30 Apr 2008
Cloud computing hysteria paralyzed by bolt of reality

As if "cloud computing" was something new.

We've seen more than enough folks all atwitter and wetting their shorts over cloud computing at Interop 2008 Las Vegas. So it was a bit of a surprise to catch a panel at the show with Google and Amazon reps discussing what keeps businesses from embracing the technology.

(link) [The Register]

20:26 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

LSD Inventor Albert Hofmann Dies at 102

TripFrom his autobiography:

"In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away."

A true giant of science - RIP.

The Swiss scientist who synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide -- and accidentally took the first LSD trip -- departs for the great beyond.

(link) [Wired: Top Stories]

06:20 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

29 Apr 2008
Restaurant inspections -- public perceptions vs. reality

If people find out how little good these bureaucratic hassles really do, perhaps they'll want to eliminate them. Right? C'mon - they'll make them more bureaucratic, tougher and more intrusive - then they'll do some good!

I wonder how long this cycle must continue before we finally grow brains?

Foodborne diseases cause an estimated 76 million illnesses in the US each year with about half associated with restaurant meals (more than 70 billion meals). Therefore, preventing restaurant-associated foodborne disease is an important task of public health departments. According to an article in the June 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the public is generally unaware of the frequency of restaurant inspections and the consequences of poor inspection results.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

06:23 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

April 29, 1964: Godzilla, Mothra Clash for First Time

A true icon of my generation.

Mothra vs. Godzilla makes its screen debut in Japan. Or was it Mothra Against Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra or Godzilla vs. The Thing?

(link) [Wired]

06:13 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

28 Apr 2008
Newlyweds jailed after brawl at Pittsburgh-area hotel

What witty comment could do this justice?

AP - A newlywed couple spent the night in separate jail cells — she in her wedding gown — after police said they brawled with each other, then members of another wedding party, at a suburban Pittsburgh hotel.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

21:38 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

Islam on the table

Ya know, I find the Islamic (and Jewish) restriction on pork silly. But what's instructive about this article is how it details the implementation of a government policy, in this case a religious one, without actual reference to that policy's objectives. They're not banning pork, they're intentionally regulating it out of existence.

We're seeing more of the same here in the US - although the policy objective isn't religious, it's commercial.

New laws may spell Turkish pork industry's demise

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

06:21 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

Uighurs struggle in world reshaped by Chinese influx

It's not just Tibet - the Chinese seem to have learned well from Russian, American and Australian treatment of native peoples.

In China's far west, the Muslim ethnic group finds itself relegated to menial jobs. Chinese officials also restrict religious practice and use of their language in schools.

(link) [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories]

06:03 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

IBM's Inexpensive Notes/Domino Push Against MS

I have to use Lotus Bloats at work - and if I were the IT guy there, they'd have to pay us $100 per seat to get me to adopt it. I never thought I'd pine for the halcyon days of Outlook and Exchange server until I ran into this abomination.

Deviant writes "Speaking as an IT consultant, the one big gap in the Linux stack is in messaging / collaboration. MS Outlook with Exchange is a fine product on which many businesses truly rely, and it is almost impossible to match on Linux — server or desktop. The one competitor to MS in this space has been IBM's Lotus Notes / Domino, which has always had the general reputation of being expensive, bloated, and unfriendly. I certainly wouldn't have considered it for the small businesses that we usually sell on MS's SBS server product. That is why I was truly surprised to hear about the new Domino Express Licensing and Notes 8. This is a product that has native server and client versions for both Mac and Linux. Notes 8, now written in Eclipse, also includes an integrated office suite, Lotus Symphony. This could conceivably let a user do all of their work in one application. And you can now license the server and client components together for as low as $100/user. It's packaged for companies of 1,000 seats or fewer. Is this the silver bullet to take out the entire MS stack — server, client, and Office? Or will IBM drop the ball yet again?"

(link) [Slashdot]

05:50 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

26 Apr 2008
Poisoned Dream

Could be subtitled "The Joys of Chemical Farming" ...

India's Green Revolution brings bitter harvest

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

08:13 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

25 Apr 2008
For a Pinball Survivor, the Game Isn’t Over

I was a wizard once upon a time, and still love the games in computer sims. But there's nothing that can compare to the real deal, in an arcade. And while the machines may remain, those are long gone.

A range of companies once mass produced pinball machines, especially in the Chicago area. Now there is only Stern Pinball Inc. in Melrose Park, Ill.

(link) [New York Times]

06:44 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

24 Apr 2008
Where Did All the Bingo Players Go?

ROTFLMAO

Banning smoking at charity bingo games may have health benefits, but it is proving harmful to earnings.

(link) [New York Times]

06:28 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

23 Apr 2008
Price Volatility Adds to Worry On U.S. Farms

I'm not sure I understand what the problem is here: I've read alot about this in the past couple of days, and I just don't get it. Anybody care to try and explain?

Wild swings in crop futures are damaging mechanisms that are supposed to cushion the jolts of farming.

(link) [New York Times]

06:43 /Agriculture | 2 comments | permanent link

Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' appeal thrown out

If only Vista itself was capable of generating more than lawsuits ...

Microsoft has lost its attempt to overturn a key ruling in the Windows Vista Capable lawsuit.

(link) [The Register]

06:38 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

MSN Music DRM Servers Going Dark In September

Ah, the joys of DRM ... you never really buy the songs, you just rent them.

PDQ Back writes to tell us about an email Microsoft sent to former customers of MSN Music today. The company said it would be turning off the DRM servers used to authorize playback of music purchased from the now-defunct MSN Music store. "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers," reads the e-mail. This doesn't just apply to the five different computers that PlaysForSure allows users to authorize, it also applies to operating systems on the same machine (users need to reauthorize a machine after they upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista, for example). Once September rolls around, users are committed to whatever five machines they may have authorized — along with whatever OS they are running.

(link) [Slashdot]

06:30 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

21 Apr 2008
McCartney urges vegetarianism to fight climate ills

Well, ya know, Sir Paul, the reason more environmental groups don't support going vegan to help the environment is because it wouldn't. It just doesn't work - you cannot get the same human food energy output from the vegetation that grows naturally on rangeland.

Livestock is the most efficient way to get food energy out of marginal land - cattle, sheep and goats browse and eat vegetation that humans cannot, in areas where plants that human can eat will not grow.

Does factory farming livestock contribute to the problem? Definitely! But that practice is widespread only in the West - developing countries don't have the luxury of stuffing their livestock with feed grain.

The end result of more vegetarians would be the destruction of tens of millions more acres of rainforest and other sensitive habitat to grow food for humans - is that what you're really after?

Reuters - Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming and is surprised more green groups don't promote it.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

21:36 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link