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Ask Slashdot: Is There a Professional Geek Dress Code? 432

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the pants-optional dept.
First time submitter KateKintail writes "I'm being promoted to be a director of a computer/web services department at work with staff members (not yet hired) working under me. My workplace doesn't have a dress code 95% of the year. Is this the end of my days of jeans and enjoyably geeky t-shirts? Is there a way to dress professionally in the workplace as a boss (the kind that doesn't need to be defeated at the end of a level) while still showing my Browncoat or Whovian love as I crawl under cobwebby desks to check that equipment is properly plugged in?"
Canada

Canada: Police Do Not Have Power To Wiretap Without Warrant 133

Posted by Soulskill from the unless-it's-on-opponents-of-the-maple-leafs dept.
omega6 sends this excerpt from The Star: "The Supreme Court of Canada struck down Friday warrantless wiretap powers that police have in cases of emergency. ... Ruling in a 2006 British Columbia kidnapping case, the country’s top court said a 1993 provision of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional because there is no accountability or oversight for the warrantless searches, either to the person wiretapped or in reports to Parliament. The unanimous ruling was written by rookie judges Michael Moldaver and Andromache Karakatsanis. The case revolves around police intercepting the calls of the family of Peter Li, the kidnap victim."
Earth

German Airports Use Bees To Monitor Air Quality 44

Posted by samzenpus from the smog-honey dept.
The Düsseldorf International Airport and seven other airports in Germany have come up with a unique way of monitoring air quality; they use bees. The airports test the bees' honey twice a year for toxins, and batches that turn up clean are bottled and given away. From the article: "Assessing environmental health using bees as 'terrestrial bioindicators' is a fairly new undertaking, said Jamie Ellis, assistant professor of entomology at the Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory, University of Florida in Gainesville. 'We all believe it can be done, but translating the results into real-world solutions or answers may be a little premature.' Still, similar work with insects to gauge water quality has long been successful."

Comment How is this different from (Score 4, Informative) 468

by Robert Heinich (#32266238) Attached to: UC Berkeley Asking Incoming Students For DNA
the Ivy League nude posture photos were taken in the 1940s through the 1970s of all incoming freshmen at certain Ivy League and Seven Sisters colleges, ostensibly to gauge the rate and severity of rickets, scoliosis, and lordosis in the population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League_nude_posture_photos
Image

Life-size Eva Unit 01 Being Built In Japan 80

Posted by samzenpus from the summon-godzilla dept.
JoshuaInNippon writes "Japan has gone life-size anime model crazy. Last year there was the robotic 1:1 Gundam model that guarded Tokyo for a few months in the summer to mark the series' 30th anniversary, and then there was the giant Gigantor moment that opened in Kobe in the fall in honor of the city's rejuvenation from the devastating 1995 earthquake. Now, an amusement park near Mt. Fuji named Fuji-Q Highland is building an Eva Unit 01 from the popular Neon Genesis Evangelion series, or at least a bust of it, in conjunction with the series' recent movies. The bust will sit in a replica hanger, and reportedly stand around 9 meters tall. Visitors will have the chance, for a little extra money, to have their photo taken in the unit's cockpit, where the series' protagonist-of-sorts Shinji Ikari normally sits. The attraction is set to a cost of over US$1.6 million to build, and open on July 23 of this year. It will also undoubtedly be swamped by crazed fans looking the opportunity to bring their anime dreams to life."
Music

Brian Eno Releases Second iPhone App 196

Posted by CmdrTaco from the oblique-strategies-ftw dept.
Brian Eno, or as he is known to many in my office, "God," has released his second iPhone App. A followup to Bloom, this one is called Trope and supposedly creates darker music. You create music by drawing shapes on the iPhone's screen.

Comment Re:No Case Under US Law (Score 1) 378

by Robert Heinich (#27090709) Attached to: Timetable App Developer Gets Nastygram From Transit Sydney
>>> cannot copyright a fact
cannot may be too strong a word

A map of the subway is also a fact but the MTA-NY has on its maps and timetables:

"Please note that, except solely for your own personal and non-commercial use, no part of these documents may be copied or used without the prior written permission of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority."

http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/index.html

Comment It can work (Score 1) 307

by Robert Heinich (#25903509) Attached to: Houses With Tails
Ok, I just had to respond to those who say it can't work, it can and it does.

Granted I live in a cohousing community, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing, so I will concede that we are not your typical HOA.

However, my community through its HOA signed an bulk agreement with our local cable company to provide both internet and cable TV at a discount. Everyone wanted internet but only one-fourth wanted cable TV. Every house is connected for both internet and cable TV but you pay the HOA only for what you use (honor system). It is not part of your HOA dues but you pay it with your HOA dues.

For those who want premium features, the cable company has a la carte pricing. For individual problems, I have my neighbors contact the cable company. For more systemic problems, I step in and contact cable to ensure better service.

This arrangement is working for us.

There are also other communities (Great Oak Cohousing in Ann Arbor, MI, Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, MD and there are others) who also cooperatively arrange to bring the cost of broadband cheaper than we did. (They are larger communities and have more techies.)

So neighbors working cooperatively together can get services cheaper.

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