Category: Uncategorized

Saw this on Slashdot:

"A hidden device that appears to give an advantage to roulette players may be legal in the UK when the gambling industry is deregulated next year. The device — which consists of a small digital time recorder, a concealed computer, and a hidden earpiece — uses predictive software to determine where the ball is likely to land. It has been tested by a government lab, which found that ‘the advantage can be considerable.’ It will be up to casinos to spot people using such devices."

The Guardian article reports the device costs 1,000 punds (~$1,800 – $1,900) but really, does it matter how much it costs if you are guaranteed to win?

Ha Ha Ha. I caught Fox Sports Northwest and it was featuring the Miss Hooters contest. At least here’s a beauty pageant that is being honest about its goals.

I only saw about 3 minutes, but what I loved was among the 10 finalists, you had Miss Nebraska, Miss Venezuela, Miss Tampa and Miss December.

I can’t make a joke here.

So, heard from my friend Ryan Bostick today, who is living life down in the Sudan. I believe when he left he told his mom something like, "Don’t worry, where I’m going they already had the genocide, so it’ll be safe."

Anyway, here’s a piece from his latest dispatch: You decide whether you feel silly about wondering if the homeless guy on the corner is going to try to carjack you.

Andy: How safe is it there?
Ryan: Depends on the day. I’d say it’s safe 99% of the time but things change quickly. Usually the NGO’s have time to evacuate and even then we aren’t the targets. All they want is our stuff. I walk around at night with a computer and a radio no problem. People smile and say hi. Safe unless the tribes start fighting. You do see alot of guns though. So an arguement can lead the wrong direction quickly.

Here are some pics.

Saw this over at TechCrunch and I can’t believe this is legal:

US House: Schools must block MySpace, many other sites
US House Resolution 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), was passed by a 410 to 15 vote tonight. If the Resolution becomes law social networking sites and chat rooms must be blocked by schools and libraries or those institutions will lose their federal internet subsidies. According to the resolution’s top line summary it will “amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.”Adults will be able to ask for the library’s permission to use such sites. The Resolution will now go to the US Senate for a vote before being offered to the President for signature into law.

The rhetoric from advocates was all about MySpace. For example, Texas Republican Ted Poe says, “social networking sites such as MySpace and chat rooms have allowed sexual predators to sneak into homes and solicit kids."

Maybe I’m naive, but this seems like banning the sale of tires to cut down on automobile accidents. Surely there has to be a better way for kids to be protected from online predators than banning the most visited Web site in the world from U.S. kids.

I can’t see how this would ever stand up in the Supreme Court. The good side of Social Networking allows people to make friends all over the world. Plus, since kids are dumb when they are young, it’s been an effective tool for catching kids before they do illegal stuff.

This bill is amazingly ironic since there have been nearly 50 cases in the last year of kids hooking up with their teachers. According to this logic, we need to shut down all schools to save kids from adults.

Anyway, the point is that it’s dangerous and silly for legislators to start deciding what people are allowed to read. It sounds an awful lot ike the country on the other side of the Pacific Ocean that we all love to chastize for its oppressive behavior.

The problem with protecting kids from sexual redators is that the predators themselves need to be dealt with more effectively.