Sleep Deprivation Is as Bad as Being Drunk:
If you’ve survived an all-nighter in college or a new baby in your household, this was an obvious headline. A recent study by two UCLA doctors, however, found that while other parts of your brain can function normally, your frontal lobe is especially impacted by the lack of shut-eye, impairing your ability to interact with your environment (driving a car) and process images (person in crosswalk). And the impact is cumulative, so it doesn’t matter that you caught up on sleep over a weekend if you remain sleep deprived throughout the week. Study co-author Dr. Yuval Nir said in the findings: “We were fascinated to observe how sleep deprivation dampened brain cell activity. Unlike the usual rapid reaction, the neurons responded slowly and fired more weakly, and their transmissions dragged on longer than usual.” So while it’s tempting to keep burning the midnight oil or answering those Facebook messages at 1 a.m., your brain, body, and insurance company will appreciate the sleep much more. goo.gl/gxEKrK
Protecting Yourself After Equifax Breach:
Were you aware that credit reporting agency Equifax was hit by hackers recently? The hack was announced in late September and affected more than 143 million Americans—that’s 45 percent of all people and quite possibly 58 percent of all U.S. adults! The data stolen included Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and (in most cases) driver’s license information. Equifax is offering free credit security monitoring for a year for those affected, as long as they enroll before January 31, 2018 (extended in late October from a previous November deadline). Visit equifaxsecurity2017.com for more information. Many credit card networks like Discover are also monitoring for fraud in light of this massive attack. You can get more information about the hack by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) site here: goo.gl/gHH3ro. The FTC also encourages filing taxes as soon as possible once all information is available since the agency anticipates an uptick in fraudulent returns filed and refunds sent to thieves.
Autonomous Bus Crashes in First Hour of Service ... Sort Of:
The city of Las Vegas began a yearlong trial of a free electric self-driving shuttle bus, seating up 15 passengers, in the Fremont district. But just an hour into its 365-day stint, its bumper was hit by a delivery truck. No passengers were hurt but city officials quickly responded for damage control: “The shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that its sensors registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident. Unfortunately the delivery truck did not stop and grazed the front fender of the shuttle.” We’re pretty sure that this statement did little to assuage the fears of self-driving vehicle opponents. The vehicle, created by French startup Navya, yields to other vehicles if it senses a collision is imminent, and it will reverse to remove itself from harm’s way if possible. The delivery driver was cited, and testing was expected to resume as normal. goo.gl/QUZtP4
Uber 2.0, No Really:
The TNC is trying to repair its series of black eyes, including pervasive sexual harassment claims, a bribery scandal, a #DumpUber campaign, and a number of lawsuits for wages and tips. The TNC parted ways with CEO Travis Kalanick—kind of, since he is still serving on its board—and welcomed new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi this summer. Update the playbooks: Khosrowshahi is working hard to clean up Uber’s “bro culture” that was allowed to flourish under manchild Kalanick, but is it too late? One of Khosrowshahi’s new mantras is “We do the right thing. Period.” Huh? What a smart but cavalier sentiment after forcing regulators, cities, and states to bend over backward to make the service legit and legal after it violated pretty much any regulation or bullied its way in so it could to operate. Khosrowshahi has improved the company’s standing with its employees in his short tenure so far, and announced that he has the full support of the board (including Kalanick) to take the company public by 2019. Seems like the idea of asking for forgiveness later than permission before continues to be the name of the game in Silicon Valley. goo.gl/3Zvxue [CD1117]