With dmv and my departures from Pittsburgh in the no-longer-so-distant future, we've come to the last installment of Total Information Awareness in its current incarnation.

Listen at www.wrct.org -- 6:00pm edt. Call us: 412-621-WRCT.

] Two small explosions went off in a large cement planter
] outside a building housing the British Consulate on Third
] Avenue in Midtown Manhattan early today, causing some
] property damage but no injuries.

Small Explosives Go Off Outside British Consulate in Manhattan

]
] The Fish and Game Commission, the wildlife regulatory
] body, in an effort to curb animal hunting over the
] Internet, has instructed the Department of Fish and Game
] to urgently draw up rules banning the sport, bypassing
] the three-year cycle usually followed for reviewing
] hunting regulations. The development follows a Texan Web
] site%u2019s offer of firing at real animals through mouse
] clicks.

Ban proposed on online hunting

] The Federal Trade Commission has charged a Utah-based
] company, five related corporations, and three individuals
] operating as a common enterprise with making numerous
] false and unsubstantiated claims for weight-loss and
] fat-loss gels and supplements. The complaint focuses on
] six of the respondents%u2019 heavily promoted products:
] Dermalin, Cutting Gel, and Tummy Flattening Gel (topical
] fat-loss gels with the same active ingredient); Leptoprin
] and Anorex (identical weight-loss supplements for
] %u201Csignificantly overweight%u201D people which
] contained ECA [ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin], an
] additional patented ingredient and calcium); and
] PediaLean (a glucomannan weight-loss supplement for
] children). In an administrative complaint announced
] today, the FTC alleges that the respondents violated the
] FTC Act by making unsubstantiated fat and weight loss
] claims, false claims that clinical testing proves certain
] efficacy claims, and false claims that Daniel B. Mowrey,
] Ph.D, is a medical doctor.

Having seen the commercial for "Leptoprin" dozens of times
on late night TV, I just had to know what was up... nice
to see the feds going after these people for once.

Ads for Various Diet Supplements and Topical Gels Don't Cut the Fat, Says the FTC

] Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope today, taking
] the name Benedict XVI, after the tolling of bells rang
] out over St. Peter's square and white smoke drifted from
] a Sistine Chapel chimney signaling that the cardinals
] meeting for a second day had chosen a new leader of the
] Roman Catholic Church.

Super conservative. At least he's way old -- he turned 78 just recently.

Cardinals Elect Joseph Ratzinger as New Pope

] There are about 10 million blogs out there, give or take,
] including one belonging to Niall Kennedy, an employee at
] Technorati, a small San Francisco-based company that,
] yes, tracks blogs.

When the Blogger Blogs, Can the Employer Intervene?

] The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider whether a
] church in New Mexico can continue using hallucinogenic
] tea in its religious services.

Supreme Court to Hear Case About Hallucinogenic Tea

RMS likes to play the recorder for parrots.

More RMS Parrots

] This week I met Irene Pepperberg and Alex, the African
] gray parrot that she has taught to understand and use a
] large number of words.

RMS gave a talk at Pitt yesterday. He mentioned his interest
in meeting parrots and asked the audience if anyone had a parrot that would like to meet him afterwards. This seemed more than slightly batty and I decided to look into the matter further...

RMS' Blog: Conversation with a Parrot (2005-01-05)

] For a quick and entertaining look at the benefit that perpendicular
] recording delivers, view our animation “Get Perpendicular”

And I may end up working for these people...

Hitachi Perpendicular Recording