Your Moment of Cat Zen

Here it is, your Moment of Cat Zen Cat Zen Images courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

The End of Commercial Aviation?

The New Republic has an interesting article discussing the possible demise of the commercial aviation industry.

Early signs of an aviation apocalypse are already upon us. As oil prices flirt with $130 per barrel and the dollar struggles, airlines are paying nearly 80 percent more for fuel than they did a year ago. Twenty-five airlines have gone belly-up this year--three to four times the usual yearly rate. Major carriers like American, Northwest, and United, still reeling from the industry downturn after September 11, go barely a month without announcing layoffs and capacity cuts.

I've always been of the opinion that the market will force someone to create a better product. In this case, I'm expecting to see all electric airplanes (in 10 years?), biodiesel fuled planes, or maybe even solar powered planes.

Another Judge With Good Sense

Yet another judge has ruled that online websites such as Veoh are not guilty of copyright infringement for videos uploaded by its users. The judge ruled the DMCA's safe harbor protect sites such as Veoh. An adult video entertainment firm, Io, brought the lawsuit. IO was upset that Veoh's users kept uploading clips from its films. As the judge noted, Veoh followed all the rules necessary under the DMCA to avoid liability, although this doesn't mean that the individuals doing the uploading aren't liable. Google is very happy over the outcome of this case, noting: "It is great to see the Court confirm that the DMCA protects services like YouTube that follow the law and respect copyrights."

Your Moment of Cat Zen

Here it is, your Moment of Cat Zen Cat Zen Images courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Do We Need a National CTO?

TechDirt starts us off with:

The 463 blog points us to an interview with Mitch Kapor of Lotus and EFF fame, in which he makes the case for a national Chief Technology Officer. The idea seems to be that technology policy in the United States is currently fragmented among a bunch of different positions, and having a designated top technologist in the government would help to bring coherence to the nation's technology policy. It sounds like a reasonable idea at first blush, but on closer examination it might create more problems than it solves.

While the TechDirt author seems to think this is not a good idea, I am going to have to respectfully disagree. I think this is exactly what we need. A National CTO would not give guidance and counsel on technology, but could accelerate our technology usage. Some good reasons for having a National CTO include: 1) Standardize technology in schools 2) Standardize technology in government agencies 3) Create policies that require Police/Fire/Paramedics to have the same radio euipment and use the same frequencies (something the DHS is still failing to do) 4) Upgrade out of date systems in the FBI, CIA, DHS etc 5) Eliminate proprietary, in-house software/hardware systems Can you tell I like standards?

Your Moment of Cat Zen

Here it is, your Moment of Cat Zen Cat Zen Images courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Four Firefox Extensions to Hack Google

So, I did a little digging, and found some great Firefox extensions for hacking Google: 1) SEO for Firefox SEO for Firefox adds additional links after each search result that can tell you the keywords of a site, cache history, domain age, and so much more. In all, about 20-25 additional links. You can toggle this display on/off easily by clicking in the taskbar. 2) GoogleEnhancer GoogleEnhancer enhances Google results by adding numbers, keyword highlighting and icons. 3) GooglePreview Inserts preview images (thumbnails) of web sites and amazon.com and .de products into the Google and Yahoo search results pages. The GooglePreview thumbnail system currently consists of 8 dedicated servers and generates 7 TB of traffic per month. 4) CustomizeGoogle CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhance Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). All features are optional and easily configured.

From BBSpot - Top 11 Changes After Kids Go Back to School

Top 11 Changes After Kids Go Back to School.... My favorites are: 11. With kids at school, you only have to worry about ceiling cat watching you. 8. Can make kids do homework so you can play video games uninterrupted at night. 6. Can watch Nova and Nova Science Now without being asked questions you don't know the answers to. 3. Can finally get some sun by driving the kids to school. My choice goes to number 8 :D

Your Moment of Cat Zen

And now, your Moment of Cat Zen Cat Zen Images courtesy of: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

NewEgg Tells New York - "Make Me"

I love NewEgg. It's my number one site to shop for computer parts, software, etc. If you remember not too long ago, New York state had passed a highly questionable law designed to force e-commerce retailers to collect sales tax in the state. As you hopefully know, retailers are only supposed to collect sales tax in states where they have a physical presence. Different retailers reacted differently. Amazon and Overstock sued - Overstock even banned NY affiliates while the law is in effect. But, NewEgg is doing something different. It sounds as if NewEgg is daring NY to sue them:

As a result of recent changes in New York State tax law requiring certain out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales taxes to the State of New York, we began collecting applicable sales tax for all orders shipped to New York addresses starting June 1, 2008. After careful review and consideration, we are pleased to inform you that we have stopped collecting New York sales tax, effective August 21, 2008. This decision was driven by your direct and candid feedback and our continued commitment to you as our valued customers.

Yeah! You go NewEgg. You da man

Your Moment of Cat Zen

Monday's Moment of Cat Zen:

Mmmm... Smells Like Science

For all you science and chemistry nuts/geeks out there, the University of Knottingham's Chemistry Department has created a very cool website with videos on the elements of the periodic table. These videos are just the right length of time (2-4 minutes), and are very fun to watch. I'm about halfway though the table. Enjoy. http://www.periodicvideos.com

Your Moment of Cat Zen

Here it is, your moment of cat zen:

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Fourth Amendment

The Washington Times reports that Congress is set to give the FBI powers to ignore the Fourth Amendment. First, custom officials can confiscate your laptop and other electronic gear without cause, DHS has the power to do warrantless wiretaps, and now this?!? WTF? When did the US become like Nazi Germany?

Nigerian Official Blames The Victims Of Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Scams

From TechDirt:

It still amazes us that people still fall for so-called Nigerian advance-fee 419 scam emails. I'd actually noticed that I'd stopped getting such emails offering me millions for helping smuggle gold out of the country, but in the last week there's been a new bunch of them -- and apparently people still fall for them. According to a Nigerian diplomat in Australia, he's just as amazed, and thus thinks the victims are equally to blame and deserve jailtime. He claims that the government "frowns" on these scams, and spends plenty of time trying to track down the scammers -- but we've been reporting on Nigerian gov't claims for years and years and they never seem to get very far in stopping the scammers. But, still, he claims that the victims are equally at fault.

Read the full article here: Nigerian Official Blames The Victims Of Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Scams

When advice... isn't

I'm scanning through the advice columns as I do every weekend (I'm too buys during the week). I generally like to see how the advisors respond, and weigh my own opinion with theirs. Sometimes I make a game of it and try to guess how they will respond, before I read the advice. Today was a little let down for me, though. I think Dear Abby dropped the ball. Here's the post in question:

DEAR ABBY: I am a 13-year-old girl. My parents own a small business, and I have to work there every day. The only time I get to see my friends is at school or if they visit me. I know my parents are trying to protect me, but I think I'm old enough to take care of myself. They promise that if I do my chores I can go see my friends, but after I have finished, they change their minds.

I think they are trying to keep me from having a normal lifestyle. Please help me. -- CAGED BIRD IN SACRAMENTO

The first thing I thought was maybe this girl is a trouble maker, or she's having problems at school. But then, I notice she says, "They promise that if I do my chores I can go see my friends, but after I have finished, they change their minds". So, basically, it seems her parents are lying to her. Obviously, we don't know for sure. We only have her side of the story, but now I'm agreeing with her that the parents may be a little too overprotective.

Now, Dear Abby's response starts off good. Read the response and see if you notice anything:

DEAR CAGED BIRD: Do your parents know and approve of your friends? Do they know their parents? Do they know where you will be going, how you will get there and back, and whether there will be supervision? Are they confident they can trust your word and that you will be back when you say you will be?

If the answer to these questions is "yes," then I agree, your parents are being overprotective. And further, it is wrong of them to make a promise to you and then break it. After all, trust works both ways.

The response starts off with good questions. And I agree with Abby, if the girl can say "yes" to all the questions, then it is probably that her parents are overprotective. But, did you notice that Abby doesn't actually give any advice? WTF? My response to Caged Bird would be very similar to Abby's, but I would end with this:

Speak to your school counselor, a trusted teacher, a family friend, or your clergy person. Explain the situation to them. Ask them to speak with your parents and explain how they are actually hurting you by not breaking their word to you and by not allowing you social time.