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26 February 2007

News from the Net

It appears that the various political campaign websites are full of vulnerabilities...

If you live on a sandy beach, you might very well be living on a rock beach next time there is an earthquake.

This is great. Sun has released a plugin for Microsoft Word to allow it to export/import OpenOffice ODF files. Of course, I don't have Word installed, but still...

How about a simple way to spoof Vistas' User Access Control?

Dell to distribute pre-installed Linux.

How about a Tor attack that the government might be using to track you now?

So there are some numbers showing at least one reason people pirate things (in this case TV shows)... unacceptable delays.

Iran is launching payloads into space now.

If any of you are running Google Desktop, you might want to read about the most recent exploit.

They got XP running on an 8MHz with 20MB of ram.

Texas is mandating that schoolgirls get vaccinated for cervical cancer...

If you are selling on eBay, expect soon to have your information given to the IRS.

How about a solid-state 67kW laser?

More on the state of the art in 3d printing.

So is something like this more likely to stop piracy or stop use of that developer's program?

A 5-gear rocket engine has been developed.

Can I have one of these Voltron SuperBots?

Sony has just announced that the new revision of the PS3 will be less backwards compatible with PS2 games.

Canada is now turning away Americans for things such as shoplifting or minor possession from, say, 30 years ago.

Mosque Math

The leader of the DoD (warez not govt dept -- oh wait) is facing 10 years imprisonment and $500,000 fine for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement (and 1 count of infringement).

There are more details about Xerox's new inkless printer.

Haha! This is great... So if you believe that what sets you apart from those things called 'animals' is our ability to create and use tools... read this.

Step aside SONAR, it's time for us to imitate fish.

Looks like the Mars Rover was updated to use D* pathfinding.

Ooh! Google is planning to create a permanent internet connection to Mars in the next two years!

An anonymous hacker got an ex-judge sentenced to 27 months in jail.

I can see it now... Quantum computers break the RSA factoring challenge, and so the new challenge is breaking this new quantum encryption technique.

What's better - that SETI@Home found something, or the wife's comments?

It looks like Estonia has surpassed the United States in election technology.

Astronomy sets a new record.

What do you get when our constant use of fossil fuels is not only melting the polar ice caps but is becoming close to running out? The Federal Energy Department melting more ice for fuel.

James Gosling appointed to the Order of Canada.

Hmmm. Natural Gas storage using corn.

Microsoft admits to serving malware from their servers.

Great. Just what we needed. Crappy VB code on Unix.

If you are using Snort, you might want to patch the security vulnerability.

Ever wonder what the truth is about drive numbers? Well, take a look.

Fraudulent charges on your credit card? You think the credit card company is the one that eats those charges? Nope - it's not them.

23 February 2007

21 February 2007

Fever Stimulation Beverage

After hearing the Weather Elf report on this drink, I decided I had to order some and try it... I highlighted a couple of my reasons :)

Honey Goat Weed
Clavo Huasca
Panax Ginseng
Caffeine (Green Tea)
Catuba
Damiana Leaf
Suma
Maca
Guarana

19 February 2007

Food Recalls


I don't know about you, but I am personally getting sick and tired of food recalls. These companies need to be held responsible in such a way that they quit poisoning the population.

It was bad enough that chicken, peanut butter, and pasta (what, you didn't know about that one?) were recalled in less than 1 week -- or the 31 recalls on food last year (just talking about USDA recalls, the FDA lists more)...

But what set me off was that this morning they mentioned on the news that they were now recalling baby food. And to top it off, while writing this, they announced a barbeque sauce recall... Did I mention that both of these were also the same week as the chicken, peanut butter and pasta?

If you want to peruse, here is the USDA list and FDA list...

What will it take to get these companies to be more responsible BEFORE shipping products?

17 February 2007

News from the Net

There has been a possible breakthrough in curing HIV.

Well, you thought it was ridiculous that they were censoring violent video games, right? Well, expect CSI, Bones, Smallville, Doctor Who, and even the History channel to be censored next.

An article shows the obvious benefit of grid computing.

This bionic eye has already been tested on 6 patients.

Congress is looking into patent reform.

I would start expecting Google ads in your next MMO.

Kansas changes their science standards to quit questioning evolution.

Oooh. Earth's constant hum has been explained.

It's time again -- Google Summer of Code 2007!

Not really a new concept, but I always find water computers kewl.

Ooh! A Judge (Russia) drops a piracy case for a principal that stole Windows... why? Because the damages were too insignificant to M$

A Texas Judge has determined that it is not MySpaces' responsibility to correctly identify the age of the user.

Hitachi's new RFID chips are smaller than a human hair. That should make VeriChip happy, since they have already implanted RFID chips in 222 people.

Amazon illegally makes charges to peoples credit cards. I'm sorry, but if you show me a total and I give you the credit card number, you better not use my number a week later on a different amount or you can expect to get sued for fraud.

John Edwards is the first presidential candidate to setup their HQ in SecondLife.

I personally really like the fingerprint reader on the laptop... now Toshiba adds it to phones.

A P2P Virtual Currency Exchange has opened.

Great, just what we need. Give Bush a reason to invade Canada. Just great.

Particle accelerators get a jump.

Google disappoints me and I am glad that I refused to sign up with YouTube... Since they will report you to the Republican News Organization, er I mean, Fox.

Microsoft settled the Comes vs. Microsoft antitrust case.

16 February 2007

ConAgra Recall

I assume everyone has already heard about this, but just in case...

If you have any jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter with the product code (starting with?) "2111" on the lid, get rid of it. There has been a salmonella outbreak linked to them, even locally.

With things like this, and their 19 million pounds of beef recalled in 2002 (bacterial contamination), it makes me a little concerned about their other products... Act II and JiffyPop and Orville Redenbacher popcorn, Armour and Banquet meat, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, Dennison's Chili (my favorite), Healthy Choice, Hunts' (ketchup etc), Knott's Berry Farm, MaMa's Rosa, Marie Callenders, PAM spray and Wesson cooking oil, Reddi-Whip (who can do without this?), Swiss Miss, etc etc.... If we don't trust where their meat or peanuts come from, where do we draw the line?

15 February 2007

The Energy Policy Act of 2005

The United States has planned a change to its DST observance beginning in 2007. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that DST will start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. In 2007, the start and stop dates will be March 11 and November 4, respectively. These dates are different from previous DST start and stop dates. In 2006, the dates were the first Sunday in April (April 2, 2006) and the last Sunday in October (October 29, 2006).

Some countries are still evaluating whether they will adopt the new rules for themselves. You should anticipate more changes in DST and time zone rules for countries that typically align with U.S. DST rules.

14 February 2007

Powered Spinal Mobilization

The news was just reporting that this device is now available in the US, is covered by most insurance, and 20 minutes with it can work as well as 20 visits to a therapist.

News from the Net

Google was found guilty for aggregating news and caching sites -- er, copyright violations. And then to top it off, they are accused of benefiting from piracy because of Adsense running on download sites.

Trying to follow up on Chicagos' recent "15-minutes of fame", Illinois is trying to pass the Social Networking Web site Prohibition Act. Just in time for the sites to provide APIs.

Forget to get that Valentine's gift? Maybe put their picture on the side of a space craft?

Come on, even the name sounds cool... Black Saturn.

Just days before I build my new Solaris server, Sun offers an optimized AMP stack.

RIAA blames ISPs for misidentification. At the same time, a study shows that p2p has almost no effect on CD purchases.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray protections fully broken.

FBI Audit rules that they suck :)

Michael Crichton shows how patents kill people.

Lord of the Rings Online NDA lifted.

Sign Language via cell phones.

MIT plans to make a silicon brain.

Here's an interview the Josh Wolf, a video blogger who was jailed for 170 days for refusing to turn over a video of a demonstration in San Francisco. What? They wanted it so they could arrest everyone they saw the faces of?

More info on Reaming the People

A drug company is actually releasing their information for free online.

Looks like IBM is offering something I talked about years ago.

Intel makes a 1.8TFlops processor running at 62 watts.

EU bans sock-puppet blogs.

The DoD says it will cyberattack or actually bomb any location that cyberattacks the U.S. Guess we better hope no one thinks of something so simple as routing through somewhere else, eh?

A new shunt may cut down on the number of amputations.

12 February 2007

Shady


As some of you may know, it has been a year today since Shady passed away.

Please send some kind thoughts Dinos' way today.

11 February 2007

News from the Net

WalMart appears to be in bed with Microsoft.

This is probably a good read for those wholier-than thou artists (you know which ones I mean).

Ok, Obama mentions some good energy policies. But do they have to mention words like Messiah when talking about him? Of course, he did tell people that he was a Democrat because God told him to.

House burns down. Dell laptop ruled as cause.

So you think M$ might have some heart because they donated a lot of computers to your kids school? Did you realize that they filed a patent to allow them to reposess said computers if the facial recognition notices that the kids are not paying attention to the advertisements?

Amazon and YouTube flagged for censorship.

China institutes massive online ID system.

Refridgerated wind?

So two kids (under 18) took naughty photos of each other and got busted for child-p0rn.

Ooh... Optical and Electrical circuits on the same silicon.

Princeton has given up on convincing people about ESP and are going to close their Engineering Anomalies Research lab. “For 28 years, we’ve done what we wanted to do, and there’s no reason to stay and generate more of the same data. If people don’t believe us after all the results we’ve produced, then they never will.” The research will continue at the International Consciousness Research Lab.

No more than a week after EOTI received its pair of AMD FX-70 dual core chips, AMD is showcasing their Quad-Core Opteron that redefines x86.

Remember how Chicago were complete morons about the Aqua Teen thing? Well, in addition to people loosing their jobs over it, the CEO of Cartoon Network resigned.

Anyone remember the big seed-carrying thing in Titan AE? Well, we are building one.

Want to help the environment and have a knack for science? Richard Branson is offering $25million to anyone who can devise a way to eliminate a billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.

EVE Online takes a hit as the developers admit to helping cheat.

Looks like small companies and bloggers are better at doing the Pentagon's job than they are.

More details are available on the upcoming game, Spore.

Battlestar Galactica as Simpsons Characters



I am not usually a Battlestar Galactica Fan (was as a kid), but I always love crossovers...

09 February 2007

News from the Net

EMI is considering selling their entire music collection online as DRM-free MP3.

XBox360 will be getting 1080p titles.

For those of you have been around online for awhile, you know that the p0rn industry usually decides who wins format wars. I have been assuming that HD-DVD would win because p0rn was using it and not Blu-Ray. It appears that the reason they were not releasing on Blu-Ray was because Sony refused to license it -- Vivid has figured out how to replicate the format, and is going to release Debbie Does Dallas in both formats. Is this going to go like Beta/VHS where Beta just quits being used -- or more like CD-R and CD+R where they are both available for the same drives today?

A new brain scanner can read your intentions.

If you have been thinking about buying Perplex City, you may want to avoid buying the cards already in the stores -- since the game has been completed.

The worlds' first millimeter size turbine engine should be ready this year.

If scientists go around curing the autistic, is it going to also cure savants of their genius?

Cisco has released the source code to their Network Admission Control.

ComputerWorld's Windows Expert, after reviewing Vista, has switched to Mac.

University Professor asked to stop using and teaching about annonymizing networks like Tor.

The FAA looks to override copyright law.

Yahoo! releases a feed aggregator called Pipes.

India has apparently copyrighted Avian Flu samples, and not sharing.

It appears that the RIAA/MPAA assume that existence of P2P software = Guilt of Theft.

Teleportation of light is a reality?

Apparently, until now, GMail was invitation only... I didn't realize they were still doing that - but they aren't now -- it is open to everyone.

OMG OMG OMG!!! 16-qubit quantum computer available commercially this week!!!

The US Senate looks at protecting your privacy. What a twist ;)

DNA information from the Human Genome Project is being visualized as a rainbow.

Ability to criticize your doctors' handiwork upheld.

08 February 2007

Light Bulbs?

If you have a craving for some obsessively new lights, how about this 9watt beauty that can output 308-594 lumens (depending on frosted or not)? Or perhaps you would prefer something with a little bit more color?

07 February 2007

News from the Net

Great news everyone. Get sued by the assholes at the RIAA and you too could win attorney fees.

As some of you know, EOTI is currently being hosted by Google. If they start charging for the service, I'd be tempted to start running it on my server again.

New York has finally went over the deep end. I don't know how the hell they expect the public to accept not being able to use cell phones, mp3/ipod (or hell, even a gps/pda map thingee) while crossing the street... Well, if you do, expect a $100 fine. Maybe they don't realize that A LOT of people cross the street there ALL THE TIME. Can we bust the police who are ticketing you while they are calling into dispatch on their radios?

The U.S. House of Representatives has figured out how to increase your monthly bills while taking away your freedom. They are going to make it mandatory for ISPs to keep track of what you are doing. Guess it is time to design a new type of annonymizer.

Blockbuster and Netflix may soon have a new competitor... Your local library. Oh, and Amazon/TiVo.

Looks like UK Citizens will have something going for them soon... Sell their email address to a spammer and go to jail.

Google Docs may soon support PowerPoint.

iPhotoMEASURE looks very interesting...

Well, you all are aware that video games like DDR, Police 911 and some Wii titles can give you a workout. How about improving your vision?

Well, we may finally have a solution to trash.... Convert it to electricity.

DNS Root Servers were attacked.

Viacom uses the DMCA to take down videos they don't own.

Do you wonder what bank this Canadian company will sell pictures of YOUR house to?

06 February 2007

Fiji Water?

In summary, the manufacture and transport of that one kilogram bottle of Fiji water consumed 26.88 kilograms of water (7.1 gallons) .849 Kilograms of fossil fuel (one litre or .26 gal) and emitted 562 grams of Greenhouse Gases (1.2 pounds).

Lego Computer Case


This is just friggin cool. A computer case built out of Legos!

Sisters injuries

So my sisters' doctors in Alturas had been telling her nothing is wrong with her. So her and my mom went to Susanville yesterday and guess what? They said that her C5 (cervical vertebra) is crushing her spinal cord. Looking that up, it can cause a lot of various problems, but everything mentions quadriplegia as a likely outcome.

Yet more proof that second opinions are a good thing.

News from the Net

I agree with the poster of this article - it is odd when a magazine can get people into space, but NASA can't. It's like German tv shows being able to find people better than our own government.

Rollable phones are finally a reality. It sucks that it takes tech so long to catch up with techies.

China gets their first robotic parking garage

Be careful that you don't let the stupid freak out about what you do... Turner Broadcasting has to pay $2million because of the Aqua Teen stunt... Only half to pay for the response... Half of it for response training and public outreach.

I'll use their wording here... Cheap, Safe, Patentless Cancer drug discovered

Well, in light of some of Germany's mistakes recently, it is good to see that their Supreme Court has made it illegal for police to hack your computer

Apple and Beatles settle

Haha.. MPAA facts disproved in Canada

Scientology critic arrested after 6 years for interfering with a religion.

I know that most of my accounts have started doing this... too bad it doesn't work.

Why everyone is dropping SymbianOS

More open source phones on the way

Did you ever hear about a Roman village in China? Well, DNA should clarify that soon enough.

The creator of the 'electric slide' dance move is filing DMCA-based takedown notices for videos of people doing this move.

TiVo sells customer information

04 February 2007

News from the Net

Google caught with some bad political decisions.

WOOT! Jack Thompson faces disciplinary action up to and including disbarment. I so hope he gets disbarred.

I don't have a Wii yet, but if you do, you could control a sword-wielding robot

Explanation of how they made a material stronger than diamond

Prostate cancer gets treated with a decoy molecule

NASA plans to start building their permanent moon base in 2010... Hmm.. wonder how likely they will have it functional within the first 2 years...

Looks like Daily Show clips will be getting pulled from YouTube again. Idiots.

nVidia faces a class action lawsuit for false advertising because they did not provide stable drivers for Vista

Scientists think they will soon discover Ocean Planets

Dell faces a class action lawsuit for taking bribes from Intel

ExxonMobil tries to bribe scientists to dispute global warming. This is around the same time that federal scientists are being censored.

Want some bottled sea-smelling perfume?

Florida spends $30million to replace the touchscreen voting machines with optical scanners. My concern, locally ours are made by Diebold... The same ones who admitted that they were going to throw the election to Bush.

Planning on buying a family license for Vista? Well, hold off since they don't work. Of course, if it had worked, then you could have been hacked by any webpage that had sound on it... Maybe like those annoying faces in the ads at the top of MySpace. And then, when your games don't work, see if any of these links might help

The Romanian President told the international press how important pirated copies of Windows were for the country.

Nanomolecular engines get a boost

OOohh! Essay contest winner to go into space... it could be you! Of course, doubt many of you could afford the taxes.

Another alternative might be to turn sugar into diesel

Results of Britains new e-Petition

A 16-year old teen countersues the RIAA for violating antitrust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats.

I am sure you have all heard already about how Boston are a bunch of dumb-asses.

A benefit to optics and photography, they now have an oragami lens

We reported long ago about how Google was trying to get the GMail name in Germany, even though someone else was already using it... Well, Google lost.

California is trying to ban incandescent light bulbs. Personally I think that sucks, since the Compact Flourescent ones always died within a few weeks in this house. If that bill passed here, I would probably have to completely rewire my house.

This has some interesting stuff in the synopsis...

Apple forced to pay fines to bloggers

We have some advances in animated fluids...

Here is some info on the origins of the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007

Consumers want to file a class action lawsuit against Microsoft and others (like eMachines) for requiring a new license if you repair your machine.

Get your two cents in on the Sony Rootkit issue before March 1st

Ok, lawyers can have a sense of humor

Net Neutrality is back again this time called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act

An ancient village was discovered two miles from Stonehenge

Wow... Now this is awesome... Bose-Einstein condensate-based transistors allowing atomic scaled circuits

I wonder if filling tornado alley with these water from wind windmills would have any effect on the weather patterns

This technique by the FBI is like saying, "Well, our culprit lives in Oregon somewhere, so wiretap all of Oregon until we find him"

Another reason that ICANN should butt out. Whatever happened to alternate-root DNS?

Cingular, Priceline and Travelocity were fined for using adware

Remember M$ patenting software they stole? Well, they have retracted their patent. Score 1 for the good guys.

I thought I had already mentioned this, but Adobe is making the PDF spec public.

Do you think Hillary Clinton's stand on privacy is enough to make your forget about her other crap?

Google caves to political commentaries and blurs/censors their maps.

TomToms were shipped with onboard trojans.

So the ACLU won the case against the warrantless wiretapping and the feds dropped it

Comes et al. vs. Microsoft Corp

Internal memos from M$ presented during court case... Some interesting reading.

02 February 2007

Stint Removal and Kidney Stone Analysis

Well, I went and got the stint removed today. Hurt like freakin hell. I had no idea that both ends were curled!!! Dino took a pic of the removed stint so hopefully we can get a pic up (don't worry doesn't look gross or anything - just painful).

On a similar note, we got the analysis of the stone back. Calcium and potassium. Some of you surely remember that from when I went to the hospital in 2004... I had taken too many Tums and the Calcium-Carbonate had bound to my potassium and thus my body had no actual potassium stores...

Well, although dehydration and anemia probably didn't help, it appears that this was the cause of my kidney stone. You heard me right. The cause of my kidney stone appears to have been caused by me taking too many Tums THREE years ago.

If **ANY** of you are regularly taking Tums for heartburn, please talk to your doctor about switching to Prilosec. It is OTC, so you don't need a prescription -- and instead of covering heartburn, it prevents it. I am SOOOO glad that I quit taking them when I did, because the Urologist said that it means I am not likely to get another stone. If I was still taking them, I probably would.

Note: I did take them for longer than recommended -- but... the hospital has told me to never take them again.

01 February 2007

Dreamlife Powersports Club

The news mentioned this place today. Interesting concept. Basically, it is a point-based system that lets you "borrow" ATVs, jetskies, Motor Homes, Boats, whatever. Nothing more than a year old.