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Watch this interview. Listen to the tone of these two young men (even if you need subtitles to understand their Irish accents). They are simply excited to be in Rio, representing their country. They are not world famous. Their event isn’t being held in prime time. There’s no NBC puff piece about them and their hardscrabble upbringing. It’s just two “lads” having a good time, eating steaks and spuds, and “pulling like dogs”. Thanks to Lorcan Roche Kelly for the link.

“We’re disappointed that ad blocking companies are punishing people on Facebook as these new attempts don’t just block ads but also posts from friends and Pages. This isn’t a good experience for people and we plan to address the issue. Ad blockers are a blunt instrument, which is why we’ve instead focused on building tools like ad preferences to put control in people’s hands.”

Earlier today, Ad blockers found a way around Facebook’s attempts to block them. The first question is why do posts from friends and families get confused as ad content? I know Facebook makes its revenue from ads and I’m okay with that, but I’d love a way to pay them instead. If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. I don’t necessarily blame Facebook for trying to get around ad blockers because they are offering a free service (except they track and sell you).

CVS Health today is launching its own mobile payments solution that will allow customers to pay for products, pick up prescriptions, earn ExtraCare loyalty rewards, as well as pay – just by scanning the barcode in the CVS mobile app. The idea, the company explains, is to eliminate the number of steps it takes today to complete a checkout, which today is a very manual process.

I don’t even know what to say about this. Companies want to keep tabs on their customers, but their are better mobile payment solutions—of course, I’m talking about Apple Pay. I won’t use any company’s app when it comes to payments—support Apple Pay and I’m with you.

The most recognizable CBC logo is known as “the gem” or the “exploding pizza” for others. This is the logo I grew up with in Canada.

The bizarre technique has worked wonders. Santo qualified for the Olympic after winning two silver medals in the Pan American Games last year, but the pair has been forced to scale it back.

Those crazy Canadians.

I’m not really surprised that Apple programmed Siri to give some clever replies.

Make it disappear.

Kirk McElhearn:

Ratings are totally absent from the iOS 10 Music app, with no option to turn them on. Currently, on iOS 9, you can view a rating or rate a track by tapping its album artwork while it’s playing, but only for tracks in your library; you can’t apply star ratings to Apple Music tracks.

I’ve noticed this too, but haven’t said anything yet. Please Apple, don’t get rid of star ratings. I use them a lot in my music lists and for auto-playlists for music that I’ve highly rated over time. I’m hoping they just haven’t turned it on the iOS beta, but will in a future update. I’ve been rating music since iTunes first came out—losing all of that now would be a shame.

Two days ago we broke it to you that Facebook had taken “the dark path,” and decided to start forcing ad-blocking users to see ads on its desktop site. We promised that the open source community would have a solution very soon, and, frankly, they’ve beaten even our own expectations. A new filter was added to the main EasyList about 15 minutes ago.

Remember, Facebook said it was going to force ads to ad-blocking users. They already figured out a way around it. Let the games begin.

Though more than 20 states have legalized marijuana for medicinal uses, there’s still a lot scientists don’t know about it. “It’s actually quite amazing how little we really know about something that has been used for thousands of years,” says Sachin Patel of Vanderbilt University who studies cannabis. “We desperately need well-controlled unbiased large scale research studies into the efficacy of cannabis for treating disease states, which we have very little of right now. Without these studies we are basically flying blind with regard to medical marijuana in my opinion.”

Not being a user, I don’t much care, but I understand the need for more study. Some good questions.

Twitter Inc denied on Thursday rumors that the social media messaging service will be shutting down in 2017, denouncing the claim as groundless.

If the source for this rumor is true—a frustrated Twitter user—it goes to show the power of social media.

I saw this when the swimming events began and thought, why are they there? Now it makes sense.

It is amazing that pilots from all over the world speak English when communicating with air traffic control. It makes sense, of course, there has to be a universal language so everyone understands the instructions.

[Via Coudal]

For 2016, Charvel is offering a limited run of the Guthrie Govan Signature model that shares many of the unique features of his original model, but in a handsome Britannica Red finish trimmed with a black burst.

This is a long way out of my price range, but I love Charvel guitars. I’ll definitely have one someday.

Speaking of Om Malik, he had this to say about Apple and Netflix:

Apple—if it really wants to get into content and wants to make a strong statement to the Hollywood establishment that has stymied its television efforts so far—should make a big, bold bet. It should use its massive stock market capitalization and cash hoard to buy Netflix. Apple is currently valued at $584 billion and it can afford Netflix, which is valued at around $42 billion.

Om Malik:

“If you want to do something for the shareholders make interesting damn MacBooks, which people can buy. You want to do something nice? Make a better phone, which people want to keep buying. Nobody cares if you do Planet of the Apps.”

Om had strong words for Apple, its fascination with Hollywood, and its executives.

One of Apple’s largest component suppliers, Samsung Electronics, is the subject of a new investigative report regarding its withholding of critical information about the toxic chemicals its employees were exposed to while working in the company’s factories.

Wow Samsung.

The problem is, we humans are generally really bad at seeing the future, even when it is blindingly obvious. Self-driving and autonomous cars sound really fun, convenient and science fiction-y but we are ignoring the other side of the coin.

Good news for Apple and I hope it’s not bad news for Flipboard. Apple has made a lot of hires and moves in the field of health care. It’s going to be really interesting to see what fruit it bears.

I tell my photography students to find different angles for things that have been photographed to death. These pics definitely show a different angle of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This story is less about Microsoft screwing up (but, to be clear, they absolutely did) and more about how it vindicates Apple’s stance regarding backdoors.

This is a well-known story but this article still has some very interesting details.

I know it’s a low bar, but this may be the most well-written article on air hockey you’ll ever read. It was always my favorite game in any arcade I visited. At one point, I was the Air Hockey World Champion (Among Students From Capilano College in North Vancouver Who Hung Around One Particular Arcade). I’m quite proud of that achievement.

The lack of funding and the time, energy and effort it takes to reach the Olympic level in most sports makes these 16 days of competitions even more remarkable.

This seems like using technology just for technology’s sake and not because it’s a better or more efficient way to do something. Plus, in the political climate we find ourselves in right now, I wouldn’t want to be the intern who has to read those messages.

It’s a question I’ve thought about often – what are we creating today that will last a thousand years?

When Apple and IBM announced their partnership, many pundits expressed surprise. But they forget that Apple does things for the long term. That partnership is now bearing significant fruit for both companies.

The Black Hat conference is a fascinating glimpse into an area of computing that should terrify many of us.

With its focus on customer security, there’s no chance Apple backs down on this stance and allows the Australian banks the control they are looking for.

I hope all you Apple shareholders spend your 57 cents wisely.