Slashdot

grassy_knoll asks, "So how fragile is the electrical grid, and just what technical problems could shut down five reactors?" "Five reactors at a nuclear power plant in Florida had gone down on Tuesday and two were now back online amid a massive power outage in the southern state, CNN reported. The report on the Turkey Point nuclear plant came as four million people had lost electricity in Miami and elsewhere in Florida, with traffic signals out and major delays on roads, authorities and media said."

coondoggie writes "Looking to save $1 million, 20 tons of paper, or close to 500 trees, the White House said today President Bush's 2009 Federal Budget will for the first time be posted online. The E-Budget will be available for downloading at the Office of Management and Budget Web site on Feb. 4. Typically the White House has paper-bombed congress and anyone else who wanted to read the budget with a tome which can reach 3,000 pages and weighed multiple pounds each."

Fantastic Lad writes to tell us that journalist Michael Hanlon recently got the opportunity to experience the Army's new not-so-secret weapon, dubbed "Silent Guardian". The Silent Guardian is essentially (even though the creators prefer you not refer to it as such) a ray gun, emitting a focused beam of radiation similar to your microwave tuned to a specific frequency to stimulate human nerve endings. "It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile. Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury. But anyone in the beam's path will feel, over their entire body, the agonizing sensation I've just felt on my fingertip. The prospect doesn't bear thinking about. "

markviii writes "A St. George, Mo police officer threatens a man sitting in his car in a commuter parking lot. Little does he know that the man has video camera rigged to his car and records the whole incident. "A motorist who refused to discuss his personal business with a St. George, Missouri police officer was threatened with arrest last Friday. Brett Darrow, 20, no stranger to unconventional encounters with police, caught a St. George Police Sergeant James Kuehnlein stating that he had the power to invent charges that would put Darrow behind bars.""
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=129127

Google.org incites others to share its love for plug-in hybrid vehicles and other cleaner forms.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9776871-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

theproff writes "The Washington Post ran an article covering the first time that the SCOTUS has considered global warming. Attorneys representing 12 U.S. states gave opening arguments in a case before the Supreme Court against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over automobile carbon dioxide emissions. Claiming that a rise in sea levels due to polar melt will ultimately inundate some of their sovereign territory, the states say the EPA should issue emissions standards for new cars and trucks as the first step toward curbing the greenhouse gases they say have been scientifically linked to climate change."

Squonk01 writes "Search Engine Journal reports on a Webmaster Radio story about Google AdSense ads by Al Qaeda on terrorist sites that are also using linkbots to generate fraudulent clicks and associated revenue. No details yet on their "conversion" rates."

From Game Freaks 365: James Kim, a CNet.com editor that went missing, was found dead at 3:00 p.m. ET Wednesday. His family had been found alive after they went missing November 25, 2006. The Kim family went on vacation to the Pacific Northwest, but got lost when they were returning to Portland. Searchers found Kati Kim, 30, and their 4 year old and 7 month old daughters, Penelope and Sabine. The family was airlifted to a hospital in Grants Pass. All three were in good condition, but James Kim was still missing and found dead today.

Hybrio rechargeable batteries are ready to use right from the store and can be recharged up to 500 times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/technology/30battery.html?ex=1322542800&en=25faa7918d97c4b9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Wi-Ex has created a compact system for amplifying cellphone signals without the need for much high-tech mumbo-jumbo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/30/technology/30cell.html?ex=1322542800&en=0eca57dd31a4eeba&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

An anonymous reader writes "In the SCO v. IBM case, magistrate Judge Wells' June 28 order granting IBM's request to exclude evidence introduced after the discovery cutoff has been upheld. Presiding Judge Kimball issued a strong order that SCO's claim that de novo review was required was incorrect, but even under such a standard, the order was correct and is upheld in its entirety.

This can be read as a statement that, after giving SCO much latitude during discovery, the court will not put up with further shenanigans. This is typical conduct where a judge wishes to ensure that his judgement is not appealable.

The Judge further ruled that the February 2007 trial date is vacated so that SCO v. Novell trial (scheduled for Sept. 17, 2007) can go first. No replacement date is yet set."

An anonymous reader writes "Investigators have dropped the criminal case against Christopher Soghoian. Soghoian had created a web site capable of printing fake airline boarding passes.
"If they fix the airport security problems ... then this entire process has been worth it," Soghoian said. "If they don't fix airport security, then ... what was the purpose?""

Carl Carlson writes "A Louisiana judge has issued a permanent injunction against a Louisiana law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. The law was crafted by video game dilettante Jack Thompson and took a slightly different approach to the issue of regulating video game sales. Rep. Roy Burrell (R) and Jack Thompson had research that purported to show a causative link between playing violent video games and real-world violence entered into the legislative record in an attempt to buttress the legislation's shaky credentials. In addition, the law adapted the Miller obscenity test to the realm of violent video games."

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Q4.06/9E4D6D41-F4E9-44E4-930F-E876DAAA9131.html