Comment How 'bout... (Score 1) 12
"ln -b
Journal Journal: Corporate Angst 1
Yeah, well, I suppose you gotta get these things on paper. Still funny though.
Journal Journal: The price of oil has gone down a little 2
Do we still need to drill for more? Or is that like... all over with now? I mean, now that the pressure's off, we got all this free time to get the alternatives all tooled up, right?
Comment There is (Score 5, Funny) 674
Only one way to block BitTorrent.
Journal Journal: Ladies and Gentlemen 1
Comment Re:If he was famous or a politician... (Score 0) 56
Yes, I'm well aware of your little reference there. We all read the book. I'm merely mocking your over the top paranoia with this guy. As always thanks for the laughs.
Comment Re:As a Brit... (Score 1) 143
I'm jealous of you folks in the US, at least you've got a new government in 2 months time.
Not really. It's more like England's "Changing of the Guard", without the big hats.
Comment Re:Eh (Score 1) 28
Saudi Arabia for a couple of years to help you gain perspective about this "religious extremism".
I am not subject to their rules. What they do is irrelevant to how we live in the states. And they don't pretend to be a democracy of any sort. And They have no constitution that prohibits their government from establishing or imposing an "official" religion. We, on the hand, have a written law doing exactly that. A person or group trying to impose rules of their religion onto me is an extremist. The degree is unimportant to me. Just because they might be "worse", it doesn't make what we do okay. The concept should not be so difficult to grasp. The repubs deserve every bit of ridicule they receive for what that they have been doing since...1968 actually. It just got totally stupid in 1980, and getting worse ever since. If they want some respect, they can find another Eisenhower or Goldwater, or George Romney, somebody with a brain, even if their politics isn't exactly palatable. The trolls are the ones hollering about losing their power and possibly having to live amongst us heathens as mere equals, god forbid. Which of course, brings out the guns. They should be grateful that they got their prop 8. For which I'm counting on the backlash to separate them even further from civilized society.
Comment Re:Clifford Stoll's (Score 1) 257
whoosh?
Ext4 Advances As Interim Step To Btrfs 510
Heise.de's Kernel Log has a look at the ext4 filesystem as Linus Torvalds has integrated a large collection of patches for it into the kernel main branch. "This signals that with the next kernel version 2.6.28, the successor to ext3 will finally leave behind its 'hot' development phase." The article notes that ext4 developer Theodore Ts'o (tytso) is in favor of ultimately moving Linux to a modern, "next-generation" file system. His preferred choice is btrfs, and Heise notes an email Ts'o sent to the Linux Kernel Mailing List a week back positioning ext4 as a bridge to btrfs.
Submission + - Scent of a Woman Helps Search for Mate
Reservoir Hill writes: "It's been known for many years that besides fending off infection, major histocompatability complex (MHC) has a role in sexual attractiveness and that men and women prefer mates whose MHC is most different from their own. From an evolutionary point of view, the children of couples with a wide range of MHC genes, and thus of immune responses, will be better protected from disease. Now for $1,995 a Boston-based internet-dating site will analyze a swab taken from the inside of your cheek "to help you find someone with a natural body fragrance you'll love, with whom you'd have healthier children, [and] a more satisfying sex life." An MHC-based match means that not only will your partner's old laundry smell better to you but the biological compatibility created by complementary immune systems promises better orgasms, a lower likelihood of cuckoldry, and more happiness."
Submission + - Automating the war on terrorism (computerworld.com)
jcatcw writes: The Department of Homeland Security is bankrolling futuristic profiling technologies to nab terrorists before they strike. Project Hostile Intent is an initiative to build systems that automatically identify and analyze behavioral and physiological cues associated with deception. Current research focuses on microfacial expressions, variations in speech, and physiological characteristics such as blood pressure. An initial demo is scheduled for early this year, followed by test deployments in 2010. By 2012, if all goes well, the agency hopes to begin deploying automated test systems at airports, border checkpoints and other points of entry. It's just one of several programs that the DHS's human factors division is pursuing. Others include violent-intent modeling, biometrics, high-resolution X-rays, the puffer machine, and whole-body imaging, which is already in use in Phoenix and coming to LAX and JFK soon.
Submission + - NSA buys out secure mail services, anti-virus (cryptome.org)
An anonymous reader writes: A source to Cryptome alleges that, "Certain privacy/full session SSL email hosting services have been purchased/changed operational control by NSA and affiliates within the past few months, through private intermediary entities." Hushmail, Safe-mail, Guardster are each named.
With regard to anti-virus software it is alleged that, "Zone Alarm, Symantec, MacAfee: All facilitate Microsoft's NSA-controlled remote admin access via IP/TCP ports 1024 through 1030; ie will allow access without security flag. Unknown whether or not software port forward routing by these same programs will defeat NSA access."
With regard to anti-virus software it is alleged that, "Zone Alarm, Symantec, MacAfee: All facilitate Microsoft's NSA-controlled remote admin access via IP/TCP ports 1024 through 1030; ie will allow access without security flag. Unknown whether or not software port forward routing by these same programs will defeat NSA access."
Submission + - Asteroid to hit Mars ?
mbone writes: "Apparently the Near Earth Object (NEO) program has found an asteroid that may
impact Mars on January 30th. The current probability is
one in 75, which is pretty high a month out. Estimated energy release if it does impact Mars is in the multiple megaton range.
If it does hit Mars, then we should have quite a show, with all of the spacecraft orbiting and landed on the planet. Of course, it is possible that this is an old, failed, spacecraft from decades ago, which would also be interesting, if not as spectacular."
If it does hit Mars, then we should have quite a show, with all of the spacecraft orbiting and landed on the planet. Of course, it is possible that this is an old, failed, spacecraft from decades ago, which would also be interesting, if not as spectacular."
Submission + - Would You Boost Your Own Brain Power?
Hugh Pickens writes: "There are several drugs on the market that improve memory, concentration, planning and reduce impulsive behavior and risky decision-making, and many more are being developed. Doctors already prescribe these drugs to treat cognitive disabilities and improve quality of life for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and brain injury and cognitive-enhancing drugs are increasingly being used in non-medical situations such as shift work and by active military personnel. Although the appeal of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers — to help one study longer, work more effectively or better manage everyday stresses — is understandable, potential users, both healthy and diseased, must consider the pros and cons of their choices. Read the story from Nature magazine on the ethical issues raised by the use of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers and the questions raised on how the use of cognitive enhancers should be regulated in healthy people."
