] Rocket plane SpaceShipOne reached an altitude above 62.5
] miles (100 km) during its brief flight Monday morning,
] making it the first privately built craft to fly in
] space, controllers said.

Yay!

CNN.com - Private craft flies into space - Jun 21, 2004

] Unlicensed spectrum is different. In addition to all the
] regulatory complexities, there is an enormous
] philosophical change being proposed here. Because of
] advances in wireless technology, what spectrum is, at
] least in a regulatory setting, has been transformed, and
] the FCC is being asked to ratify that transformation.
]
] The key thing about the regulation of "spectrum" is that
] it isn't really about spectrum at all, but about the
] technology for transmitting and receiving wireless
] signals. The weakness being avoided by regulation --
] interference -- doesn't actually exist in the real world.

Found this blog linked off of lessig.org.

The Philosopher's Stone of Spectrum

] WASHINGTON -- Digital radio broadcasts that bring
] CD-quality sound to the airwaves could lead to unfettered
] song copying if protections are not put in place, a
] recording-industry trade group warned on Friday.

Sigh ... here's the "broadcast flag" for digital radio...

Wired News: RIAA Moves In on Digital Radio

Decius wrote:
] ] by Kurt Vonnegut
] ]
] ] Many years ago, I was so innocent I still considered it
] ] possible that we could become the humane and reasonable
] ] America so many members of my generation used to dream
] ] of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great
] ] Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought
] ] and often died for that dream during the Second World
] ] War, when there was no peace.
] ]
] ] But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of
] ] America's becoming humane and reasonable. Because
] ] power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts
] ] absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy
] ] drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are
] ] power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the
] ] morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle
] ] East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot
] ] to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like
] ] toys a rich kid got for Christmas
]
] (No, I don't "agree" with this essay. But it is Kurt Vonnegut.
] And it is entertaining.)

Agreed.

RE: Cold Turkey

] Nonetheless, an economic analysis of domain name policy
] has an important, indeed a crucial role to play. The
] Internet has been mythologized, and the image of the
] Internet as a separate realm, somehow exempt from legal
] regulation and the operation of market forces is still a
] powerful and compelling ideal in the minds of many.
] Although this romantic picture may have an element of
] truth, there is much to be learned by stepping back and
] looking at root service as an ordinary service, provided
] by an ordinary organization, subject to the familiar laws
] of supply and demand. How can the provision of that
] service be organized so as to provide the greatest
] benefit of the public? How can the root be put to its
] highest and best use?
]
] Our answers to these questions begin with a basic truth
] about the DNS: The Root Is a Scarce Resource

I'm going to have to think about this more -- I don't think
I agree with their conclusions -- but it is interesting to see
someone trying to analyze these namespace issues economically.

An Economic Analysis of Domain Name Policy - Part I

]
] Both Berners-Lee and and Vixie have contributed mightily
] to the internet; they have deservedly accumulated
] enormous techno-karma.
]
] But no matter how many karma points they may have, they
] are repeating the behavior that turned the innovative
] telephone companies of the early 20th century into the
] stodgy telcos that fought competition and innovation at
] every turn from the early 1900's up through the 1970's.

Techies Wanna Do Policy

One thing that would immediately lower gas prices in this country
is if the EPA would impose a single, nationwide fuel blend. As
it stands, there are at least a hundred different such blends
required by different state and local pollution control laws.

This creates the obvious "partitioned-supply" problem that you
inevitably end up with too much of the one you don't need and
not enough of some other.

I expect that even if the most stringent (California?) standard were put in place that it would end up being cheaper for almost everyone and the people for whom its more expensive (Iowa?) would pay a very small premium. I think the Saudis have even told us as much!

RE: How high will gasoline prices go? Maybe $3 How high will gasoline prices go? Maybe $3

] WASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission
] (FCC) has proposed that wireless devices and wireless
] broadband providers be able to operate in unused bands of
] broadcast television spectrum.

On first glance, it sounds like the FCC is trying to do something
useful here... though given their track record of screwing
things up, I'm skeptical.

InfoWorld: FCC proposes that unused TV spectrum goes to wireless: May 14, 2004: By : NETWORKING : STANDARDS : WIRELESS

] The United States faces a major shortage of scientists
] because too few Americans are entering technical fields
] and because international competition is heating up for
] bright foreigners who once filled the gap, a federal
] panel warned Tuesday.

National Science Panel Warns of Far Too Few New Scientists

] As early as this summer, rockets hidden in silos near
] this wind-swept town will give the nation its first
] operating defense against intercontinental ballistic
] missiles since the 1970's.

This Time It's Real: An Antimissile System Takes Shape