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Submission + - Kiwi Geeks - Listen Up You Primative Screwheads(1) (pirateparty.org.nz)

Submitted by Sinesurfer
Sinesurfer writes: There is a solution when the NZL Govt Rushes Thru Controversial Anti-Piracy Law [http://slashdot.org/story/11/04/13/1310255/NZL-Govt-Rushes-Thru-Controversial-Anti-Piracy-Law]
after the US Offered To Draft NZ 3-Strikes Law, Fund Copyright Initiative [http://politics.slashdot.org/story/11/05/01/1242259/US-Offered-To-Draft-NZ-3-Strikes-Law-Fund-Copyright-Initiative].
Certainly it is not a much fun when a NZ MP Enjoys Copyright Infringement, Votes For 3 Strikes [http://politics.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0027244/NZ-MP-Enjoys-Copyright-Infringement-Votes-For-3-Strikes]
so the New Zealand Pirate Party — http://pirateparty.org.nz/

[1] Listen Up, You Primitive Screwheads!!! The Unexpurgated Cyberpunk Referee's Guide, 1994, R. Talsorian Games, Inc, ISBN-13: 978-0937279458

Comment That Magma is very Close (Score 3, Informative) 215

by Sinesurfer (#35261856) Attached to: Iceland Eyes Liquid Magma As Energy Source

It's a wonderful idea (and don't get me wrong, we use geothermal energy in NZ [it's around 5% of our power generation]) but the inherent danger of magma is that if you make one little error you're dealing with MAGMA!!!

it's the second most hostile energy source after nuclear energy, the only difference is the half life isn't thousands of years.

oh! and 7000 is little more than 2 kilometres, that's really, really, really close for magma (the other way to look at it is that it's a very, very, very think mantle on the Earth near Iceland). Most other estiamtes of the Earth's mantle are ~=50-60 Km's vs. 3% of the average thickness beneath Iceland.

Good luck to Iceland!
Hardware Hacking

Grad Student Invents Cheap Laser Cutter 137

Posted by samzenpus from the frugal-cutting dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Peter Jansen, a PhD student and member of the RepRap community, has constructed a working prototype of an inexpensive table-top laser cutter built out of old CD/DVD drives as an offshoot of his efforts to design an under $200 open-source Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printer. Where traditional laser cutters use powerful, fixed-focus beams, this new technique dynamically adjusts the focal point of the laser using a reciprocating motion similar to a reciprocating saw, allowing a far less powerful and inexpensive laser diode to be used. The technique is currently limited to cutting black materials to a depth of only a few millimeters, but should still be useful and enabling for Makers and other crafters. The end-goal is to create a hybrid inexpensive 3D printer that can be easily reconfigured for 2D laser cutting, providing powerful making tools to the desktop."
Image

Nuns Donate Their Brains to Alzheimer's Research 148

Posted by samzenpus from the bring-me-a-pious-brain dept.
Many Catholic religious orders are participating in a long range Alzheimer's disease study. Rush University's Religious Orders Study began in 1993 and tracks the participants' mental abilities through yearly memory testing. In addition to the annual tests, the study subjects agree to donate their brains. From the article: "The researchers sought members of religious orders, hoping they would be willing to donate and would not have children or spouses interfering with that arrangement at the last minute. More than 1,100 nuns, priests and brothers across the country representing a wide range of ethnic groups are taking part."
Censorship

Chinese Root Server Shut Down After DNS Problem 91

Posted by timothy from the need-a-new-source-of-ginseng dept.
itwbennett writes "After a networking error first reported on Wednesday last week caused computers in Chile and the US to come under the control of a system that censors the Internet in China, the 'root DNS server associated with the networking problems has been disconnected from the Internet,' writes Robert McMillan. The server's operator, Netnod, has 'withdrawn route announcements' made by the server, according to company CEO Kurt Lindqvist."
Image

How the TSA Plans On Inspecting Your Monkey 114

Posted by samzenpus from the I'm-gonna-need-to-check-your-monkey dept.
The uncertainty of what might happen to your service monkey at an airport security checkpoint won't keep you awake at night anymore, thanks to the TSA. They have issued an easy to follow list of how they will ensure your helper monkey won't go all Planet of the Apes on your flight. Some of the security techniques used to make sure your primate is not a terrorist include: "Security Officers will conduct a visual inspection on the service monkey and will coach the handler on how to hold the monkey during the visual inspection. The inspection process may require that the handler to take off the monkey's diaper as part of the visual inspection."

Comment Sob, only a single optioin! (Score 1) 515

by Sinesurfer (#31580424) Attached to: Of the options below, I'd most like to learn more ...

For me perfection would be (equal first) Physics & Engineering, Pure Maths then Philosophy with maybe a little Art History.

Engineering is just so damn useful and Physics so much fun. Pure Maths and Philsophy teach you how to think, reason, solve problems and Art History well..... why the heck not! A little beauty in your world never hurt.
Networking

Throttle Shared Users With OS X — Is It Possible? 403

Posted by timothy from the throttle-the-snot-instead dept.
whisper_jeff writes "I work in a design studio where the production director is also the owner's son (translation = he can do no wrong). He is fond of accessing a designer's computer via filesharing and working directly on files off of the designer's computers rather than transferring the files to his computer to work on them there. In so doing, he causes the designer's computer to grind to a near-halt as the harddrive is now tasked with his open/save requests along with whatever the designer is doing. Given that there is no way he's going to change his ways (since he doesn't see anything wrong with it...), I was wondering if there was a way to throttle a user's shared access to a computer (Mac OSX 10.5.8) so that his remote working would have minimal impact on our work. Google searches have revealed nothing helpful (maybe I should Bing it... :) so I was hoping someone with more technical expertise on Slashdot could offer a suggestion."

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