] I have no idea what this is. I can't find anything
] similar on any google map referenced sites. It
] doesn't show up on terraserver and I live nearby so
] I know there are no towers in that area.

A grid of alien space craft comes to take their fountain of youth back.

Google Sightseeing - UFO

] This Tuesday, the US Senate is scheduled to vote on the
] implementation of a national ID card system. The Real ID
] Act is nothing less than a Real National ID Act.

Fresh from his somewhat kinda victory in the RFID passport debacle Bill Scannell is at it again on the national ID card.

Now, the interesting thing about this proposal is that it is not vulnerable to the one security related objection I've heard for this, which is that if there is only one ID card you have to fake then all of the resources in the country devoted to faking IDs will be devoted to faking THAT id, and so everyone will be able to fake it very well, where as today people tend to fake a multitude of state IDs poorly. As each state will still have its own ID under this system, it won't create a single focal point for forgers.

As all the state databases will be linked, the first thing that will occur is annoyances. People attempting to drink underage or dodge traffic tickets will find life more difficult. People with out of order paperwork may find themselves in jail, as a friend of mine did recently because his social security card has a different name then his drivers license. (Yes it was their mistake, and no they didn't really think twice about booking him anyway.)

It is inevitable that all the data the government has about you is going to be connected, tied to your banking and medical records, and biometrically identified. Objections of the ACLU and the Conservative Christians aside, we are going to do this. It is only a matter of time. We do not understand why we shouldn't as we expect perfect law compliance. This is a step in that direction.

This will be coupled with increasingly cheap and automated surveillance of public space. Ultimately, the IDs WILL go wireless so that they can easily be scanned by the government without having to approach a suspect. You already have a license plate, right? Ultimately the Supreme Court will concede that its not unconstitutional to require every person to carry such a card. That will be the last straw. I put it 40 years out unless there is another major terrorist attack. I'd be willing to make a long bet on this.

Its easy, its cheap, and it will make you safe. As law enforcement becomes perfect, the fairness of laws becomes vital. Our Mass Media driven government does not produce fair or reasonable law. It produces reactionary, fad and interest driven law.

This is simply going to cause a lot of people a lot of pain, and I feel like complaining about it is pissing against the wind. I really think we're going to learn this the hard way. We ought to know better but we're gunna run right into this wall at full speed.

UnRealID.com

] Jeremy Stribling said that he and two fellow MIT graduate
] students questioned the standards of some academic
] conferences, so they wrote a computer program to generate
] research papers complete with nonsensical text, charts
] and diagrams.

Scientific conference falls for gibberish prank. 15/04/2005. ABC News Online

] Goombah browses your iTunes collection and theirs to
] compare what you like and make recommendations. If you
] and your peers share a love for one song, chances are
] you%u2019ll appreciate others your Goombah Neighbors
] listen to -- that%u2019s the general idea.

Welcome to Goombah - Music Discovery

] I yanked the kickass soundtrack from the North Korean
] Delegation animation. Quite frankly, I'm sticking this in
] iTunes and keeping it on repeat on my iPod as I ride the
] Greyhound to New York City for 8 hours. Meanwhile,
] remixers, start your engines!

Xeni Jardin's North Korean Blog adventure.

Boing Boing: North Korea promotes vacations with wacky Flash movie

] EFF is defending StreamCast Networks, the company behind
] the Morpheus peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software, in
] an important case that will be heard before the Supreme
] Court of the United States on March 29, 2005.

I had no idea that such a big Supreme Court case was on the near horizon. This is worth being aware of. There is a hell of a lot to read here if you want to become an expert. I haven't read it all.

This is a difficult question. On the one hand I'm pursuaded that what Kazaa did is morally questionable. They designed this system for piracy and sold it for piracy. Thats what its for. There is no use being stupid about that. On the other hand I also think that they maybe ought to be able to release software like that as a matter of academic freedom. The people who are running it know damn well what they are doing. If Kazaa cannot be released then many interesting "hacking tools" that I have loved over the years would also be illegal. Even though they could be applied to perfectly legitimate purposes.

Do you think radar detectors ought to be legal?

EFF: MGM v. Grokster

Decius wrote:
] The interesting thing about the statement "There is no such
] thing as absolute truth" is that if you could prove it, it
] wouldn't be true. In that sense it defines itself and explains
] itself. You can't even agree with it, because if you do,
] you'll have to admit that you must be wrong.

Not true... Just because there are no absolute truths, does not mean one cannot have beliefs. The concept of "no absolute truth" is a belief, not a truth and therefore not-contradictory. You can believe strongly in the properties of gravity, and for good reason. It does not mean you will not evolve this belief for a better reason if you find one. Truth is entirely dependent on perspective. We are incapable of perceiving all-things for all-times from everywhere in a consistent fashion therefore we are incapable of comprehending something which is "true" in a reality not fabricated in our own minds. When you speak of any truth, it is always a matter of a truth to who, and for what reason, which might not be something you believe. So, if you believe that it is true that there are no absolute truths, you can do so without conflict and wait for a perfect perspective to explain things differently.

RE: Agnost

] Imagine a gun with no recoil, no sound, no heat, no
] gunpowder, no visible firing signature (muzzle flash),
] and no stoppages or jams of any kind. Now imagine that
] this gun could fire .308 caliber and .50 caliber metal
] projectiles accurately at up to 8,000 fps
] (feet-per-second), featured an infinitely
] variable/programmable cyclic rate-of-fire (as high as
] 120,000 rounds-per-minute), and were capable of laying
] down a 360-degree field of fire. What if you could mount
] this weapon on any military Humvee (HMMWV), any
] helicopter/gunship, any armored personnel carrier (APC),
] and any other vehicle for which the technology were
] applicable?

The video is just so robo-cop-esque

Defense Review - World Exclusive Video! DREAD Weapon System: Devastating, Jam-Proof, and Silent.

This is so wrong yet funny. Who let their kids be part of this?

2004's Scariest Halloween Costumes

STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one. The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.

(LAUGHTER)

BEGALA: Go ahead. Go ahead.

STEWART: I watch your show every day. And it kills me.

CARLSON: I can tell you love it.

STEWART: It's so -- oh, it's so painful to watch.

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: You know, because we need what you do. This is such a great opportunity you have here to actually get politicians off of their marketing and strategy.

CARLSON: Is this really Jon Stewart? What is this, anyway?

IFILM: John Stewart vs. CNN Crossfire