] "We're not inside your home or your business," Mayor
] Daley said. "The city owns the sidewalks. We own the
] streets and we own the alleys."

City wide 24/7 surveillance planned for Chicago.

Chicago moving to 'smart' surveillance cameras | CNET News.com

] 10. No estate tax for families with at least two U.S.
] presidents.
]
] 9. W-2 Form is now Dubya-2 Form.
]
] 8. Under the simplified tax code, your refund check goes
] directly to Halliburton.
]
] 7. The reduced earned income tax credit is so unfair, it
] just makes me want to tear out my lustrous, finely
] groomed hair.
]
] 6. Attorney General (John) Ashcroft gets to write off the
] entire U.S. Constitution.
]
] 5. Texas Rangers can take a business loss for trading
] Sammy Sosa.
]
] 4. Eliminate all income taxes; just ask Teresa (Heinz
] Kerry) to cover the whole damn thing.
]
] 3. Cheney can claim Bush as a dependent.
]
] 2. Hundred-dollar penalty if you pronounce it "nuclear"
] instead of "nucular."
]
] 1. George W. Bush gets a deduction for mortgaging our
] entire future.

CNN.com - Kerry laughs it up on Letterman - Sep 21, 2004

] Inside the Bush administration policymaking apparatus,
] there is strong feeling that U.S. troops must leave Iraq
] next year. This determination is not predicated on
] success in implanting Iraqi democracy and internal
] stability. Rather, the officials are saying: Ready or
] not, here we go.

If we walk out and leave the place for dead we'll produce another Iran.
Will the U.N. help us now that we've made this mess? Can they do so effectively? Would the people in Iraq view them more legitimately as a security force? Do they have the strength to take the insurgents on when we don't?

Quick exit from Iraq is likely

] Passwords alone won't be enough to get onto America Online
] under a new, optional log-on service that makes AOL the
] first major U.S. online business to offer customers a
] second layer of security.

This is odd. AOL rolls out two factor authentication. I've been wondering when the banks would start doing this.

MercuryNews.com | 09/20/2004 | AOL offers doubly secure log-ons

] In its strong application of existentialist philosophy and
] undeniably astounding animation, Innocence is a film that
] both challenges the mind and perception of what is and
] what is to be.

I saw GITS2 this evening.

Most of the critics don't understand either the philosophy or the computer terminology, and so they hate it. Furthermore, they have no real understanding of what the influences are for this film. GITS1 influenced the Matrix, not the other way around. This movie has nothing to do with "AI" or "A Waking Life" and everything to do with Bladerunner and Neuromancer. And its Hong Kong, not New York, damnit! This critic wasn't so confused. (And, ironically, this critic wasn't some professional, but a writer at a high school newspaper run by a rather amazing public school in Maryland! I want my kids to go there!)

This movie is absolutely stunning visually. SEE IT IN THE THEATER. Its one of the most amazing sites you'll see in a theater ever.

But be forewarned that it is a challenging film. Its in Japanese. You are reading subtitles, while you are trying to piece together a very deep idea about the nature of existence, while you are trying to parse a custom set of computer jargon that is both technically accurate and which requires an understanding of the technology to truly grok, while you are trying to follow a plot in which the lines between reality and the virtual are hopelessly blurred, while you are gawking at the most amazing animation you've ever seen.

I found it heavy, so I'm not surprised that less geeky critics are throwing up their hands and saying "lets go shopping."

The critical comment I'll make about it is embodied in the opening theme song. The song is almost exactly like the original, only a little different. Improved maybe. Thats what I felt about the film. Its an evolutionary change from the first film. Similar structure. Similar themes. I guess at times it felt like it wasn't an entirely new experience. But, its an experience that I enjoy, although frankly I'll enjoy it much more when I can hear it in my native tongue.

A standout Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence - Silver Chips Online

] Government experts are investigating a claim that an
] unarmed nuclear bomb, lost off the Georgia coast at the
] height of the Cold War, might have been found, an Air
] Force spokesman said Monday.
]
] The hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean in 1958
] following a collision of a B-47 bomber and an F-86
] fighter.
]
] A group led by retired Air Force Lt. Col. Derek Duke of
] Statesboro, Georgia, said in July that it had found a
] large object underwater near Savannah that was emitting
] high levels of radioactivity, according to an Associated
] Press report.

CNN.com - Lost nuclear bomb possibly found - Sep 13, 2004

167799452 --
i anonymously emailed a friend a weblink that took him to the infamous "Goatse" site. He opened it work and has since been sacked. It's all my fault.

185012692 --
i want to marry harry.... god i love you

850432718 --
i want to have sex with other girls
i want a boyfriend and a girlfriend but i don't want them to like each other, just me
i don't think anyone can love me

434407232 --
I will kill myself with the gun I have a 3 day wait on.

268603779 --
I collect pictures of unicorns and rainbows and I'm a straight guy.

Group Hug // anonymous online confessions

Amazon's new search engine has some nice features. For instance, they keep an indexed history of all my searches. Google also keeps this data, Amazon makes it available to me instead of simply using it for their own purposes. In addition:

] A Diary so you can take notes on any web page, and
] reference them whenever you visit that page, on any
] computer that you use.
]
] Easy to use Bookmarks (Favorites), which are stored on
] our servers so you can access them from any computer.

A9.com - Company - Why use A9.com?

Photos of the hardware all of Google ran on in 1999

Google's Hardware Setup in 1999

] According to the TSA's official prohibited items list,
] anyone who brings any banned item to a screening
] checkpoint, even accidentally, may be criminally or
] civilly prosecuted. Even items that are not specifically
] listed, but could be considered dangerous, are illegal.
]
] Harrington was not arrested, but she was charged with
] carrying a concealed weapon - a first-degree misdemeanor
] punishable by as much as a year in jail and a $1,000
] fine.
]
] Even without a criminal charge, though, Harrington still
] faced a civil fine.

So, if you happen to show up at the airport with any object that is deemed dangerous, regardless of how innoculous you think it is and whether you're willing to do away with it, you will be detained on the spot, and you face thousands of dollars in fines and up to a year in prison.

Well, at least we're doing a good job in Iraq...

Hillsborough: Tourist's crime? Toting bookmark