These little things look quite a bit like what they were using on that show, Eureka, on the Sci-Fi channel.

Apparently they're actually going to be available for sale here in the US next year, estimated at between $12,000 and $18,000 in price.

I could deal with that.

Teeny, tiny little car -- coming soon!

For tens of thousands of members of the National Guard and reserves who are called up to serve in Iraq, returning home safely may be the beginning -- not the end -- of their worst nightmare. Reservists lucky enough to make it home often find their civilian jobs gone and face unsympathetic employers and a government that has restricted access to civilian job-loss reports rather than prosecuting offending employers.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects members of the guard and reserves from job loss, demotion, loss of seniority and loss of benefits when they are called to active duty.

The act is supposed to protect reservists' civilian jobs for up to five years of military service. But the government has made it difficult for veterans to enforce their legal rights. Service members who return to find their civilian jobs gone also find that the burden is on them to prove that their jobs were taken away as a result of their military service and that there is no other reason that they could have been fired.

This onerous burden of proof discourages many from filing formal complaints.

Amy R. Gershkoff - Saving Soldiers' Jobs - washingtonpost.com

(Disclaimer: I'm a major contributor to this project, but no one
else has posted it, so... whatever.)

For those Slackware users left out there, the Dropline GNOME team is pleased to announce the availability of the beta of Dropline GNOME 2.18 for Slackware 12.0.

Basically, after you've installed Slackware 12.0, grab the beta installer client, install it, and then run dropline-installer. The installer will then give you the ability to download and install all the wonderful packages necessary to use GNOME 2.18.3 on your Slackware Linux 12.0 machine. This means easy access to Inkscape, Evolution, OpenOffice, Ekiga, and all the other wonderful GNOME 2.18.x applications.

We can still really use testers, although it would be preferrable if you'd do this on a clean install of Slackware 12.0, since over half the bug reports on upgraded machines boil down to errors made while upgrading.

Dropline GNOME 2.18.3 beta for Slackware 12 now available

This is just an awesome T-shirt and I figured I'd point it out.

Oh, yeah, and there's also a ton of rather cracked out t-shirts in the same bizarre category. :)

(It beats looking at shill sites.)

Awesome War Shirt -- 'We're gonna free the s**t out of you!'

NPR reports MIT Researchers Transmit Wireless Electricity, no more looking for your cell phone charger, or that 23rd Chromozone.

Wi-tricity

In case you want to cross a bridge.

Federal Highway Administration's NBI

The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB) will stop accepting public comments on proposed photography and video restrictions on August 3, 2007. As The New York Times recently reported, the new rules have drawn protests from both the New York Civil Liberties Union and Picture New York, a group created to counter the proposal.

The proposed rules would require photographers and videographers shooting or scouting locations on New York City property (which includes the streets and parks that make up most of the city's public space) to obtain a permit specifying dates, times, and location. This restriction would apply to any party including two or more people in a single site for 30 or more minutes, and any party of five or more with a tripod at a site for 10 or more minutes. The time limit includes all set-up and breakdown activity, and a single site is defined as "any area within 100 feet of where an activity commenced."

It is notable that while comments on the MOFTB Web site refer to the relevant parties as "crew," the text of the formal proposal describes them as anyone engaging in "conduct involving a communication ... whether verbal or otherwise." That would seem to include photographic subjects, making outdoor portrait and group photography sessions subject to the rules. Photographers who hold NYPD-issued press passes are exempt from the permit requirement.

Accepting a permit under the new rules would require the holder to agree to "protect all persons and property from damage, loss or injury ... and to indemnify and hold harmless the City" in case of any problems attributed to the permit holder. The permit application also requires proof of liability insurance with a limit of at least one million dollars per occurrence, although applicants are invited to make a case for a waiver.

Bullshit!!!!Bullshit!!!!Bullshit!!!!

Not only is it fair for NY to install cameras EVERYWHERE, photography for regular people is about to be effectively outlawed in NY.

NYC Mayor's Office to Close Comment Period on New Photography Restrictions - - PopPhotoJuly 2007

This is already awesome, but even more, i want this with a 12 hour cycle.

whitney music box var. 0 - chromatic - 48 tines

This is actually really cool. These guys would have probably been fine had they not floated their replica submarine a bit close to the QEII--which made the police panic a bit.

3 Men Arrested in Brief Confusion Over Homemade Submarine!

Here is retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, former CENTCOM commander, on June 20, at Transformation Warfare '07:

“The enemy is in fact more networked, more decentralized, and operates within a broader commander’s intent than any 20th century foe we’ve ever met,” he said. “In fact, this enemy is better networked than we are.”

Tapping information is particularly vital to empower lower-level American soldiers in theater, but the “architectures and the switches” are now being pulled by generals and politicians, he said.

He said because too many stovepipes and bureaucrats hamper the effective use of technology in the field, it may be time for a national dialogue after the 2008 elections about reforming the defense establishment to fight future wars.

Abizaid scolded reporters for not telling enough stories about the enemy.

Audio for sale here.

See also the on-scene report:

"It does take a network to beat a network, and our network must be better."

"It's more about people; it's more about taking risks," General Keys said. "It's more about changing the rules and (getting) a clean sheet of paper."

What's kind of sad is that these guys don't realize just how cheap getting up to speed on this sort of thing is.

...which is mainly because no amount of cyber-"warfare" is likely to effect much lasting damage on anyone.

Abizaid: US military has failed to embrace cyberspace in terror war