Almost didn't recommend it until I saw this in the Alerts box:

Your browser does not support ambient alpha wave memestreams. Concentrate here to upgrade.

The Onion 2056

I just updated MemeStreams. There are so many changes, its challenging to come up with a list. There are several major ones, and hundreds of little ones. This is the largest update to the site we have made in a very long time. The bulk of the update has to do with internal workings of the site, but there are a number of things that effect users.

* New Session Handling

All the sections of the site's code that handle cookies and user logins have been changed. This means that everyone will have to login again. There are numerous reasons for this change.

We are not doing much right now to track how you use the site that we have not already been doing, but the current changes are going to allow us to start doing much more. As we continue to improve the site, we will start collecting log information for user pages and make it available for viewing. Examples of this would be how many people read your weblog, view your profile, etc.

We take privacy concerns very seriously, and privacy rights factors heavily into what type of information we log and how we log it. We are not trying to be big brother. We take your right to privacy as seriously as we take our own. The purpose of our cookie tracking is to identify unique users of the site. That information is statistically valuable, and in our implementation it is kept as anonymous as tracking it at all allows. Whatever information we collect is somehow used to empower the users of MemeStreams, not take advantage of you.

User sessions with MemeStreams are now more secure. We have not had a problem with user accounts being hijacked, but its significantly harder to do now. In the future, secure logins will be available, ensuring that you can safely use your account from public and/or "untrusted" networks. (Donations to pay for a SSL certificate are welcome.)

* HTML/CSS Improvements

The use of HTML and CSS in MemeStreams has been on the verge of criminally insane. I can't think of much else to say about it then that. It was really, really bad.

If you evaluated our current HTML/CSS usage, there are still problems even after this update. However, the improvement is massive. Whatever browser you are using, you will see an improvement. IE in particular..

Neither Decius or I use Internet Explorer. We don't catch the subtle problems ourselves. We QA for IE, but not as much as we'd like to. Most of the site's frequent users don't use Internet Explorer either. Well... At least no one who ever complains about problems with the site uses IE. You IE people are damn silent. I personally theorize that users who use Windows are used to getting screwed on a constant basis and just accept a broken website, since they already have a broken computer. We never hear anything out of you. Its possible this has been because the site has barely worked in IE, although I prefer my theory. That aside, if you have problems with the site in Internet Expl... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ]

MemeStreams Site Update: Summer Solstice

This is an interesting read. It tells me more about the RPC then the ICRC. Technically, its not in US interests to fund a policy group, particularly if that group opposes us on a lot of issues.

Frankly, the emphasis on the Nazi comment is whiney and transparently disengenuous. Mom, she called me a Nazi. No, Mom, I was being perfectly reasonable. She started it. Make her stop.

I'd much rather hear the RPC explain how they think non-state military actors ought to be considered in international law rather then complaining that people want them to have full Geneva status. How do YOU think it should be handled is an appropriate question that will not be answered.

Republicans vs the Red Cross

As an introduction to this bit of research, let me present a short quote from the cult cartoon show Futurama (episode [2ACV12] “The Deep South“) in which one of the characters, Fry, tries to engage in “maritals” with a mutant mermaid:

“Umbriel: What the hell is that?
Fry: Yeah I’m a little confused too. How do I… y’now…with the tail and all.
Umbriel: I’m not your first am I? I mean, I lay my eggs and leave and you release your fertiliser.
[Scene: Outside Colonel’s House. Fry runs away from the house at top speed.]
Fry (gasping): Why couldn’t she be the other type of mermaid, with the fish part on top and the lady part on the bottom?”

This is a really interesting look at the evolution of the Starbucks Logo. I had no idea...

Deadprogrammer's Cafe: How the Starbucks Siren Became Less Naughty

Sen. Hillary Clinton, that weathervane of modern Democratic Party politics, complained about video games in March: "Probably one of the biggest complaints I've heard is about some of the video games, particularly 'Grand Theft Auto,' which has so many demeaning messages about women and so encourages violent imagination and activities and it scares parents."

It's no surprise, then, that Clinton and other like-minded senators (Democrat Joe Lieberman, Republican Rick Santorum) are behind a bill to spend $90 million in tax dollars on a study looking at the "impact" of video games and other "electronic media" on minors.

I just don't understand what the hell the Democratic party's "position" on the First Amendment is. On the one hand, they handily defend the National Endowment for the Arts when they use my money to make publically available works that some people find offensive, and yet on the other hand they stand opposed to allowing ME to use my money to consume something they find offensive in the privacy of my own home! When prominent Dems like Clinton line up with the fundamentalists on the wrong side of the first amendment they provide a clear counterpoint to those who think Democrats are good guys. If you support big government and legislated morality you're not a liberal, you're an authoritarian.

But, of course, it sure works politically. People in this country don't beleive in freedom. They vote to take things away from other people, not because they want to be left alone. They vote to prevent gay people from getting married or to prevent poor people from owning guns or to prevent teenagers from playing video games. We talk a lot about freedom in this country but we don't actually care for it.

What's behind the video game witch hunt? | Perspectives | CNET News.com

If you like comics you'll probably enjoy this WotW serial. Darkhorse is posting new pages weekly...

War Of The Worlds eComic

Daily Show Bill Frist Retracts Schiavo Diagnosis: "Jon Stewart mocks Bill Frist on the retraction of his diagnosis of Terry Schiavo."

Those of you who were pissed off about this might enjoy watching Bill Frist contradict himself.

Daily Show Bill Frist Retracts Schiavo Diagnosis - CommonBits

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and its ideological allies argue that this kind of license is invalid and unenforceable because of a "fair use" right to reverse engineer. I'm not so sure about that, though.

The real question should be: Would a reasonable person expect to find that kind of restriction in a software license agreement? If the answer is yes, it's a legal contract. (Courts have properly ruled that unexpected fine print in a standard contract, such as a no-alcohol-at-all clause in a car rental agreement, is unenforceable.)

Nobody is forcing Blizzard customers to click "I agree." In fact, they can return the software for a full refund if they don't like the fine print. Or they can continue the reverse-engineering process without the benefit of having the software installed normally--a more difficult task, but not impossible.

Don't be surprised if the 8th Circuit chooses tried-and-true contract law over the hacker ethic.

This is wrong on so many levels, and yet possibly correct. The fact that you might expect to find a restriction doesn't make it reasonable. The idea of reverse engineering software without installing it is a bit silly. We ought to have the right to take things apart. However, this is something that probably can only be done with legislation. We'll see how this case sorts out.

Putting the DMCA on trial | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Rumor has it that a senator will introduce an amendment on Tuesday in the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science sub-committee to reintroduce the flag. On Thursday, it goes to a full committee vote.

Rumor? If this is true, and it passes, it will be an incredible doublecross. One of the few moments where sending a fax/email bomb like this is probably is an effective tactic because it shows Congress they are being watched.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Broadcast flag advocacy?

Does anyone who uses this site use it with IE? I've noticed numerous problems. Broken tables, broken bookmarklet, broken pop-up blocking. Some of this is our fault. Some of it is Microsofts fault. But the amazing thing is that no one has complained about any of this to me. I'm trying to get this all sorted out, but I thought I would ask if there are any users out there who use IE with this site and have been struggling with it...