wiretap-friendly

Why ...hello, Mr. Orwell. Didn't see you come in. Nice newspeak: you mean: constitutionally-unfriendly, isn't that right?

What I wanted to say though was that this can be looked at in light of the probable outcome of the 'Can the government *require* you to purchase health insurance? My guess is that the answer will be NO. Can the government legally *require* you make your site "wiretap-friendly"? If it's in the Constitution that Congress has jurisdiction over interstate commerce; it's also in the Constitution that 'The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.' It would seem that the government CANNOT *legally* REQUIRE you to do this -- even MORE than it cannot REQUIRE you to purchase health insurance (assuming that's the outcome of the Obamacare case). Like wiretaps, the government should have to do this on a case-by-case basis. Freedom should be the default condition, not just what's left over.

The researchers also found that brain regions for planning, self-control and other aspects of executive function overlap to a significant extent with regions vital to general intelligence. The study provides new evidence that intelligence relies not on one brain region or even the brain as a whole, Barbey said, but involves specific brain areas working together in a coordinated fashion.

So.... are trolls actually missing functional areas, or are they just cognitively uncoordinated?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind

When he wrote his first book on consciousness, The Emperor's New Mind in 1989, Penrose lacked a detailed proposal for how quantum processing could be implemented in the brain. Subsequently, Hameroff read Penrose's work, and suggested that microtubules could be suitable candidates for quantum processing, an hypothesis which remains intensely controversial. The Orch-OR theory arose from the collaboration of Penrose and Hameroff in the early 1990s. Microtubules have a well established position in conventional biology and neuroscience. Microtubules are the main component of a supportive structure within neurons known as the cytoskeleton. In addition to providing a supportive structure, the known functions of microtubules include transport of molecules including neurotransmitters bound for synapses and control of the development of the cell. Microtubules are composed of tubulin protein dimer subunits.

http://www.gizmag.com/memory-storage-theory/21900/

Tuszynski and his colleagues noted that the geometry of the CaMKII molecule was very similar to that of tubulin protein compounds. These tubulins are contained within microtubule protein structures, which in turn occupy the interiors of the brain’s neurons. They are particularly concentrated in the neurons’ axons and dendrites, which are active in the memory process. The scientists wanted to understand the interaction between CaMKII, tubulin and microtubules, so based on 3D atomic-resolution structural data for all three protein molecules, they developed highly-accurate computer models. What they discovered was that the spatial dimensions and geometry of the CaMKII and microtubule molecules allow them to fit together. Furthermore, according to the models, the microtubules and CaMKII molecules are capable of electrostatically attracting one another, so that a binding process can occur between them. This process takes place within the neurons, after they have been synaptically connected, to (in some cases) permanently store memories.

Memory, consciousness -- really, what's the difference?

"All your data are belong to ME! Give cookie NOW! Or I RANDOMIZE!"

Louisiana Bans Cash for Secondhand Transactions

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/money/personal-finance/louisiana-bans-cash-secondhand-transactions

A new Louisiana law, House bill 195, passed earlier this year says that those who buy or sell secondhand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy, who co-authored the bill, says: "They can give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic (transfer)." Rep. Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for cash. He claims that having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement: "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead." Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill covers stores that resell used goods and even flea markets.

Here's a teachable moment in civics: organize the students to recall the school board -- for living in the wrong century. I don't which century they are living in, but it clearly isn't the 21st.

Oh wait....South Carolina? I think they stopped comprehending civics in 1860.

...a team of engineers at Stanford has harnessed a sophisticated weather model to recommend optimal placement of four interconnected wind farms off the coast of the Eastern United States...

This map indicates that Michigan has wind resources consistent with community-scale production. The map shows that the land-based community-scale wind resources in Michigan are concentrated along the immediate shores of the Great Lakes (especially Lakes Michigan and Superior) and on islands. The Great Lakes themselves have good-to-outstanding wind resource.

http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/maps_template.asp?stateab=mi

Chicago (and Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Southern Wisconsin, and Western Michigan) would certainly benefit from these wind farms in Lake Michigan; they could be placed far enough from shore so that there is no 'Nantucket problem'.

As long as there are legal purchases for which many people would prefer to have plausible deniability, there will be cash.

Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions.

http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law

Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session. House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions.

http://www.klfy.com/story/15717759/second-hand-dealer-law

May I suggest "foo"? (although it might be considered a back-formation from the jargonic acronym 'FUBAR'.) *We* all use it a lot, don't we?

Since this is 'a body of knowledge about words', how about logology? That would make a worker in the field a 'logologue'. This is a Greek/Latin hybrid: "logos" from the Greek meaning (approximately) "word".

Richard Aborn, one of the bill's backers, said, 'We know from lots of studies and lots of data now that violent criminals very often begin their careers as nonviolent criminals. And the earlier you can get a nonviolent criminal's DNA in the data bank, the higher your chances are of apprehending the right person.'"

In other news, we need DNA from all politicians. 100% of all public corruption cases -- a serious crime that strikes at the heart of democracy -- involve them. And the earlier you can get a political criminal's DNA in the data bank, the higher your chances are of apprehending the right person. Violent politicians very often begin their careers as nonviolent politicians. Don't let them exempt themselves like they did with the Do-Not-Call list!

ISPs, including Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable, have officially agreed to step up efforts to protect the rights of copyright owners. From the article: 'Supporters say this could become the most effective antipiracy program ever. Since ISPs are the Internet's gatekeepers, the theory is that network providers are in the best position to fight illegal file sharing.

How delightfully efficient of our corporate overlords. Those 'people' are so clever! Personal anonymity is so 20th Century.

Published 1970. Ed. Robert Silverberg. 26 stories chosen by Science Fiction Writers of America. cite: http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Robert-Silverberg/dp/0999174061/ . The best SF Anthology. Ever. I have the paperback issued by Avon (4th printing, May 1972). Search your local used book store!

Of course you know script "The Trouble with Tribbles". He also wrote book"The Man Who Folded Himself" (imagine Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps" with a Moebius twist) and book "When Harlie was One" -- an AI right up there with Clarke's HAL and Heinlein's Mycroft. (book "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"). (ok,ok: 'Mike').