From the archives of The Friday Read

April 11, 2020
Not Quick Reads
From the archives of The Friday Read

Lately, most of our human interaction has taken place remotely, across computer screens. Technology can take us far -- sometimes too far. This week, we offer you four stories about the wonders of life in the digital era. For those of you who prefer analog, we finish with a stirring tribute to Aretha. These are tales that deserve more than a scan of the headlines. Enjoy every word. Meanwhile, stay safe.


** OUr DIGITAL WORLD
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**
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** Baby turtle fitted for 3D printed legs after losing them in fire (2017) ([link removed])
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By ANDREW HARRIS AND STEVE ROBERTS, JR., Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)

Turtles may not be the Animal Kingdom’s speediest walkers, but for one turtle in the Historic Triangle, just being able to walk again could mark a major triumph. Bump, a Sulcata tortoise, is just over a year old. At an age when most human infants are taking their first steps, a team of scientists, archaeologists and good samaritans are trying to help Bump take her first steps after losing her legs in a fire in March.



** As summer camps turn on facial recognition, parents demand: More smiles, please (2019) ([link removed])
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By DREW HARWELL, The Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

When David Hiller’s two daughters checked into Camp Echo, a bucolic sleep-away camp in Upstate New York, they relinquished their cellphones for seven idyllic weeks away from their digital lives. But not Hiller: His phone rings 10 times a day with notifications from the summer camp’s facial-recognition service, which alerts him whenever one of his girls is photographed enjoying their newfound independence, going water-skiing or making a new friend.


** Apartment complex uses dog DNA to encourage clean up (2016) ([link removed])
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By TONIA MOXLEY, The Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)

It might be the ultimate in recycling programs: turning poop into profits. One area rental community, Highlands at Huckleberry Ridge in Montgomery County, has contracted with a DNA matching company to encourage residents to clean up after their dogs. Violators can be charged hefty fines under a recent amendment to the rental lease.


** How Companies Learn Your Secrets (2012) ([link removed])
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By CHARLES DUHIGG, The New York Times Magazine (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)

Andrew Pole had just started working as a statistician for Target in 2002, when two colleagues from the marketing department stopped by his desk to ask an odd question: “If we wanted to figure out if a customer is pregnant, even if she didn’t want us to know, can you do that? ”....About a year after Pole created his pregnancy-prediction model, a man walked into a Target outside Minneapolis and demanded to see the manager. He was clutching coupons that had been sent to his daughter....“She’s still in high school, and you’re sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?”


** An Appraisal
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** Aretha Franklin Had Power. Did We Truly Respect It? (2018) ([link removed])
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By WESLEY MORRIS, The New York Times (Metered Paywall - 1 to 2 articles a month)

Officially, “Respect” is a relationship song. That’s how Otis Redding wrote it. But love wasn’t what Aretha Franklin was interested in. The opening line is “What you want, baby, I got it.” But her “what” is a punch in the face. So Ms. Franklin’s rearrangement was about power. She had the right to be respected — by some dude, perhaps by her country. Just a little bit. What did love have to do with that?



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