] "Synthetic biology" is the blanket term for a
] multidisciplinary attempt to identify a class of standard
] operational components that can be assembled into
] functioning molecular machines.

[ This is the stuff right here... anyone w/ interest in nano or bio tech would probably enjoy this article. Very compelling... -k]

EE Times -BioBricks to help reverse-engineer life

] Two new books deal with the critical issues arising from
] the intersection of digital technology and copyright, one
] type of intellectual property. Free Culture, by Lawrence
] Lessig, argues that large media firms are using law and
] technology to strengthen their ownership of content to
] the detriment of society. Promises to Keep, by William
] Fisher, systematically describes the challenges and
] opportunities for the entertainment industry in the
] digital world and investigates how business models may
] need to change in coming years.

[ The article isn't precisely a review as much as it is a super-executive summary of these books. What struck me is the part that discusses the latter book, which presents only three scenarios for the future of the media industries. I have to believe that there are more choices than those, because none are particularly compelling to me... -k]

spiked-culture | Article | Harnessing innovation

] House Republican leaders have tacked on to a major jobs
] bill a provision that would give religious leaders more
] freedom to engage in partisan politics without
] endangering the tax-exempt status of their churches.

[ Something to think about today... -k]

Speaker Pushes Jobs Bill Provision (washingtonpost.com)

[ I like TMW. Hadn't seen this one.

"I'm *more* not as bad as Saddam than you are!" Perfect. -k]

This Modern World: Defining Deviancy Down

[ Interesting commentary on what i've taken to calling the "Torture is OK!" report... -k]

Talking Points Memo

] A few hours after NBA star Kobe Bryant had sex with a
] Vail-area hotel worker last summer, the woman exchanged
] cell phone text messages with a former boyfriend and
] someone else.
]
] Texters beware. Like e-mail and Internet instant
] messages, text messages tend to be saved on servers.

[ Not surprising, but something to keep in mind. Everything you do digitally is stored somewhere, waiting to be extracted and correlated. -k]

CNN.com - Think before you text - Jun 7, 2004

] Diebold Inc., criticized last year for selling voting
] machines while its chairman raised money for Republican
] political candidates, has banned its senior executives
] from making such donations.

It appears someone has gotten the message.

[ Verry interesting. Now, lets work on that "shipping insecure products" ban. -k]

Diebold Stops Top Executives From Making Political Donations - from TBO.com

] But a proposal in Congress could shut down the party. The
] measure would end the fixed-rate option, making all
] federal student loans issued after July 2006 subject to
] variable rates. Repayments would then rise and fall each
] year in sync with interest rates.

!!!

[ Mixed feelings... it's not impossible that variable rates with a reasonable cap would be cheaper for me than my fixed consolidation loan, which is somewhere near 4.5 (not 3). I support the concept of getting the money to kids up front, preferably in the form of grants so that they have less loans in the first place. Subsidizing large loans seems like a less efficient use of money than just giving it to me up front, but i'm not a financial guru, by a far sight. I may have to look into this further, but my initial reasoning on this is trending positibve... -k]

CNN.com - Will fixed-rate student loan consolidation end? - Jun 7, 2004

] Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of
] your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection
] and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive
] cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go.
] Extend the range of your current wireless network. How
] many devices do you need to do all this? Just one.
]
] Presenting AirPort Express.

[ Here's hoping the configuration / management of this thing is better than the existing AirPorts. All said though, quite a good product concept, in my opinion. -k]

Apple - AirPort Express

Originally from the Washington Post, this is a personal story by a man who (like me) loves the USA but becomes more disillusioned by the day. For some time, there have been commentators who note that the ultimate Orwellian society would be based on "Freedom and Democracy". After all, as Orwell points out, an endless war (against "terrorism"?) is an unlimited mandate for totalitarianism in the name of democracy ...

[ I was hoping this would be a longer article, but what it describes still makes a valid point. Seems like the DHS isn't doing what it should be doing, and is primarily serving to further alienate everyone, without doing much to make us safer. 'Course, you couldn't possibly blame the president for that, could you? Tax cuts for the rich were more important than funding DHS, i guess. Ooops, guess i did place blame.-k]

Land of the ... Kafkaesque?