taste of the tortillas you can make with them.”
Lately, his enthusiasm seems to be catching on. A growing army of “heirloom corn” fans, from celebrity chef Rick Bayless to food giants like ConAgra to a group of dogged Mexican scientists, are aiming to unlock the ancient ingredient to bring tortillas with better flavor to the high-end foodie market while boosting sustainable local economies.

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Posted on April 17, 2017

The Top 10 Wisconsin Insect Trends Of 2016

By PJ Liesch/WisContext

With the first green shoots of spring appearing across the state, Wisconsin’s insect populations are likewise emerging and preparing for the warmer months ahead. The top 10 insect trends of 2016 encountered by the UW Insect Diagnostic Lab offers insight on which bugs might make an impression in 2017. While most of the insects on the list are relatively benign, some might put a damper on an afternoon picnic while others could ruin an entire day.
10. Boxelder bugs
Many insects, including mosquitoes and fungus gnats, thrived in Wisconsin’s rainy conditions in 2016. However, heavy rains can also be a blessing in disguise when it comes to certain insect pests. Gypsy moth caterpillars, for example, can be killed off by the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga under damp conditions. Heavy spring rains over the past few years likely encouraged this fungus, which helped keep gypsy moth numbers low in many parts of the state.
Rainy conditions can also encourage a fungal disease of boxelder bugs. With rainy conditions across much of Wisconsin, boxelder bug populations were expected to be low, but disease pressure from the fungus was likely limited in 2016. Much to the chagrin of homeowners hoping to avoid the tiny red-and-black home visitors in the fall, boxelder bug numbers were surprisingly high in many parts of the state. Rainfall will likely influence the boxelder bug situation in 2017.

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Posted on April 11, 2017

Chicagoetry: Fresh Hell

By J.J. Tindall

Fresh Hell
Harried voices hurtle
Down my back walkway
Like dice tumbling
From a Yahtzee cup.
Between the bricks
Of this century-old multi-unit
Fortress

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Posted on April 9, 2017