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| Notice: GeekPress is back up and running, thanks to Paul! It's still a not-so-serious tech news blog, but the format is significantly looser. Diana, having given up programming for philosophy, has her own philosophical blog NoodleFood. More of her work can be found at DianaHsieh.com. |
| Author of "The Anarchist Cookbook" wants it pulled |
| 9:09:02 am mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in culture / source TBTF 21 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| TBTF reports that the author of "The Anarchist Cookbook" no longer believes in the ideas or methods he advocated as a teenager when he wrote his book in 1970. In this author's comment on Amazon.com, he asked that the book no longer be printed. But since he signed away his rights to the original publisher many years ago (who then sold it to another publisher), he no longer has any control over the matter. |
| Leaving aside the fact that "anarchy" should not be regarded as synonymous with "violent revolution", I think that this book is fairly tame compared to some of the far more up-to-date and quasi-subversive material available at places like Paladin Press. Although I can understand the author's wishes, as a radical First Amendment supporter, I'm glad we live in a society where books like these can be purchased by the general public, even if I disagree with many of the ideas expressed. |
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| ID Them By the Way They Walk |
| 10:52:55 am mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in inventions / source Wired 12 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Professor Larry Davis at the University of Maryland is working on biometric technology which can identify a person by his or her gait. Law enforcement may like it because this sort of surveillance is non-invasive, but some privacy advocates are less enthusiastic. |
| I wonder how difficult it would be to fool the system by altering one's stride? Perhaps I need to enroll in a couple of courses at the Ministry of Silly Walks. |
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| British teens outsurf the rest of the West |
| 11:06:27 am mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in internet / source InternetNews 13 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| A recent study shows that British teenagers make more use of the internet than their American or European counterparts. |
| This is outrageous. Perhaps if our public schools and libraries didn't use pornography blocking software, then we could regain our rightful place as #1... |
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| Tracking Down an Online Slanderer |
| 12:53:58 pm mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in legal / source AFP 23 hits / 1 comment / 0 e-mails |
| The Costa Rican government has asked the FBI to help track down the person who put up a web page from an American server allegedly slandering the country of Costa Rica. The web page, which has since been taken down, accuses the women of Costa Rica of being prostitutes and the men of being homosexual. |
| This doesn't make sense for two reasons: (1) How can it be a crime in America to criticize Costa Rican sexual practices? And if it isn't, then why the hell should the American FBI get involved? (2) If the men in Costa Rica are all homosexual, then with whom are the women commiting prostitution? (Unless of course the women are either lesbian prostitutes or there's a booming foreign tourist trade.) |
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| Drunken Night Ends in DeCSS Tattoo, Jail |
| 1:10:47 pm mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in humor / source BBspot 35 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| From the (spoof) article: "Legal experts are divided on the issue. Some claim that a tattoo is considered speech and is protected by the Constitution. Others disagree stating that Mr. Rugbear's tattoos threaten the very livelihood of stars such as Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt." |
| That'll teach him not to mess with the MPAA! (Seriously, you can still get a "Got DeCSS?" t-shirt from Copyleft with the banned source code on the back. Order early and often!) |
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| MRI disarms police officer, fires shot |
| 11:51:00 pm mdt / 15 September 2000 found by paul / filed in medicine / source Nando Times 23 hits / 0 comments / 1 e-mail |
| An off-duty police officer went into an MRI scan room for his test while still carrying his handgun. The powerful magnet in the scanner pulled the gun out of his hand and discharged the weapon. Fortunately, the bullet went harmlessly into an exterior wall. |
| According to the story, the patient was told that it was ok to bring his handgun into the scanner. I find that incredibly hard to believe. As a radiologist, I've worked at numerous MRI facilities over the years and at every location the technologists are ultra-compulsive about asking patients to remove their watches, beepers, keys, jewelry, and other loose metal objects. Either the technical staff screwed up big time, or the police officer didn't understand (or follow) the standard directions given to him. |
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