] WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 — North Korea has restarted a reactor
] at its primary nuclear complex, American intelligence
] officials said today. Over time, the reactor could
] provide a continuing source of plutonium for nuclear
] weapons.

Reactor Started in North Korea, U.S. Concludes

Decius wrote:
] bucy wrote:
] ] Looks like its official: Cartoon Network will start airing
] ] .hack//sign this Saturday at 3:00pm. I've heard about this
] ] anime but haven't had a chance to see any of it yet. Looks
] ] like it should be cool.
]
] Do you guys have a better link for this? This is just a show
] schedual. I don't know what the show is about!

dothack.com

RE: .hack//sign to air on Cartoon Network

] A bold effort to deregulate the local telephone industry
] was disconnected today when the Federal Communications
] Commission rejected a proposal put forth by Chairman
] Michael Powell. The 3-2 vote in favor of a rival plan was
] a defeat for the Baby Bell local phone monopolies and
] their biggest backer, Mr. Powell.

Disconnect at the FCC (TechNews.com)

Looks like its official: Cartoon Network will start airing
.hack//sign this Saturday at 3:00pm. I've heard about this
anime but haven't had a chance to see any of it yet. Looks
like it should be cool.

.hack//sign to air on Cartoon Network

] The U.S. government is supporting a move to a new
] standard designed to create a single point of contact for
] telephone and Internet communications.
]
] The new electronic numbering system, also known as ENUM,
] would give consumers a single number for all their
] telephone numbers, e-mail and instant messaging
] addresses, fax numbers and mobile phone numbers.

U.S. Backs New System for Net, Phone Numbering

] WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 — House and Senate negotiators have agreed that ] a Pentagon project intended to detect terrorists by monitoring
] Internet e-mail and commercial databases for health, financial
] and travel information cannot be used against Americans.

Yay ... Congress is realizing that TIA is bad and having Poindexter
running it is even worse.

Conferees in Congress Bar Using a Pentagon Project on Americans

Just finished Pynchon's Vineland and
Barabasi's Linked

Pynchon is brilliant. I'm also working on Gravity's Rainbow which is a lot less accessible. I enjoyed Vineland. I often found myself laughing out loud at some of the incredibly perverse notions he drops along the way. I didn't read too deeply into it but wouldn't be suprised if the whole thing was a fable about hippy-ism, etc, between the 60s and the 80s...

Linked was an interesting, fairly light look at the evolving science of networks -- computer, human, financial or otherwise. Its really interesting that all of these things seem -- at first glance, anyway -- to have similar structure. Lots of pointers to the literature if nothing else.

Still in progress:

Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon)
The Cichlid Fishes (Barlow)

To buy (or not):

Daniel Dennett has a new book out. I've found him to be pretty agreeable in the past but he seems to want to give us free will in this one. I'm skeptical.

There's the new Gibson novel.

Hunter Thompson has new book as well. Looks to be part autobiographical and part commentary on 9/11, etc, etc.

Bruce Sterling has a new book out. Another "history of the future" or something ... wank wank.

The world just keeps getting stranger and stranger...

Vatican OKs Harry Potter

Can we say "selective denial of service?"

Swiss town leads way with Internet vote

HP Monday unmasked the latest iteration of its inherited AlphaServer line, which includes the most powerful machine of the former Compaq family to date.

Alpha's not dead yet