Luck changed! We were the only non ticket holders who got in. Crazy. Dope flick. Must see must own. Next good news from home. Got remaining grades. My best semester ever! Word! Then kevin p's new one, seven times lucky. Cool movie on the grift. Definitely worth a view! After came out to seriously dumping snow. Looks like freshies on the way! : )

Stacey! Word!

Four and a half hours but the kids get tun play with the giants!

Day two. New Lars von T. Interesting but not on the must see list but glad i did. Next return of the lack of avg. Waited 3 hours plus to see Garden State. Number 36. They let in like 5. : ( not like last year. Batted like 7 out of 8. What the fuck! Bummer!!! Maybe ride and see Stacey's new Ridding Giants. Keeping fingers crossed!

Day one. Drive to santa barbara meet g. Get tix. Fly back w/ g to salt lake. Get some dope mexican and drinks. Head to fest. Wait in coldest ever for new gary oldman. We were like #200. Missed by like 10. Bummer! Start off with bad averages. Wak. Next stick around for DEBS.Word. Great combo of Araki, Mc G, and a little Valley Girl thrown in for good measure. Very tongue in cheek. Only 3.5. Wow!!! Then The Party 12. Drinks. Teachers. Pretty girls. More drinks and blue too! Card readers. All kinds of crazy good stuff! Big fun!

Slashdot | Justin Frankel On AOL, Subverting The Status Quo

Slashdot | Justin Frankel On AOL, Subverting The Status Quo: "'Rolling Stone has an excellent feature on Justin Frankel, the creator of Winamp,Gnutella, Shoutcast, Waste, and other projects. The article calls him 'the world's most dangerous geek', and after years of being muzzled by AOL for igniting the pirate nation, Frankel is breaking his silence.' The article ends by asking: 'In many ways, Frankel's future encapsulates the debate over the future of the Internet itself. Does it become just a distribution system for corporate product or more of a way to subvert that corporate control?' "

Recording Industry Is Accusing 532 People of Music Piracy

Recording Industry Is Accusing 532 People of Music Piracy: "The new lawsuits are ``John Doe'' lawsuits, an increasingly common type of litigation in the Internet age, which allow plaintiffs to sue people whose identities are not known. These suits identify the suspected file traders only by the numerical identifier, known as an Internet Protocol number, assigned to them by their Internet service provider. "

Slashdot | The Amazing Properties of Aerogel

Slashdot | The Amazing Properties of Aerogel: "'We all know NASA is using a substance called 'aerogel' in the Stardust spacecraft to catch pieces of the Wild-2 comet. The NYT is running an article about some other amazing aerogel properties. My favorite quote: 'It's the lowest density of any solid, and it has the highest thermoinsulation properties. Though it would be very expensive, you could take a two- or three-bedroom house, insulate it with aerogel, and you could heat the house with a candle. But eventually the house would become too hot.''"

The Cure to headline Coachella Festival - NME.COM

The Cure to headline Coachella Festival - NME.COM: "THE CURE are to headline the Sunday night (May 2) at this year's COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL."

Slashdot | Lie Detector Glasses Coming Soon

Slashdot | Lie Detector Glasses Coming Soon: "'The EE Times is reporting on a product soon to be released by an Israeli company that allows the wearer of special glasses to tell whether the person they are talking to is telling a lie. Not only that, they can tell you whether someone loves you! Apparently a PC version of the 'love detector' is in the works as well. Think my Windows box will be upset when it knows how much I hate it?' "

Nintendo DS: "Nintendo DS -- or Dual Screen -- this new piece of hardware is all set to be officially unveiled for the first time at E3 in Los Angeles later in the year."

The Globe and Mail

Alzheimer's risk reduced by vitamins: "Vitamins E, C cut Alzheimer's risk, study says Incidence in retirement-age people reduced by 78%, researchers find"

Wired News: Here's the Price of Fame: $218.32

Wired News: Here's the Price of Fame: $218.32: "Before he taught himself about cameras and editing, Jonathan Caouette designed a do-it-yourself method for making movies. He'd record the audio of a Hollywood film, and, with crayons, pencils and loose-leaf paper, draw it out."

Wired News: Chong Backed by Tokin' Resistance

Wired News: Chong Backed by Tokin' Resistance: "The comedian, who rose to fame in the '70s and '80s, is renowned for, more than anything else, playing a bumbling pot smoker as half of the moviemaking team Cheech and Chong. More recently, he played off that image with a glass pipe and bong business, Nice Dreams Enterprises; an advertising campaign for a contraption to foil drug tests; and a recurring role on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. But ever since Sept. 11, when a federal judge sentenced Chong to nine months in prison for selling illegal drug paraphernalia, the 65-year-old funnyman has found himself cast in a new part. As the 'Free Tommy Chong' movement gains momentum online and off, the star has emerged as celebrity poster child for the pot-legalization movement."

Yahoo! Research Labs

Yahoo! Research Labs: "Our goal is to cultivate knowledge, solve fundamental technology problems and translate theory into application so that our partners, advertisers and consumers can maximize the social and economic potential of the Internet."

Melatonin & Hypertension: "Melatonin taken at night over a prolonged period lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension, according to the results of a trial conducted in The Netherlands."

AskTog: Panther: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

AskTog: Panther: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

AskTog: Make Your Mac a Monster Machine

AskTog: Make Your Mac a Monster Machine: "Turn your Mac into a power-user, high-productivity monster in five easy steps."

MSNBC - How Spirit makes great photos

MSNBC - How Spirit makes great photos: "NASA's Spirit Rover is providing a lesson to aspiring digital photographers: Spend your money on the lens, not the pixel"

MacSlash | Tog vs Dock Reaction

MacSlash | Tog vs Dock Reaction: "'This article, by Mac author Kirk McElhearn, rebuts Tog's 9 reasons why the Dock sucks: Top 9 Reasons why the Dock is Cool. Bruce Tognazzi, who founded Apple's Human Interface Group, and worked for the company for 14 years, is an opinionated guy. His blog has many articles about, as he says, 'the Good, the Bad and the Ugly' of Mac OS X. Bruce is a smart guy, and his comments show a great sensitivity to users and their expectations. But his recent article, Top Nine Reasons the Apple Dock Still Sucks seems to take too personal a point of view, and ignores the way people use the Dock and Mac OS X. So, I thought I'd go through his nine reasons and point out why each of them is, if not incorrect, at least correctable.' "

CinemaNow debuts download-to-own movies | CNET News.com

CinemaNow debuts download-to-own movies | CNET News.com: "CinemaNow, an online movie rental company, is testing new waters by launching a service that lets people buy permanent downloads of Hollywood films for a PC. "

Slashdot | Warp Records Reject DRM, Go Bleep

Slashdot | Warp Records Reject DRM, Go Bleep: "'Warp Records, an independent label for electronic music (featuring artists such as Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Boards of Canada), has made their entire back catalog available thru Bleep, a new digital download service. Individual tracks are $1.35 for those of us in the USA, with EPs and full albums in the $4 to $10 price range. You can download Aphex Twin's rare, groundbreaking Hangable Auto Bulb EP for $4.29. To quote from the FAQ: 'We are at present the only store to offer very high quality MP3 files,' and 'Bleep music has no DRM or copy protection built in. We believe that most people like to be treated as customers and not potential criminals'.' "

MacSlash | Tog Stalks Panther

MacSlash | Tog Stalks Panther: "Founder of the Apple Human Interface Group Bruce Tognazzini tells us, in an OS X special flurry of articles, why the dock sucks and how he could do a better job, what he likes and dislikes about the Panthwyre user interface, and how he would turn a Mac into a 'Monster Mac'. Hmmm...a Classic-era Human Interface evangelist with reservations about the OS X user interface? How...'unexpected'.'

GUI flamefest in 3...2...1..."

Think Secret - Virginia Tech cluster to use G5 Xserves

Think Secret - Virginia Tech cluster to use G5 Xserves: "Virginia Polytechnic and State University will upgrade its massive Power Mac G5 cluster to the new Xserve G5, sources close to the project said."

Slashdot | Matrix-Style Brain Interface Closer To Reality

Slashdot | Matrix-Style Brain Interface Closer To Reality: "'According to this Wired article, a private company, Cyberkinetics is seeking permission from the FDA to test a product called BrainGate that implants in the brain and can control actions on a computer. So far it works for monkeys and they'd like to see it as viable for quadriplegics and others in need. How soon until anyone can become the ultimate expansion card? Sign me up!'"

Hollywoodreporter.com

Hollywoodreporter.com: "Radiohead, the reunited Pixies and pioneering German rock act Kraftwerk will perform on the first day of the fifth Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (May 1-2) in Indio, Calif., organizers said Wednesday. The lineup will also feature Air, Prefuse 73, the Thrills, Electric Six, Sahara Hotnights and the (International) Noise Conspiracy. The Pixies will be playing their first show since abruptly disbanding in 1993. It is unknown if all four original members -- guitarists Frank Black and Joey Santiago, bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering -- will be present, or if the show will dovetail into a tour or new recording project. Kraftwerk's appearance will come at the end of a three-month world tour that begins Feb. 6 in Helsinki."

Judge rules Microsoft infringed on Eolas patent | CNET News.com

Judge rules Microsoft infringed on Eolas patent | CNET News.com: "A Chicago federal judge on Wednesday upheld a $512 million patent verdict against Microsoft that could ultimately force major changes in many of the most common Internet software products"

Coachella 2004 dates confirmed - NME.COM

Coachella 2004 dates confirmed - NME.COM: "COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL will take place on May 1 -2 at theEMPIRE POLO FIELD in INDIO, CALIFORNIA, it has been confirmed.

The event, which last year boasted a line-up including Blur, The Libertines, The Hives,Beastie Boys and The Mars Volta, attracted 68,000 fans.

Now in it's fifth year, 2004's Coachella is set to feature already confirmed acts Radiohead, with rumours circulating around a possible set from thePixies."

Slashdot | Earthquake Prediction Months In Advance

Slashdot | Earthquake Prediction Months In Advance: 'A UCLA seismologist named Vladimir Keilis-Borok claims earthquakes can be predicted months in advance. In the article at the University of California Newswire, he claims that the 'team including experts of pattern recognition, geodynamics, seismology, chaos theory, statistical physics and public safety ... has developed algorithms to detect precursory earthquake patterns.' It also says 'the team's current predictions have not missed any earthquake, and have had its two most recent ones come to pass.' They predict 'an earthquake of at least magnitude 6.4 by Sept. 5, 2004, in a region that includes the southeastern portion of the Mojave Desert, and an area south of it.' We'll see if they're right.'

Slashdot | Video Scratching Goes Mainstream

Slashdot | Video Scratching Goes Mainstream: "Pioneer has released a digital audio and video turntable (the DVJ-X1), which allows you to manipulate and playback synchronized digital audio and video. You can manipulate DVD visuals in the same way as you would music i.e. real-time digital video scratches, loops and instant cues. The video and audio streams will stay in sync, even when they're being reversed and pitched. I guess this is the logical, commercialized version of that which has been done before. It's being shown at CES, and there are several pictures on the official Pioneer site."

Slashdot | Internet Archive Opens Wayback Code Under LGPL

Slashdot | Internet Archive Opens Wayback Code Under LGPL: "'It looks like the Internet Archive, which hosts the infamous Wayback Machine has opened its newest in-development crawler code under the LGPL. From the announcement: 'Heritrix is the Internet Archive's open-source, extensible, web-scale, archival-quality web crawler project. Heritrix (sometimes spelled heretrix , or misspelled or missaid as heratrix / heritix / heretix / heratix) is an archaic word for inheritess. Since our crawler seeks to collect the digital artifacts of our culture for the benefit of future researchers and generations, this name seemed apt.''"

Slashdot | First High-Res Color Photos from Mars

Slashdot | First High-Res Color Photos from Mars: "The first color thumbnail from Spirit was available yesterday from a larger image. Today some full-size color images are available. If you are in the USA you may be interested in catching the NOVA program on your local PBS station tonight.' Acrobatman notes the existence of a nifty utility:'Mars24, a Mac OS X and Java application and applet which displays a Mars 'sunclock', a graphical representation of Mars. This free utility shows the current sun- and nightsides of Mars, along with a numerical readout of the time in 24-hour format and landmarks such as the landing positions of the rovers."

Slashdot | First Ever Nanotube Transistors On A Circuit

Slashdot | First Ever Nanotube Transistors On A Circuit: "Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University have developed the first ever integrated silicon circuit with nanotube technology. According to the article on UC Berkeley's site, this brings researchers one step closer to developing memory chips with carbon nanotubes - chips that could hold approximately 10,000 times more data than those we have today."

Slashdot | Interview with Bruce Sterling

Slashdot | Interview with Bruce Sterling: "Reason magazine has a long interview with Bruce Sterling."

D's Appeal Gets Published!!! big big up to D!!!

Happy New Year!!!

'Get me rewrite!' Now, computers can play along | CNET News.com

'Get me rewrite!' Now, computers can play along: Now, using several methods, including statistical techniques borrowed from gene analysis, two researchers have created a program that can automatically generate paraphrases of English sentences.

ABCNEWS.com : Music Industry Says Lawsuit to Continue

ABCNEWS.com : Music Industry Says Lawsuit to Continue: "Last Friday's U.S. District Court decision calling the Recording Industry Association of America's legal tactics against the law is sure to stoke the fires of the ongoing music wars. The decision handed down by the court says the RIAA has no right to issue subpoenas to an Internet Service Provider for personal user information related to file swapping. It also lets Verizon off the hook, saying the ISP isn't responsible for what its users do while using the Internet, or what they do with files taken from the Net."

Will DVD acquittal mean tougher copyright laws? | CNET News.com

Will DVD acquittal mean tougher copyright laws: A Norwegian appeals court threw out a criminal copyright case against a programmer accused of breaking Hollywood's DVD encryption scheme. Norwegian authorities tried Jon Johansen on criminal charges for writing a software tool that can be used to overcome anticopying technology built into most commercial DVDs. On Monday, an appeals court threw out the government's case, agreeing with a lower court that Johansen had done nothing wrong under Norwegian law.

Wired News: Song Swappers Win a Big One

Wired News: Song Swappers Win a Big One: "A federal appeals court ruled Friday the recording industry can't force Internet providers to identify subscribers swapping music online, dramatically setting back the industry's anti-piracy campaign. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned a trial judge's ruling that enforced a type of copyright subpoena under a law that predated the music-swapping trend. "

Wired News: Dutch Court Throws Out Kazaa Case

Wired News: Dutch Court Throws Out Kazaa Case: "The makers of Kazaa, the world's most popular computer file-sharing program, cannot be held liable for copyright infringement of music or movies swapped on its free software, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday. "

FLIGHT 001

FLIGHT 001: nat took me, and tree found it on the net! wikkid travel gear!!!

Slashdot | SpaceShipOne Rockets To 68,000 Feet

Slashdot | SpaceShipOne Rockets To 68,000 Feet: "According to Space.com, Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne flew its first rocket-powered flight today, the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' 12-second first flight. SpaceShipOne's engine burned for 15 seconds, pushing it to Mach 1.2 (930 mph) and a peak altitude of 68,000 feet. To win the X-Prize they need to reach 330,000 feet twice within 2 weeks."

Slashdot | 55 Operating Systems On A PowerBook

Slashdot | 55 Operating Systems On A PowerBook: " found an article called 'Many Systems on One Machine' over at Kernelthread.com that shows over 55 operating systems running on a 17inch Powerbook. The article includes screenshots and descriptions of each system, and also hacks and tips on getting the nasty ones installed. The author Amit Singh (the Hanoimania guy, covered earlier on Slashdot) explains his reasons for all this in a related FAAQ (frequently asked anticipated questions) ... In all a very interesting read, specially the FAAQ, where he calls the setup 'the iPod of operating systems'. Now thats an Apple Power User! I wonder what Steve Jobs would say if he sees people doing such things to his machines!!"

Wired News: No, Really, You Can't Copy These

Wired News: No, Really, You Can't Copy These: "Philips Electronics said on Tuesday it was six months away from launching a system against illegal copying that will allow consumers to play digital video and music on any digital media player. "

John Squire back with concept album - NME.COM

John Squire back with concept album: "JOHN SQUIRE will release a new solo single and album in the new year."

Slashdot | Technology Quarterly: "There is an unusually interesting Technology Quarterly available for free from The Economist where they discuss some of the more interesting new areas in the area of science and technology. Of most interest to Slashdot might be Open source's local heroes, or perhaps playing Pac-Man on thought-controlled computers. Among the other articles this month: Predicting microweather, transparent magnetic memories, smart robotic transplants, how to bake the perfect chip, and Benoit Mandelbrot - the father of fractals."

Canada deems P2P downloading legal: "Downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks is legal in Canada, although uploading files is not, Canadian copyright regulators said in a ruling released Friday"

New P2p From RIAA Members: "A new file-sharing standard designed to distribute copyrighted music and movies legitimately has been developed by a technology consortium. The system could deliver any content format to any computer, and users might even earn rewards points for sharing the files. The Content Reference Forum (CRF), founded by Universal Music Group and backed by technology companies including Microsoft, released the first specifications for the standard this week."

OPSWARE INC. / On the record: Marc Andreessen

OPSWARE INC. / On the record: Marc Andreessen at the sfgate!!!

The Hello World Project

The Hello World Project: send a msg!!!

MacSlash | All-in-ones: Apple Vs. Gateway

MacSlash | All-in-ones: Apple Vs. Gateway: "The Mercury News has done a comparison of the iMac to Gateway's newest all-in-one computer, the 610XL. Surprisingly, the iMac WINS on price! The only place the Gateway wins is that it comes with a TV tuner and wireless networking by default. The iMac wins on almost every other option. (They compared 17' models. The 20' iMac is slightly more than the 17' Gateway. Gateway doesn't offer a 20' model.) At the end, they even discuss 'cheaper' models, with the 15' iMac winning over a cheaper flat panel Gateway, and the eMac winning over a CRT Gateway. Just goes to show you that Apple can be cheaper in the consumer market."

Slashdot | AT&T Wireless Fumbles Number Portability

Slashdot | AT&T Wireless Fumbles Number Portability: "The FCC is demanding that AT&T Wireless Services explain their number portability failures. Apparently, tens of thousands of customers are having their number portability requests delayed because of computer system problems at AT&T Wireless. Sadly, the FCC did not say they were going to be imposing fines for this breach of regulations yet but I'm sure that will follow if things don't improve quickly.' Reader (54)T-Dub adds: 'As many of you already reported on wed, there have been some pretty serious delays for people switching cellphone providers according to this NYTimes article (free reg required). Most notably former AT&T customers can expect to wait up to a week for their number to switch."

Slashdot | Buzz Advocates Lagrange Point Spaceport

Slashdot | Buzz Advocates Lagrange Point Spaceport: "Buzz Aldrin has an editorial in the New York Times (free reg req) advocating a spaceport at a Lagrange point between the Earth and the moon over simply more moon missions. He emphasizes the cost and practicality of such a station, as well its potential as a 'bridge to the heavens.'"

Slashdot | McBride's New Open Letter on Copyrights

Slashdot | McBride's New Open Letter on Copyrights: "An open letter was posted today by Darl McBride, where he restates his claim that the GPL violates the U.S. Constitution, patent laws, copyright laws, and the DMCA. Mostly he just builds up a false image of the Free Software Foundation and open source supporters claiming that they have no respect for intellectual property and believe copyrights should be eliminated, then attacks that image, AKA the straw man attack. Nothing we haven't seen before"

'Space Invaders' to alight on U.S. soil | CNET News.com

'Space Invaders' to alight on U.S. soil | CNET News.com: "Japanese game machine maker Taito said Friday that it plans to restart sales of 'Space Invaders' in the United States, almost 25 years after the video game first appeared in arcades."

:)

Google wants ruling on search trademark law | CNET News.com

Google wants ruling on search trademark law: "The Mountain View, Calif.-based company filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 24. It centers on a dispute with American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, an interior decor specialist, over the sale of keyword-advertising within search results that appear on Google and across the Web. American Blind has insisted that Google stop selling keyword phrases that the company claims violate its trademarks."

Slashdot | AOL's $299 PC

Slashdot | AOL's $299 PC: "Internet.com reports 'Looking to attract households that still aren't online, AOL is offering new customers a $299 PC system if they sign a one-year $23.90 dial-up Internet service contract.' A click through AOL's ecommerce site reveals the the specs as 1.7 GHz Celeron with 256 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, 56K modem, 10/100ethernet card, 17' monitor and Lexmark printer. The PC is running Windows XP, and includes 'AOL Office Powered by Sun'. Also of note is the fact that the $299 appears to be financed at around 22%. The math ( (12*23.90) 299 ) seems to suggest that you can get a $699 computer for $585.80 plus any finance charges. Setting aside the question of whether this is a good deal or not, one has to wonder whether AOL is desperate for new customers and resorting to bribery, or just progressing to the next step of branding. With this action AOL controls everything from the OS to the Word Processor to the web sites their customers browse."

sounds like a good deal!!!

Should ISP subscribers pay for P2P? | CNET News.com

Should ISP subscribers pay for P2P?: "A trade group representing Canadian songwriters and music publishers argued in front of that country's Supreme Court on Wednesday that ISPs should pay into a nationwide pool--similar to a tax now imposed on blank tapes and CDs--to compensate copyright holders for widespread music downloading. "

Nanotech bill gets Bush's approval: " President Bush approved a bill that will provide $3.7 billion to nanotechnology projects over four years. "

meet box here we come!!!

Slashdot | Economic Analysis of the Nanotech Future

Slashdot | Economic Analysis of the Nanotech Future: "Economic Historian and Berkeley Professor Brad DeLong has created an analysis on his Web Log on the economic implications of Nanotechnology. His observations are based on what previously happened with the Industrial Revolution (and other economic shifts in general) and using this to speculate what Nanotech will do to the economy: who wins (technical/knowledge workers), who loses (manufacturing), and what changes (costs of products)."

Slashdot | California Bans Genegineered Fish

Slashdot | California Bans Genegineered Fish: "California regulators have announced that they are blocking the sale of genetically engineered fish. The arguments of the regulators seem to echo some of those discussed earlier here."

no more glowing gold fish :( !!!

Slashdot | TunA and Socializing via MP3 Player: "Wired is carrying a story about a new program in development called TunA. It will allow you to view other users playlists on their MP3 Player and also stream the music to your Player. Works through WiFi so it limits to mostly laptops for now. "

sounds like itunes ;) !!!

Slashdot | Mame on the Nokia N-Gage: "The Nokia N-Gage has now joined the club of consoles for whom the excellent MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) was ported to. Staffan Ulfberg has ported EMame over to the N-Gage - the emulator supports a mass of games"

wahoooo, tron deadly disk handheld!!!

Jack White almost joins The Stooges: "The White Stripes star was in the frame for a collaboration after the garage legends reformed to play a number of tracks on frontman Iggy Pop's new album, 'Skull Ring'."

Spiritualized to release a second album of rarities : "Almost all of the 26 tracks are not available on any previous Spiritualized album, and date from 1995 to 2002, taking in the sessions immediately before this year's 'Amazing Grace'."

Slashdot | President Bush To Call For Return To Moon?: "According to the National Review: 'When President Bush delivers a speech recognizing the centenary of heavier-than-air-powered flight December 17, it is expected that he will proffer a bold vision of renewed space flight, with at its center a return to the moon, perhaps even establishment of a permanent presence there. If he does, it will mean that he has decided the United States should once again become a space-faring nation.' Here's hoping. The article also includes talk of nuclear engines and using the moon as a testbed for going to Mars."

Slashdot | Japanese Train Sets A Speed Record Of 581 kph: "Last night, on December 2, a high-speed Japanese train set a new record of 581 kph, breaking its own previous record. The new Maglev high speed had real passengers on board this time. They proved that the distance between Osaka and Tokyo can be covered in one hour's time. However, we wouldn't see real trains for a while now since the cost is prohibitively expensive at this time. However, they expect that the cost would come down over the next 20 years. This seems to be the future of transportation, at least in Japan. Here is a detailed article from The Japan Times."

Slashdot | Nanotechnology: Are Molecular Assemblers Possible?: "Two experts in the field of nanotechnology, K. Eric Drexler, Ph.D., cofounder of the Foresight Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., and the person who coined the term 'nanotechnology,' and Richard E. Smalley, Ph.D., a professor at Rice University and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, exchanged open letters about 'molecular assemblers' -- devices capable of positioning atoms and molecules for precisely defined reactions in almost any environment. These letters are making the -- long -- cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News. At the end of this rich exchange of four letters, they still disagree about the issue. Drexler thinks 'molecular assemblers' are possible while Smalley denies it. Who is right? Don't count on me to give an answer. This summary contains some forceful quotes from the original letters."

Group seeks political power for P2P | CNET News.com

Group seeks political power for P2P : "A new nonprofit organization aimed at welding file-swapping and open-source computing advocates into a political force is launching online this week. "

Ananova - Ballet featuring Radiohead may play in London : "Radiohead hope to play live when a ballet production they're providing music for comes to London."

Rotation Archive

Rotation Archive:
Clone Wars Micro Series
D4
Friendster
HeadPhoneRecord
Hüsker Dü
Red v Blue
Sigur Rós
The Beach Boys
The Clash
The Postal Service
Trail Of Dead
Transistor Lounge

Ananova - Marilyn Manson faces stage act criminal inquiry: "Marilyn Manson is under criminal investigation in Switzerland after a religious group made a formal complaint about his stage act."

Slashdot | Who Owns The Facts?: "With all of the furor over the Patriot Act a truly scary bill that expands the rights of corporations at the expense of individuals was quietly introduced into congress in October. In Feist v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co. the Supreme Court ruled that a mere collection of facts can't be copyrighted. But H.R. 3261, the Database and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act neatly sidesteps the copyright question and allows treble damages to be levied against anyone who uses information that's in a database that a corporation asserts it owns. This is an issue that crosses the political spectrum. Left-leaning organizations like the American Library Association oppose the bill and so do arch-conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly, who wrote an impassioned column exposing the bill for what it is the week after it was introduced."

Sony ships blue laser optical drives: "Sony Electronics on Monday said it is shipping blue laser-based optical storage drives and related products to equipment manufacturers and system integrators. The new Professional Disc for Data products include media cartridges that store up to 23GB of data, Sony said. The new devices should appeal to customers seeking more capacity than is possible with 9.1GB magneto-optical discs, according to Sony. Magneto-optical discs are used in drives that feature both a laser and a magnetic read-write head. Sony said its new technology is ideal for applications such as document and medical imaging, e-mail archiving and multimedia projects"

IKEA: super dope site!!!

Sony Global - QRIO

QRIO: abio's human :)

Slashdot | Will TiVo Destroy Ad-Supported TV?: "According to a column in Television Week, the increasing popularity of digital video recorders will actually cause a decline in ad revenues in the next few years. 'The rollout of DVR-type technology ... will reach critical mass with 11 percent penetration of U.S. television households by 2005 and 15 percent by 2006...As a result, five-year earnings growth for TV station groups could fall from as much as 10 percent to as low as 4 percent.' Why? DVR users skip at least two-thirds of commercials and the 'collective impact represents a threat to revenue and cash flow growth that cannot be offset ... Fifteen percent DVR penetration implies that 9.1 percent of all ads would not be watched and that advertisers would be overpaying by 9.1 percent, or $6.6 billion as calculated from projected 2006 total ad revenues of $72 billion.' And another business model goes down in flames."

REDCAT: The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater

REDCAT: The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater @ Walt Disney Concert Hall!!!

The Darkness | Men What Do Rock, Baby

just saw The Darkness on mtv europe's awards show. oh my god!!! these fuckers are amazing!!!

Slashdot | Lost Disney Rides Recreated in CGI: "Disney closes the rides, but the CGI geeks love them too much to let them disappear. 'Adventures thru Inner Space,' the Disneyland ride in which you shrunk down to the size of a molecule, ran from 1967 to 1985. Atommobiles.com is a fan site which includes this elaborate CGI recreation. The Walt Disney World version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride closed in 1967. Virtual Toad is in the process of re-building it.' I was born after 1967, and I've ridden MTWR many times, so perhaps they're talking about an older version."

Red vs Blue: dope!!!

Online Status Indicator for AIM, ICQ, Jabber, MSN and Yahoo: "is a service that lets you put a small image on a web page to show if you are online on AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Jabber, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. Use the default icons or create your own status icons."

JavaScrypt: Browser-Based Cryptography Tools: "JavaScrypt runs entirely in your browser--nothing is sent to any Web site when you use it. You can, if you wish, download JavaScrypt to your own computer and use it when not connected to the Internet. "

Slashdot | Economics of File-Sharing: "The Red Herring's got an article by me about the economics of file-sharing, which argues that the music industry should provide insurance...against itself. This is because the contract listeners sign with labels is risky - it lets labels shirk on their end of the bargain. That's why file-sharing isn't just 'theft', it's risk-sharing. The original, longer, version of the paper is here, which argues that this a situation economists call double moral hazard."

The Shower Project

The Shower Project: just briliant!!!

Scotch v Whiskey: learn all you ever didn't want to know :)

Mutant mice chill out on ecstasy: "Mice that lack a key protein stay cool after ingesting ecstasy1. Therapies to treat potentially fatal overheating associated with the club drug may follow."

wonder if these bloskers can be added to a mdma dose?!?

Slashdot | MPAA, RIAA Seek Permanent Antitrust Exemption: "Webcasters sued RIAA two months ago in an antitrust case for anti-competitive behavior. The response? An exemption from antitrust laws. Today's Register tells about RIAA/MPAA's efforts to get just such an exemption written into law. They could become permanently exempt from such a suit, if the bill passes. They snuck it into a bill sponsored by Orrin Hatch called EnFORCE Act (Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003). Orrin Hatch says this bill contains 'First... an antitrust exemption in the Copyright Act [for] record companies and music publishers' Why? Because of 'market realities.' Which ones? The 12-year-old girl? The 15-year-old girl? Or the 66-year-old Grandma with a Mac?"

Slashdot | MPAA Sued Over DVD Screener Ban: "Fourteen small movie houses are suing the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) trying to stop the ban on DVD 'screeners'. 'It will chill the financing of independent films by limiting the awards they can receive', say the plaintiffs, who include Talking Wall Pictures, Sandcastle 5 Productions and Salty Features. They feel they are being treated differently because several 'specialty' indy film shops are still allowed to send out 'numbered, encoded videocassettes' to Oscar voters. This ban was issued by MPAA President Jack Valenti initially to stop the illegal distribution of DVD screeners on the Internet."

Wired News: Congress Expands FBI Spying Power: "A provision of an intelligence spending bill will expand the power of the FBI to subpoena business documents and transactions from a broader range of businesses -- everything from libraries to travel agencies to eBay -- without first seeking approval from a judge. "

Test Your Digital IQ: see how you stack up. thx tree for the link on your blog!

i got a 160 but it think it mis scored atleast 2 questions. i was going to point it out to the authors but they seem to have no email link. eithter they don't like criticism or have low digital iqs!!!

:: Douglas Rushkoff and PsychicTV : The next incarnation of PsychicTV - PTV3 - will debut at the Coral Room in NYC on December 5. According to the press release:

"The line-up ov PTV3 is Douglas Rushkoff, Lady Jaye, Electric Eddie, Isaiah Singer,Alice Genese, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. With video sculptures presented by HONEYGUN LABS, and live sound mixed by Scott Reiter. This event is cosponsored by BBgun Magazine whose new issue features Breyer P-Orridge and Psychic TV ideas. With host Lyle Derek,deejay sets by Nick from the YEAH YEAH YEAHS and more."

what ever happened to fred? good luck kids we missed you!!!

Recycling TV Ads: "According to this article in the Denver Post a young entrepreneur has gotten into the business of recycling junked TV commercials for clients with low budgets. TV ads cost anywhere between $50,000 and $1 million and small businesses usually cannot afford an original production. The company, Thought Equity, wipes off all references to the earlier company and makes the junked commerical ready for reselling with a price tag less than $10,000. Also businesses that want their ads on the air as soon as possible are approaching the company seeking recycled ads because producing original ads takes time."

New Supersonic Jet Test Less Than Successful: "The BBC is reporting in this story that the first test of Japan's supersonic jet didn't go quite as planned when it crashed into the ground seconds after takeoff on its test rig. It looks like a successor to the world's only supersonic passenger jet, Concorde (built jointly by the British and French in the 1960s) is still some way off.' Reuters has more pictures.

word!

Decoding the Algorithm for Pop Music: "Over at Modplug, they have an article describing a mathematical algorithm to predict if a given song will become a hit or not. Paraphrasing the article, a Spanish company called Polyphonic HMI has made a business out of analyzing song submissions and predicting their 'hitability'. Here's their description of the algorithm and here's their FAQ. They claim to have predicted the commercial success of Norah Jones through this method. Here's my question (which is not fully answered in their FAQ): if they (music company executives) are currently using the algorithm to screen submissions for their 'hitability', can we (people who listen to music) use the same algorithm to reject recycled tunes and encourage originality? I for one, still like the fresh talent and community feel of the tracking scene."

the other day my professor said no one has "ears" and there are not "hitmen" but masybe there are they just go by the names of asciq, big mac, and deep blue!!!

The Register

DVD Jon Unlocks iTunes' Locked Music: "Jon Lech Johansen, better known as DVD Jon for his authorship of the DeCSS decryption software, has turned his attention to Apple's locked music format."

it appears jon has created a stream ripper / audio hijack like program that while saving removes all drm header info. for now the program is not entirely useful becase resulting files can't be played without a valid header, but as a proof of concept it is interesting. the theory, i guess, is that one could build such an application that writes the new unprotected file with out a header containing drm and instead replaces it with a valid header without drm.

seems to not bode well for the idea of locked files of anykind let alone music!!!

Vivendi to Destroy MP3.com archive: " Vivendi Universal recently sold the MP3.com domain to CNET. That in and of itself is a yawner. MP3.com doesn't really fit the Vivendi profit model, so it's understandable that they're dumping it. Why this matters is they're not selling the archive, containing more than a million songs by 250,000 artists. As of December 3rd, they're destroying it."

RIAA Threatens 15-Year-Old: "It looks like the RIAA is still going after teenagers--this time, 15-year old Megan Dickinson was caught sharing 1,100 files. At the maximum statutory damages for copyright infringement, this makes Megan's liability at least $825,000, at most a mere $165,000,000. Naturally, the RIAA benevolently offered a $3,500 settlement to avoid these moderate, legally sanctioned damages. As we can hardly forget, the RIAA has already used this technique to settle with a 12 year old. Megan's unsurprising take: 'Yeah, it seems ridiculous.'"

iPod-Jacked: "In a story on Wired, entitled Feel Free to Jack Into My iPod, an iPod owner shares experiences he has had with other iPod owners, namely the plugging of his headphones into a stranger's jack. It began when a woman in her 30's walked up to him while he was on a walk, unplugged her headphone jack from her iPod, and motioned for him to plug his in. They then listened to each other's music for about 30 seconds. He has then shared with about a dozen iPod listeners, with most of the strangers reciprocating. According to the article, the practice has also cropped up in other communities. Listeners acquire tastes for different kinds of music, just like on internet/LAN file sharing networks. An interesting read."