22 Feb 2004
US presidential race widens

Anybody want to see Bush re-elected? Here's a hint on how to make it happen ...

"Hi! Are you a registered voter in [fill in state name]? Good! My name's [fill in your name] and I'm a conservative Republican, whose politics run somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan. I'm collecting signatures today for a ballot drive. Would you care to sign this petition to get Ralph Nader on the ballot here as an independent candidate for President? I'd be really grateful ..."

Consumer champion Ralph Nader says he will run for the White House this year, stoking concern among Democrats.

(link) [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

They Can't Be Bothered

This is bound to upset some folks reading here, but, well, I feel strongly enough about it to post it anyway. So, pardon me while I put on the asbestos suit and prepare to be flamed. This is one case where I agree with Fred:

"I call an animal, a species, or an individual corrupt when it loses its instincts, when it chooses, when it prefers, what is disadvantageous for it."
- Nietzsche

The is an apparently growing movement in this country of people who don't want children. Not because they have a physical disease or disability, or a mental one, nor because they haven't found a mate: I can understand that, and sympathize with it. But these folks, well, I can neither understand or sympathize with. You see, these people don't want kids because they "can't be bothered"!

Larson, the newspaper reporter, is 42 and handsome, with wavy hair and a neatly trimmed beard. "It's easy to be won over by the bundle of joy that comes out of the mother's womb, and 'Oh, how cute' and 'Oh, how nice,' but then not be prepared for the actual sacrifices that are going to have to be made," he tells me over coffee in Harvard Square, close to where he lives. "I know if I had kids, I would not be able to do the things I enjoy now. I would have to give up going to events with friends. I would have to give up part of my writing projects. I wouldn't be able to go out to concerts as much as I like, or go to museums, or take courses."

Aw, poor baby! No wonder he doesn't want children: he's still acting like one himself, putting self gratification above all other duties and responsibilities.

I wonder if these folks are glad their parents chose to be "bothered", allowing them to enjoy their wine and cheese parties and complain about normal peoples tales of diapers and "breeding"?

There are now several "support groups" for people like this: may I suggest another, more appropiate one?: Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

(link) [The Boston Golbe]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Keyless Entries Fail In Las Vegas On Friday

OK, this is just odd. It will be very interesting when it is finally figured out, and I'd be willing (on a hunch) to bet that the military is somehow involved.

Some accuse area 51, but in any case many folks were stranded when keyless locks failed or their car computers malfunctioned. No technical explanation ...

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Trojans as spam robots: the evidence

I've suspected this based on the evidence I've seen from infected machines, but I always assumed that the virus writer was in the direct employ of the spammer, not that a "market" for lists of compromised machine IP's had developed.

Security experts and spam fighters have always assumed that spammers use Trojans to turn home workstations into unwitting hosts or zombies in pornography and spam distribution rings. Not only can these techniques be used to bypass IP address blacklists, but also to launch DoS attacks.

(link) [The Register]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Do-It-Yourself Electronic Enigma Machine

Too late for my brithday this year. Maybe next year ...

The Enigma-E is a DIY Building Kit that enables you to build your own electronic variant of the famous Enigma coding machine that was used by the German army during WWII. It works just like a real Enigma and is compatible with an M3 and M4 Enigma as well as the standard Service Machines. A message encrypted on, say, a real Enigma M4 can be read on the Enigma-E and vice versa.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link