RIAA will take 2191.78 years to sue everyone (via /. )
"Keep in mind suing 10,000 people is still only going to impact only one six thousandth (1/6000) of the file traders out there. And who is getting rich off of this? The lawyers. Betcha not a single musician will see a cent of this money.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
[Bush's Fascist Police State VII] What do you know... Chuck D. was right all those years ago. The FBI will be tapping his telephone.
According to the proposal that the FCC is considering, any company offering cable modem or DSL service to residences or businesses would be required to comply with a thicket of federal regulations that would establish a central hub for police surveillance of their customers.
According to the proposal that the FCC is considering, any company offering cable modem or DSL service to residences or businesses would be required to comply with a thicket of federal regulations that would establish a central hub for police surveillance of their customers.
Has the Sea Given Up Its Bounty? (NYTimes)
More than 70 percent of commercial fish stocks are now considered fully exploited, overfished or collapsed. Sea birds and mammals are endangered. And a growing number of marine species are reaching the precariously low levels where extinction is considered a real possibility.
More than 70 percent of commercial fish stocks are now considered fully exploited, overfished or collapsed. Sea birds and mammals are endangered. And a growing number of marine species are reaching the precariously low levels where extinction is considered a real possibility.
Monday, July 28, 2003
Sunday, July 27, 2003
We're back, and not a moment too soon!
Science + Luxuriant, flowing hair = Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists
Science + Luxuriant, flowing hair = Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists
Friday, July 18, 2003
Dick Cheney was planning on divvying up Iraqi oil among his pals...
Here's a visual representation of how Cheney perceived the Iraqi war (PDF)
Here's a visual representation of how Cheney perceived the Iraqi war (PDF)
Thursday, July 17, 2003
San Fransisco cracks down on Gypsie fortune tellers.
Why didn't they see this coming?
Police say that while only 60 alleged victims have come forward over the past decade, most have lost tens of thousands of dollars. Scammers leave town after making a big score, and it's not uncommon for fortune-tellers to make $100,000 a year, said Greg Ovanessian, a San Francisco police inspector with the department's fraud unit.
"You know how many clients it can take a fortune-teller to earn that? One," Ovanessian said. "Finally, we're able to start a paper trail on these guys."
Why didn't they see this coming?
Police say that while only 60 alleged victims have come forward over the past decade, most have lost tens of thousands of dollars. Scammers leave town after making a big score, and it's not uncommon for fortune-tellers to make $100,000 a year, said Greg Ovanessian, a San Francisco police inspector with the department's fraud unit.
"You know how many clients it can take a fortune-teller to earn that? One," Ovanessian said. "Finally, we're able to start a paper trail on these guys."
Living in long-haul shipping containers ()NYTimes)
Shipping containers are design's material du jour, showing up in the work of architects all over, from a museum project made of hundreds of them by the New York firm LOT-EK to the stacked-container look seen in recent work by Zaha Hadid of London and Kazuyo Sejima of Tokyo.
Shipping containers are design's material du jour, showing up in the work of architects all over, from a museum project made of hundreds of them by the New York firm LOT-EK to the stacked-container look seen in recent work by Zaha Hadid of London and Kazuyo Sejima of Tokyo.
Early 20th century color photography using an ingenius 3 lens system. circa 1906
We know that Prokudin-Gorskii intended his photographic images to be viewed in color because he developed an ingenious photographic technique in order for these images to be captured in black and white on glass plate negatives, using red, green and blue filters. He then presented these images in color in slide lectures using a light-projection system [right] involving the same three filters.
We know that Prokudin-Gorskii intended his photographic images to be viewed in color because he developed an ingenious photographic technique in order for these images to be captured in black and white on glass plate negatives, using red, green and blue filters. He then presented these images in color in slide lectures using a light-projection system [right] involving the same three filters.
The Kerry and the media are calling Bush's woes a 'credibility gap' I suppose 'Liar' is too strong a word for headlines?
The irrational fear-based powergrab mentality is still alive and well:
The Interpol chief warns that piracy is linked to 'terrorism'. Please... Does anybody believe this shit anymore?
I believe that corrupt energy conglomerates are linked to Dick Cheney, but is anybody putting an end to them?
An Interpol document to be presented in Washington later on Wednesday said that a wide range of terrorist groups have profited from the production or sale of counterfeit goods, including al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Chechen separatists, ethnic Albanian extremists in Kosovo and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, the statement said.
The Interpol chief warns that piracy is linked to 'terrorism'. Please... Does anybody believe this shit anymore?
I believe that corrupt energy conglomerates are linked to Dick Cheney, but is anybody putting an end to them?
An Interpol document to be presented in Washington later on Wednesday said that a wide range of terrorist groups have profited from the production or sale of counterfeit goods, including al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Chechen separatists, ethnic Albanian extremists in Kosovo and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, the statement said.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Snapshots from the Bush Depression:
Teenagers are facing the worst summer job market in years, with the percentage of those holding summer jobs at its lowest in 55 years and the unemployment rate at its highest in a decade.
As Tim McCarthy, the director of the Boston Youth Fund, said: "We're closing firehouses and laying off policemen. It's difficult to hire a kid when you've fired his father."
Teenagers are facing the worst summer job market in years, with the percentage of those holding summer jobs at its lowest in 55 years and the unemployment rate at its highest in a decade.
As Tim McCarthy, the director of the Boston Youth Fund, said: "We're closing firehouses and laying off policemen. It's difficult to hire a kid when you've fired his father."
The Pixel will be turning 50 next year
Though it may seem like a more recent creation, the pixel first appeared in New Jersey in 1954, the same year that Elvis cut his first record and the transistor radio was invented. At Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, mathematicians and engineers created the first computer graphic--and the first instance of digital typography--on a computer the size of a Manhattan apartment.
Here's a pic of the display.
Though it may seem like a more recent creation, the pixel first appeared in New Jersey in 1954, the same year that Elvis cut his first record and the transistor radio was invented. At Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, mathematicians and engineers created the first computer graphic--and the first instance of digital typography--on a computer the size of a Manhattan apartment.
Here's a pic of the display.
Friday, July 11, 2003
Clear Channel's instant live sells you a CD of the concert you just saw 10 minutes ago, before you walk out the door
Bush wants a pot crackdown, which is fine, because potheads want a Bush crackdown. They never go after the real criminals...
The Bush administration, pressing its campaign against state medical marijuana laws, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let federal authorities punish California doctors who recommend pot to their patients.
The Bush administration, pressing its campaign against state medical marijuana laws, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let federal authorities punish California doctors who recommend pot to their patients.
Scientists, like criminals, peak at 30.
"I'm hoping that I'm an exception to my theory - I wrote this paper before I got married and I'm now 40 years old," quips Kanazawa. His study did not cover female scientists.
"I'm hoping that I'm an exception to my theory - I wrote this paper before I got married and I'm now 40 years old," quips Kanazawa. His study did not cover female scientists.
Thousands have their PCs hijacked for use as porn servers. (NYTimes)
The hijacked computers, which are chosen by the hackers apparently because they have high-speed connections to the Internet, are secretly loaded with software that makes them send explicit Web pages advertising pornographic sites and offer to sign visitors up as customers.
The hijacked computers, which are chosen by the hackers apparently because they have high-speed connections to the Internet, are secretly loaded with software that makes them send explicit Web pages advertising pornographic sites and offer to sign visitors up as customers.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Right-wing disaster and McCarthy appologist Ann Coulter thinks "No serious person thinks that we are in the middle of a civil-liberties crisis."
Liberal media, my ass. Time Magazine once again unappologetically validates the jingoistic notion that it's "unpatriotic" to question the actions and motives of an unelected president.
Here's an example of Time's probing, no holes barred interviewing technique:
Q: Do interviewers try to provoke you into saying outrageous things just because you're Ann Coulter?
A: No. I do that on my own.
Isn't she just fab! I can almost hear the two of them giggling over their bon mots. While being serious. Because she's a serious person. Who thinks its OK to have a guy who was defeated by a corpse, and that thinks dancing is a devil's tool, and who's scared to death of a female breast as her attorney general who is perfectly capable of making sane decisions regarding her civil liberties. How cute that they play with her celebrity cache rather than her more uncomfortable slightly-to-the-right-of-Genghis Khan political agenda.
Liberal media, my ass. Time Magazine once again unappologetically validates the jingoistic notion that it's "unpatriotic" to question the actions and motives of an unelected president.
Here's an example of Time's probing, no holes barred interviewing technique:
Q: Do interviewers try to provoke you into saying outrageous things just because you're Ann Coulter?
A: No. I do that on my own.
Isn't she just fab! I can almost hear the two of them giggling over their bon mots. While being serious. Because she's a serious person. Who thinks its OK to have a guy who was defeated by a corpse, and that thinks dancing is a devil's tool, and who's scared to death of a female breast as her attorney general who is perfectly capable of making sane decisions regarding her civil liberties. How cute that they play with her celebrity cache rather than her more uncomfortable slightly-to-the-right-of-Genghis Khan political agenda.
Online Poker changes the game and the players. (NYTimes)
Gautam Rao, a well-known Canadian player, said he stopped going to casinos in 2000, not long after his daughter was born, "because of the smoke and distance.'' "I told my wife I had to find a way to play online," he said. Now, he is able to play every night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. while his daughter sleeps in the next room.
Gautam Rao, a well-known Canadian player, said he stopped going to casinos in 2000, not long after his daughter was born, "because of the smoke and distance.'' "I told my wife I had to find a way to play online," he said. Now, he is able to play every night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. while his daughter sleeps in the next room.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
You've been really well-behaved all day. Hear a hefty sampling of tracks from the Beach Boys' unreleased Smile Sessions.
Articles on "Smile": [1] [2] [3]
Articles on "Smile": [1] [2] [3]
A grad student finds that his dissertation is a national security threat.
"He should turn it in to his professor, get his grade -- and then they both should burn it," said Richard Clarke, who until recently was the White House cyberterrorism chief. "The fiber-optic network is our country's nervous system."
"He should turn it in to his professor, get his grade -- and then they both should burn it," said Richard Clarke, who until recently was the White House cyberterrorism chief. "The fiber-optic network is our country's nervous system."
Monday, July 07, 2003
Teen-angst killing spree was just barely stopped (NYTimes). The gun stockpile, of course, was owned by a kid's father. Can't wait to see the pro-gun spin on this.
Mr. Sarubbi said the three teenagers had decided to carry out their plot yesterday because Mr. Lovett's parents were away at the Jersey Shore. Other plans to do so in recent months had been aborted for various reasons, he said.
Mr. Sarubbi said the three teenagers had decided to carry out their plot yesterday because Mr. Lovett's parents were away at the Jersey Shore. Other plans to do so in recent months had been aborted for various reasons, he said.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Illegal-art.org
These films and videos appropriate others' intellectual property, whether through the use of found footage, unauthorized music, or shots of copyrighted or trademarked material. (Filmmakers and videographers now have to get permission for just about every concert t-shirt, store sign, or other piece of intellectual property that happens to appear onscreen).
These films and videos appropriate others' intellectual property, whether through the use of found footage, unauthorized music, or shots of copyrighted or trademarked material. (Filmmakers and videographers now have to get permission for just about every concert t-shirt, store sign, or other piece of intellectual property that happens to appear onscreen).
Obscure Led Zeppelin Trivia
This document seeks to draw together all the interesting, amusing, perplexing, or just plain anecdotal information that has arisen on the topic of Led Zeppelin.
This document seeks to draw together all the interesting, amusing, perplexing, or just plain anecdotal information that has arisen on the topic of Led Zeppelin.
Mixed sex human embryo created.
The team involved insists that the creation of an hermaphrodite human embryo was designed to cure illness, but critics say moral and ethical standards have been breached.
The team involved insists that the creation of an hermaphrodite human embryo was designed to cure illness, but critics say moral and ethical standards have been breached.
[Spread the Gospel] A nice piece in the Guardian about weblogging as a political voice in the U.S. (Thanks, Pat)
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
8goodpeople.com
We want you to meet 8 good people. Though they live in different states, have different family situations and life experiences, and represent different generations, they have a few things in common:
• They support their local libraries, vote, pay taxes and love their families.
• They’re all college-educated, highly skilled professionals with years of experience and excellent references.
• They’re all writers, of sorts, who’ve enjoyed success in the past and have been lucky enough to fulfill at least part of the American dream and buy a home.
• They all need to work to cover living expenses and help support their families.
• They’ve been unemployed for more than a year, exhausted their unemployment benefits and are scraping by on odd-and-end jobs and/or using up savings to cover their living expenses.
And oh yes: they’ve tried everything you’re supposed to try when looking for work - tapping into their network of friends and former colleagues, keeping daily tabs on local classified and online job boards, applying for dozens (and in a few cases, hundreds) of jobs, and marketing their skills and services to anyone who will listen.
We want you to meet 8 good people. Though they live in different states, have different family situations and life experiences, and represent different generations, they have a few things in common:
• They support their local libraries, vote, pay taxes and love their families.
• They’re all college-educated, highly skilled professionals with years of experience and excellent references.
• They’re all writers, of sorts, who’ve enjoyed success in the past and have been lucky enough to fulfill at least part of the American dream and buy a home.
• They all need to work to cover living expenses and help support their families.
• They’ve been unemployed for more than a year, exhausted their unemployment benefits and are scraping by on odd-and-end jobs and/or using up savings to cover their living expenses.
And oh yes: they’ve tried everything you’re supposed to try when looking for work - tapping into their network of friends and former colleagues, keeping daily tabs on local classified and online job boards, applying for dozens (and in a few cases, hundreds) of jobs, and marketing their skills and services to anyone who will listen.
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
More car-free places: Carfree.com has a list of car-free towns, cities, and areas worldwide.
Christiania, Denmark: (NYTimes) Ever since a group of squatters took over an abandoned military fortress in the heart of this intimate, orderly city 32 years ago, their "Free Town," Christiania, has caused the government untold heartburn.
"Official" Site, Christiania.org, another article, and a cool cart-trike bike company started in the car-free town.
"Official" Site, Christiania.org, another article, and a cool cart-trike bike company started in the car-free town.
"This kind of treatment would never be tolerated in the U.S., so why here? Aren't we supposed to be showing them a different way?" Hamoudi, who eventually made it to Jordan, says the American soldiers who arrested him stole two wristwatches. An old man in the house where Hamoudi was arrested asked the soldiers if he could use the bathroom and was told, Hamoudi says, to "piss in his pants."