I'm curious to know about programming languages, books, websites, or other resources to help teach kids how to write computer programs. Please post them in the discussion comments.

Programming options for kids – Boing Boing

Remarkably, the law doesn't even require devices to be connected to the Internet. Since 2008, it applies to pretty much everything with a microchip. So if you're visiting a friend and you use his coffeemaker without permission, watch out: You may have committed a federal crime.

Until now, the critical limit on the government's power has been that federal prosecutors rarely charge misdemeanors. They prefer to bring more serious felony charges. That's why the administration's proposal is so dangerous. If exceeding authorized access becomes a felony, prosecutors will become eager to charge it. Abuses are inevitable.

The technical computer security gaps exposed by recent breaches by lulzsec and anonymous are not going to be closed with another round of increased criminal penalties. The APT doesn't care about your sentencing guidelines.

Orin Kerr: Should Faking a Name on Facebook Be a Felony? - WSJ.com

paradise city bluegrass version

guns n roses bluegrass version of paradise city (by Ironhorse, i believe) - YouTube

Explanation: In the shadow of Saturn, unexpected wonders appear. The robotic Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn drifted in giant planet's shadow for about 12 hours in 2006 and looked back toward the eclipsed Sun. Cassini saw a view unlike any other. First, the night side of Saturn is seen to be partly lit by light reflected from its own majestic ring system. Next, the rings themselves appear dark when silhouetted against Saturn, but quite bright when viewed away from Saturn, slightly scattering sunlight, in this exaggerated color image. Saturn's rings light up so much that new rings were discovered, although they are hard to see in the image. Seen in spectacular detail, however, is Saturn's E ring, the ring created by the newly discovered ice-fountains of the moon Enceladus and the outermost ring visible above. Far in the distance, at the left, just above the bright main rings, is the almost ignorable pale blue dot of Earth.

APOD: 2011 September 4 - In the Shadow of Saturn

An out-of-control NASA satellite that is dead in space will plunge back to Earth in the next few weeks, but exactly when and where the spacecraft will fall are still a mystery, space agency and military officials said today.

The spacecraft, called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, is about the size of a school bus and is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime between late September and early October, NASA officials said. The nearly 12,500-pound (5,668-kilogram) satellite will fall over a stretch of land more than 500 miles (804 kilometers) long somewhere between northern Canada and southern South America.

But NASA and U.S. military officials tracking the defunct UARS satellite won't have a better idea of where the spacecraft will fall until around two hours before it happens.

Johnson said 26 large pieces of the UARS satellite are expected to survive the re-entry and reach the Earth's surface. The largest piece of debris could weigh nearly 300 pounds (150 kg).

Great work guys. Good plan.

Dead NASA Satellite Falling From Space, But When & Where? | Falling Space Junk: The Facts About NASA's Doomed UARS Satellite | Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Space Junk & Orbital Debris | Space.com

I like this guy...

To survey the past 20 years from our present, much reduced vantage point is to be struck above all by the once cherished, now discarded illusions littering the landscape. Prominent among those shattered illusions are the following:

The insistence that history has a discernible purpose, made manifest by the evolving American experiment that is destined to prevail universally

The conviction that the United States is called upon to exercise “global leadership” and that our governing elites possess the capacity to do so effectively.

The assurance that U.S.-promoted globalization will produce unprecedented wealth while simultaneously contributing to global peace and harmony, with the American people thereby assured of both greater prosperity and greater security.

The notion that a self-regulated or minimally regulated market produces the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens.

The belief that America’s privileged place in the international order relieves the United States of any obligation to live within its means.

The expectation that in times of crisis, the American people and their leaders will selflessly unite, setting aside partisan differences to act in the common good.

The claim, for too long indulged by conservatives, that the Republican Party takes seriously the preservation of traditional values.

Perhaps above all, the belief that the United States, having mastered the art of war, can quickly and economically overcome any foe, high-tech precision weapons and superior professionalism offering a surefire recipe for victory.

Not one of these is true. No amount of recalibration or reformulation or trying harder next time will make any of them true. To pretend otherwise serves no purpose.

The American Conservative » An End to Empire

Lots of people have been speaking up about why PROTECT IP is a terrible, terrible idea that will have massive unintended consequences for innovation online. We've seen the biggest names in venture capital tell Congress that PROTECT IP would chill investment in new innovations. We've seen top technologists explain how PROTECT IP messes with fundamental infrastructure and security elements of the internet. And we've had a bunch of well respected law professors explain to Congress that the bill is almost certainly unconstitutional.

Top Entrepreneurs Warn Congress: PROTECT IP Will Stifle Innovation

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has been dropping some surprisingly sweet vetos recently, including nixing a bipartisan bill which would have imposed a $25 fine for kids who ski or snowboard without a helmet.

Thank you.

'Not Every Human Problem Deserves a Law' - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

In the wake of flash-mob riots in several cities, fears of gang violence and age-old anxiety about kids on the streets, authorities in Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities are adopting or beefing up curfews that ban youths from being in public during school hours and at night.

Juvenile curfews are unique to the U.S. No other country, including those in Latin America and Asia or even the U.K. during recent riots in London, invokes such measures except during national emergencies -- and then they apply to all ages.

We're presently experiencing a nationwide rash of youth curfew laws. These laws represent a stupid presumption of guilt that would never fly if applied to a different segment of our society. American society continues to have the unique point of view that people under the age of 18 are subhuman "minors" for whom normal standards of fair treatment, legal protection, and civil rights do not apply.

What's that?

The evidence does not support the argument that curfews prevent crime.

Lets hear that again.

The evidence does not support the argument that curfews prevent crime.

Banning Youths From Streets May Make Us Less Safe: Mike Males - Bloomberg

So the Republican candidate is going to be Romney, "balanced" with a suitably rabid culturally conservative VP pick to be announced at a later date. Sound familiar?

The first challenge will be winning the primary - I thought the whole premise of the Tea Party was to stop guys like Romney from getting the Republican nomination? Of course, the spin machine will be working hard for the next 6 months to tell Republicans that they are to like Romney, and I suspect that they will do what they are told.

If Romney looses the primary because the Tea Party doesn't succumb to the spin machine, the Republicans will loose the election, because their candidate will be too radical and too incompetent to win.

If, however, the Tea Party is brought in line and Romney wins, this could be an interesting election season. Obama's failure to do a large enough stimulus should be his undoing.

The problem the Republicans face is that they are a stuck clock - low taxes. Low taxes are sometimes the right thing to do for the economy. They are not the right thing to do for the economy at this time.

However, most people don't understand that. They do understand that a lot of people are out of work and they're not making enough money. The question is who they will blame?