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| "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
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NASA plans to read terrorist's minds at airports -- The Washington Times |
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| Topic: Technology |
4:07 pm EDT, Aug 17, 2002 |
"Airport security screeners may soon try to read the minds of travelers to identify terrorists. Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have told Northwest Airlines security specialists that the agency is developing brain-monitoring devices in cooperation with a commercial firm, which it did not identify." Determining whether a pilot has "spaced out" is standard ELF radio stuff. Your brain emits a feild at one of three frequencies depending on whether you are in a tranced, lucid, or sleep state. I wanted to use this stuff to build an automatic DJ which would do track selection based on readings like this from the dance floor. If more people are lucid the music is bad and needs to change. As for getting a clean EEG without flesh contact, its not bloody likely, but I wish them luck. However, I imagine there are some assorted readings that COULD be taken which would ID someone who was nervous or high on adrenalin. The implication of that IS disconcerting. The article mentions being able to tell what areas of your brain are stimulated and using this information to determine what sort of thinking you are doing. I haven't read anything on that. If anyone can point me to papers I would be interested. NASA plans to read terrorist's minds at airports -- The Washington Times |
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Record Labels Want 4 Internet Providers to Block Music Site |
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| Topic: Society |
4:02 pm EDT, Aug 17, 2002 |
Testing out a tactic to combat online piracy, a group of record companies asked a judge yesterday to order four major Internet service providers to block Americans from viewing a China-based Web site that offers thousands of copyrighted songs free of charge. The 13 record labels that filed the suit in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan say the site, Listen4ever.com, is "even more egregious" than the music-sharing service Napster, which was shut by a court order. Through the AT&T network, the following comment appears on an otherwise blank web page: "No web site is configured at this address." Record Labels Want 4 Internet Providers to Block Music Site |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
5:57 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
Lawrence Lessig presentation at OSCON. He is totally incredulous at this point. He just can't beleive how messed up things are. The problem is he is still raising money for the EFF. This is a problem that requires organized voting and not well funding lawyering. free_culture |
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| Topic: Society |
4:32 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
"Out of misery, some extraordinary lessons ONCE a week, on Sundays, Hong Kong becomes a different city. Thousands of Filipina women throng into the central business district, around Statue Square, to picnic, dance, sing, gossip and laugh. They snuggle in the shade under the HSBC building, a Hong Kong landmark, and spill out into the parks and streets. They hug. They chatter. They smile. Humanity could stage no greater display of happiness." Philippinos in Hong Kong |
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Language Gene Is Traced to Emergence of Humans |
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| Topic: Science |
4:28 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
A study of the genomes of people and chimpanzees has yielded a deep insight into the origin of language, one of the most distinctive human attributes and a critical step in human evolution. The analysis indicates that language, on the evolutionary time scale, is a very recent development, having evolved only in the last 100,000 years or so. NYT covers the Nature publication. Language Gene Is Traced to Emergence of Humans |
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It's Not About the Technology |
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| Topic: Society |
4:21 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
People, given the ability to connect to one another, will connect to each other. That's been the power driving the Internet (and all communications technologies) since the beginning. There's been plenty written about "viral marketing," but finding viral success has been elusive. There's also been a lot of talk about building word of mouth, but that can be pretty tough, too. Three rules are clear: * Information must be of value to more than one person; the virulence of the information increases proportionally with the number of people who find it valuable. * Information must be timely. * Information must be easily portable and transmittable. In the end, the key to creating effective Internet communications is understanding that it's not about the technology. It's about connecting people to other people... and facilitating further connections. Connect the dots and win! It's Not About the Technology |
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Sept. 11 Strikes at Labs' Doors |
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| Topic: Science |
4:05 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
University officials and leading scientists are warning that new government regulations on biological research adopted in the wake of Sept. 11, and simultaneous efforts to inhibit publication, threaten to undermine the fundamental openness of science and campus life. "This has the potential for changing the definition of science, the way people do science, and even what we mean when we say science." Under the new laws, only researchers with a "legitimate need" may have access to "select agents." If research could prove useful in making biological weapons, does it belong in the public forum, or should it be suppressed by scientists or the government? Sept. 11 Strikes at Labs' Doors |
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CNN.com - 'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat - August 12, 2002 |
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| Topic: Health and Wellness |
3:21 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
"Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen -- one of the first scientists to identify the causes of the hole in the ozone layer and also involved in the U.N. report -- said up to two million people in India alone were dying each year from atmospheric pollution. " This thing is a popular topic in Canada right now. Industrializing nations typically have very poor air quality, which improves as their technology gets better... CNN.com - 'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat - August 12, 2002 |
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Robot Grass Cutter Cuts Through Tedium of Mowing |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:02 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
Tired of mowing the lawn? New Zealand researchers say they have a device that could make your neighbors green with envy. It's a lawnmower operated via the Internet. "The next step is an automatic vacuum cleaner." The story isn't very good, but the meme is. Cnet and CNN have both picked this up. Now, I've been talking about this for years. Simple innovations that free people's time up have tremendous impacts on the economy. There are lawn mowers available on the market. There are vacuums in the lab. The biggest barrier to making this stuff really work is the limitations of battery power. I don't think this kind of thing will be widespread until you see lots of portable fuel cells, which may not be too long from now. Robot Grass Cutter Cuts Through Tedium of Mowing |
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The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Cameras to help keep south Los Angeles alleys clean |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:17 am EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
"The steel-encased camera, designed to withstand a bullet, plays a recorded warning that police hope will act as a deterrent: "Stop! This is the LAPD," the recording says. "We have just taken your photograph. We will use this photograph to prosecute you. Leave now." Eventually they'll install the guns. The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Cameras to help keep south Los Angeles alleys clean |
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