When the US Navy started talking about using electromagnetic catapults to launch planes, I distinctly remember someone saying that if Disney was having issues with similar tech, the Navy had absolutely no hope. While this might have been hyperbole, it is also true that Disney is regularly pushing the edges of technology in order to bring a better experience to park goers. The latest of these innovations is the Magic Band. Wired has a wonderful article this week about both the tech and process that went into making the magic, as well as the extensive, untapped potential that exists within the current hardware. I had no idea the amount of work that went into the development, or the one BILLION dollar price tag that went along with it. Then again, Disney never does things in half measures.
Of all the corporations following my every move, I find Disney much less worrisome than most.
Homeopathic medicine is crap! That’s the conclusion that an Australian survey came to, though they used slightly nicer words. The survey, which covered 225 different studies and 1800 papers, determined that there was no evidence from “good quality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result” to conclude that homeopathy made had any positive effect. Of course those three qualities are the real key to these findings. In order to get legitimate results out of a scientific study, you must follow certain requirements to ensure that you’re actually studying what you intend to and that your results are reproducible. Much like the “vaccines cause autism” study, those that support homeopathic methods use small samples, without accounting for all required variables or they assume a causal relationship where the evidence doesn’t support that.
WRONG ANSWER!
Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there will still be people who cling to the myth that these treatments work.
Everyone, on occasion, hides things. Maybe it’s a Christmas present for someone special, or a pair of dirty socks, or even the old standby: porn–everybody does it. I would wager that most people have never hidden an ocean though. Seems like a real niche market, so to speak. That is however exactly what Jupiter’s moon Ganymede was doing. For years, scientists have speculated that there was an ocean on Ganymede beneath the outer layer of ice, but were unable to gain enough data via flyby to prove it beyond doubt. Now, after a seven hour study of the moon and it’s aurorea (think Aurora Borealis, but plural) they have determined that their assumption was correct and that there is indeed an ocean down there. Apparently aurorea will move around six degrees if an ocean isn’t present and only two if one is, due to the conductive nature of a salty ocean holding it more stationary.
Ganymede
Am I the only one who still remembers all the jokes from when Hubble couldn’t see anything?
Therefore I Geek 
Those Magic Bands are actually super convenient to use; hope that billion dollars pays off for them!