31 May 2007
Off to the Moot

Trothmoot is this weekend, and we're heading down tomorrow morning, leaving my eldest daughter in charge of the farm. Will have a full report when I return - not only on TM, but on a new song I've been working on describing the events of this past week. The title is slated to be "I Fought the Cow and the Cow Won"...

21:27 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

30 May 2007
Sheep Shit and Lanolin

Missed blogging yesterday - because it's shearing time! We've finally gotten around to getting the girls haircuts, hence the title of this post. It's what I've been covered with.

I wonder how many other folks write a software widget in the morning an shear a sheep in the evening?

06:30 /Agriculture | 1 comment | permanent link

28 May 2007
Simple Comm Technique Beats Quantum Crypto

Interesting idea, but it immediately reminded me of a wonderful quote:

Anyone who creates his or her own cryptographic primitive is either a genius or a fool. Given the genius/fool ratio for our species, the odds aren't very good.
---Bruce Schneier

An engineer at Texas A&M may have a way to exploit the thermal properties of a wire to create a secure channel. The result could be an effectively impenetrable way of securing communications, possibly outperforming quantum cryptography keys. "In their device, both the sender Alice and the receiver Bob have an identical pair of resistors, one producing high resistance, the other low resistance. The higher the total resistance on the line, the greater the thermal noise. Both Alice and Bob randomly choose which resistor to use ... Half the time ... they will choose different [resistances], producing an intermediate level of thermal noise, and it is now that a message can be sent. If Bob turns on his high resistor, and records an intermediate level of noise, he instantly knows that Alice has chosen her low resistor, in essence sending a bit of information such as 1 or 0. Kish's cipher does this many times, sending a random series of 1s and 0s that can form the basis of an encryption key, the researchers say."

(link) [Slashdot]

07:48 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Skimmed milk -- Straight from the cow

Possible, I suppose, but I find it a bit hard to believe. The reason is simple: this cows calves wouldn't survive. No fat, no energy - the equation for newborn mammals is really that simple.

But what this really highlights is that no "mad scientist" lab is required for "genetic engineering" - farmers and ranchers have been doing it for tens of thousands of years.

Herds of cows producing skimmed milk could soon be roaming our pastures, reports Cath O’Driscoll in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Scientists in New Zealand have discovered that some cows have genes that give them a natural ability to produce skimmed milk and plan to use this information to breed herds of milkers producing only skimmed milk.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

07:42 /Agriculture | 1 comment | permanent link

27 May 2007
House GOP Fails to Kill Murtha Pet Project

You wanna know why I just about gag every time I write something here that could be even vaguely construed as supportive of the Democrats? Look no further ... it's a "two party system" for a reason, and the parties should rename themselves Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum.

House Republicans early this morning invoked a parliamentary procedure in an unsuccessful attempt to kill the often-derided if little-known National Drug Intelligence Center, a small federal agency created to coordinate the drug war as well as a pet project of one of their chief nemeses, Democrat John Murtha of Pennsylvania. Murtha has led his party's efforts to impose troop withdrawal deadlines in Iraq.

(link) [U.S. News & World Report]

07:14 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

26 May 2007
Making less than dad did

Another milestone.

American men in their 30s are earning less than their father's generation did, challenging a long-held belief that each generation will be better off than the one that preceded it, according to a new study published Friday.

(link) [CNN]

08:00 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link

Novell Goes Public with Microsoft Linux Deal

Novell does the Right Thing™.

On the back of defending the agreement this week, Novell did as promised and published details of its landmark November 2006 Linux partnership agreements with Microsoft. Linux advocates are expected to scour the documents for signs of how the agreement may affect Linux and whether anything in it will put Microsoft or Novell in potential violation of the upcoming version 3 of the GNU General Public license (GPL). The GPL is used in licensing many components of the Linux operating system. Open-source advocate Bruce Perens said he would be looking to see exactly what Novell was given through the deal and whether there is any requirement for the Linux vendor to defend Microsoft's patent claims. 'What I'm actually looking for is, to what extent was there a violation of faith?' he said.

(link) [Slashdot]

07:58 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Brain-eating zombies invade SF Apple store

The next time I think I'm really weird, I'm gonna cogitate on these folks. I'll feel much better, positively normal, in fact.

A horde of decaying zombies invaded San Francisco's downtown Apple store on Friday evening, hunting for brains, terrifying the customers, and gnawing on iMacs.

(link) [CNET News.com]

07:56 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

25 May 2007
Virtual Hallucinating Goggles

Break out the tinfoil hats! I gotta get me a pair of these!

We can't say we'd be first in line to get a dose of Schizophrenia or anything, but Janssen L.P.'s Virtual Hallucinations system shows promise of helping cops, paramedics, and social workers understand a bit more of what the afflicted go through.

(link) [Engadget]

17:51 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

World Population Becomes More Urban Than Rural

A true milestone, and one that most folks will miss. Even if they shouldn't.

There’s no big countdown billboard or sign in Times Square to denote it, but Wednesday, May 23, 2007, represents a major demographic shift, according to scientists from North Carolina State University and the University of Georgia: For the first time in human history, the earth’s population will be more urban than rural.

(link) [NCSU]

17:49 /Agriculture | 1 comment | permanent link

24 May 2007
Toothpaste scare prompts checks

Like my momma used to say, "You almost always get what you pay for ..."

US health officials are checking shipments of toothpaste from China for a potentially lethal chemical.

(link) [BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition]

22:11 /Politics | 3 comments | permanent link

Dead pitcher's dad sues stalled driver

Talk about chutzph:

Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood content of nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana also was found in the SUV.

Proof positive that we are indeed, overlawyered.

The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

(link) [CNN.com]

22:05 /Politics | 4 comments | permanent link

Pope Softens Remarks on Conversion of Natives

That's so nice of him. I wonder when he'll acknowledge the “unjustifiable crimes” that his organization committed in the conversion of Europe?

Benedict XVI acknowledged that “unjustifiable crimes” were committed in the European conquest of South America.

(link) [New York Times]

06:20 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

23 May 2007
Student at Falwell's university arrested with bombs

Oh, boy! More religious nutcases with bombs ...

A first-year Liberty University student was arrested in what police said was a plot to detonate explosive devices Tuesday, the day of the Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral.

(link) [CNN.com]

06:26 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Michigan man dodges prison in theft of Wi-Fi

I wonder if the shop had signs posted stating that it's unsecured network was for it's customers only - or if that was just an unspoken assumption.

Man who used a coffee shop's unsecured Wi-Fi to check his e-mail from his car could have faced up to five years in prison.

(link) [CNET News.com]

06:23 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link