bouma - Slashdot User

Submission + - The Uncomfortable Reality of Sex in Space

Submitted by

Smaran

on Saturday May 19, 2007 @04:49AM

Smaran writes: "WIRED is running an interesting story about how sex in space will have to be inevitably discussed by space agencies and astronauts around the world, who currently refuse to even address the issue. They are only beginning to talk about the realities of illness and death in space. Sex is still a topic for another day. WIRED's Regina Lynn writes: "... as humans begin to spend more time in space and to travel further from Earth, space agencies will need to factor sex into their equations. We cannot expect astronauts to spend three years in a spacecraft and not have sex — of some kind. Probably with each other, and likely in more than one combination.""

Submission + - Personal health information must be encrypted

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08, 2007 @05:20PM

An anonymous reader writes: The Ontario Privacy Commissioner urges officials to encrypt personal health data. This order stems from a stolen laptop that exposed 2,900 current and former patients of the Toronto based Hospital for Sick Children.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20070308.wsickkids0308/BNStory/National/

"There is no excuse for unauthorized access to personal health information due to the theft of loss of a mobile computing device."

http://ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/up-2007_03_08_ho _004.pdf

Submission + - Reuters guidelines on Photoshop use...

Submitted by pointbeing on Thursday March 08, 2007 @08:48AM

pointbeing writes: Interesting article on the use of Photoshop in news articles here.

"Photoshop is a highly sophisticated image manipulation programme. We use only a tiny part of its potential capability to format our pictures, crop and size them and balance the tone and colour.

Materially altering a picture in Photoshop or any other image editing software will lead to dismissal.

THE RULES ARE: No additions or deletions to the subject matter of the original image. (thus changing the original content and journalistic integrity of an image)

No excessive lightening, darkening or blurring of the image. (thus misleading the viewer by disguising certain elements of an image)

No excessive colour manipulation. (thus dramatically changing the original lighting conditions of an image)"

Submission + - The United States is Insolvent

Submitted by

The True Messiah

on Friday February 23, 2007 @06:46PM

The True Messiah writes: "What the BIG Media is not telling you! Prepare to be shocked.

The US is insolvent. There is simply no way for our national bills to be paid under current levels of taxation and promised benefits. Our combined federal deficits now total more than 400% of GDP.

That is the conclusion of a recent Treasury/OMB report entitled Financial Report of the United States Government that was quietly slipped out on a Friday (12/15/06), deep in the holiday season, with little fanfare. Sometimes I wonder why the Treasury Department doesn't just pay somebody to come in at 4:30 am Christmas morning to release the report. Additionally, I've yet to read a single account of this report in any of the major news media outlets but that is another matter.

The Complete story."

Submission + - Australia Outlaws Incandescent Lightbulb

Submitted by

passthecrackpipe

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @05:05AM

passthecrackpipe writes: "The Australian Government is planning on making the incandescent ligtbulb a thing of the past. In three years time, standard lightbulbs will no longer be available for sale in the shops in Australia (expect a roaring grey market) and everybody will be forced to switch to more energy efficient Fluorescent bulbs. In this move to try and curb emissions, the incandescent bulb — which converts the majority of used energy to heat rather then light — will be phased out. Environmental groups have given this plan a lukewarm reception. They feel Australia should sign on to the Kyoto protocol first. (Article in Dutch). A similar plan was created together with Phillips, one of the worlds largest lighting manufacturers. What do other slashdotters think? Is this a move in the right direction? Will this boost the development of better fluorescent bulbs? Improve the design and lower the costs of LED lightbulbs? Will this plan make a big difference to the environment at all?"

Submission + - GM Cancer Potato Study Suppressed for 8 Years

Submitted by Doc Ruby on Saturday February 17, 2007 @08:00PM

Doc Ruby writes: Welsh activists have released after an 8 year court battle a Russian study that shows increased cancer linked to eating Genetically Modified potatoes, supporting independent research by Arpad Pusztai:

Alan Simpson, a Labour MP and green campaigner, said: "These trials should be stopped. The research backs up the work of Arpad Pusztai and it shows that he was the victim of a smear campaign by the biotech industry. There has been a cover-up over these findings and the Government should not be a party to that." Mr Simpson said the findings, which showed that lab rats developed tumours, were released by anti-GM campaigners in Wales. Dr Pusztai and a colleague used potatoes that had been genetically modified to produce a protein, lectin. They found cell damage in the rats' stomachs, and in parts of their intestines.
While the trials have flaws, those methodological defects seem to downplay an actually higher risk of cancer:

Half of the rats in the trial died, and results were taken from those that survived, in breach of normal scientific practice.

Submission + - MPAA Steals Code, Violates Linkware License

Submitted by stedo on Saturday February 17, 2007 @07:43PM

stedo writes: A blogger who wrote his own blogging engine called Forest Blog recently noticed that none other than the MPAA was using his work, and had completely violated his linkware license by removing all links back to the Forest Blog site, and had not credited him in any way.

Submission + - China

Submitted by

buy many thing here

on Saturday February 17, 2007 @07:18PM

buy many thing here writes: "Nothing going on worth mentioning. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. Today was a total loss. Not much on my mind recently."

Submission + - Macrovisions Letter to Steve Jobs

Submitted by Martix on Saturday February 17, 2007 @06:54PM

Martix writes: To Steve Jobs and the Digital Entertainment Industry:

I would like to start by thanking Steve Jobs for offering his provocative perspective on the role of digital rights management (DRM) in the electronic content marketplace and for bringing to the forefront an issue of great importance to both the industry and consumers. Macrovision has been in the content protection industry for more than 20 years, working closely with content owners of many types, including the major Hollywood studios, to help navigate the transition from physical to digital distribution. We have been involved with and have supported both prevention technologies and DRM that are on literally billions of copies of music, movies, games, software and other content forms, as well as hundreds of millions of devices across the world.

Can Read more hear http://www.macrovision.com/company/news/drm/respon se_letter.shtml

Journal SPAM: love is...

Journal by The Fun Guy on Saturday February 17, 2007 @06:48PM

Love is the following scene at Home Depot, last night:

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