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   / / ___ | |/ |/ / /|  /  
  /_/_/  |_|__/|__/_/ |_/http://www.acronymchile.com/yawn.html
                         2003-01-02
                         There's no real need to do housework -- after four
                         years it doesn't get any worse.

############## EAT ############################################
George Monbiot comments on consumerism. "As long as the economy continues to grow, we imagine, the world will become a more congenial place in which to live. There is no basis for this belief. If we take into account such factors as pollution and the depletion of natural capital, we see that the quality of life peaked in the UK in 1974 and in the US in 1968, and has been falling ever since." ... "Capitalism is a millenarian cult, raised to the status of a world religion. Like communism, it is built upon the myth of endless exploitation." http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1231-01.htm This is a really good article. It reminds one of the manifest madness of current behaviours. Trouble is, it is very difficult to maintain clarity.
############## FILM ##########################################
This is very good indeed. Wired report on Pathe's enlightened policy of offering free downloads of its newsreel archive. The downloads are of low resolution, while high resolution versions suitable for presentation may be purchased: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,56667,00.html Maybe related is this link, which appears in the story: http://www.archive.org/movies/prelinger.php
############## FLYING ########################################
flying saucers are real. Old book on the topic. http://www.sacred-texts.com/ufo/fsar/
############## FLYING II #####################################
Datalogger for monitoring albatross behaviour: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/cprog/news/albatross_1202.html The article is pretty interesting. Non-breeding albatrosses can spend 5 to 10 years at sea without touching land. The birds travel tremendous distances, and although they average 20mph, this is because they rest a lot on the water, and actually travel at 60mph to 90mph when on the wing.
############## PRINTERS ######################################
Tom's Hardware has done a year end printer roundup: http://as1.emv2.com/I?X=bc353b58325fa3a7eeb26830f93dce59
############## BINS ##########################################
Interesting story on The Register, regarding inkjet cartridges. Ties in with a recent article in Beo EU tells HP et al to scrap inkjet 'clever chips' to facilitate recycling http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28653.html And on Beo: http://www.beo.ie/2003-01/cursai_teicneolaiochta.asp
############## BINS II ########################################
Nice article. In Portland, Oregon; some journalists thought it seemed a bit invasive that police (or anybody else, in fact) were allowed to randomly go through household garbage. To highlight the issue, they raided the garbage of three officials in Portland who have supported this behaviour, and observed their reaction. http://www.wweek.com/flatfiles/News3485.lasso
############## STRESS ########################################
Stress and Duress interrogation techniques used in Afghanistan: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37943-2002Dec25.html
############## STRESS II #####################################
First Hand Account Of The Treatment of INS Detainees: Shackled, Starved, Verbally Abused, Sleep Deprived, Kept In The Cold and Kept In The Dark http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000779.php#000779 This should be read. It's really frightening what can happen to people, even in an ostensibly democratic country. One particular feature of the detention was moving the detainees around the country (in linked hand and foot shackles). While in transit, they could be denied rights like medical attention and phone calls.
############## IGNORANT ######################################
The whole ".ie" top-level-domain (TLD) is listed in the RFC-Ignorant.org list. http://www.rfc-ignorant.org/tools/detail.php?domain=ie&submitted=1010804575&table=whois The Ireland whois server does not include email, postal, or phone contact addresses, as far as I can tell, apparently due to something known as the "Data Protection Act", under which the privacy of domain name registrants is to be valued over the privacy of spam recipients from said domain names. Some people blacklist email addresses on the basis of rfc-ignorant. Another good reason not to bother registering ie domain names.
############## FREEDOM #######################################
Interesting piece highlighting the fact that Bush and his fellow travellers claim that Americans were attacked because others hate the Americans' freedoms and want to take those freedoms away. The main agent active in reducing American freedoms in the past year has been the US Government: http://www.prisonplanet.com/analysis_inganamort_122402_bush.html
############## AIRPORT #######################################
Well written account of over-zealous scrutiny (and arrest) of a couple by airport authorities. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/monahan1.html
############## COMPUTE #######################################
Understanding the microprocessor, an overview http://arstechnica.com/paedia/c/cpu/part-1/cpu1-1.html
############## COMPUTE? ######################################
How Nigeria money can help the US national debt http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/28561.html
############## REALITY #######################################
Interesting article about soil erosion in NZ. Apparently it takes 400 years to build up a centimetre of topsoil, and 12,000 years to develop sufficient soil to form productive land. Soil erosion, however, removes soil at very rapid rates. Some farmers are using tyres to slow down the erosion, though apparently marram grass is a better option. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3049051&thesection=news&thesubsection=general
############## SPACE #########################################
European Union space exploration ambitions: a hu-man on mars by 2025. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2580817.stm
############## SMELL #########################################
Identify suspects by body odour: http://www.eps.gov/spg/USA/USAMC/DAAD19/DAAD19-03-R-0004/SynopsisP.html
############## VOLUNTEERS ####################################
Back to Iraq as a human shield http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,866259,00.html
############## NELSON ########################################
Willie Nelson's hotel room was burgled while he was staying in Oslo: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=460483
############## STAR ##########################################
Home brew fusion http://fusor.net/
############## WARS ###########################################
Star wars origami: http://www.happymagpie.com/swdiagrm.htm
############## STOP ###########################################
YAWN INDEX

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