But a new federal rule set to take effect Friday could mean that radios built on "open-source elements" may encounter a more sluggish path to market--or, in the worst case scenario, be shut out altogether. U.S. regulators, it seems, believe the inherently public nature of open-source code makes it more vulnerable to hackers, leaving "a high burden to demonstrate that it is sufficiently secure."
If the decision stands, it may take longer for consumers to get their hands on these all-in-one devices. The nascent industry is reluctant to rush to market with products whose security hasn't been thoroughly vetted, and it fears the Federal Communications Commission's preference for keeping code secret could allow flaws to go unexposed, potentially killing confidence in their products.
By effectively siding with what is known in cryptography circles as "security through obscurity," the controversial idea that keeping security methods secret makes them more impenetrable, the FCC has drawn an outcry from the software radio set and raised eyebrows among some security experts.
What I do not understand: What is the security problems they see?
iPhone Has Its Own Independence Day byJon Lech Johansen (DVD Jon)
Topic: Technology
4:33 pm EDT, Jul 4, 2007
I’ve found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone without giving any of your money or personal information to AT&T NSA. The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and WiFi work. Stay tuned!
From Le Grand Content, a brilliant and baffling 4-minute animated film by Clemens Kogler and Karo Szmit:
Le Grand Content examines the omnipresent Powerpoint-culture in search for its philosophical potential. Intersections and diagrams are assembled to form a grand 'association-chain-massacre'. which challenges itself to answer all questions of the universe and some more. Of course, it totally fails this assignment, but in its failure it still manages to produce some magical nuance and shades between the great topics death, cable tv, emotions and hamsters.
Brouhaha, this is funny.... I provided me with a chuckle ...
It finally happened. NashvillePost.com has learned that after weeks of circling the Nashville Predators, a local investor group landed on Craig Leipold's doorstep yesterday morning and made him a formal offer for the team. Multiple sources have confirmed this news on the condition of anonymity.
There are no details yet on the size of the offer, as no one publicly associated directly with the deal is talking. David Freeman, former chief executive officer of Commodore Medical Services and now CEO of 36 Venture Capital, is putting the group together. Herb Fritch, CEO of insurer HealthSpring, is also among the group.
Chase Cole, an attorney with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis who has been working with the group, declined comment. Freeman offered a "no comment." But he reissued the following statement via e-mail:
"A group of Nashvillians continues to pursue a purchase of the Predators on behalf of the Nashville community. While we recognize the intense interest of the local community in the future of the team, we ask for your patience and understanding as we go through this confidential negotiation process. In deference to the club's request, we will be unable to offer any further public information or comment regarding our bid until a binding agreement is in place."
Confidentiality agreements are likely in place, and nobody wants to make the same mistake as Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie in having a lot of information made public before a binding agreement is in place.
Predators fans have been rooting for the local ownership group to step forward, and NashvillePost.com has reported that Leipold wanted to see the local group step up, even being open to offer something of a Nashville discount. That may mean the price the group would pay is somewhere below the $220 million or more Balsillie offered.
Meanwhile, William "Boots" Del Biaggio, who has a minority investment in the San Jose Sharks, may still be in the picture as a potential bidder.
F*&K Yea! Anyone want to go in on some season tickets?
Don't be fooled: the gin and tonic may be many things, but easy it is not.
“It’s a very simple drink, as is the martini,” says London mixologist Jamie Walker, the global brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire gin. “For that reason, it’s very easy to get wrong.”
Because there’s so little that goes into this iconic drink — gin, tonic water, ice and perhaps a bit of lime — what really matters are good ingredients.
Tepache Recipe - Mexican Beverage Recipes at epicurean.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:06 am EDT, Jul 2, 2007
Ingredients: 1 whole ripe pineapple, about 3 lb. 12 cups water 20 ounces raw sugar or brown sugar 1 3-inch stick cinnamon 3 whole cloves
Directions: Wash the pineapple thoroughly, remove the stem and cut the pineapple into large pieces, rind and all. Place the pineapple chunks in a large bowl and add 8 cups of the water, the sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 48 hours. Strain the tepache and add 4 cups of water. Or if you prefer, add 1 cups of beer (lager) and let stand an additional 12 hours, then strain and add 3 cups of water.
Serve cold, with ice cubes. Serves 6.
Going to a party on the 4th and 21st, so lets see if I can whip up a batch... :)
Some bartenders create new beverages by playing around with different liquors, juices and garnishes until they come up with a certain taste. Restaurant Eve's Todd Thrasher takes what you might call the mad scientist approach.
One recent Saturday afternoon found him behind the bar at Restaurant Eve surrounded by pots and beakers, straining dark, viscous liquids through napkins. He was brewing his own tonic water -- the secret ingredient for Jose's Gin and Tonic.
Read that again: He was making his own tonic water. From scratch.
Thrasher doesn't work as a bartender -- his official titles include general manager and sommelier -- but in his spare time, he invents some of the most quirky and delicious cocktails in the area.
"I worked at Cafe Atlantico for about six years," Thrasher says, "and [chef] Jose Andres always . . . complains and moans about how Americans make gin and tonics -- we use too much water, we use too many ice cubes, we mess it up completely every time. So I said one day I'm going to make you a gin and tonic."
And what's the most important part of this quintessential summer beverage? The tonic, of course.
"So I started messing around and looking for quinine. My grandmother told me that when she was a kid, they had quinine pills for everything, so I started looking for them. I thought what I'd find would be a refined white power."
He pulls out a large brown bag. "Unfortunately," he says, laughing harder, "what I got is dirt." Opening the bag, he shows me the raw quinine -- a grainy brown powder. "It looks like dirt, it tastes like dirt, it's absolutely horrific."
Like you, perhaps, I've had a long and primarily joyous relationship to breakfast cereal. I reached childhood just as the transcendent sugared cereals hit the market. I was conceived in 1962, the year that General Mills combined Cheerios with Circus Peanuts to give the world Lucky Charms, and Cap'n Crunch and I were both born in 1963, a fact which I celebrated bowlfully deep into college. My brother, Toby, was conceived a year later when Froot Loops were rolled out, and he outlived his birth-year twins, the Cap'n wannabes alien Quisp and miner Quake, by nearly three decades [the brand was relaunched in 1999 -- Ed.].
Since my brother and I were so close in age, for me cereal and sibling have always been intertwined. We were a family built to fuel the marketing juggernauts of processed foods during the 1960s and 1970s, and my brother and I competed both in the aisles and at the table. A devotee of the brown sludge that remained at bowl's bottom, Toby poured excess milk at the outset and then retained it through repeat servings of Count Chocula; I found this practice despicable, and instead poured just enough cold, fresh milk to get me through each of multiple bowls of Franken Berry. Of course, our rivalry was reasonable: like all sensible children at the time, we were in complete agreement that late-comer Boo Berry was an ill-conceived, poorly balanced product that only wicked losers ate.
Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death - The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident
Topic: Health and Wellness
10:46 pm EDT, Jul 1, 2007
By the 1930s it was widely recognized that the Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was obsolete, but bitter disagreement arose as to what should replace it. By 1937 most of the arguments had been resolved but Congressional action was stalled. Then came a shocking development--the deaths of more than 100 people after using a drug that was clearly unsafe. The incident hastened final enactment in 1938 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the statute that today remains the basis for FDA regulation of these products.
What's hotter than the Fourth of July? The first annual Hot Chicken Festival in East Park on July 4 followed by the annual Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks at Riverfront Park. The hot chicken festivities will be from noon to 2 pm on Woodland Street in East Nashville and the Let Freedom Sing entertainment will begin at 4 pm downtown on the west bank of the Cumberland River.
YUM! I like it hot! Free samples to the first 400 people...!
