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/_/_/ |_|__/|__/_/ |_/http://www.acronymchile.com/yawn.html
2002-09-23
######################## NEWS ############################################
Maybe everyone has looked at this already, but Google seem to have only
recently launched a news service:
http://news.google.com/
Search and browse 4,000 continuously updated news sources. No human input
beyond the algorithms. Very good indeed.
For example, I got this on google news... Got filed under US news:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_676158.html
An Irish woman caught on CCTV in America beating her child in a car park
says she lost her temper because she was having a bad day. Her surname,
bizarrely, is Toogood.
"I am not a monster"
http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-09-23-0035.html
"I just lost my temper"
http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-09-23-0030.html
and 307 related:
http://news.google.com/news?num=30&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&filter=0&q=cluster:www%2eananova%2ecom%2fnews%2fstory%2fsm%5f676158%2ehtml
######################## Encryption for the Masses #######################
Slashdot ran a story on the GNU/Linux mainstreaming of encryption
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/15/1610259&mode=nested&tid=93
This is via the Enigmail plugin
http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
for Mozilla
http://www.mozilla.org/
This plugins has versions for both Windows and Linux, so it could be useful
to windows users too. In any case, you will need to download and install
GnuPG.
http://www.gnupg.org/
GnuPG binary download for windows is 689k.
enigmail and enigmime downloads for windows are under 100kb each.
Total, is therefore less than 1MB...
I've installed this under Windows98, and it is really very easy
- Get the GnuPG zipfile, unzip it into c:\gnupg
- copy gpg.exe to c:\windows
- Go to the enigmail site and click on the appropriate install link
(depending on the version of Mozilla).
- Restart the browser, and it all works out of the box (you need to
generate a keypair of course, using gnupg --gen-key at the command
line (dos window)).
- "gnupg --help" lists all the gnupg options available.
######################## Egypt ###########################################
http://www.cheops.org/
Egyptology. Lots of diagrams of a particular expedition.
######################## Diet: Atkins? ###################################
Schlemphfer writes "A few months back, Slashdot featured a NY Times story
that talked about the Atkins diet in glowing terms. This week, the Times
has published a Jane Brody article raising serious questions about whether
Atkins-style diets are dangerous and unsustainable."
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/18/0051255&mode=nested&tid=167
Original /. story:
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/08/2311242&tid=134
NY Times articles on the topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/07FAT.html?pagewanted=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/10/health/nutrition/10BROD.html?8vd
######################## Long Play #######################################
Story from Slashdot:
But there's only one groove per side ... To all those who thought that the
optical-scanning method for playing vinyl was an elaborate joke, note that
you can download the creator's code if you'd like. This is not the easy way
to do things, but is one way.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/05/1814203&tid=99
http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~springer/
######################## DRM #############################################
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27232.html
I recommed you read this before upgrading Media Player. Don't if you don't
want to.
######################## Imaginary World #################################
Slashdot ran a story that the company behind the game ultima online is now
selling premade players. Some of the quotes are priceless:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/19/0334258&mode=nested&tid=98
It's the Economy Stupid:
"If I had to come up with a single root cause for my leaving UO, it
would be that the economy was fucked up beyond repair. That took a
lot of the community down with it. It's tough to be nice to the 20
other people in the reagent shop competing for resources, or the
group of folks hoarding those resources and selling them at 10x
markup on their vendors. It's hard to be nice to the guy who follows
you around a dungeon kill-stealing because he has to save up 6
million gold for a small wooden house in the middle of nowhere."
Work Hard All Your life, And Where Does It Get You?:
"When UO first came out, I saw my roommate spending hours fishing,
making fishcakes, and selling them. Day after day. What kind of
fantasy game is that? Why, I asked? 'So I can make some money so I
can get some decent equipment so I can do stuff,' was his response.
It sounded like a rip off then, and still sounds like a rip off now.
You pay a monthly fee to spend all your time building your character
up enough to actually play the damn thing, and some punk kid with an
uber character pks your ass and steals your gear the first time you
go out."
######################## Bizarre #########################################
Links found on diepunyhumans.com
"Archived from telecorpuscam 09 Oct 01 in a Java slideshow. One could say
I'm inverting the script of camgirl-as-fucktoy. One could say I'm vibrating
the hell out of hegemony. What happens when Foucault, a Hitachi Magic Wand,
and a cam collide."
http://www.beautifultoxin.net/horology/sex/100901/100901.html
"Their turn-ons are long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners and
free-market economies. Yes, the Libertarian party has some righteous
BABES! Meet them in the calendar: Rachel, Tina, Ann, Renee, Barbara,
Tara, Jennifer, Sherry, Gail, Amanda, Ingrid and Treann"
http://rachelmills.com/calendar.html
######################## Music ###########################################
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/15/1519218&mode=nested&tid=141
"Long-time music aficionado Dave Marsh has an article in the latest edition
of Counterpunch entitled Sampler's Delight. Giving rave reviews to "Nothing
to Fear", the latest in a long line of so-called illegal music, he also
describes a "'major label waveform CD database,' which is capable of
recognizing materials allegedly owned by the record label cartel." This
database is allegedly why a UK pressing plant rejected the initial attempt
at publishing "Nothing To Fear", which is comprised almost entirely of
sampled material."
Negativland get a mention!
http://www.counterpunch.org/
http://www.counterpunch.org/marsh0911.html
http://www.sandboxautomatic.com/abstract/nothingtofear.html
http://detritus.net/archive/plunderphonic/
http://www.swcp.com/rtoads/printmag/issue3/neg_data.html
######################## And Finally... ##################################
Also, came across this on Google News:
More cracks discovered in Tohoku nuclear plant
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20020923p2a00m0dm016003c.html
Which reminds me that Warren Ellis was commenting on Mainichi
headlines.
"Monster uncle dragged away after murdering 9-y.o. niece", also titled
"Spurned wife-basher turns niece-slasher":
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/face/index.html
Or how about...
"Eerie hormones hatching teen-age mutant ninja knockers":
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/waiwai/0209/020922whore.html