"I don't think the report is true, but these crises work for those who want to make fights between people." Kulam Dastagir, 28, a bird seller in Afghanistan
50 years after On the Road
Topic: Literature
3:29 pm EDT, Sep 20, 2007
A telling moment comes at the end of the segment, when Kerouac turns to Sanders and declares, “Say, Ed, I was arrested two weeks ago. And the arresting policeman said, ‘I’m arresting you for decay.’” There’s a flash of cognitive dissonance: Did he really just say that? The crowd laughs, but it’s an edgy laughter, tempered by the shock of Kerouac’s self-awareness, by the sense that they’ve just caught a glimpse behind the curtain.
I'd nominate Kerouac as the patron saint of MemeStreams.
In this free contest, your task is to design a poster for PhreakNIC, an educational conference held in October of each year. For more information see the website.
A Phreaknic poster contest at Worth1000. That is so cool. This makes me very happy!
This Is Your (Father’s) Brain on Drugs - New York Times
Topic: Miscellaneous
5:43 pm EDT, Sep 18, 2007
What experts label “adolescent risk taking” is really baby boomer risk taking. It’s true that 30 years ago, the riskiest age group for violent death was 15 to 24. But those same boomers continue to suffer high rates of addiction and other ills throughout middle age, while later generations of teenagers are better behaved. Today, the age group most at risk for violent death is 40 to 49, including illegal-drug death rates five times higher than for teenagers.
President Bush would like to see some form of universal health coverage for all Americans before leaving office next year, a Cabinet official said Monday.
But, Mr. Leavitt said, the president would "like to see the larger debate begin" regarding health care - an emerging issue in the next election.
"The very best opportunity we have may well be in the next 15 months," he said.
Mr. Bush's intentions come on the heels of a universal health care plan offered Monday by Democratic presidential contender Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Are they completely delusional at the White House? If universal health care is something the Bush administration truly cares about, they missed the ball. There is zero chance of them making it a reality in 15 months.
This IS odd. Leavitt was attributed but not directly quoted. Possibilities:
1. Leavitt did not actually say that. 2. If you are going to veto money for sick children, you better overshadow it with something, or its drop dead easy for people to paint you as a bastard. They aren't serious. 3. Republican negotiators believe that the Democrats will have complete control of the government after '08 and feel the time is now to get this done when they are in a position to veto it rather than in 3 years when they have no influence over the situation. 4. Just like the immigration plan, the Bush administration actually sees this as the right answer, and also thinks it is political suicide in America regardless of which party does it, mostly because Rush Limbaugh has too much influence. Seeing as his popularity is in the hole he is willing to take this bullet too. Better to fix this now than in 6 or more years.
I'm actually leaning toward 4 unless this completely falls off the radar screen. The problem is that much like the immigration issue the people have been so brainwashed with bullshit that they will see this move as completely insane. They won't understand how to fit it into the framework the pundits have constructed for them and their will react very negatively toward it as a result.
The basic problem that our government faces today is that the people with numbers who are actually thinking about how to solve problems have been completely overshadowed in the public mind by people whose primary goal is to be entertaining.
This crack security staff was digging through my bag. They were concerned because I brought a microcontroller programmer:
“Sir, this is an improvised electronic device. You will never be allowed to fly with this.”
Apparently TSA says you can't fly with any custom electronics. Well, TSA doesn't actually say that, but arbitrarily TSA agents are free to decide that. Better not express disagreement. You might get tasered.
The Independent Florida Alligator: News - UF student Tasered at Kerry forum
Topic: Miscellaneous
9:49 am EDT, Sep 18, 2007
A UF student was shot with a Taser gun today at a campus forum with U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Andrew Meyer, a telecommunication senior, yelled out to Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and insisted his questions be answered while police tried to restrain him. Steven Blank, Accent’s chairman, said Meyer was cut off because he used profanity and his question was too long. When police moved him away, Meyer resisted and began to yell out to the audience, asking "What did I do? What am I being arrested for?"
More use of pain compliance on nonthreatening people who disagree with police.
WiiToMidi - Wii Controller to MIDI interface for Mac OS X
Topic: Miscellaneous
9:28 am EDT, Sep 18, 2007
WiiToMidi allows you to convert signals from a Nintendo Wii controller to MIDI signals. It is a Cocoa application for Mac OS X and uses the DarwiinRemote WiiRemote framework to decode Wii controller signals. It also supports the Nunchuk controller.
