22 Dec 2007
Inmate says he needs Thor's hammer, drum

These things are really starting to annoy me. You need nothing but your heart and mind to be Tru to the gods. You don't need hammers, horns, drums, staves or swords(!). These material trappings may be pretty, interesting and useful, to be sure, but they are not necessary.

If this fellow was really interested in following the path, he'd have asked for a copy of the Eddas and sagas, and forgone the rest of the paraphernalia.

AP - An inmate is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while behind bars.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

09:07 /Asatru | 1 comment | permanent link

Army Buys Macs to Beef Up Security

Interesting. I wonder if the folks in Redmond are noticing the larger trend? I'd lay even money that they are.

The Army is integrating Macs into their IT network to thwart hack attempts. The Mac platform, they argue, is more secure because there are fewer attacks against OSX than Windows-based systems. 'Military procurement has long been driven by cost and availability of additional software--two measures where Macintosh computers have typically come up short against Windows-based PCs. Then there have been subtle but important barriers: For instance, Macintosh computers have long been incompatible with a security keycard-reading system known as Common Access Cards system, or CAC, which is heavily used by the military. The Army's Apple program, created [in 2005], is working to change that.'

(link) [Slashdot]

09:06 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Mathematicians Solve the Mystery of Traffic Jams

OK, fine - but can they solve the real mystery of modern life: why do you run out of toilet paper, paper towels and tissues at the same time?

Do you ever find yourself in a traffic jam, thinking, 'Man, there must be a bad accident up ahead,' but as you plod along you see no evidence of any crash? Some mathematicians have solved the mystery by developing a mathematical model that shows how one driver hitting the brakes a little too hard can cascade into a backup miles behind. The mathematicians' future research will investigate how automatic braking systems may alleviate the problem.

(link) [Slashdot]

08:54 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link