] It is now 10:30 pm, and I have been up since 5 a.m. this
] morning. Today, I served as an election judge in the
] primary election, and I am writing down my experience
] now, despite being extremely tired, as everything is
] fresh in my mind, and this was one of the most incredible
] days in my life.

Critic of the electronic voting machines spends a day as a polling place judge and learns more positives and negatives of the system.

My day as an election judge - Avi Rubin

"Hi, I am Wing! I immigrated to New Zealand with my family about ten years ago from Hong Kong. I have been learning singing in New Zealand and I do performances in Rest Homes and Hospitals and occasionally promotional concerts as I go along.

I released my first CD Phantom Of The Opera and got a grant from the Manukau City Council for promotion. Then I released I Could Have Danced All Night and The Sound Of Music.

My latest CDs are called "Wing Sings The Carpenters" and "Wing Sings All your favourites".

This is astonishing. They may well qualify as WMDs.

Worst. Voice. Ever.

Most of this site seems, well, have to say it, crackpot, albeit well presented.

However, the lack of military response, given the sophistication and speed of information disemination is appalling, although more an example of human fallability than an immaculately crafted cover-up to me. Look at what our leaders were doing at the time! Bush's failure to get off his butt and go check out the situation (or failure to have a team that took care of it for him) is a far more heinous lapse than whatever his National Guard issues were thirty years ago.

Can you see the commercial? A clock ticking in the corner of the screen showing the President reading to the classroom of children while a voiceover says "9:02 am President Bush has been informed that a plane has hit the WTC. 9:06 am President Bush has now been informed that a second plane has hit the WTC."

At 9:06 Andrew Card whispered into Bush's ear that the second plane had hit the Twin Towers, as Bush sat in front of the class. He looked momentarily befuddled, but then appeared uninterested in further details. He remained seated and read out loud with the kids for at least eitht more minutes, not leaving the classroom until 9:16. Why didn't the Commander-in-Chief interrupt the photo op to respond to the nation being under attack? Did he lapse into a stupor because of shock? Even so, why did the Secret Service not immediately evacuate him to secure quarters?

9/11 Where were Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld and Myers?

Population; Resource Management; Technology; Knowledge; Economic Integration; Conflict; Governance.

Seven Revolutions

These are various, and stunning.

Gallery of network images

Most cool family tree of electronic music. Includes sound clips representative of each genre.

This is most cool.

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

Four robots performing a quasi-traditional Japanese fan dance and something of an N'Synch routine. These aren't the robots of the 60's.

'Dance, Will Robinson!'

These 9 drawings were done by an artist under the influence of LSD -- part of a test conducted by the US government during it's dalliance with psychotomimetic drugs in the late 1950's. The artist was given a dose of LSD 25 and free access to an activity box full of crayons and pencils. His subject is the medico that jabbed him.

First drawing is done 20 minutes after the first dose (50ug)

An attending doctor observes - Patient chooses to start drawing with charcoal.

The subject of the experiment reports - 'Condition normal... no effect from the drug yet'.

Acid trip 1

Via Rattle's Abusable Technology meme:

Let's say that you're a dangerous Canadian terrorist,
] bearing the clearly suspicious name "Guy Lafleur". Now,
] the American government is aware of your activities and
] puts you on the CAPPS blacklist to stop you from boarding
] the plane. Further, let's assume that you're too
] incompetent to get a fake ID.... You have someone who's
] not on the blacklist buy you a ticket under an innocuous
] assumed name, say "Babe Ruth". This is perfectly
] legitimate and quite easy to do.... Then, the day before
] the flight you go onto the web and get your boarding
] pass. You print out two copies, one with your real name
] and one with the innocuous fake name. Remember, it's just
] a web page, so it's easy to modify. When you go to the
] airport, you show the security agent your "Guy Lafleur"
] boarding pass and your real ID. He verifies that they
] match but doesn't check the watchlist, because his only
] job is to verify that you have a valid-looking boarding
] pass and that it matches your ID. Then, when you go to
] board the plane, you give the gate agent your real
] boarding pass. Since they don't check ID, you can just
] walk onboard.

Links to possible solutions.

How To Bypass Airline Blacklist Without Much Effort

Here you can see the last statements of people executed in Texas:

I deserve this. Tell everyone I said goodbye.

I wish everybody a good life. Everything is O.K.

I would like to point out that I have written a statement and the Warden will give you a copy. I still proclaim I am innocent, and that’s all I have to say.

I just ask everybody I ever hurt or done anything wrong to, to just forgive me for whatever wrongs I done to them.

Let’s do it, man. Lock and load. Ain’t life a [expletive deleted]?

I’m an African warrior, born to breathe, and born to die.

I love you, Mom. Goodbye.

Executed Offenders - Last Statements