Wiki Links:
Site Links:
Old News 03 |
 |
Extreme Programming for Web Projects http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/05/2212214
Going to Extremes http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020111S0046
Psychology of a Programmer http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/29/147251
We're back Iraq 2003 - t-shirt spam, see 2_publish
We're Back Iraq T-Shirts - now this really is pushing the whole Patriotism thing a little. I've been receiving multiple copies of a spam email selling Pro-USA T-Shirts on the Iraq issue.
The introduction to the email reads "Show Your American Patriotism & Support", and the shirts themselves have spar-spangled images and messages like "Were Back Iraq 2003" and "Game Over" (with a gunsight on Saddam) etc. The thing that amazes me is the friggin emails started arriving pretty much on the day of the invasion. Maybe the US govt is hoping to break into the tacky-clothing market.
"The midnight sky flashed an eerie blue early Thursday over four Midwestern states as a meteorite exploded in the atmosphere, sending rocks as big as softballs crashing through some houses.... Paul Sipiera, a professor of geology and astronomy at Harper College in Palatine, Ill., spent Thursday examining dozens of pieces of meteorites and plotting where they fell. The largest he saw was about 7 1/2 pounds. "For me, it's a dream come true," he said. "I always tell my wife that when I die, I hope I get hit in the head by a meteorite flying through the roof and it came pretty close," he said. --Associated Press, 27 March 2003 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=624&ncid=624&e=1&u=/ap/20030327/ap_on_sc/meteor_shower
Conspiracy Links http://www.rense.com/general36/hlai.htm http://www.davidicke.net/symbolism/secretsocieties/july2002/symbols.html
Do-or-Die at Yucca Mountain http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/yucca.html
Iraq war threatens sites of first civilisations http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993532 In February, US archaeologists gave the coordinates of over 5000 important sites to the US Department of Defense so that they could be actively avoided in bombing raids.
When a Gun Is More Than a Gun http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,58094,00.html It is among the most horrific weapons in any army's collection: the thermobaric bomb, a fearsome explosive that sets fire to the air above its target, then sucks the oxygen out of anyone unfortunate enough to have lived through the initial blast.
Make Obesity Illegal!!! all this talk about genetic engineering, what if you actually wanted to engineer yourself to look fatter, uglier, what if it was illegal to be fat coz of your tax on society http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/genetics.html Our Genetically Modified Future In its 10th anniversary issue, Wired magazine takes a look at the potential for "new and improved" humans, plants and even bacteria. By Charles C. Mann.
Champagne does get you drunk faster http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/alcohol/ Champagne drinkers have higher blood alcohol levels and perception - carbon dioxide in the bubbles may be the ""cause""
E-Prejudice - EBay Seller Refuses Canucks http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,58190,00.html A Georgia computer vendor won't honor an online auction sale to a buyer from British Columbia, citing Canada's lack of support for the war in Iraq. Who knew buying a laser printer could be such a politically charged event?
Iraq Live: http://216.134.209.67/~command/ - The Command Post http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ - Where Is Raed http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml
IRC: irc.idlenet.org, channel #cnn-live
CNN does have an IRC server. It's located at chat.cnn.com channel #cnn.
irc.striked.org #livenews has a Fox Live news feed for anyone that would care to know, it seems pretty good and is only lagged a minute or so behind the actual broadcast.
slashnet -> #newswire (periodic updates) efnet -> #cnn-live (live closed-caption feed from CNN)
Australia is Irrelevant http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/25/1048354604322.html in Baghdad, the Iraqi deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, yesterday dismissed Australia's role in the war. Discussing how the US and Britain had maneuvered themselves into a war against Iraq, he broke his argument for this aside: "I won't speak about Australia because it is irrelevant."
Mind you discussion is available in #livenews-discuss on that network also.
CNN radio http://edition.cnn.com/ (linked from)
Iraq: 4,000 Years Of Strife http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/23/sunday/main545521.shtml
How Hydrogen Can Save America http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/hydrogen.html
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03379 http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/11/1843251 Most scientists now agree that this impact was the cause of the Cretatious-Tertiary Extinction, the event 65 million years ago that marked the sudden extinction of the dinosaurs as well as the majority of life then on Earth.
Teach A Robot To Drive, Win A Million Bucks http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/16/218228
better idea, teach a dog to drive yo home from the pub Car computer could detect drunken steering http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/2966094.stm http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/alcohol/alcohol.jsp?id=ns99992023 The system could alert police or slow a car down when a driver's co-ordination is impaired, researcher says
road n sport - 100m past on left - NZ wire-n-rope - Allan
http://www.dpsu.com/nr_raging_cow.html Cheered by a rowdy mascot, Dr Pepper/Seven Up executives today announced the creation of Raging Cow™, a new milk-based product served cold in single servings, with an array of five alluring flavors.
rules of backyard cricket
http://www.conceptlab.com/fly/index.html FLY (http://139.142.46.159) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/04/0442212
GTA: Vice City Sells 8.5 Million Copies in 3 Months http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/27/2329225 Gus writes "Take Two Interactive Software reports that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has sold more than 8.5 million copies in the first three months since its late-October launch. The good news is Rockstar Games has 11 titles in the works. The bad news is the chances of the next GTA making it out this year are pretty slim." Also, there's still a couple people waiting on Duke Nukem Forever, and their patience is wearing thin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/2813953.stm Iranians arrested for net dating. Dozens of young Iranians are detained for having "illegal relations" after using a website to chat and arrange meetings.
FlighSim
s/w
http://www.qvsoftware.com.au/
NASA Gives Up On Pioneer 10 http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/26/0041233 Soft writes "Another Energizer Bunny has finally given out: Pioneer 10's generators have decayed to the point that DSN can no longer detect the probe's signals. It was the first spacecraft to penetrate the asteroid belt (1972) and fly by Jupiter (1973). So long and thanks for all the pic's..."
Hamster Power http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=54821&cid=5366462 Hamsters need food, let say 10 kg a year per hamster and then we assume each hamster manages to generate 10W and that we need three shifts. That's 3 * 10 / 10 == 3 kg of salad per watt, now to get a terrawatt you'd need 3 * 1,000,000,000 kg of salad which is a lot. Not to mention that you'll need support hamsters to bread new hamsters for when the ones in the wheels drop dead. That alone would easily double, or maybe even triple the amount of salad needed for each watt. You might be able to justify some of the salad usage by using the droppings as fertilizer, but still ... I think you would - mildly put - dent the worlds food usage statistics.
http://doc.weblogs.com/2003/02/23#aByrdOutOfHand http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_newsroom/byrd_news_feb/news_2003_february/news_2003_february_9.html The doctrine of preemption — the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future — is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter
Study A Broad - Sergio
Damn, I was in there today too, salivating over the 600. Talked the ear off the dudes in the shop, sat on the thing, then he told me it doesn't go!!
"Doesn't go" ... I says .. and he says .. "yeah its got some bits missing in the engine, is only a promotional thing"
Apparently theyre not getting them in till about May. :-(
Traffic Cops for Space http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/18/2141218
Dave Barry Answers Alert Slashdot Readers' Questions http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/18/0027217
Shame to lose Warne, says PM http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/20/1045638408033.html Prime Minister John Howard today said it would be a great shame if Shane Warne was banned from cricket after testing positive for banned drugs. more
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2779661.stm Woman sues over 'alien' stunt. A woman sues a US TV channel after she was chased by an actor dressed as an alien on a Candid Camera-style show.
Management Speak if you will as it were
Segway's Breakdown http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html
New Privacy Menace: Cell Phones? http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57692,00.html Cell phones with attachable cameras or cameras embedded in them have become so ubiquitous in Hong Kong, for example, that gyms there are prohibiting people from making calls in the locker room What's alarming to some health enthusiasts is how popular, widespread -- and clandestine -- these phones are.
Reverse Cowgirl http://blogs.salon.com/0001437/
Geek Guides for Dating http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/14/1336211
Confidential UN Document Predicts Humanitarian Emergency in Event of War on Iraq http://www.casi.org.uk/pr/pr030107undoc.html http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/
14 pilgrims trampled to death as thousands gather for haj ritual http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/12/1044927663887.html Mena, Saudi Arabia: Fourteen people were trampled to death and hundreds injured by crowds marking Eid al-Adha, part of the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3100484 Australian scientists have made a bra with a brain - it tightens its own straps if an energetic wearer needs extra support. The "smart bra" is made of a fabric with a special coating that makes it contract when the strain on it passes a pre-set level.
The 25 best episodes of the Simpsons http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,417748~3~0~25bestand1,00.html
Kevin Mitnick Answers http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/04/2233250
To the Moon in a Space Elevator? http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,57536,00.html Highlift Systems' Space Elevator In The News Again http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/17/0045205
Tequila and Porn http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/1/28/22056/9730
Iraqis Call Shuttle Disaster God's Vengeance http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20030201_298.html
The Shuttle is not currently in Orbit http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/temp/ShuttleLoc.html
How do you lose $100 Billon - It see http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/30/business/media/30CND-AOL.html?ex=1044594000&en=74537730b6f5746e&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
John Robb's Radio Weblog In the modern world, the fluid of control is oil. Control the oil as oil supplies deplete, and you control the world. With 100,000 troops in Iraq on a permanent basis, the US would effectively control most of the oil in the world Do you know how the two-province system works? They used it in China. Say there are two provinces, A and B, and they're both having a famine. What you do is, you look at their records. If Province A has a record of cheating on its taxes or rioting, then you confiscate all the grain in Province A and ship it to B. If the records are about equal you pick at random. The result is that Province B is loyal forever, and Province A is wiped out so you don't worry about it
http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/pp012103.htm It gives the Russians a rationale to deal preemptively with Chechens and other dissidents. It gives the Turks a precedent in dealing with their Kurds.
Iraq: pandora's box http://doc.weblogs.com/2003/01/26#likeHeSaidSortOf Let's start with one simple fact: Iraq is a black box that has been sealed shut since Saddam came to dominate Iraqi politics in the late 1960's. Therefore, one needs to have a great deal of humility when it comes to predicting what sorts of bats and demons may fly out if the U.S. and its allies remove the lid.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/27/MN98171.DTL Anarchy broke out on the streets of Oakland Sunday night when beefed- up police forces proved inadequate to stem eruptions of mayhem after the Raiders' loss in the Super Bowl.
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57338,00.html SAN FRANCISCO -- After an absence of eight years, hacker Kevin Mitnick rediscovered the Web on Tuesday afternoon. He did exactly what everyone does when they first log on: He vanity surfed, wrestled with browser plug-ins and was assailed by pop-up porn ads Ironically, I was haraaased myself by a popup Flash add on the wired site selling cars
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57221,00.html SEATTLE -- The source code Microsoft has long guarded as secret intellectual property is now becoming the carrot dangled before governments to keep them from defecting to competitors' software.
http://www.moped.com.au/ducati748red.htm
http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/rules.htm The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) intends to conduct a race of autonomous ground vehicles (see “Technical Details” for a definition) from the vicinity of Los Angeles, CA to Las Vegas, NV in 2004. A cash prize will be awarded to the winner. The course will feature both on-road and off-road portions and will include extremely rugged, challenging terrain and obstacles. The purpose of the race is to stimulate interest in and encourage the accelerated development of autonomous ground vehicle technologies that could be used by the US military.
http://www.newsfrombabylon.com/article.php?sid=2693 Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
Astronomers Space Out in Seattle Attention turns to the cosmos as scientists gather at the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting. Among the discoveries: new brown dwarf stars, a ring around the galaxy and a new planet far, far away. By Manny Frishberg.
TOP UK SCIENTIST PREDICTS GLOBAL WARMING WILL "DESTROY WESTERN CIVILISATION" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-532525,00.html One of Britain's most respected scientists has predicted further disruption caused by climate change. In a new book, The Story of Life, published next week, Sir Richard Southwood, an Oxford zoology professor, will warn that climate change is likely to "destroy western civilisation" with food shortages, flooding and war as nations fight for dwindling resources.
India plans Moon landing http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2633205.stm
UK signals push to secure Iraqi oilfields http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/07/1041566411879.html
The asteroid, called 2002 AA29, is in a precise circular orbit that follows the same general path as the Earth around the Sun. But, like a mouse teasing a cat, the asteroid sometimes speeds up and precedes the Earth and then later slows to drop into a follow-the- leader approach. But the two will never meet, says Chodas. On Wednesday, the asteroid makes its closest approach to the Earth in almost a century, moving to within about six million kilometres. "For a number of decades, the asteroid has been going a little slower than the Earth and the Earth has been catching up," says Chodas. "This week, it makes its closest approach in 95 years."
Cruise film make-up artist deported over drug charge http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2173183a10,00.html
Radiation Detection Wrist Watch from the steal-one-from-homesec-employees dept. posted by michael on Saturday January 04, @02:03 (tech) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/01/03/1856211
Bush's Year of U.S. Surveillance http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,57005,00.html The Bush administration's efforts in 2002 to poke into the private lives of American citizens prompt one privacy advocate to draw comparisons to Sauron, the all-seeing dark wizard in The Lord of the Rings. By Noah Shachtman.
Build a Nuclear Fusion Reactor at Home
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/28/1741222
FridayBob writes "For those of you tired of waiting around for someone else to achieve the holy grail of physics, now's your chance to beat 'em all to it. All you need is some basic engineering skills, this site and the inspiration necessary to
Long Range Forecast http://www.xtra.co.nz/weather/0,,138-0-Hamilton,00.html Business as usual on the weather front by the looks. The long range forecast for Christmas day here in New Zealand is for "Showers becoming more frequent over the North Island". Excellent. Not!
Powered by . . . Spam? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20908-2002Dec21.html If there's a teeny-tiny remote- controlled race car under the tree a few days from now, you're at the tail end of a long chain of events that turned this toy from hot to white hot in just a matter of months.
Russia Blasts Bush's Missile Plan http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,56915,00.html U.S. moves to build a missile defense system will impede the fight against terrorism and lead to a "new senseless arms race," Russia warned Wednesday after the United States said it will start work on deploying the first interceptors in 2004.
A Supercomputer to Save Earth? http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,56893,00.html For the Japanese scientists using the $350 million computer, it means climate research, with its complex simulations and diverse mix of variables, is more accurate than ever before.
Who Wants to Be Hugh Hefner? http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,56864,00.html
Testing the First AIDS Vaccine http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/aids.html
Motorcyclists To Get Wearable Airbags from the road-rash dept. posted by michael on Wednesday December 11, @08:26 (tech) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/11/1248208
I was forced to attend a seminar on leadership. We were broken into small groups and each was asked to state what skills a good leader possesses. I wrote, "Needs to be good with elephants and crossing Alps." The others at my table were amused, but the seminar coordinator didn't get it. I said it was a reference to Hannibal, known for his leadership qualities. Her reply: "What leadership qualities? He was a cannibal, and anyway, it was lambs, not elephants."
0274 856 843 mark hatten mainly motorcycles
Digital Camers http://www.dpreview.com/ http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dscu10.asp http://www.dpreview.com/news/0208/02082101sonyu10preview.asp http://www.wired.com/news/holidays/0,1882,56683,00.html
The inner Einstein http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/03/141244 http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/021209/misc/9einstein.htm
Will Smith Winds Up 'Robot' Tue December 3, 2002 11:36 PM ET http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=1847157 NEW YORK (Variety) - Fox has wired Will Smith to star in sci-fier "I, Robot," an adaptation of the 1940s Isaac Asimov short-story collection that set the groundwork for robot films ranging from "The Terminator" to "A.I."
Nazis on speed - new report says drug could have changed history http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_711650.html Nazi scientists were on the verge of developing a powerful version of speed that could have swung the war in their favour, according to a new report.
British To Release UFO Files from the won't-hardly-matter dept. posted by Hemos on Thursday November 28, @15:51 (news) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/28/2021250
Building Your Own Hobbit Hole from the joke-or-simple-obsession dept. posted by timothy on Tuesday November 26, @22:57 (humor) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/27/0042251
UK Team to Study Rainmaking Machines from the messing-with-mother-nature dept. posted by michael on Tuesday December 03, @23:28 (science) http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/03/1830214
Dec - fraser high - night class - community education
First Baby of 2003 to Be a Clone? http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,56626,00.html Cloning enthusiast Severino Antinori is at it again. He claims the first cloned human will be born in January, and as usual, the scientific community is skeptical.
Massive Attack http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,390918-1,00.html Fasten your seatbelts: Peter Jackson's second Lord of the Rings installment will feature one of the most spectacular battle scenes in film history, a product of the digital dark arts.
Sign Language Goes Gobbledygeek http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,55681,00.html A new gadget called the Sign Translator may take some of these hazards -- and confusion -- out of traveling abroad. It can automatically translate signs into English
0800 103123 0800 269296
Disturbing Search Requests What's in your referrer logs?
Available exclusively at Amazon.com Segway Human Transporter http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007EPJ6/103-1156571-9966254
From Wired Magazine, December 2002 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.12/convergence.html
Physicists and theologians hold chummy conferences and drink sherry together, but most biologists still want little to do with spiritual thought, and the feeling is mutual on the part of many believers. More than three-quarters of a century after John Scopes stood trial for teaching evolution, Darwin's theory remains a flash point.
======================================================================================================
Imminent Arrival of the King Messiah Proclaimed by Rabbis Worldwide http://groups.msn.com/MessiahWatchInternational/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-us
have to wonder if the 1991 proclamation was panick over approaching end of millenium
Another strange claim "The King Messiah Event will not be a private Jewish party. King Messiah is an inclusive event for all mankind." yet it appears that activities by the govt in Israel are very much a one-people party
(from CCNet - Daily Mail - 19/nov) The storm was even interpreted by self-styled apocalyptic preacher William Miller as a sign that his predictions of a Second Coming were spot on. According to his cult of Millerism (a precursor of the Seventh Day Adventists), he determined that the Messiah would arrive sometime between 1843 and 1844. His followers waited, in vain, until March 21, 1844, when Miller's deadline expired. Some agreed to set a new date of October 22, 1844, but this, too passed without incident, leading to the collapse of the movement.
however this aint gonna happend to Judaism any time soon
wed 1pm weslyian presbterian river rd - te aroha
Global Warming will Open Northwest Passage Makarand writes "For the most part we dread global warming. However, some experts from the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, studying the polar ice caps, are now pointing out some of the advantageous side effects of global warming. They are predicting that in 5 to 10 summers from now the polar ice caps would disappear for around 2 months each year opening up the fabled Northwest passage for commercial shipping. This would effectively reduce the shipping distance between Europe and Asia by 6800 miles compared to the route using the Panama canal."
Botswana Denies Diamonds Forced Bushmen Off Reserve JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 11, 2002 (ENS) - The Botswana government has denied that diamonds were behind the controversial relocation of the Basarwa bushmen from the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, and has accused British advocacy group Survival International of a "campaign of deception."
How to build your own conspiracy theory http://dir.salon.com/people/feature/2000/10/02/king_lennon/index.html
Raytheon Missile Systems http://??
"PREPARING THE PUBLIC FOR AN IMPENDING IMPACT" http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/ce072802.html
Laser weapon destroys artillery fire http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993022 A high-energy laser beam shot down an artillery shell in mid flight during a US military test on Tuesday. The Army's Space and Missile Defence Command has previously shown that laser systems can be used to track and destroy rockets but this is the first time it has tested such a weapon on the smaller and faster artillery shells
Indonesian Wildfires Accelerated Global Warming http://ens-news.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-08-06.asp
Magnetic Poles May Be About To Flip http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/10/0539200
Mars to Get Closer than Ever in Recorded History in 2003 http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html
On his high horse - bush http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1431698
Planetary Fact Sheet Summary http://www.the-solar-system.net/planets-facts.html
worlds smallest RC car - SPAM - matt
melbourne cup
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,824329,00.html popup toilets
Microsoft magnate's $200m superyacht arrives http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3002112&msg=emaillink
http://www.ducati.com/scoopage.jhtml?area=bikes&scoopNum=064
International Space Station Turns Two http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/02/2014209 http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/iss_anniversary_021102.html
Whales Get Sonic Reprieve http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,56149,00.html A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Navy from using a high-frequency sonar system to detect enemy submarines, due to fears of its effect on whales and other sea mammals.
Sister moons http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top_10_cool_moon_facts-6.html The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. Right? Maybe not. In 1999, scientists found that a 3-mile- (5- kilometer-) wide asteroid may be caught in Earth's gravitational grip, thereby becoming a satellite of our planet. Cruithne, as it is called, takes 770 years to complete a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth, the scientists say, and it will remain in a suspended state around Earth for at least 5,000 years.
A message from the Typo3 creator
http://www.typo3.com/Info___Contact.1045.1.html
"I'm a christian man. To me Typo3 is a piece
of work, which I would like to "return" to
God, my Creator . . . But I will express my
wish that Typo3 is not used to spread
material that is against the word of the Holy
Bible and the human rights. Examples of this
could be, that Typo3 is not used to publish
pornographic and/or sexually derailed material,
nazistic propaganda, newage-publications,
demonic messages and so on."
Evacuated Tube Transport http://www.et3.com/intro.htm http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/03/0133226
evils of soyabeans
I fear for the weak willed http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=43976&cid=4580005
Water Computing http://web.media.mit.edu/~paulo/courses/howmake/mlfabfinalproject.htm http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/25/1444241
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity."
- Albert Einstein
peripatetic http://apostrophobia.com/teacups/words/meanings.html per-ih-puh-TET-ik (adj; n) travelling on foot; one who travels on foot. To preserve natural resources, he decided to carry on his week in a peripatetic manner.
Should I go for a 600 over a 400? http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=37cdbc36%40news.ca.com.au
JOHN GRESCHAK http://www.greschak.com/m71pn.htm http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/27/007221 PLATONIC DICE: HEXAHEDRON for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos
GeorgeFM - short film comp
streetsliders.co.nz
drinking on the job - nz herald
bombings in october - nzh
labour day
Say Hello to Sanjeep, Er, Sam http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,55799,00.html the old man FWDing on the jym membership and aussie accent
BRUNNER, JOHN KILIAN HOUSTON [1934-1995]. The Hugo-winning author of The - Shockwave Rider, Stand on Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up and The - Traveller in Black, John Brunner was described as Dave Langford as - "...cursed by sanity." His work foreshadowed the existence of the modern - Internet and dealt with such themes as pollution, superstition and - information overload. He died from a stroke in 1995 at the World Science - Fiction Convention in Glasgow. At the behest of his friend Robert - Silverberg, he was honored with one last round of applause rather than a - moment of silence. The standing ovation lasted four minutes.
How mobile phones let spies see our every move http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,811027,00.html Government's secret Celldar project will allow surveillance of anyone, at any time and anywhere there is a phone signal
http://www.rothschildarchive.org/gallery/default.asp
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/10/05/37771.html http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/10/10/38008.html Is it possible that there are people on the Moon living now? The Moon is a big mystery. Was it a part of the Earth in the past? What is the Moon at present? These mysteries remain unsolved.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/13/1034222682608.html The Pentagon has ordered the Army's V Corps and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force to move headquarters staff to Kuwait, marking the first non-routine dispatch of conventional ground forces to the Persian Gulf region in anticipation of military action against Iraq. The move will mean hundreds of forces planners will be at hand to co-ordinate any thrust by land forces into Iraq. They will join navy and air force staff already in place, and, with the arrival next month of a Central Command contingent, will complete the ground force command structure that would manage any invasion
Turkish Prime Minister Minister Bulent Ecevit has warned the US not to support Kurdish nationalists in Iraq, saying that Turkey would intervene to protect its interests. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/13/1034222639165.html Turkey has brutally suppressed its Kurdish nationalist movement, a campaign that has cost at least 30,000 lives since 1984. It is concerned that Iraqi Kurds may attempt to set up a Kurdish state in the north if Hussein was overthrown, a move which may further inflame nationalist aspirations in Turkey
Bombings in Paradise Seven Australians identified among 187 dead http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/14/1034222690517.html What: Two major deadly explosions in a holiday resort. Where: Padi bar and the Sari Club at Kuta beach, Bali. When:11pm (0100 Sunday AEST), as the clubs were filling to capacity. Who: At least 182 killed, including many foreigners, and 132 injured. How: Police confirm it was a car bomb placed in a Kijang, a jeep-like vehicle
Direct rule looms in Northern Ireland http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/11/1034222592582.html Britain is almost certain to reimpose direct rule on Northern Ireland on Monday after talks between the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, failed to find a means of restoring trust in the future of power-sharing.
Man dies after playing computer games non-stop http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/10/1034061260831.html A 24-year-old South Korean man died after playing computer games nonstop for 86 hours, police said yesterday.
Pickle Electrification http://ygraine.membrane.com/hubris/notes/electric_pickle.html http://www.research.digital.com/wrl/techreports/html/TN-13/
Fun with Grapes - A Case Study http://www.pmichaud.com/grape/
I read about something called the "Nemesis Theory", by Richard Muller, which proposes that Sol is actually a binary star system (in which Sol B is called Nemesis or the Death Star ;-). Every 26 million years Nemesis passes through the Oort cloud and collects comets, some of which hit us. The evidence for this is the periodic drops in biodiversity (i.e. mass extinctions) that seem to occur every 26 million years (according to some paleontolists). However, we are between extinctions, and should be relatively trouble free for more than 10 million years.
Spool - SRP-10 trouser http://www.spool-bikewears.com/srp10.htm
Google Degraded? Geeks Aghast http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,55597,00.html
Digital Camera Quality Passing Film? http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/04/1549200
http://www.lunarsettlement.com/ Vision: To make it possible for anyone and everyone to explore, research, live, work, retire, or vacation in space, on the Moon, at Mars, or on Mars' Moons, or among
Land for sale? http://www.xs4all.nl/~carlkop/oregon.html Alan Wasser of the New York City chapter of National Space Society has been campaigning to change that. Based on actual surface attainment and exploration of the Moon by U.S. astronauts, he would like the U.S. to lay claim to lunar land, possibly all of it, and back up that claim in any court proceedings.
Moon Miners' Manifesto http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/103/space-race.html How to Restart a Space Race to the Moon & Mars - Alan Wasser
Abrupt Climatic Change Coming Soon? http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/29/0035213
500 Arrested in World Bank Protests http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-27-01.asp WASHINGTON, DC, September 27, 2002 (ENS) Environmental groups opposed to World Bank and International Monetary Fund policies kept a distance from unruly behavior by demonstrators who today smashed the windows of some businesses, blocked traffic and clashed with police. At least 500 people have been arrested; some of the protesters will be charged with rioting. Sally Ride Toys With Engineering http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,55416,00.html The first American woman in space has a new mission: Get more girls interested in science and engineering
Windows 2000 running on the Microsoft Xbox http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/articles.php?aid=1&sub=windows%202000 http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/28/0238232
Motion Simulator for Home Theater http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/28/1923256
Puzzles I saw an ad yesterday with a puzzle. Two men play five chess games. Each wins three games. No ties. How is this possible? http://www.riddles.com/
Air-powered Autos http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_harney091902.asp
The Antikythera mechanism - The clockwork computer http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1337165
Chilling Effects http://www.chillingeffects.org/ Do you know your online rights? Have you received a letter asking you to remove information from a Web site or to stop engaging in an activity? Are you concerned about liability for information that someone else posted to your online forum? If so, this site is for you.
Scientists Map Global Air Pollution http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-18-06.asp Scientists from the United States and France are beginning to tease out how much of the fine particle pollution in the atmosphere is caused by humans, and how much comes from natural sources. The precise global maps produced by the researchers could help clarify the role that human pollution plays in the world's weather and climate
The Plot to Kill the Carp http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.10/carp.html The planet's most farmed fish and a staple of Asian diets, carp are the Borg of the fish world, infiltrating lakes and rivers from China to California. In Australia, they are reviled for the environmental destruction caused by their prolific breeding. The so-called river rabbits have come to dominate the country's waterways since they were released into the wild a century ago.
The Brick Testament http://www.thereverend.com/brick_testament/
Study: Humans Not Fit for Cloning http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,55043,00.html12/09/2002 Based on a genetic survey of cloned animals, researchers find that attempting to replicate human beings in the lab could produce disastrous results. By Kristen Philipkoski.
Logging On, Way, Way Down Under http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54899,00.html The bit that hasn't been done before is putting it on a moving, solid medium, because these glaciers move around and so on, and that's where it gets difficult," said Bill Day, head of Seaworks, a New Zealand-based company that lays submarine cables.
The Drone Armies Are Coming http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54728,00.html Allen Moshfegh at the Office of Naval Research is the head of the Autonomous Intelligent Network and Systems (AINS), a program that aims to create an operational drone army by the year 2020.
Ford Pulls The Plug on Electric Cars http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/31/1328242 Apparently Ford has called it quits on their EV program Th!nk Mobility, stating "... we don't believe that this is the future of environmental transport for the mass market.
Spam hits 36 percent of e-mail traffic http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-955842.html Once a mild annoyance, unsolicited bulk e-mail--also known as spam--could make up the majority of message traffic on the Internet by the end of 2002, according to data from three e-mail service providers.
Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
http://www.aro.army.mil/soldiernano/
That's the sci-fi scenario the U.S. Army has charged the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to make real. The Army last week chose MIT for a new $50 million research center, with the goal of creating the uniform of the future. The center, called the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, will develop new materials that industrial partnersincluding DuPont, Raytheon and two Boston hospitalswill integrate into futuristic battle suits.
The film Twelve Monkeys was stopped by a court twenty-eight days after its release because an artist claimed a chair in the movie resembled a sketch of a piece of furniture that he had designed. The movie Batman Forever was threatened because the Batmobile drove through an allegedly copyrighted courtyard and the original architect demanded money before the film could be released. In 1998, a judge stopped the release of The Devils Advocate for two days because a sculptor claimed his art was used in the background. These events teach the lawyers that they must control the filmmakers. They convince studios that creative control is ultimately a legal matter. http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/future/excerpts/
Moon Seen As Nuclear Waste Repository http://www.space.com/news/nuclear_moon_020822.html As the debate rages over using the Yucca Mountain as a burial ground for thousands of tons of radioactive material, a better site for unwanted nuclear waste holds its mute vigil in the skies above the Nevada desert: the Moon.
The UK's take on the "European DMCA" http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26788.html the European Copyright Directive - will make criminals out of ordinary computer users, according to a new critique by the UK Campaign for Digital Rights. And it will also fail to protect researchers, says Julian Midgley who penned the report.
U.S. Military Uses the Force http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54641,00.html The Anglo-American defense against this no-tech threat: an electrical force field that's costing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop.
Anthrax in Scott's Antarctica? http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,54121,00.html WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- For years it's been rumored that Captain Robert Falcon Scott's last Antarctic shelter harbored the deadly anthrax bacteria.
Zambia to Accept U.S. Transgenic Food Aid http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-29-01.asp Zambia is expected to import genetically modified maize (corn) from the United States to feed its 2.3 million starving citizens, according to the Biotechnology Trust of Africa, a regional charitable trust. Zambia has decided not to follow in the footsteps of hungry Zimbabwe, which two months ago rejected 10,000 metric tons of genetically modified maize from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). But scientists fear that the lack of a National Biosafety Framework in Zambia, could create difficulties in monitoring transboundary genetically modified foods.
Pseudo Meat Called Unhealthy http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,54487,00.html WASHINGTON -- A health advocacy group accused the government Monday of allowing fake meat made from fungus to be sold even though it makes people sick, and demanded that the product, known as Quorn, be recalled.
A mysterious shift in Earths gravity http://www.msnbc.com/news/788906.asp?0dm=C14NT Aug. 1 Something strange has been going on under our feet for the past four years. Earths gravity field suddenly shifted gears and began getting flatter, reversing a course of centuries during which the planet and its gravity field grew rounder each year.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=35414&cid=3826249 "The metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it!" --Abe Simpson (Homer's dad) Actually, one of the cool things about old English liquid measure (and dry measure too, but it took me long enough to exosomatically remember the liquid measures) is that it is base-2 instead of base-10. Unfortunately, we forgot most of the units. For example, I can't recall what goes between ounces and gills, and I can't seem find it on the internet. 2 fluid ounces = 1 ??? = 2^1 fl.oz. 2 ???s = 1 gill = 2^2 fl.oz. 2 gills = 1 chopin (cup) = 2^3 fl.oz. 2 chopins (cups) = 1 pint = 2^4 fl.oz. 2 pints = 1 quart = 2^5 fl.oz. 2 quarts = 1 pottle = 2^6 fl.oz. 2 pottles = 1 gallon = 2^7 fl.oz. 2 gallons = 1 peck = 2^8 fl.oz. 2 pecks = 1 demibushel = 2^9 fl.oz. 2 demibushels = 1 bushel or firken = 2^10 fl.oz. 2 firkens = 1 kinderkin = 2^11 fl.oz. 2 kinderkins = 1 barrel = 2^12 fl.oz. 2 barrels = 1 hogshead = 2^13 fl.oz. 2 hogsheads = 1 pipe = 2^14 fl.oz. 2 pipes = 1 tun = 2^15 fl.oz.
Motivating Your Co-Developers? http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/26/178239 My team of 4 will hopefully produce about 20k lines of code. Now comes the problem: we just got to our first small integration stage (we do try to do them early & often), and it turns out the other guys have got nothing. No code. I want to ask Slashdotters, people who have the experience with small software projects, how would you go about it? How to bring other less experienced coders up to your level and beyond? Or at least how to make them suck less, and if they get stuck on something, to just come and bloody ask for help?"
Fighter plane's laser may blind civilians http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992585 American defence contractors are developing a laser weapon for fighter aircraft that may be powerful enough to blind people on the ground, even if they are relatively far from the target, New Scientist can reveal.
Sega Sports Tennis (PS2) Sega has brought the Virtua Tennis formula to the Play Station 2, and comes through with a recipe for solid tennis action. http://www.planetps2.com/features/reviews/2002/segasportstennis/
Destroy your Classmates http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=35561&cid=3838672 In a discussion which started with the subject of overpopulation and the pattern of war/famine/disease that results to counter it periodically, a branching discusssion began on a School project where a class played the game 'Diplomacy' and one player used some clever/devious/humourous tactics to eliminate the opposition that any General would be impressed by.
> The following ad appeared in a newspaper: > SBF Seeks Male companionship. Age and ethnicity unimportant. I'm > a young, svelte good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks > in the woods; riding in your pickup truck; hunting, camping, fishing > trips. I love cozy winter nights spent lying by the fire. Candlelight > dinners will have me eating out of your hand. Rub me the right way and > watch me respond. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, > wearing only what nature gave me. Kiss me and I'm yours. > Call 555-XXXX and ask for Daisy. > The phone number was the Humane Society and Daisy was an eight week old > black Labrador Retriever. They received 643 calls in two days.)
> THIS is pretty funny... give it a go... > http://www.thesite.org/magazine/pullometer.html
the Digital Dark Age http://www.shift.com/content/web/385/1.html http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/11/058229 In 2000 the University of California, Berkeley published a study showing that printed content represents only 0.003% of the world's total information -- most of the remainder is stored digitally. If that figure is correct, almost our entire output as a society is entrusted to one of several Microsoft operating systems and disks with twelve-month limited warranties. cue danger music
yucca mountain project http://www.ymp.gov/
Cleaning up Orbital Space Debris http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/11/1554250 NASA and other agencies are looking for ideas to find and eliminate threats from space debris to craft (space, in the use of). Personally I like the idea of "robots to serve as roving garbage scowls" - my question is "How do they identify 'garbage'?" - Would the ISS qualify?"
See Also: Old News 02 | New General News | New Tech News