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March 2001 Archives
March 31
William Gibson
talks about the Japanese as the Ultimate Early Adaptors, mobile phones and schoolgirls. As usual he is obsessed with wrist watches.
posted by laukf at 5:39 PM PST - 18 comments
What more evidence could one ask for?
Sorry to continue with the 123cheaphosting incident, but I found their site back up and their images folder un-indexed (if you know what I mean). There's also a stolen image from Corbis in there somewhere.
posted by cheesebot at 3:46 PM PST - 17 comments
Marijuana is illegal,
and you can get into serious trouble if caught with it. You can even go to jail for it longer than if you were to kill your own wife. So, just ignore the study in this link.
posted by SexyParapalegic at 1:42 PM PST - 12 comments
A prophet speaks online...
A link for the religiously inclined: General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). I'll give a little background in the thread.
posted by silusGROK at 9:35 AM PST - 30 comments
View this ad or we shoot this dog:
Forget CNET's poster-size adverts. The latest trend is a user agreement that requires visitors to view your banners.
What other websites will attempt to adopt this trend? And what will the backlash be? I for one won't go to sites that "require" me to view advertising.
Story towards bottom of the page
posted by da5id at 8:09 AM PST - 6 comments
Just two months after the Sydney teenager Jessica Michalik was crushed to death in the mosh pit at a Limp Bizkit concert, the American rock/rap band is promoting an Internet game in which concert-goers try to avoid a violent death.
More
posted by murray_kester at 5:04 AM PST - 6 comments
Bush laughs at himself
A new approach: join the others in laughing at you and maybe they will come to think of you as "just plain good folks." My problem is not what he says or how it is said but what his policies portend. But I could be wrong.
posted by Postroad at 4:42 AM PST - 9 comments
March 30
Aurora Borealis... in Santa Fe, NM
i'm up late writing a paper and chanced to look out the window, only to see red gaseous-looking clouds in the sky... I know it seems absurd to see the northern lights in the southwest, but this map almost makes it appear possible, probably because of the altitude... if i see four horsemen though, i'm running like hell.
posted by clockwork at 10:59 PM PST - 12 comments
I can't believe this!
they actually have the nerve to associate themselves with http://www.godhatesdfags.com....
The Human Beings ability for incessant bigotry and ignorance is astonishing!
I know this was posted back a few years ago, but it just had to be shown again..... ugh.
posted by SexyParapalegic at 8:07 PM PST - 18 comments
Monsanto wins case against Canadian farmer.
Percy Schmeiser, who has attained folk-hero status, was held liable for growing genetically modified canola without paying the royalty. The decision in a federal court in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was a significant setback for farmers who fear they will be held liable if pollen from neighboring farms blows onto their fields, transmitting patented genes to their crops without their knowledge or consent.
posted by gimli at 3:19 PM PST - 6 comments
Bush's bumbling last press conference
You'll have to scroll down, but when asked by "Major" (I don't know who he reports for) what the president's thoughts were on the division within Bush's own party about oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bush rambled around with his typical ignorance and "just-so" explanations. Also head on over to
Cspan and watch it for yourself (The portion starts about 16:50). Thing that got me was his skirting of actually calling it The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, instead choosing numerous times to call it the benign and popularly meaningless "ANWR".
posted by crasspastor at 2:13 PM PST - 25 comments
Look!
This guy will create "trick banners" for you, no silly graphic designer needed...
posted by owillis at 11:50 AM PST - 14 comments
I-jacking!
Sippey encourages you 'to inject chaos and anarchy into the post button by hijacking the identities and namesakes of your favorite web "icons."'
Who do you want to be today?
posted by peterme at 11:44 AM PST - 50 comments
Flying Windmills and
Whirlygigs.
As the windy month comes to a close, these two stories seem appropriate. Two men on opposite sides of the globe, each a bit of a cross between Edison and Quixote.
posted by gimli at 11:20 AM PST - 2 comments
The death of hockey in Canada?
Ask a Canadian, and they'll tell you it's the death of Hockey [with a capital H], period.
"We may still call it our national game, but like nearly everything else in this country we have sold it to the Americans."
An interesting article about a national pastime flying south, and becoming merely another example of "American show business."
posted by legibility at 10:56 AM PST - 9 comments
Dot-Com Deaths = Black Plague?
Toronto Star Internet columnist K.K. Campbell takes a look at the startling simularities of the dot-com deaths and the black plague.
"The Dot-Com Death resulted primarily from a little parasite (Internet hypesters, Bombasticus bullroaricus) carried on the body of another parasite (Wall Street IPO underwriters, Securitus scammus maximus) on corporate stocks moving along business capital routes."
posted by bkdelong at 8:10 AM PST - 4 comments
Psycho ex-girlfriend is a hoax!
Looking at the code, I could see that it would sleep for a while, then start popping ad windows. Because of the delay, people would not associate the advertising with PsychoEx - the countdown starts only when you leave the page. and registered at anystreet, Dallas TX phone number 214.555.1212
posted by igloo at 7:39 AM PST - 14 comments
Critical review of the U.S. military.
As someone with an interest in the military (my brother is a fire-controlman on the guided missile cruiser
Vella Gulf), I like to see someone taking a serious look at what the future will bring on the warfare front. Maybe it'll help us avoid things like
this(1) and
this(1).
(1): Mogadishu, Somalia
(2): Sinking of H.M.S. Prince of Wales and Repulse
posted by CRS at 7:18 AM PST - 2 comments
A sad story about Tim McVeigh's dad.
I read
this hoping to find some mistake the mass murder's dad made in raising him. Instead, I came away feeling profoundly sad for this man who can't understand why his son grew up to become such a hate-filled devil.
posted by darren at 6:29 AM PST - 2 comments
Emo.
...Metal. Grunge. Alt. Rock. Pop. Folk. Rap. Blues. Rhythm & Blues. Country & Western. Gaze & Veg. Goth. Trance. Edge. Old School. New School. East Coast. West Coast. Pre-Punk. Post-Punk. Punk. Indie. Core. Emocore. Hardcore Emo. Post-Emo Indie Rock. Post-Emocore Pre-Punk Apocolyptic Pop Jizz Softcore Jesusfreak Liquid Splatter Metal. Guitar-Driven Jazz-Infused Lite-Oasis Serial Death Addictive Jump Swing Rap Twang-Blues...
[Insert a very long blood curdling scream here.]
posted by ZachsMind at 5:43 AM PST - 28 comments
The Scholars and the Godess
In "The scholars and the Godess" Charlotte Allen writes of the now debunked history of Wicca.
"Diotima Mantineia," age forty-eight, is the associate editor of
The Witches' Voice summed up her feelings on the debunking of the official Wiccan narrative this way: "It doesn't matter to me how old Wicca is, because when I connect with Deity as Lady and Lord, I know that I am connecting with something much larger and vaster than I can fully comprehend. The Creator of this universe has been manifesting to us for all time, in the forms of gods and goddesses that we can relate to. This personal connection with Deity is what is meaningful. For me, Wicca works to facilitate that connection, and that is what really matters."
I agree. Simply that it works for the individual is all that matters. What works for you?
posted by revbrian at 5:32 AM PST - 38 comments
Roofle!
The SomethingAwful goons are on a GWB photoshopping spree. Oh man, I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.
posted by Potsy at 1:47 AM PST - 8 comments
March 29
F u cn rd ths, u rnt vry kreatv.
The Guardian launches what may be the world's first text messaging poetry competition. Can you stir another's soul in 160 characters or less? Top prize is £1000. You don't have to be a UK citizen to enter. Why not post your entries here before your send them out?
posted by aaron at 10:36 PM PST - 2 comments
Confidentiality.
A lot of people would probably expect such a conversation to be confidential, although that is neither
promised by the web site nor apparently
required of their operators.
The TV news here in Melbourne covered the story this morning and skirted the subject of confidentiality, but Wired has an interesting piece. The New Zealand Herald has an edited transcript in the first of it's articles.
There's an uproar if a doctor or a priest breaks a confidence, even if it leads to a murder being solved. Why so little fuss here?
posted by southisup at 7:15 PM PST - 6 comments
"Stop AT&T!"
As
expected, former Northpoint customers are losing or have already lost their DSL services, due to AT&T's decision to simply interrupt service. If you are one of the over 121,000 customers affected, sign this petition to let them know how how many people this has angered.
posted by valerie at 3:27 PM PST - 8 comments
Anti-abortion site wins appeal.
In a ringing defense of the First Amendment, Judge Alex Kozinski wrote that "political speech may not be punished just because it makes it more likely that someone will be harmed at some unknown time in the future by an unrelated third party.
Courtney Love can sue when her cell phone # is released on a website, and yet doctors have their personal information posted online specifically so they can be tracked and killed. Scary.
posted by jragon at 2:33 PM PST - 35 comments
The unkindest cut.
"Standard medical practice dictates that intersex births like Carl's are emergencies that must be 'assigned' male or female and 'corrected' immediately to spare the parents the anguish of uncertainty, with no thought as to what the children would want." Er, wouldn't it be better to wait and see to which sex the child is attracted before slicing him/her to pieces?
posted by frykitty at 10:01 AM PST - 34 comments
DC Police email scandal.
The District of Columbia put computers in patrol cars and encouraged email use to help keep lengthy communication off the radio waves. Instead, a recent audit of department emails showed that many officers used it to send "racist, vulgar and homophobic messages" to each other. Further complicating matters, it appears this might
create legal problems for the police -- defense lawyers can undermine officer credibility, convictions may be reviewed for civil rights violations, and the department may be subject to "hostile work environment" lawsuits. Is this a privacy violation, or just another case of employees being too dense to realize that email sent on their employer's system should never be considered private?
posted by monkey-mind at 6:59 AM PST - 15 comments
1337 h4X0r or idiot savant?
USA Today quotes noted animal behaviorist
Temple Grandin observing that uber-hacker Kevin Mitnick exhibits many of the symptoms of Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autisim from which Grandin herself suffers. Mitnick doesn't seem to disagree, in fact he noticed it himself. Grandin, Mitnick and others speculate as to whether many "hackers" are, in fact, autistic.
posted by briank at 6:16 AM PST - 11 comments
Jesse's Mistress Writing A Tell-All.
The mother of Jesse Jackson's love child is penning a tell-all book alleging she received a secret payoff of $450,000 from the civil-rights leader, that to prove Jackson was the father of her 22-month-old daughter, she froze a condom containing his sperm, that before giving birth to their child, Karin was pregnant by Jesse a previous time, but had an abortion at his request, and that after learning of the affair, Jackson's wife, Jackie, was so angry that she pointed a gun at him in their Chicago home and had to be restrained by a guest.
posted by frednorman at 12:49 AM PST - 10 comments
March 28
Starbucks lays claim to 20% of all American cafes.
Does anybody in this lately conservatized land of ours care on who's backs our wealth rests upon? Virtually every vegetable, piece of fruit, bottled soda, cup of coffee we ingest is produced at rock bottom prices for the corporations that exploit our neighbors to the south. Our way of life in the States is directly tied to how miserable the living/working conditions of laborers in "developing" countries are. Developing countries--what a misnomer. The only thing developing are profits for select Americans and/or fear that the threat of recession will negate the purchase of that little luxury car I've had my eye on.
posted by crasspastor at 9:20 PM PST - 61 comments
Your phone is you
Before we let cellphones handle everything from opening our medical records to buying a house, we'll need to make sure people can't steal our identities.
posted by semmi at 8:07 PM PST - 5 comments
Up Yours!
Accused of one of the most bizarre charges in the history of Rugby League, or sport in general, a player has been found guilty of poking his fingers up the anuses of three North Queensland players.
posted by aki at 5:42 PM PST - 8 comments
WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, COULD YOU REPEAL THE GENEVA CONVENTION?
Bush's EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman said yesterday that the Kyoto treaty on climate change was dead. She said, "No, we have no interest in implementing that treaty."
Under the treaty, the U.S. would have to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Earlier this month, Whitman signed a formal declaration with
environmental ministers from other industrialized nations pledging to move forward on the treaty.
posted by semmi at 4:17 PM PST - 14 comments
Cool eyeball science
Quick summary of interesting research on the output of the eyeball. 3 really cool things: 1, we know much more about the output of the eyeball now than a few years ago; 2, they've got a neural network doing visual processing like the eye; 3, most of what you see your brain makes up!
posted by daver at 3:37 PM PST - 8 comments
The Winux virus
is reported to affect both Windows and Linux boxes/applications. The article says it's "written in a primitive computer language called 'assembly language'." On a side note, who do they get to write these articles? Certainly they are uncomfortable with technology...
posted by fooljay at 2:41 PM PST - 5 comments
Can you buy pot online legally?
That is the claim of this company. According to their site, it's against US law for customs to open any box marked as being human remains. They say they'll ship doobage from the Netherlands with a prominent "euthanized human remains" sticker on it and deliver the goods to your door. Also, if you sign up by April 20, they'll toss in a free joint.
posted by norm at 2:10 PM PST - 12 comments
Best RIAA-vs-mp3 quote so far? Here's my candidate. I think it'll take five aces to beat it but don't hesitate to try!
As Eben Moglen, professor of law and legal history at Columbia University, puts it, "Is the RIAA and its friends doing some kind of technology surveillance? Yes. Is it going to work? No. It's really dumb. It's another serious mistake by an industry going out of business in the stupidest way, bumping its head on the steps on the way down, because the record industry was always a bunch of thugs and that's what they still are."
posted by jfuller at 1:44 PM PST - 24 comments
The Planet of the Apes
remake is slated for Summer 2001, and they now have a site with a teaser trailer. At first I was disappointed that there even was a remake in the works, since the original is a great classic, but when I heard that Tim Burton is directing (with a score by Danny Elfman) I thought maybe it's worth a second look.
posted by Sal Amander at 1:41 PM PST - 16 comments
Every*
day, lately, I see more news showing
a tightening grasp** on the peoples of the world by agents of power and knowledge. Domestic affairs are more about foreignness than ever, it seems.
* Story about an expedition by Brazilian anthropologists to collect information on the size and number of uncontacted indigenous groups in the Amazon (without actually contacting them).
** Story about tensions between indigenes and commercial fisheries in the Torres Straits Islands. Australia gives broad protection of indigenous rights to land, but courts have not yet ruled on rights to the sea.
posted by rschram at 12:59 PM PST - 2 comments
Two words: Bad Taste
The Washington Post today is running an article on Alcatels new pitchman, Martin Luther King, Jr! Yes! MLK joins the likes of John Wayne and Alfred Hitchcock as undead spokespeople.
posted by cornbread at 8:51 AM PST - 47 comments
"Companies could run into roadblocks if
they have to treat data from European customers differently from those in the United States"
I have an idea! Don't! We need
EU-level privacy here in the U.S. Why can't we have it? Can anyone tell me why our laws are better?
posted by fooljay at 8:48 AM PST - 2 comments
Head of National Forest Service resigns.
Mike Dombeck was actually "protected" from replacement by the Bush administration but chose to step down and retire when it was obvious Dubya aims to open thousands of acres of national forest to logging as well as new oil, gas and mining operations. What's next? Will Bush lift regulations on how toxic and nuclear waste are disposed of? His new policy appears to be an environmental nightmare.
posted by bkdelong at 6:28 AM PST - 39 comments
"An American Tragedy"
The University of Michigan Law School's use of race in the admission process is declared unconstitutional. In making his decision, Judge Friedman found that the law school relied on an unwritten policy to maintain a "critical mass" of minority students of between 11 percent and 17 percent -- in essence, a quota. His 90-page opinion also said the policy was too vague and "places a very heavy emphasis on an applicant's race in deciding whether to accept or reject."
posted by JFunk2800 at 2:04 AM PST - 35 comments
Napster proof CDs?
(Salon link, so shoot me) A new scheme for copy-protected CDs that uses errors and false data to confuse your CD-ROM drive. (more inside)
posted by smeat at 12:00 AM PST - 22 comments
March 27
When Headlines Go (Nearly) Right
The world's most unfortunately named cleric makes a cameo appearance in a row over sex scenes in a film. Can someone persuade me that the Pope didn't make Bishop Sin a cardinal just for these moments?
posted by holgate at 5:38 PM PST - 7 comments
Farewell to another free lunch...
Streamed baseball radio is an interesting microcosm of the web's development. It started with a few forward-looking local stations taking the initiative and unilaterally offering a live stream; then it went under the auspices of Broadcast.com; now RealNetworks and MLB Inc. have tied up the subscription deal. A touchstone for other online content?
posted by holgate at 4:50 PM PST - 14 comments
Survivor: Monster Island
Destroy All Monsters takes on Survivor with a cast of monsters from Japanese films. This looks much more exciting than CBS's show, and the quotes are better to:
Ghidorah has aspirations beyond mindless destruction. "You know what I always wanted to do? Musicals. West Side Story. This 'harass the human race' stuff gets old after a while, ya know?"
posted by DragonBoy at 3:13 PM PST - 10 comments
Sending Texans a message
-- more than one million Texans can look forward to receiving a "video version of the New Testament account of Luke" in their mailboxes. The group's goal is to send the video to every Texas home -- eight million. The video was made 22 years ago and is 83-minutes long.
Will the message fall on deaf ears? Isn't there a better way?
posted by 7sharp11 at 1:59 PM PST - 50 comments
Wizards of the Coast
was quite a strange place to work for in the early days. A gamer paradise of freebies, fun, and sex. A game or Truth of Swill changes everything. Now WOTC is owned by Hasbro and the February closing of the Seattle Gamecenter is the final nail in the coffin of gamer paradise.
posted by john at 12:56 PM PST - 8 comments
Free Market Failure?
The pharmaceutical companies profits have been rising faster than the S&P Industrials as a whole, mainly due to huge profits from drug patents. Not only are the drug companies milking American consumers, but their stranglehold on IP rights to new drugs prevents much-needed medicines from being affordable in many third-world countries.
But, we can't take away patent rights or investors would flee the drug scene and new drugs wouldn't be developed at all. How do we solve this problem? The only institutions with the financial resources to do the same research as drug companies are national governments. And they have the obligation to protect the social welfare. Should we turn over pharmaceutical research and development to government?
posted by daveadams at 12:33 PM PST - 17 comments
Bush seeks support from Silicon Valley leaders for tax plan.
"I haven't seen the list of attendees yet, but it's for the purpose of building support for the President's budget and tax plan, for the vital group of the economy that's kept our economy strong. If there's any group that has its finger on the pulse of the economy, it's the high tech community, and the President wants to hear their thoughts about the strength of the economy and to share with them his ideas for how to improve it."
Yeah, but what about the PEOPLE? Shouldn't WE be asked about the tax plan?
posted by bkdelong at 9:11 AM PST - 10 comments
Nike full of hot air.
So you thought that those sneakers were going to make you jump higher. All you needed was the new Nike Airs. Ok, we were smart enough to know they don't help, but how come we didn't know that they actually caused injuries.
posted by dancu at 8:32 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment
You Are The Weakest Link, Goodbye!
Yes, the "Rudest Person on Television" is about to hit American airwaves as NBC desperately tries to catch up to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and "Survivor". This little BBC profile of Anne Robinson explains it all for us unsuspecting Yanks. Is "YATWLG" about to be the next hot meme?
posted by briank at 6:46 AM PST - 38 comments
Screen your thoughts for $35
"About 8 thought screens were made in early 1999 using a metalized plastic which is used in static shielding bags. Six users reported success but two users were overcome by telepathic commands, removed the helmets and were taken.
"In late 1999 and early 2000, nine new thought screens were made using Velostat shielding. All abductees wearing this helmet have not been taken while they were wearing it."
posted by lagado at 3:58 AM PST - 14 comments
A brand new way to harass misfits at school.
First, accuse them of being terrorists. Then hide behind a proposed California law (see last paragraph of article) that protects you from being sued by the accused for defamation. What happened to the Tapia family, whose daughter Kristina made just such an accusation (apparently in good faith) and who have since run up $40,000 in legal bills defending her from a suit from the family of the kid she reported (who was arrested and expelled), is of course a travesty, but is a "shield" law the right solution when it's all too easy to imagine it just making the whole "zero tolerance" environment of U.S. public schools even more sick and twisted?
posted by kindall at 1:16 AM PST - 13 comments
March 26
The Ship of Fools.
What an odd tale... and a well-researched bag of symbolic plates to accompany it. Laid out very much like a book (hover in a bottom corner to 'turn' a page) and plenty of side notes to go with the illustrations.
posted by salsamander at 8:44 PM PST - 1 comments
The Anti-Chagnon: Tobias Schneebaum reminisces
Schneebaum falls squarely into the romantic camp. "I'm not an anthropologist, and I didn't go to Peru to gather information
," he says with mild distaste. "I wanted to meet people and have a good time. I never thought about if I was exploiting anybody. I was doing something that thrilled me, and that was the only thing on my mind." Ugh, I can't tell which is worse...
posted by rschram at 3:18 PM PST - 4 comments
Virgin to offer Internet access from every seat
Is anyone else blown away by the possibility of this? For sheer entertainment value, or for work purposes, this would be incredible. Even just to let someone know you're running late, etc., this would completely alter my perception of air-travel ...
posted by pupper at 2:08 PM PST - 18 comments
adobe has a new product
it looks like they're trying to do a 3d environment cause you have to download a browser, too. (or a browser extension). anyway, it's a free beta download.
posted by bliss322 at 12:38 PM PST - 10 comments
Want to avoid sweatshop shoes? Buy Nike.
So says
Peter Singer. Same applies to the other favourite targets of the "No Logo" activists. Which raises a curious irony: what happens when a corporation you've habitually demonised starts listening to to its critics? Is it possible to rehabilitate a Big Bad Brand?
posted by holgate at 11:05 AM PST - 22 comments
Is this the Face of Christ?
'The BBC used a combination of 2,000-year-old Jewish skulls and ancient religious images to generate what it claims is the first "true-to-life" picture of Jesus Christ.'
posted by LMG at 10:52 AM PST - 28 comments
one,
two,
three. considering this is the same bunch that put our current resident in the whitehouse, why do i have a bad feeling about this?
posted by bliss322 at 10:19 AM PST - 35 comments
when do web-cams stop being fun?
So when is a web-cam inappropriate? I mean, we've all seen the coffee-pot cam, the jenni-cam, etc. But when do you cross the line with web-cams? Is it reasonable for your work to setup a web-cam? How about a school? A funeral home?
Basically, when does the web-cam stop being fun? I think I have a candidate.
crime.com is the first site on the net to have a web-cam in a working jail. Please discuss.
posted by cornbread at 7:52 AM PST - 24 comments
Kids' bad habits blamed on movies
I too sneered and thought this was going to be another attack on media as the root cause of all problems. But the stats suggest a correlation that should be given some serious thought. Not talking about guns and school shootings but rather smoking and drinking. But then what of dope?
posted by Postroad at 7:24 AM PST - 16 comments
The Euro.
I have a question for all of the Euro-zone mefi members. Do regular folks in Europe think the varied governments will come together for the economic benefit of the whole or will regional differences doom the new currency?
posted by CRS at 7:21 AM PST - 9 comments
Slow Dance.
Saw this "Poem to the Editor" in the paper version of this community rag. Supposed to be written by "a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital."
posted by kcchip at 2:14 AM PST - 5 comments
March 25
"Suspected thief
hides in mall overnight to steal cellphones."
He took drugs to stay awake the whole night, and would've gotten away with the loot had he taken his time and not rushed out immediately after the mall opened. Mom was right -- patience really
is a virtue!
posted by lia at 8:56 PM PST - 1 comments
Up to 20% of the internet vulnerable
to a virus. There is a new Linux worm virus. Apparently, it steals passwords, installs and hides other hacking tools on infected systems, and then uses those systems to seek other servers to attack. Sys admins are advised to run a check on their servers and upgrade their BIND version.
posted by borgle at 5:27 PM PST - 5 comments
the wit and wisom of Imelda Marcos
Often regarded as merely a woman with enough wealth to own a huge collection of shoes, Imelda, it seems, has the wit of a Gore Vidal, the incisevness of a Paglia, and the ability to refer to essentials that can be found in Pascal. Click on her nose to find the path to her brain...a trip worth the taking.
posted by Postroad at 2:43 PM PST - 1 comments
Bozo to hang up his nose.
After 40 years on the air in Chicago, the final episode of
The Bozo Show will air in August. One of the personalities ingrained into the head of every Chicago kid is going away.
posted by hijinx at 8:07 AM PST - 14 comments
Third-grader suspended for drawing soldier, kniufe, gun
The teacher said that the students were scared of the drawings....perhaps they should read the article in the current issue of the Guardian which goes into specifics of our new military budget and suggests that the total cost of our military budget is 1/3 of that spent by all of the nations in the world combined.
posted by Postroad at 7:30 AM PST - 36 comments
"The marbles belong to the British Museum ...
which does not intend to return any part of the collection to its country of origin," PM Tony Blair ruling out the return to Greece of the so-called "Elgin" marbles, the stone carvings that were
unceremoniously hacked off the Parthenon by the
Earl of Elgin and carted back to Britain. Nearly 200 years later and despite years of Greek protest, the British Museum is not budging and has maintained thoughout that it has been protecting these antiquities from almost certain destruction (although their own record in this regard
has not been great). Should museums today be returning treasures that have were obtained though such looting?
posted by lagado at 4:32 AM PST - 29 comments
March 24
Is there a perfect weblogging software? Here's my wish list: a database back-end, static pages, searching, HTML, easy templating, syndication through RSS, and, most of all, the ability to back-date my entries.
PHP-Nuke is amazing, but isn't quite right for what I want to do. I like
Blogger, but I worry about its future; will new features ever be added? The talented
Noah Grey isn't updating his elegant
Greymatter except for bug fixes, so asking him for features wouldn't be cool. One possibility is a Perl script called
Newspro: very, very flexible, with
interesting add-ons.
posted by tranquileye at 7:23 PM PST - 29 comments
When I was a kid I built tree
forts. One had 17 different platforms, in a giant willow tree. Another one was only reachable by boat. Only one actually had a roof. But now I want a real
treehouse. And I guess
I'm not the only one.
posted by rodii at 9:03 AM PST - 27 comments
March 23
If you're lucky, it's not too late to sign up with a Community Supported Agriculture (
?) program in your area. Imagine getting more
fresh, often organic, locally-grown produce (of sorts familiar and un-) each week from late spring through fall than you probably eat in a month! Some friends did this in college and I was thrilled to find a farm near me this year. Is there one
near you?
posted by sudama at 9:49 PM PST - 15 comments
Learn how to dance, part II.
A fine tutorial, with helpful descriptions:
Smackin That Ass: "... the dancer imagines a huge behind and begins to smack it, at first playfully, then perhaps even fearfully."
posted by Dirjy at 9:46 AM PST - 13 comments
Did you sneeze before breakfast this morning? Well, expect some exciting news... this according to a
page of sneezing folklore. (I might add that sneezing feels mighty nice.)
posted by hijinx at 9:22 AM PST - 7 comments
A taste of Nostalgia...
while it's not really an informative MeFi posted link, the list of commercials brings back memories. It's too bad there aren't any clips. Are any of these familiar to you?
posted by Cavatica at 9:08 AM PST - 11 comments
Following "The Rules"?
One of the co-authors of "
The Rules" is getting divorced, even as the third book in the series -- Rules III: Time-Tested Secrets for Making Your Marriage Work-- goes to press.
posted by darren at 8:12 AM PST - 16 comments
Mir falls to earth
in a blaze of fireworks and sickle-hammered glory following its "
triumphant mission". And damn, it looks like I'm going to have to
pay for my lunch. Thanks to Taco Bell for "
capturing the imagination of people around the globe".
posted by sixfoot6 at 6:18 AM PST - 6 comments
Be careful what you say online.
At least if you're in the UK, where an anonymous poster to 2 message boards now faces charges of defamation after the courts ordered the disclosure of their identity. ISP
Totalise used existing law to force Motley Fool to disclose the details of an anonymous poster to their
message boards alleged to have made defamatory comments. Landmark case or storm in a teacup?
posted by Markb at 4:43 AM PST - 3 comments
Covergent irony,
perhaps, maybe intentional commentary. So the New York Times writes an article about the relationship between globalization and commercial messages, particularly the insertion of globalization itself into the commercials and advertisements. The headline: "Globalization on Film: Message in a Coca-Cola Can." Guess what was in the advertisement to the right of the story. Right: a Diet Coke advert. The ad rotates on re-load, so
here's a screenshot, 36k.
posted by Mo Nickels at 3:22 AM PST - 2 comments
Mp3.com to charge artists to get paid.
Though only a handful of artists have made a lot of money from this exposure, it was a good place to start out and the model was intriguing. But this smells like record company tactics, and probably spells the end of an era.
Some kind of file-sharing forum for new artists will spring up I guess. Where the money/remuneration fits in , I don't know.
posted by aflakete at 1:40 AM PST - 3 comments
March 22
A $21 Trillion Tax Cut
And you thought the Democrats hated President Bush's tiny $1.6 trillion tax cut. James Ostrowski offers a $21 trillion tax cut and thinks the government could be fund through voluntary donations. I'm a small-government guy, but even I don't think you can fund the government via
PayPal or
Amazon.
posted by shackbar at 11:02 PM PST - 9 comments
April 3rd is "Take Back the Net" day.
Only 12 days until they ask you to buy something from your favorite online store, or buy stock in the company to send a message to the world that the Internet Economy will survive. Does anyone smell a cute marketing scare tactic? "I gotta buy TiVo, or Amazon will die and I need my books and movies $3 cheaper!"
posted by Mark at 8:41 PM PST - 3 comments
SF Gate article
states, "with a wireless ethernet card, a laptop and some basic software savvy," people walking around downtown San Francisco could just point their antenna at a building and be privy to private, unprotected coporate networks.
posted by paladin at 5:19 PM PST - 9 comments
can standing up for your 1st amendment rights go too far?
the
independent florida alligator, the independently owned and run student newspaper of the university of florida, where i go to school, has entered into a lawsuit with the orlando sentinel trying to gain access to and copy the autopsy photos of dale earnhardt... saying that the injunction issued at widow teresa earnhardt's request by the state to block the public from access to these photos is a violation of the sunshine laws and their first amendment rights, they have thrown compassion to the wind in a self-righteous publicity stunt, and it's funny that their only supporters are other editors, writers, etc. is this going too far? i know writers live by their reputations, and this will certainly make them known, but how low is low? what do you guys think?
posted by zerotype at 3:07 PM PST - 9 comments
Is this the future of web?
Is it me or are many Internet sites starting to mimmick newspapers?
Large banner ads, aken to the full page spreads of newspapers and magazines. Oversized headlines. What next? Have major sites abandoned the internet as a separate medium?
posted by igloo at 1:12 PM PST - 9 comments
reboot?
is MetaFilter or are any metafilterians taking part in this? I think it sounds kinda fun. But I don't know what I'd do on a week without MetaFilter....work?
posted by darkpony at 11:03 AM PST - 30 comments
Vulnerabiity in OpenPGP
You don't even need to crack the key, just get hold of it, modify a few bytes, and presto, sign away from other persona. The issue here is
signing, not encrypting. The implications are evident when you think of internet voting, tax filing, etc., but it is still a victory for open cryptography, where peer review can find serious flaws.
posted by pecus at 10:43 AM PST - 2 comments
It's going to get ugly
a few years from now. Mad Cow Disease has an incubation period of between 10 and 16 years (or even as much as 30 years). Significant exposure predates 1985. Oh joy.
posted by fleener at 9:47 AM PST - 44 comments
It's happening again:
"Do you believe you were descended from a monkey?" Rep. Denny Altes shot back. "If we teach kids they were descended from monkeys, don't you think they'll act like monkeys?"
posted by aladfar at 8:33 AM PST - 64 comments
yo d00dz! hav u seen tihs?
"Two-thirds of the 18-24 year olds questioned do not worry about punctuation, grammar or style when writing messages. About 16% sign every e-mail with love and kisses, even when addressing their boss."
l8s, love wrighty XX
posted by gi_wrighty at 8:00 AM PST - 30 comments
"The Most Dangerous Piece of Software in the World."
With his usual hyperbole, Calcanis of
SAD calls
WebWasher a scary product. We all know that net advertising is not profitable (i.e. Salon going to subscriptions) and as products like WebWasher proliferate, we can be truly assured that none of these net business models are worth anything. Of course software to kill ads on the web has been around for years but is this the one that will break into the mainstream?
Better sell your DoubleClick stock (like it was worth anything to begin with ;)
posted by gen at 7:29 AM PST - 35 comments
March 21
Blood for oil
All these nations scrambling to gain control over oil, and I had thought american interests were in spreading democracy to those who lack it but have and/or need oil.
posted by Postroad at 8:33 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment
Ocean Floating Residence.
"For The World is no ordinary cruise ship. Instead of carrying thousands of passengers for a week or two at a time, it will be home to around 200 residents who have paid between $2m and $7m apiece for one of its 110 apartments."
posted by Zool at 7:28 PM PST - 5 comments
Exploring the Black Sea with robotic submersibles.
The Black Sea is the largest body of anoxic water in the world. A remarkable thing happens in such waters: wood, cloth, food, and other organic materials do not decay and disappear — ships that went to the bottom hundreds or thousands of years ago still rest on the seafloor in almost the same condition as when they sailed the surface. The trick is getting down into the depths to find them.
posted by lagado at 7:06 PM PST - 11 comments
VBS Worm Generator Software.
I read in a foreign techi. publication about this Argentin kid who supposedly offers this virus generating software on his homepage. Being a layperson I don't know what to make of it. Is this possible?
posted by semmi at 5:47 PM PST - 5 comments
Bangalore tech support
(NY Times, free reg. req.) try to convince callers that they're actually nearby in the US, like one who "conjured up a fictional American life, with parents Bob and Ann, brother Mark and a made-up business degree from the University of Illinois."
posted by paladin at 4:05 PM PST - 3 comments
Bill Gates' dad in NY Times Mag Q&A
on bequests, estates, philanthropy and work ethic. (He's involved in administering his son's charity activities.) NY Times link, so free registration or your own personal backdoor required.
posted by jhiggy at 1:20 PM PST - 1 comments
While I'm not a huge Hole fan, Courtney Love's
letter to other recording artists makes me look at her a bit differently. The letter is a pretty strong plea for them to organize a union representing their interests. With all of the press that has been genereated over the RIAA/
Napster battle, do you think the timing is right?
Garage Bands of the world, Unite! Move over Rick Trumka
(link via SVN).
posted by trox at 1:14 PM PST - 30 comments
ever wish those new laptops were a little cheaper?
hackers have found a simple way of changing the prices on e-commerce sites and then submitting a purchase order with the new price...all in the "edit page" feature of your browser... suddenly network security is not the only thing to be aware of with online transactions.
posted by zerotype at 9:14 AM PST - 29 comments
a white man speaking black truths
After the California school shooting, ther had been a number of discussions and some links to the idea that blacks don't do school shootings. The article dealing with this issue elicited a huge response on-line by blacks to the piece, written by a whiteman. Here is how many blacks responded.
posted by Postroad at 8:18 AM PST - 35 comments
The Onion joins the
AYBABTU bandwagon with this article:
Congress Adds 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' Amendment To Bankruptcy Bill
WASHINGTON, DC-- Seeking to increase fiscal accountability among citizens who have no chance to survive make their time, the House of Representatives added an "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" amendment Monday to H.R. 333, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001. "What you say!!!" shouted the bill's sponsor, Rep. George Gekas (R-PA), following the amendment's approval. "This bill will not only make debt-ridden Americans more accountable, but it has the added benefit of taking off every 'zig' for great justice." Opponents of the amendment protested that it would potentially set up U.S. the bomb.
posted by Maxor at 6:05 AM PST - 10 comments
"Tired of praying and waiting for His second coming, a group of scientists aims to
clone Jesus Christ and fulfill the much awaited biblical prophecy." [via the
PDI]
posted by lia at 1:19 AM PST - 35 comments
March 20
About as creepy as an old copy of Creepy,
but much funnier and much more crude. Flash stuff in the old
Mad magazine vein. And best of all, no banner ads and largely non-commercial.
So why aren't their more original, non-arty, non-techno-ey, non-animal-abusing, non-commercial Flash things like this?
posted by foist at 8:52 PM PST - 2 comments
Tiki Trouble
My kids have been logging major time with this lately, so I thought I'd share it. For our collector of Tikiana. (Flash)
posted by rodii at 7:07 PM PST - 3 comments
The cyborg manifesto
scares me. I first read it in this month's
adbusters magazine, then online. It paints a provocative picture of our future. Will we look back on this as the just the beginning or is it vapor-futurism?
flash 4 required
posted by will at 4:07 PM PST - 23 comments
Thinking Outside the Box.
A washington post article on technology and its incompatibility with humans.
"Instead of hunting down people who smoke pot, they'd be hunting down people who sell business software that crashes. They'd owe people a buck or go to jail. That's what Washington should be doing." Via Slashdot
posted by bytecode at 3:17 PM PST - 10 comments
W. Post: Follow the Money
Or, rather, are TV stations gouging political advertisers -- and is this, the price of advertising, the quandary rather than reforming the financing of said campaign or issue advertising? Quite intriguing.
posted by raysmj at 3:12 PM PST - 5 comments
Wincent Colaiuta has seen and reviewed the new Mac OS
but you can't read the review. He's encrypted the whole thing using PGP and he's not releasing the key until the OS is released. He says he's done this to avoid law suits from Apple.
I say he's begging for hits.
If he wanted to avoid lawsuits, he could just wait to publish the review...
posted by Jako at 9:10 AM PST - 6 comments
Miracle baby
crawls out of her house in the middle of the night into the snow in Canada, and when she's found her body temp is 60°F. Looks like she'll be fine.
posted by JParker at 8:34 AM PST - 2 comments
Haughey in hospital after collapse
Former Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Haughey, and sharer of the surname of this sites founder, collapsed at his home yesterday.
Haughey is now infamous for his dishonest dealings while in power in the 1970's and 1980's and the various tribunals instigated as a result have taken their toll.
posted by tomcosgrave at 8:07 AM PST - 17 comments
Busboy makes good!
Sometimes when your pay is not enough to live on you have to take action to correct things. This guy did. With a computer he didn't even own.
posted by Postroad at 8:05 AM PST - 12 comments
Yo quiero tacos libres.
Free tacos for everyone if the Mir lands on target. I really want to have something pithy and meaningful to say about this, and the over-marketing of everything, but I'm just too appalled.
posted by dnash at 7:58 AM PST - 11 comments
Strathclyde Police, Scotland,
given the right to take DNA samples from anyone arrested.
Previously DNA samples were taken only from those suspected of murders, sex attacks or serious assaults.
Sir John Orr, Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, denied that compulsory testing would infringe people's human rights. He said: "The tests are not invasive, not intrusive and not against civil liberties. The vast majority of people will be asked only to give a simple mouth swab, which can be done in seconds. This is a magnificent tool which will help detect crime and the public should be very pleased."
Read: you have nothing to fear if you're innocent...
posted by methylsalicylate at 4:02 AM PST - 22 comments
March 19
Rip Mix Burn?
The issue here isn't the usual, "Did they sell out?" It's more a case of, Is this stellar groups saying Napster is OK (in a roundabout way), or did they just need the cash?
posted by raysmj at 8:57 PM PST - 28 comments
Girl excluded from school for not playing football.
She claims that football is "thuggish" and "a boy's game" and so refused to participate. The family intend to take legal action.
Should kids be allowed to opt out of sports they disagree with? If it were boxing (as one British school decided to try) I'm sure most people would say yes. But is football such a sin?
posted by wackybrit at 5:59 PM PST - 37 comments
Right before you hit
you were doing...
Looks like we're all getting black boxes in our cars. As a high speed crash survivor I have to admit a certain curiosity as to the forces involved my accident happened. But I'm not sure I want to know this badly...
posted by daver at 5:25 PM PST - 10 comments
Hailstorm!
"Web Services" like Ebay
on your im app, email, phone, whatever. Is the era of the "universal login" finally here? (Microsoft or not).
posted by owillis at 3:40 PM PST - 18 comments
The Earthquake as Artist
"A shop in Port Townsend, Washington had a sand pendulum going when last week's earthquake struck. One usually thinks of earthquakes as resulting in a net increase in entropy, but in this instance the outcome was something akin to fine art". via
TBTF
posted by lagado at 2:22 PM PST - 3 comments
Fucked Company goes commercial.
The free web site continues as is, but as "pud" points out, he's received over 40,000 "tips" and only posted 1,400 of them. Want to see them all? You can see all Comments for $25/mo and Comments + Rumors, unfiltered, for $75/mo. This kid is a genius. Get enough free, contributed content and collect enough archival info to be useful, THEN start charging for full access. Hey, wait a minute, you guys-n-gals running MeFi aren't thinking about....?
posted by JParker at 1:49 PM PST - 18 comments
Salon is not known for their satire, but this
"Bushonics"article gives the Onion a run for its money. Or at least, I
hope it's satirical: "Among the military's top brass, the dialect is considered to be the unofficial language of the Pentagon."
posted by bison at 11:37 AM PST - 27 comments
Is this
what it takes to convince me not to hold my bridge
toll in my mouth while i roll down the window? i mean, i guess we all know that
money is dirty, but i used to enjoy my blissful ignorance.
posted by donkeysuck at 11:22 AM PST - 13 comments
PNGDF soliders take arms, hold Port Moresby barracks
PM Morauta in hiding
The Defence Force is protesting pay and planned downsizing of the military. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the takeover was sparked by rumors of an Australian seizure of the Moresby barracks. As of yesterday, more troops have joined the takeover
There are unconfirmed reports that the soldiers would stage a protest march on the Parliament building. The Parliament is not currently in session.
posted by rschram at 9:08 AM PST - 5 comments
No Constitutional Right to Wear Marilyn Manson Shirts to School
The Supreme Court has upheld the right of a public school to send a student home for wearing what they deemed to be an "offensive" Marilyn Manson t-shirt. The student, according to the court, had no First Amendment right to wear the shirt in an educational setting. And the debate over what rights kids have and do not have in the schoolhouse rages on. . .
posted by Dreama at 9:01 AM PST - 97 comments
What started out as a joke
in the late eighties, has transformed into a
multi-billion dollar industry (of course, I'm exaggerating). Upgrade that
aging Macintosh that's just collecting dust...or take a drive to your local dealer for the custom-built
macquarium of your dreams. (And for those who hate the smell of fish food, there is always the
macterrarium)
posted by samsara at 8:11 AM PST - 12 comments
Alternative broadband delivery systems
So now that all the DSL providers are going bankrupt, and the cable modem providers can't meet the demand, scheming entrepeneurs are looking for other ways to bring broadband to you. The guy with the plan for the hi-altitude airplanes sounds like he escaped from some lame-brained dot-com.
posted by briank at 8:03 AM PST - 5 comments
Coca-Cola on tap at home?
New recipies that include "2 cups of Coca-Cola"? Taking this a step further makes it interesting, with all manner of juices being available on-call.
posted by pnevares at 6:01 AM PST - 36 comments
Geeks (like me), welcome the new
Palm m505 -- all the style of the V series, with an improved color lcd screen and an expansion slot! Yum.
posted by lia at 4:18 AM PST - 47 comments
March 18
March 16
Park Wars Released
See the kids of South Park fight like Jedi Knights. Quicktime required and big downloads but there is a streaming link. Sweeeet.
posted by jordanbrock at 4:41 PM PST - 2 comments
Ready To Go DoCoMo?
Big in Japan (holding 60% of the wireless audience), NTT's hugely successful i-Mode phones bring the Internet to millions in Asia. They bought a chunk of AT&T Wireless to hit North American shores in time for Christmas. Will it be a dream, or a dud? And
are you ready to start building the wireless web?
posted by honkzilla at 4:24 PM PST - 7 comments
Sex Diseases Increasing in People 50+
The incidence of AIDS in people 50 and older is growing at a rate twice as fast as for people younger than 50, according to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But that's largely been ignored by the health-care profession, say longtime health educators.
posted by jhiggy at 3:22 PM PST - 3 comments
My Buddy - A Four Act Passion Play.
You're a young musician, just out of school and thrilled to get a gig with one of the greatest drummers who ever lived. Little do you realize you've just stepped into Sideman Hell.
posted by cfj at 2:11 PM PST - 8 comments
Scientology Strikes Again
Last Saturday a comment was posted on Slashdot by an anonymous reader that contained text that was copyrighted by the Church of Scientology. They have since followed the DMCA and demanded that Slashdot remove the comment. After consulting with their lawyers, that's exactly what Slashdot did, but posted the above page with oodles of links to anti-Scientology resources. Will Scientology stop at nothing to silence its opponents?
posted by yarf at 12:43 PM PST - 21 comments
Gymnast vaults into gender-equity flap.
"For more than two decades in Massachusetts, boys have been allowed to compete on girls' teams (and vice versa) if their school doesn't have a team for their gender. But everywhere else in the region, they're still banned."
posted by idiolect at 11:40 AM PST - 1 comments
John Gilmore on the implications of copy protection
"If by 2030 we have invented a matter duplicator that's as cheap as copying a CD today, will we outlaw it and drive it underground? So that farmers can make a living keeping food expensive, so that furniture makers can make a living preventing people from having beds and chairs that would cost a dollar to duplicate, so that builders won't be reduced to poverty because a comfortable house can be duplicated for a few hundred dollars? Yes, such developments would cause economic dislocations for sure. But should we drive them underground and keep the world impoverished to save these peoples' jobs? And would they really stay underground, or would the natural advantages of the technology cause the "underground" to rapidly overtake the rest of society? -- I think we should embrace the era of plenty and work out how to mutually live in it."
posted by aurelian at 11:04 AM PST - 10 comments
By testing the limits
of what the USPS will actually deliver, scientists at the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR) have answered an age-old question: "How patient is the US Postal Service when it comes to unwrapped packages?" (via
Useless Pages)
posted by samsara at 9:36 AM PST - 11 comments
California Blackouts Inevitable
says the U.S. Govt Energy Secretary. He is against price caps. It seems there is a lack of understanding on his part to grasp a *public good* that benefits all. Having a few producers control a market with a high cost for competitors to enter the market to form true competition screams for some control. Particularly for a commodity that business and people a like use to drive the overall economy. Since the economy is in such great shape maybe we don't need these controls [sic].
posted by vanderwal at 6:25 AM PST - 9 comments
Inaugural Protesters Abused
"'Agents provocateurs' . . . allegedly punched a protester and more than one allegedly fired pepper spray at close range in the faces of peaceful demonstrators." Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long and painful 4 years? The
economy,
bankruptcy laws,
limits on abortion rights, failure to regulate
carbon dioxide; we're only a few months into this administration and already things look bad.
[and yes, I've included links to Salon stories; uh oh!]
posted by Outlawyr at 5:52 AM PST - 17 comments
Comic Relief
hits the UK yet again. This is a fundraising event based around comedy and comedians that attempts to take the worthiness out of charity by making the day entertaining. Generally it fails. However, highlights of the event this year (both on and off the web) include: A celebrity version of
Big Brother. The pairing of
Graham Norton and Sarah Ferguson.
Hot Naked Robbie Williams doing The Fast Show's Ted and Ralph. And finally:
Mo Morgan will donate £1 for every page impression he gets. Let's bankrupt the bastard.
posted by barbelith at 4:16 AM PST - 11 comments
Disney's Michael Eisner on what to do about all those kids who use Napster:
Arrest and prosecute the little SOBs. I know I'd sleep better at night knowing that those devious conspiratorial 11-year-olds were behind bars. [second item]
posted by aaron at 1:16 AM PST - 15 comments
March 15
Boy, 13, sues teacher after receiving "Fag" candy heart
The lawsuit says the teacher rubbed an inoffensive valentine message off the candy heart and wrote "Fag" on it before giving it to the boy in front of his fellow students. Donald E. Miller, a veteran teacher, also had a habit of pretending that a television remote control was a "fagometer" that he pointed at students. He's being probed by the school.
posted by Brilliantcrank at 8:44 PM PST - 22 comments
Mathematician Bums Out Entire Scientific Community
His "Omega" number--infinite and incalculable--guts hopes for pure mathematics, physicists' hopes for a Theory of Everything, and is just in general kind of bafflingly cool. Builds on the whole Godel/Turing foundation of hopelessness!
posted by Skot at 12:40 PM PST - 35 comments
Back the Net?
Or
Take Back the Net? It's hard to tell the players without a scorecard, especially when their graphic design is purposefully indistinguishable. The Backers want you to
shop til you drop [online only please] April 3rd. The Take Backers want you to do something
non-commerce oriented [online, if you can] on April 1st. Do netizens have any responsibility to "...prop up the faltering behemoths of the internet economy"?
posted by jessamyn at 11:41 AM PST - 16 comments
Lost in Translation
?
TRANSLATION: This extension of the pagination the great energy of the translation
of the confusion of Alta Vista.
ORIGINAL TEXT: This page demonstrates the great translating power of altavista's babel.
(via
CasaFidel)
posted by howa2396 at 10:56 AM PST - 45 comments
Sick of hearing about Clinton?
Well, this struck me as kind of funny - it's obviously a joke - but for those of us growing to hate hearing about Clinton every minute (I do and I'm in Canada), this is classic.
posted by hidely at 9:27 AM PST - 6 comments
The market-model university:
'...by looking at research on the health impact of tobacco, the "science" behind global warming or breast implants, or the effectiveness of a drug, we can see that it is not unusual for sponsored academics to fudge the data, suppress unfavourable evidence, and otherwise "torture the numbers till they confess"...'
posted by talos at 8:57 AM PST - 7 comments
The Second Reincarnation of the Final Grandson of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged.
For those of us in constant search of universally meaningful insults, wowbagger delivers.
The program is based on a character in Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", a character who, after an incident involving a time traveling machine and a piece of elastic band, became so pissed off at the universe that he sought to insult every creature in it, in alphabetical order.
posted by samsara at 8:51 AM PST - 5 comments
More nasty facts
about what goes into our food. Do a search on the page for 'dead cats'.
(My apologies for posting something old. I'm so shocked I couldn't help it).
posted by u.n. owen at 7:41 AM PST - 11 comments
Ken, of Barbie and Ken has turned 40.
To mark the occasion, Mattel is releasing a hot, young, 20 year old secretary, that Ken is having an affair with, and a Porsche 911.
(to complete the whole midlife crisis thing you see.)
posted by tiaka at 6:08 AM PST - 3 comments
Leo Laporte
preannounces some major changes to
TechTV. His
announcement is mainly about the changes to his own schedule, but he notes that they're about to go MSNBC-live-style for nine hours during the day. Will that finally give us a useful reason to watch a network that up to now has been
terminally dull and useless to anyone outside of San Francisco whenever Leo himself wasn't on the air?
posted by aaron at 12:03 AM PST - 5 comments
March 14
Do you have so much sex, that you are going broke buying condoms? Here is your
solution.
posted by thirteen at 9:13 PM PST - 10 comments
GarageGames
announces that their Tribes 2 engine can be sub-licensed for $100 and the games made through it will be distributed by them.
So who wants to break into the 1st person/3D game market? I have lots of free time...
posted by john at 3:45 PM PST - 8 comments
Big Blue moves into the web services arena,
claiming to be the first company to provide such services. Ever hear of .NET? Seems to me that they've been rolling a framework (that's got BETA development tools already) since last summer.
i think the most poignant point in this article isn't the fact that IBM's making false claims, but this quote by Peter O'Kelly:
``It's amazing that these guys are agreeing to work with the same standards. They've finally realized it's a disservice to customers when they try and compete on the basis of proprietary formats and protocols."
Now if the browser wars could end, we'd all be in better shape.
posted by tatochip at 1:42 PM PST - 5 comments
Gun control in Kennesaw City
The
Marrieta Daily Journal has an
interesting article about gun control vs. crime control. "In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition. ...following the law’s passage, the crime rate dropped 89 percent in the city, compared to the modest 10 percent drop statewide." Unfortunately they don't include accident statistics so it's only half the picture.
posted by revbrian at 11:17 AM PST - 17 comments
MS gets an 'A' for effort.
Office XP, built with the draconian 'product activation' feature to prevent piracy, has been leaked to USENET.
This version does not require an activation key, and the serial number has already been sewn into the installation.
posted by Dirjy at 8:09 AM PST - 14 comments
Pay for play
Why does radio suck? Because most stations play only the songs the record companies pay them to. And things are going to get worse.
posted by webcowboy at 7:49 AM PST - 12 comments
Scientists test hallucinogens for use in treating mental illness:
Hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and peyote — derided as toys of the hippie generation — are increasingly drawing the interest of neurologists and psychiatrists who want to test the idea that they may be valuable tools in treating a range of mental disorders. The researchers involved in the new work are not suggesting that people start medicating themselves with hallucinogens. Still, Dr. David E. Nichols, a professor of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry at Purdue, believes the drugs' potential should be investigated. Nichols, an expert on hallucinogenic drugs, said there were reports that symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, like washing one's hands dozens of times a day, subside under the influence of psilocybin, a hallucinogen derived from mushrooms. (Note: it's a New York Times link, free registration required.)
posted by jhiggy at 6:37 AM PST - 31 comments
Gun control the smart way.
I abhor the idea of people taking away my right to own guns or impinge on said freedom. However, this approach is much better than a nation-wide movement. We Texans get to keep our guns and you Californians can get rid of yours.
posted by CRS at 6:24 AM PST - 49 comments
In light of the possible
spread of foot and mouth disease virtually anywhere--I was wondering how restricted UK citizens are. Is travel in the countryside difficult or impossible? Isn't it interesting how quickly movement is restricted and meat taken off the table?
posted by aflakete at 2:51 AM PST - 18 comments
Courtney Love vs. Buddyhead
This website has a gossip column in which they include the home/cell/work numbers and e-mail addresses of the likes of Fred Durst, Kevin Smith, and the aforementioned Courtney Love. The site bad mouths and harasses bands and celebs they dislike by giving away personal their personal info, while providing interviews and reviews on the bands they approve of. What does everyone make of this kind of unabashed harassment? I for one enjoy it.
posted by JFunk2800 at 1:42 AM PST - 23 comments
March 13
"Red vs. Blue" gets a whole lot worse
On Slate.com, Mark Strauss makes a (I hope) sarcastic argument for the secession of the North from the South... or the South from the North, based on perceived intractable divisions between Northern states and Southern states.
Basically, his whole thesis is "Those Southern Yahoos like NASCAR and pro wrestling; so we should get rid of them and have an entire society modeled on the way my freelance journalism and fiction-writing friends here in New York think."
On this post, my tongue is in my cheek about as far as Strauss' is. Tell me if I'm overreacting on this one.
posted by GriffX at 10:22 PM PST - 22 comments
Great, but will it work in larger states?
"Maine’s Clean Election Law goes into effect for the 2002 governor’s race, establishing public financing for candidates. Political observers are beginning to realize it may cause a revolution. "
A green governor? I almost feel ... Canadian.
posted by foist at 8:03 PM PST - 6 comments
Goddess needed:
"Palatial accommodations, round-the-clock personal service, public adoration guaranteed, school and homework optional. Must be five years old or under and willing to serve until puberty."
posted by todd at 4:35 PM PST - 15 comments
Cut back on patrols over Iraq.
One day we are told by Gen Powell that we will increase pressure on Iraq. Now we are told that patrols in no flight zones to be cut back. Do we have a policy or is it made up weekly?
posted by Postroad at 4:23 PM PST - 4 comments
Surprise, shock and consternation.
Bush decides that, despite his earlier campaign pledge (and overwhelming scientific evidence), he will not regulate carbon dioxide emissions. I know - gee whiz, a politician lied. But I do enjoy the doublespeak of "backing off a campaign promise." Soon, we'll all have that good ol' Texan air - no matter where we are!
posted by solistrato at 4:07 PM PST - 19 comments
Dig the Wig:
In the face of the mainstream media's campaign to keep us distracted with the fake news of presidential pardons and the eyewash of budget debates, only independently published mavericks have the courage to cover the story of Samuel Jackson's hair.
posted by jhiggy at 3:29 PM PST - 3 comments
Google's Larry Page
sees Horatio Alger surviving on the web: "The way I judge these things is, if you have a product that's really gaining a lot of usage, then it's probably a good idea, and it's probably going to be significant. And that tends to be a metric that investors use as well. Because if it's growing naturally, it'll often continue to grow for a long time. [...] And once you have the product and people are using it, it's very easy to raise investment. " His examples are Google and eGroups. Pyra presumably spent too much money on staple-removers and post-it notes.
posted by bumppo at 1:40 PM PST - 9 comments
It's the Unaspanker!
Read a good manifesto lately? Meet Robin Whittle, a man who has spent an alarming amount of time on a project called "Fondly and Firmly - The Gentlemanly Art of Spanking the Woman You Love." via
cruel.com
posted by gimli at 11:57 AM PST - 15 comments
Mir spotted in skies over India,
millions panic? While the fall of Mir has been getting plenty of press coverage, this is the first blatantly alarmist piece I've seen, and it's from CNN/Reuters. Does this kind of "reporting" border on criminal?
posted by ewagoner at 8:08 AM PST - 26 comments
Be very afraid.
The only real solution to this is backlash and boycott. Technical solutions to "InTether" are inadequate (especially since every such will be a violation of the
DMCA). If content vendors will only sell their material this way,
don't buy! (Ultimately, it's going to take an act of Congress to straighten this all out. How about a law making it illegal to prevent "fair use"?)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 7:57 AM PST - 30 comments
Have you seen
spiked?
spiked is a website for those who want to see some change in the real world as well as the virtual one. If you think that the power of the internet could be used for something more than shopping and pseudo-sex, get spiked.
Pretty lofty goals. What do you think? Their take on the European food problem seems sane, at least.
posted by Sean Meade at 7:16 AM PST - 3 comments
I want to bring up a concept for debate here that's been gnawing at me for a while, one that most people probably haven't ever thought much about (though I'd be delighted to discover I am wrong about that). It's taken me a few paragraphs to explain, so I don't think I should just publish the whole thing to the front page. Thus, I ask if you all wouldn't mind please
jumping inside this thread for a second and checking it out. If you really hate it, you can back out and move on to something else.
The question I wish to ask, boiled down to one sentence, is this: Should we, as members of a caring, progressive society, have an obligation to be an inclusive society? To see to it that all people are made to feel to be a part of things? A detailed explanation of what I'm getting at is inside. (Yes, yes, I know I've said that I hate the word "progressive" used in any political/sociological sense, but in this case it seems the most appropriate term.)
posted by aaron at 3:30 AM PST - 77 comments
March 12
There's an article
in the current issue of Red Herring magazine (p. 58) titled
Digital Canals about delivering data through water pipes. Sorry no link to this specific story, it's not up on the site yet. Can anybody shed some light on this technology? More in comments...
posted by JParker at 9:52 PM PST - 15 comments
It's smut...and I quit!
If I have to choose between Heather Graham and kids that might see her depiction on a magazine cover, well then kids, take a hike! And besides isn't there a censorship something or other involved in this?
posted by Postroad at 5:52 PM PST - 40 comments
Romp.com goes subscription.
"our friends at icebox.com, before it closed, were making $184 dollars per day on banners, not even enough to pay for one episode of one animated series" It seems their rates will be around $3/month...
posted by owillis at 5:11 PM PST - 12 comments
Let him stay for a day.
Dutch student and weblogger Ramon Stoppelenburg plans to hitchhike around the world... from one submitted place-to-stay to the next on a no-budget basis. We can vouch for his sanity and wish him safe trip. Why not offer him your sofa for a night?
posted by prolific at 1:25 PM PST - 14 comments
Playstation 3
chip to be designed by IBM.
The three companies (Sony, IBM, and Toshiba) aim to design a "super-computer on a chip" with a wide variety of consumer applications, they said in a joint statement.
"The result will be consumer devices that are more powerful than IBM's Deep Blue super-computer, operate at low power and access the broadband internet at ultra-high speeds," the statement added
Wowzers!
posted by zeoslap at 11:58 AM PST - 22 comments
The Layout Reservoir:
For those reluctant to embrace standards compliant design, the good people at
Blue Robot have provided an excellent starting point. The reservoir features three CSS based designs for you to borrow, edit, and learn from. It's a good thing.
posted by aladfar at 9:24 AM PST - 21 comments
This nonsense has to stop:
" One of the most heavily guarded secrets in the computer business and the closely related consumer electronics industry is how many products are returned by customers because they are defective or the customer cannot figure out how to use them."
posted by jhiggy at 3:06 AM PST - 25 comments
Howard Kurtz gives Henry "Amazon at 400" Blodget the drubbing
he ought to have received 18 months ago. And as Kurtz explains, Blodget did receive it, in the legacy media (I think it's called the legacy media because they're what will be left standing when the few remaining dotcom content sites finally die). But no, the dead-tree writers were all wrong. They just didn't get it. Except they weren't. And they did. Those that sneered are now largely (and deservedly) gone. And all us print and TV people are left to ask: Why did any of you ever buy into this BS in the first place? We tried to warn you!
posted by aaron at 1:30 AM PST - 17 comments
Russia suspends dismantling weapons:
“IF THE NMD (national missile defense) is deployed in the United States, we will have to forget about reductions of strategic offensive weapons,” said Yuri Kapralov, director of Russian Security and Disarmament.
posted by owillis at 12:34 AM PST - 16 comments
March 11
No men:
A night without street crime and domestic abuse! Goodness knows it's about time, but with Australians, Blacks, and Koreans about it's - unfortunately - only a matter of time. Thank you.
posted by holloway at 4:58 PM PST - 28 comments
TV or jail?
Adbusters broke
this story this month about a pair of teens sent to jail in Ohio in October for refusing to watch Channel One at school. While there's lots of great reasons to dislike Channel One, one of the anti-media groups cited by Adbusters --
Obligation Inc -- is anti-Channel One because they don't
promote abstinence and because they advertise a site that
links to Eminem. Strange bedfellows? Does it matter?
posted by jessamyn at 12:13 PM PST - 21 comments
Shareholders are shocked
- shocked, I tell you! - to discover that Larry Ellison has been overstating Oracle's capabilities and earning potentials in public... and personally profiting from the deceit to the tune of
$895 million! What
will the little Gates-hating, sex-harassing genius think of next?!
posted by m.polo at 7:41 AM PST - 8 comments
BBC to repeat 'racist' remarks.
On Monday night's
Room 101 show, Anne Robinson (currently preparing to launch the US version of her quiz show
The Weakest Link) launched into an attack on Welsh people and their language. Despite protests, and the fact that North Wales police are
investigating Robinson's remarks, the BBC has rejected requests not to broadcast tonight's
repeat of the programme.
posted by ceiriog at 7:10 AM PST - 30 comments
New adminstration, same old barbarism.
Ariel Sharon's government is urging the Israeli parliament to legalise torture by security servies members on Arab detainees. How will denying the basic human rights of Arabs
without even a trial help the peace process?
posted by will at 12:44 AM PST - 21 comments
March 10
Don't make Hunter mad.
Hunter S. Thompson doesn't think the production company that optioned
The Rum Diaries is doing a very good job. And he tells them. Man, does he tell them.
posted by cfj at 6:11 PM PST - 14 comments
The Quest for Social Currency.
The article is a bit old, but the concept is fascinating. For more detailed descriptions, check
here and
here.
With the disintegration of neighborhoods and family units, we social humans must find other ways to connect. We build communities not just to feel good, but for very tangible benefits.
posted by frykitty at 4:30 PM PST - 12 comments
Could next month's Summit of the Americas transform Canadian political culture?
Michael Valpy thinks so. He writes: "Canadians have lost deference for their traditional political institutions and leaders. They have become surprisingly ready -- more ready than Americans -- to engage in protests, boycotts and civil disobedience, according to political-science studies... Likely not since the 1919 Winnipeg general strike and the Great Depression marches of the unemployed has an event so galvanized the energies and imaginations of Canadians on the left side of the political spectrum."
posted by tranquileye at 3:14 PM PST - 4 comments
Red v. Blue v. . . . Purple?
Was America really so divided in the 2000 election? A map created as a retort to Salon's "Red v. Blue" map tells the real story. Any and all Prince references/jokes permitted.
posted by raysmj at 9:48 AM PST - 22 comments
"After the J. C. Penney ad ran, they got a letter from a fan wondering how they could be that desperate; did they need the money for an operation or something?" Tomorrow's
New York Times Magazine covers the Apples in Stereo and other bands that are jeopardizing their
realness by selling songs to advertisers.
posted by rcade at 8:16 AM PST - 22 comments
March 9
Curiculum Vitae : Former marijuana smuggler.
From an advertisement in Toronto's Financial Post.
During this time I also co-owned and participated in the executive level management of 120 people worldwide in a successful pot smuggling venture..."
Warning: jpeg, 121kb
posted by skwm at 2:37 PM PST - 16 comments
'I Feel A Great, Personal Loss'
Conservationist Rakhaldas Sengupta spent nine years restoring the world's tallest Buddha statues...
This has been covered by MeFi before but Sengupta has a perspective on the statues that hasn't come to light yet. To think that the Taleban is destroying these 1700 year old statues breaks my heart. I hope I never understand the reasoning of religious zealots.
posted by gen at 1:51 PM PST - 8 comments
Popularity kills: nosepilot hit (almost) into oblivion
Not all Flash sucks: many of us who have dreamed of putting our fists through the screen at yet another stupid corporate Flash intro loved Al Sacui's dreamy little piece.
But now Sacui is looking for some way to cover or modify his ISP's $16,000 bill (which he just found out about yesterday -- no warning beforehand that traffic was a problem). He's hoping to sort out the financial problems and has people in contact with his ISP re the debt, but what he really needs is someone to mirror or co-host the 4.8 Mb of files that make up the site. Can you help out?
posted by maudlin at 12:16 PM PST - 34 comments
The Ornery American
proclaims to publish "the voices of those Ornery Americans -- the common folk who don't pretend to be intellectuals or elite in any other way, but who are just stubborn enough to think that we ordinary folk are the ones to whom this nation was entrusted from the start." It's godfather is sci-fi writer and social critic Orson Scott Card.
posted by jhiggy at 11:19 AM PST - 22 comments
Vaccine Prevents AIDS in Monkeys
and could lead to human medicine. Exciting huh? Anyway, if that should happen, how much do you think they'll charge for treatment, considering the conspiracy theories and all that?
posted by tiaka at 11:11 AM PST - 11 comments
A little humor
found in the deep recesses of our profile data. Seems Rodii has a sense of humor [caveat: I'm not promising "LOL", but it certainly left me with a "
"]
posted by silusGROK at 8:02 AM PST - 14 comments
Whose Christ is this anyway?
While the Mayor of New York may object to what he perceives as an insult to Catholic belief--forgetting that his own adultery is not as yet deemed acceptable behavior in Catholic belief--many Catholics have no problem with a naked, black, woman Jesus.
posted by Postroad at 6:24 AM PST - 30 comments
A word from the future.
"At the turn of the second millennium, humanity seemed set on a steady upward course. How did it all go wrong in just 200 years? This is a memo on the fall of homo sapiens, 2000-2200 CE, written for the crew of the third interstellar colonising mission, 2759 CE, by Anatol Lieven, as a record and a warning."
Science-fiction? Dire warning? Anyway this is an enjoyable read.
posted by talos at 4:03 AM PST - 4 comments
What You See May Not Be . . .
A memo, telling lobbyists to "dress down" as "real workers" for GOP photo op, provides rare window into a common practice on Capitol Hill. Both Republicans and Democrats go to great lengths to assemble average Americans who can convey the appropriate political message, and when they can't find any, they simply trade in their white collars for hard hats themselves
posted by frednorman at 3:56 AM PST - 6 comments
March 8
Foot-and-mouth disease marches forward in Europe. In order to try to slow down the spread of the virus, UK authorities are urging cancellations of any events that bring people and/or animals together. Which means no horse racing. Which means the Brits are going insane because they have nothing to bet on. (Unlike the US, they don't consider gambling to be an evil on the level of homicide.) What to do?
Rodents to the rescue!
BlueSQ.com is offering live webcasts of hamster races to satiate your betting jones.
Look at 'em go! In other hamster news, some dork blew £3000 on
a 6-foot-tall fiberglass hamster left over from the carnage of the Millennium Dome.
posted by aaron at 11:55 PM PST - 10 comments
.... AWAY, AWAY
- site for what looks like an interesting film on the Confederate flag debate. Be sure to check out the video clip.
posted by subpixel at 10:35 PM PST - 4 comments
EA:WTF?
I understand if people want to make web apps that only work on Windows based browsers. But you would think that a large games company like EA would treat others a little better than this (Proud Macintosh owners, get ready to squint).
Besides, I really want to play
Majestic, and last time I checked, a game that uses email, fax, web and AOL IM technology doesn't require Windows. : p
posted by Brilliantcrank at 7:58 PM PST - 13 comments
"Maybe
all this is why I'm so tired of other white folks trying to sell me bullshit like: 'I don't have a racist bone in my body,' or 'I never notice color.' See, MawMaw would have said that too. And she would have meant well. And she would have been wrong."
posted by sudama at 7:51 PM PST - 65 comments
Last week, we got news of new.net, who decided to make a big splash in the alternative Top Level Domain (.com/.net/etc) game, with some moronic, un-coordinated with the other people scheme including some "patented new technology" that amounted to 'set new.net as the search path in your DNS setup'.
Well, apparently they've started a trend, as
now there's another player in the market...
posted by baylink at 7:00 PM PST - 1 comments
Fun to be Clueless
Literati in the L.A. area will no doubt like this take on the odd tastes of the
Times Book Review section. For the rest of us, there's the fun of watching one paper try and stick it to another. Also, and interesting take on the role books play as a medium in this media-rich age.
posted by jasonsmall at 1:35 PM PST - 5 comments
"Semper Fu?"
- In a bid to hone the "physical and mental discipline" of recruits and better prepare them for the rigors of peacekeeping missions, the Marines adds martial arts to the curriculum.
posted by kevincmurphy at 9:12 AM PST - 7 comments
Can "blocking software" companies be sued?
This is interesting.
The Register (a respected if somewhat snide computer industry online rag) has somehow managed to land on Cyber Patrol's block list as a "sex site". Now they're conducting something called an
ABCe audit and they're making nasty noises about "restraint of trade". Which makes me wonder if they're thinking "lawsuit".
The blocking-software companies have been using rather broad brushes in making their blocking lists. Although some claim that any site they block is checked by a human first, with thousands of new sites appearing every day there simply isn't any way.
Peacefire has documented hundreds of sites which were blocked inappropriately. I am pretty certain that under US law that blockees have no recourse -- but perhaps the law in the EU is different. Anyone over there care to comment? Is it plausible that an "ABCe audit" could result in a lawsuit? (I'd really
love to see a few high profile big-bucks lawsuits here.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 7:53 AM PST - 9 comments
Bush decides he doesn't want peace.
resident bush has made it clear to the president of south korea that he will be reversing the previous administration's policy toward north korea. so the strides of peace that have been made can easily be wiped away now. i especially like the reversal of colin powell's comments from the day before.
posted by bliss322 at 7:07 AM PST - 34 comments
WSJ/NBC
conducted a pretty extensive poll about the state of the country ranging from taxes to energy concerns to the Golden Dollar. I got the phone call to participate in the poll on Saturday and the questions were thought provoking and relevant...here are the results.
posted by Princess Buttercup at 6:21 AM PST - 5 comments
March 7
The NEA and the RIAA (demon spawn) collaborate
on a list of the top songs of 20th century, topped by Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The list was picked by hundreds of "music lovers across the country" from "all walks of life," including the "music industry," according to the press release. The voters picked from 1,100 songs provided by the RIAA and the NEA, though write-in spaces were available on the ballots. The announcement of the list is part of a wider effort to bring the songs to school-age children and adolescents, in a project that involves Scholastic publishing and AOL (the Great Satan). Step right up and take a few whacks at them...
posted by jhiggy at 3:07 PM PST - 43 comments
Nader editorial in the WSJ
(with another guy). They were prolly watered down a lot and given that "two cheers for the president" sub-title, but Nader still seems remarkably sanguine about Bush's plans to rein in corporate welfare.
posted by kliuless at 2:40 PM PST - 4 comments
Shakespeare and the electronic age
For those who studied or read Shakespeare some time ago, this quick test can help determine whether you recall the Bard's work or confuse it with the language of technology and more recent forms of entertainment. Not to sound Onan-like, score yourself.
posted by Postroad at 2:21 PM PST - 6 comments
Tasteful web design:
Remember how a couple of companies came up with the brilliant idea of putting smell-o-vision on your PC? Now one of them has realized that there's another sense left to exploit.
posted by harmful at 12:17 PM PST - 9 comments
How to get elected without promising a huge tax-cut.
In short, don't have an opposition. Gordon Brown gives the "we're going to win anyway" Budget, promising the kind of fiscal policy Gore claimed to offer the US. The language is even the same: "pay off the debt, reward working families". And since we're more or less guaranteed a Labour government till 2005 (barring the intervention of "events"), it'll a good time for the crudest of comparisons. (more inside...)
posted by holgate at 11:21 AM PST - 4 comments
One more school shooting.
This time it's a Roman Catholic school in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. A girl in 8th grade shot another girl "in the upper body, but the injury was not considered life-threatening."
posted by jason at 11:09 AM PST - 25 comments
Barbecue Wings
A £900,000 mirror sculpture destined for a square in Nottingham, UK, will have to be shielded to prevent it focusing the Sun's rays and barbecuing passing birds.
Anish Kapoor's highly polished concave steel mirror is six metres in diameter. Direct sunlight hitting the mirror would be focused into a narrow beam of light as hot as the surface of the Sun, says astronomer Michael Merrifield of Nottingham University.
posted by zeoslap at 10:57 AM PST - 15 comments
Selling the Tax Cut
Time Magazine pokes some holes in Bush's Tax/Budget plan. He wants to increase spending, decrease taxes, pay down the budget, AND set aside a trillion dollars for emergencies. In fuzzy math terms 10-1-1-1-1=10. On top of that he plans to piss on senators who dare to question the plan.
posted by y6y6y6 at 10:53 AM PST - 22 comments
For the CEO who has everything...
how about a 1985 Toyota MR2 powered by 3 turbojet engines? You start it with a leaf blower. Seller says it is "probably street legal except for this little 'excessive noise' issue". Up for grabs at eBay, currently $7,700 will take this baby home!
posted by JParker at 9:47 AM PST - 4 comments
Trading halted on Yahoo's stock...
I realize that financial news is rarely posted here, at MeFi, but Yahoo is a big player... and there's a LOT of speculation going on about what is prompting the halt: a take-over announcement, an acquisition announcement... blah blah blah. Any insight from you folks?
posted by silusGROK at 9:01 AM PST - 15 comments
Is This Ad Racist?
Conservative writer
David Horowitz has stirred up trouble on three college campuses to date with a 10-point ad refuting demands for slavery reparations. First, UC-Berkley's student newspaper
actually backed down after running the ad, as did
UC-Davis, while the conservative
Badger Herald in Wisconsin
stood firm. I'm no conservative, but I don't think the article is racist at all. It's a reasoned argument, and one I happen to agree with. Is this a case of the PC student left run amok, or am I missing something? Via
Medianews.
posted by darren at 8:26 AM PST - 62 comments
Zeldman responds
to the the many concerns people have expressed over the WaSP's recent Browser Upgrade Campaign. Read it if you love the web.
posted by ericost at 6:47 AM PST - 6 comments
Euro-court outlaws criticism of EU,
and thus demonstrates what inevitably will happen when most European governments have communists(or "former communists") on board. PS: beware that any reply to this tread could be seen upon as additional critisism against the Holy Union...
posted by frednorman at 3:39 AM PST - 11 comments
Is this another lifeline for Napster? Would
going offshore with the servers really make any difference?
posted by ecvgi at 12:55 AM PST - 2 comments
March 6
Naked Wife Virus Strips Down Computers.
The virus arrives as an e-mail titled "Fw: Naked Wife" with a message body that reads: "My wife never look like that! ;-) Best Regards, (sender's name here)" and an attachment called "NakedWife.exe."
posted by Firda at 11:48 PM PST - 19 comments
Loggers Said to Wipe Out 22 Million Butterflies
It appears that 22 million Monarch butterflies were illegally slaughtered through the use of pesticide in two Mexican butterfly sanctuaries so that loggers can have more forest to tear down. This makes me sick... how can people do stuff like this?
posted by fusinski at 7:22 PM PST - 20 comments
Following the
earlier post regarding cheap domain names, does anyone know anything about .eu.com domains? I've found
one site offering them, but are they actually available yet? What's the story?
posted by Cobbler at 2:13 PM PST - 5 comments
Jedi could become official religion
-- An email is circulating in New Zealand seeking 8,000 people to write "Jedi" as their religion on that country's census form. If they do, it's claimed the government will have to recognize the Star Wars discipline as an actual religion.
posted by shauna at 12:24 PM PST - 16 comments
You thought it had gone away..
but Ginger appears to be back in the news again. This time it's an upcoming
Inside magazine article that purports to conclusively reveal that "IT" is a two-wheeled scooter running on a hydrogen-powered engine. After
all the hype nearly two months ago, is this the answer? Does anyone even care anymore?
posted by zempf at 12:02 PM PST - 12 comments
It seems Metallica has some high class company.
The Cleveland Orchestra has halted distribution of their concerts to about 250 U.S. radio stations because of concerns about streaming audio.
The orchestra's contract with its musicians covers radio broadcasting rights of live performances, but not Internet streaming, said Gary Hanson, the orchestra's associate executive director. Does this strike anyone else as strange?
posted by Aaaugh! at 8:47 AM PST - 11 comments
Baby Think It Over.
Teens care for a lifelike doll programmed to do all the things a baby does--including waking them up in the middle of the night.
"It's a seven-pound, computerized contraceptive!"
posted by frykitty at 8:36 AM PST - 15 comments
Happy Elvis Day!
The Oregon Legislature considers a bill to make January 8 Elvis day. Considering Portland is the home of the 24-Hour Church of Elvis and a beloved (and weird) street performer named Elvis, this is somewhat fitting.
posted by frykitty at 8:10 AM PST - 21 comments
Undercover cop poses as high school student, busts 27.
The 24-year-old officer "attended football games and basketball games. He attended activities after school. He also carried a full course load and did homework. His grades started to suffer. We were kind of disappointed in him,” joked Sheriff Bill Hutson.
posted by darren at 7:49 AM PST - 34 comments
MP3 Translator
You deserve the right to privately trade music on the Internet. Napster currently has filters set in place that look for certain words in the Artist and/or Song Title. To get around this, all you have to do is:
posted by webcowboy at 7:40 AM PST - 47 comments
A new JD Salinger Book!
Just caught this on Amazon the other day. I haven't really heard anything about it, but it's worth a
pre-order at the least. Here's some
other information I've found. Along with the supposed introduction to the book...
I will write for us both, I believe, as Buddy is engaged elsewhere for an indefinite period of time. Surely sixty to eighty per cent of the time, to my eternal amusement and sorrow, that magnificent, elusive, comical lad is engaged elsewhere! As you must know in your hearts and bowels, we miss you all like sheer hell. Unfortunately, I am far from above hoping the case is vice versa.
posted by igloo at 7:34 AM PST - 6 comments
'
Industry pumped in a record 696 million dollars to elect George W. Bush and a GOP Congress. The Mother Jones 400 reveals the nation's top contributors -- and what they expect in return.'
The donors complain in this article about how much they have to shell out. Are their complaints legitimate? Is this simply the cost of doing business? Is this the way campaigns should be funded?
posted by Sean Meade at 7:25 AM PST - 14 comments
Scientific backlash for warming theorists
-- High clouds over the western tropical Pacific Ocean could significantly reduce the estimates of future global warming now being put forward by IPCC's computer models of the Earth's climate. And, in a newly published
interview, MIT's Dr. Richard S. Lindzen describes the Kyoto Treaty on climate change as "absurd". Backlash begun?
posted by frednorman at 5:40 AM PST - 7 comments
Go Daddy Domains
1 Year ($8.95/yr).....$8.95
2 Years ($8.75/yr)...$17.50
3 Years ($8.55/yr)...$25.65
5 Years ($8.05/yr)...$40.25
8 Years ($7.45/yr)...$59.60
10 Years ($6.95/yr)...$69.50
Getting a domain name has never been easier or more affordable!
Yeah, or so they say. So far, I can't seem to find a catch. It just sounds funny to me when they say that you'll be
using Go Daddy software to get your domain. Maybe I'm being too cynical? Maybe this
is just an honest-to-goodness, good deal?
What about it, MeFiers, what's the bottom line, here?
posted by lizardboy at 3:51 AM PST - 21 comments
BRIDGE BUILDER
:
It's fun for a girl and a boy! A downloadable demo of a pretty cool but geeky bridge building simulator. Each level, you're given the task of spanning a gap using limited materials. Your goal is to build a bridge not only strong enough to stand under its own weight, but to also support the weight of a train crossing over it.
There is no right way to build a bridge, but there is a lot of wrong ways.
System Requirements: 200 MHz or faster CPU, Windows 95/98/00/NT, Direct X version 6 or later, Keyboard recommended, OpenGL video card and drivers
posted by crunchland at 3:42 AM PST - 22 comments
Inspector Clouseau as Greek Police role-model?
Wait for the midi file to load... At first I thought the site was hacked but, no, I checked, it's the real "Hellenic police informatics dept" web-site. I'm not sure whether it's self-sarcasm or cluelessness. And I wont even start about the site's imaginative design...
posted by talos at 3:04 AM PST - 3 comments
Ask Putin.
At 15.00 GMT today, Vladimir Putin will answer questions posed by the public live online. Two Russian journalists and one from the BBC will select the questions, you can submit yours here.
Accountability or Publicity on the part of Putin?
posted by Markb at 12:53 AM PST - 1 comments
March 5
School Violence is Decreasing.
After noticing the number of people "glad not to be in high school" due to school violence, I felt the need to point this out. My theory is that people care more because it's *white people* who are being killed, as rural/suburban school massacres seem to be the trend du jour. Apologies for the link source, but this was the first version of the AP wire I could find.
posted by Kevs at 8:37 PM PST - 19 comments
He laid it on the line.
He was born in West St. Paul, Minn., on April 13, 1907. He died March 5, 2001. And between, he ran for president 9 times, the first in 1948 and his last attempt in 1992. He said, "You can write or talk about something and it has some meaning, but to be effective, you have to lay it on the line." Now we won't have Harold Stassen to lay it on the line anymore.
posted by Lynsey at 8:05 PM PST - 5 comments
filepile.org
- Andre
Torrez of powerblogger fame, brings us yet another fun tool. Built on the "take a penny, leave a penny" principle of file sharing,
filepile is most definitely addictive. You go see site. You go. You go now.
posted by thacker at 6:21 PM PST - 29 comments
Rape victims charged for medical exams
"A 22-year-old woman is raped in Cobb County. Nurses and doctors poke and prod her body to collect evidence for police. By the time the $486 bill reaches her new home in Valdosta, the debt has been turned over to a collection agency. She is nine months' pregnant and doesn't know how she will pay."
posted by darren at 12:39 PM PST - 15 comments
The 5k has returned!
So, is this just of interest to web geeks, or will it cross over to the general masses of curious web surfers? Is it more about functionality in the tiny site, or art? What's the deal with the "Anything Goes" category, is it compromising the idea of the 5k? So many questions...
posted by anildash at 11:30 AM PST - 22 comments
New.net lauched today,
with their attempt to create their own TLD registrar that seems like a bastardization of DNS. Most people will need to
download a plugin, is there any chance this could be successful? Is ICANN doing anything to stop them or will they just die on their own?
posted by mathowie at 11:01 AM PST - 8 comments
First, National Airport was renamed for him. Then, the International Trade Center in downtown DC was christened in his honor.
Now the powers that be have named a new naval aircraft carrier the USS Reagan.
I realize people are trying to honor the old bastard. But doesn't this seem inappropriate (even rude) considering he's not quite dead yet? Or is Alzheimer's close enough? *sheesh*
posted by ratbastard at 10:54 AM PST - 38 comments
Forbes Celebrity 100
Why can't people become commodities? Invest in Julia Roberts, because she has future growth potential, sell GWB because his earnings have peaked, rate Clinton neutral until his latest scandal is over...
posted by owillis at 10:40 AM PST - 6 comments
Finally!
Someone is taking a stand about freedom of speech on the internet. Although it is AOL (who I dislike), it is high time someone other then the ACLU take a stand for freedom of speech on the internet. (And there isn't anything wrong with the ACLU, just that it is nice to see someone else come in and back them.)
posted by da5id at 10:20 AM PST - 8 comments
Shots Fired at Santana High School.
MSNBC is reporting Shots have been fired at Santana High School in Santee, CA. There have been MULTIPLE kids calling into local TV stations in San Diego and MSNBC, Fox News, CNN Headline News is picking them up. It's odd really...some of these kids are pretty eloquent. Mixed reports are that 9 kids have been hit with a small caliber handgun out in the "quad" at the school. The gunmen was allegedly smiling the whole time.
Of course, as these things go, the truth never really comes out until weeks after the fact.
posted by bkdelong at 10:05 AM PST - 99 comments
In what appears to be a
suicide mission, Gateway announced it is backing away from lucrative services and software (which accounted for 100 percent of its fourth-quarter earnings) in favor of refocusing on computer sales, an area that recently has not made a dime for the company.
posted by shauna at 9:38 AM PST - 25 comments
"People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend.."
Are you too much alone? Does time hang heavy on your head? Do even the cold comforts of Internet chat rooms and community blogging reject you? There's hope.
Find the warmth of solid state friendship with the companionship of computerized buddies. It worked for all the greats - Luke Skywalker, Baltar, the Robinson boys (
Will and Joel) and even that creepy tree-hugger Freeman Lowell.
A servomotor, some fiberglass, and a sturdy car battery is all you need to guarantee that you will never be lonely again.
posted by Perigee at 8:45 AM PST - 1 comments
Let it rest, already!
The
fifth Star Trek series is going into casting, with filming to begin in May for a release in Autumn 2001. From the character descriptions it looks like it's basically a remake of the original series. I think they've run out of ideas. (Link via
GeekPress.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 6:27 AM PST - 26 comments
E-Bow
A nifty electric guitar effect that replaces the pick. Ignore the visuals. Instead, give it a
listen.
posted by plinth at 5:49 AM PST - 17 comments
Dutchman
is a movie (originally a play) which "mirrors the difficulties of life for an African American male through the clash between a white woman and a black man sharing a subway car in NYC." And I don't mean to belittle that, but ... has anyone else noticed similarities between
Shirley Knight (2)(3), the lead actress in
Dutchman, and
Heather Graham? Do today's actors and actresses try to achieve success by directly copying actors and actresses from the past? (I know they study them, but this almost borders on plagiarism, if that's possible)
posted by jwells at 5:08 AM PST - 14 comments
Drug Manufacturers to african AIDS patients:die.
"Forty big pharmaceutical companies are trying to stop the South African Government from importing cut-price versions of well-known [AIDS] drugs.The multi-nationals say that would threaten their patent rights." The milk of human kindness... And BTW before anyone comments on how the drug companies have to make profits to fund further research and provide new drugs, since when finding ways to provide cheaper drugs stifles innovation?
posted by talos at 2:05 AM PST - 23 comments
March 4
"I've been hit with ultrasonic bullets and ultrasonic lasers that can penetrate the human skull.
A good name for the ultrasonic bullets and ultrasonic lasers that can penetrate the skull are 'Skull Penetrating Ultrasonic Bullets' and 'Skull Penetrating Ultrasonic Lasers'."
I thought I was up on my conspiracy theories, but a student of mine dug up this long testimonial by a guy who claims to have been targeted by UltraSonics, a "secret police force," after installing a booming sound system in his car. Supposedly the UltraSonics use "extremely advanced surveillance, harassment, and non-lethal weapons technology" to corral neighborhood undesirables into mental hospitals. (As would follow, both pharmaceutical companies and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are identified as co-conspirators.)
posted by jbushnell at 9:45 PM PST - 7 comments
Skydiver to jump from edge of space
I hope all the inaccuracies in this article are the journalists fault and not this guy trying to make this seem more important and pioneering than it is. It's not like this wasn't done over
40 years ago. What
"...emergency procedures for people exploring space" would this create? If he went much higher or came in from outer space he'd vaporize. Less extreme science than just plain old extreme sports, 21st century style.
Millner claims that scientists have helped him on the project, but it is not known if the human body is capable of enduring such a descent. (sigh) Figures.
posted by redleaf at 9:30 PM PST - 10 comments
fLOW
is a fascinating ambient sound generator for Mac G3 computers. It uses the Mac's built-in DSP to create "sounds that resemble - metaphorically - the timbres of water, fire, earth, and air." If you don't have a Mac, there are Real audio files so you can hear what you're missing.
posted by cfj at 6:48 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment
St. Louis Sees Specter of Vote Fraud.
Chicago hands over the title of Most Vote-Rigged City in America. Remember the Election Day lawsuit that Democrats filed in St. Louis to illegally extend voting hours (which was successful for 45 minutes)? Turns out the chief plaintiff was dead. And that's only one anecdote from this story. Will meaningful election reform ever be allowed in this country, when it would mean closing all the loopholes that are routinely used to rig the results? (
NYTimes link, registration required)
posted by aaron at 12:29 AM PST - 6 comments
March 3
Going down?
NPR's Savvy Traveler did a bit on this site; apparently it tells you the odds of a crash on your chosen flight. Question is, do I want to know?
posted by stevis at 9:47 PM PST - 2 comments
But what about the children!
An internet censorship bill before the South Australian Parliament gives police ridiculously broad powers in going after material "unsuitable for children".
posted by frykitty at 7:57 PM PST - 6 comments
This scares me silly
given the general skill level drivers display in my town. I'm imagining some idiot chatting away on a cell phone taking out my condo.
posted by rdr at 6:33 PM PST - 8 comments
You thought Amazon's One-Click patent
and following legal battle was bad...
Have you had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich lately? You did not cut off the crusts and crimp the edges together, now did you? If so, you just have infringed on
U.S. Patent 6,004,596 (currently owned by 'surprise'
Smucker).
From the patent: "The upper and lower fillings are preferably comprised of peanut butter and the center filling is comprised of at least jelly. The center filling is prevented from radiating outwardly into and through the bread portions from the surrounding peanut butter. "
Michigan's Albie Foods just sued to have the patent removed. Let's hope they win, or pbjs soon may become an act of civil disobedience...
posted by noom at 2:38 PM PST - 7 comments
Cortes Bank
is a 17-mile underwater mountain range that comes to a head 3 feet below the surface at a spot called Bishop Rock, about 100 miles off the coast of San Diego. When open ocean waves encounter this seafloor anomaly, they break with stunning speed and size. This is the story of a "tow-in" surfing expedition to Cortes Bank, with jaw-dropping Quicktime movies of surfers riding 30-40 foot waves in the middle of the ocean...
posted by cfj at 1:39 PM PST - 5 comments
Spy problems...not easy work
We saw before the expressed problems NSA said they had. Here, what they have been up to and the technology currently being used (but not against our citizens?)
posted by Postroad at 12:35 PM PST - 1 comments
Just call us Peoples' Telephone & Telegraph.
[NYTimes, reg req] A federal appeals court claims that by restricting AT&T and AOLTW from expanding their cable service areas, First Amendment rights have been violated. Thus: these two companies will continue to be the only games in town.
posted by hijinx at 9:54 AM PST - 4 comments
The Surrendered Wife continues the recidivist trend in best selling "self-help" books by urging wives to "avoid criticising him... and give him lots of oral sex." Can anyone explain why this nonsense sells so well?
posted by Chairman_MaoXian at 8:42 AM PST - 13 comments
Ok... let me get this straight.
copyright.net has turned loose a tapeworm, called CopyrightAgent, that
crawls around on your computer without your permission, looking for copyrighted MP3 files. If it find them, it reports back your IP address, and they have Napster block you, if you're a Napster user. Otherwise, they contact your ISP, and have *them* block you under the DMCA.
And the first
I heard about this was a Knight-Ridder wire story in
my local paper?? Why the hell hasn't the Internet reacted by burning these people's offices (or uplink :-) to the ground?
posted by baylink at 8:18 AM PST - 20 comments
Are teens a reflection of the media or is the media a reflection of teenage culture? According to NYU prof Miller
"The MTV machine does listen very carefully to children. In rather the same way--if I can put it controversially--as Dr. Goebbels, [Hitler's] ministry of propaganda, listened to the German people. Propagandists have to listen to their audience very, very closely. When corporate revenues depend on being ahead of the curve, you have to listen, you have to know exactly what they want and exactly what they're thinking so that you can give them what you want them to have." More about the PBS special
here
posted by noom at 12:29 AM PST - 76 comments
March 2
Who do you root for when everyone's a villain?
It turns out that
everyone involved in the "
Internet Twins" fiasco is scum. Sure as hell the biological mother is (she gave the babies up
twice and now wants them back; I wouldn't trust her to care for my cat); the
woman from the UK is, and now the
man in the US is. A plague on all their houses.
Now the biological father,
Aaron Wecker, has begun proceedings to gain custody of the babies. I hope he isn't as despicable as everyone else involved. Let's hope this circus doesn't follow the girls around for the rest of their lives. If there's any sort of lesson in this, I wish someone would tell me what it is.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 5:39 PM PST - 4 comments
So the MissUSA delegates are out
and I have to ask, does it feel creepy to anyone else how only their faces are shown? I was surprised there wasn't a 0 through 10 across the top of each bio page so they could be rated "hot" or "not." And what about the site's aesthetic? It looks like they went for glossy glamor magazine, but it looks more like porn mag to me.
posted by mathowie at 4:55 PM PST - 15 comments
Gentle, Strong Woman Seeks Doormat
Read about Mary, who is looking for that special somebody who can fulfill all of her needs and then some. ALL of them. Example of phone etiquette:
"I have a personal preference for not being interrupted while I'm talking. So please don't step on my words. Although I appreciate the sincere intentions of listeners who are used to interjecting verbal nods such as "uh huh," "hmm hmm," or "OK" when the speaker pauses briefly between statements, please don't do so with me. I'd rather you listen silently so that I can know that you have the best chance of hearing every word that I say. Don't worry, I won't be longwinded. ;-)" Riiiight.
posted by Skot at 3:18 PM PST - 58 comments
The Silophone - turning abandoned industrial farm equipment into musical instruments.
"Located in Montréal's old port, Silo #5B-1 was built in 1958 and has been cited by Le Corbusier as a masterpiece of modern architecture....These tall parallel cylinders, whose form evokes the structure of an enormous organ, have exceptional acoustic properties: a stunning reverberation time of over 20 seconds. Anything played inside the Silo is euphonized, made beautiful, by the acoustics of the structure. All those who have entered have found it an overwhelming and unforgettable experience."
posted by skwm at 3:09 PM PST - 7 comments
KIMBLE rulez!
There's nothing like a good old, humble home page.
Now I've heard that overuse of the flash plugin is a no-no, but this site makes me say yes-yes! Be sure to view on a good multimedia system on a really PHAT pipe.
posted by muppetboy at 10:19 AM PST - 16 comments
The passing of a giant.
Claude Shannon has died. He was a man of towering intellect, whose achievements are dwarfed only by the ignorance of the public to the value of those achievements. All our lives have been radically changed by him, but I bet not one person in a hundred has even heard of him.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:00 AM PST - 4 comments
"I get this strange burning sensation when I riot."
The Pentagon wants to produce a crowd-dispersal weapon that sends electromagnetic waves up to 700 yards, making people in its wake feel like their skin has been stuck in a microwave. Supposedly there are no side effects. (The
NY Times' coverage has a photo of the device strapped to a Humvee.) One of these could really come in handy on the morning commute.
posted by werty at 6:38 AM PST - 16 comments
US Census not to be adjusted for undercounts.
(NY Times, req'd registration)
Many political strategists, Democrats and Republicans alike, say that reliance on unadjusted population figures favors Republicans in the drawing of Congressional districts, since, they say, adjustment through statistical sampling would add to customarily Democratic neighborhoods most of those who have been uncounted.
They visited my home/office four times and never once brought the Long Form. Damnation.
posted by methylsalicylate at 6:02 AM PST - 13 comments
Three-dimensional printing's a reality.
While this technology will certainly help out mass production, here's the big question: Who will be the first to exploit this technology for odious purposes? And how far are we away from the transporter?
posted by ed at 2:33 AM PST - 17 comments
In 2000, 40% of chickens sent to stores from seven plants was contaminated.
And this is just the one we've heard about. Between stories like this and the animal diseases in Europe, meat is looking less and less appetizing. It looks like what the food industry gets away with may finally be too outrageous to be ignored. Not to mention whether non-meat foods are processed with any more attention to sanitation than meats. Of course if they can get away with cutting costs this way, they will.
posted by aflakete at 2:15 AM PST - 13 comments
Revisionism the Taliban Way
Talibans rub off giant Buddhist statues with mortars. The Mullah says it's all written in the Coran, but the Holy book says to respect other religions and the Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of different cultures for centuries, always juxtaposing Islam with Buddhism.
The Taliban want to remove any reminders of the centuries before Islam when Afghanistan was a center of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage.
More coverage and
pictures.
posted by pecus at 1:32 AM PST - 22 comments
March 1
The House has passed the bankruptcy reform bill
that Clinton vetoed at the end of the last session. I'm mildly optimistic that it won't pass the Senate, given that the Democratic vote in the House was split. But should we be worried at all?
At first glance, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. But so many consumer groups are against it, and it seems to benefit credit card companies while hurting individuals, so I'm inclined to think we should leave things as-is. Especially since personal bankruptcies are down and credit card issuers' profits are up. Anyone know more about this?
posted by aaron at 10:07 PM PST - 7 comments
The Jesus Christ Superstore
(supposedly) sells action figures, modeled after Jesus, the Pope, Buddha, Krishna, and more. "Putting the
fun back into fundamentalism and the
laughter into sectarian slaughter."
(Yeah, it's a novelty link. But it's a good one.)
posted by waxpancake at 8:21 PM PST - 5 comments
Move over DotComGuy,
looks like you have some competition in the dumb name department. A New Zealand marriage will produce a dotcom couple.
posted by remo at 6:45 PM PST - 6 comments
We're glad too, Justice Scalia.
A New York State public school has prohibited an evangelical group from offering Bible study and prayer in its classrooms, and the case is now before the US Supreme Court:
"This is divisive in the community?" Justice Scalia exclaimed. "I don't understand. What would the community get upset about? I don't understand." He continued: "You must have a very divisive community down there. I'm glad I don't live in New York anymore."
posted by nicwolff at 2:07 PM PST - 17 comments
All your .org's now belong to Verisign...
ICANN strikes a deal with Verisign:
"Verisign will retain permanent control of the .com registry (they were supposed to separate the registry and registrar businesses), long-term control of .net (plenty of time to make that permanent too), and .org will actually be spun off. There are also apparently plans to reinstate the old limits on .org domains - if you aren't a non-profit corporation, you won't be permitted to register or keep a .org domain."
posted by Hackworth at 12:07 PM PST - 38 comments
But tell us how you really feel.
James Hetfield in Playboy: "[Metallica fans sided with Napster] Because they're lazy bastards and they want everything for free. I like playing music because it's a good living and I get satisfaction from it. But I can't feed my family with satisfaction.''
Lars Ulrich chimes in: "If you'd stop being a Metallica fan because I won't give you my music for free, then fuck you. I don't want you to be a Metallica fan."
I suppose it's a good thing they're on the verge of a break-up.
posted by honkzilla at 10:50 AM PST - 43 comments
NYC latest to threaten ban on Scouts
NYC Council disagrees with national organization's policy that homosexuality is inconsistant with Scouting's prinicples, and wants time to try and change national organization's views. Free subscription required.
posted by darren at 10:18 AM PST - 26 comments
Were SF attorneys having sex with dogs?
Robert Noel and/or Marjorie Knoller own the dogs that killed Diane Whipple. Now a search warrent is released that looked in a Pelican Bay prison cell for "any materials or correspondence describing sexual acts by Noel or Knoller that involve dogs." It doesn't sink much lower than this.
posted by bjennings at 9:34 AM PST - 17 comments
Jack's
back! Woohoo! ...looks like he's decided to pull a "click and mortar" on us: his new site is a supplemental to his zine. Very exciting. Welcome back, Jack!
posted by silusGROK at 9:17 AM PST - 18 comments
King of the Road:
A summary of Oedipus, of course. Who says all that time looking for personalized plates doesn't pay off? Anyone care to find
Ulysses?
posted by salsamander at 8:48 AM PST - 13 comments
A small world in most dimensions:
"University of Washington scientists using gravity measurements to hunt for evidence of dimensions in addition to those already known have found that those dimensions would have to occupy a space smaller than 0.2 millimeter."
posted by talos at 5:02 AM PST - 8 comments
