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By Dave, April 12, 2008 2:21 pm

solecist.net
The differences between Las Vegas slot machines and voting machines.

Yea, the slots are a much safer way to gamble. Pity that… 😯 👿

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By Dave, April 8, 2008 2:27 pm

Ill. Rep. Monique Davis: it’s dangerous for children to know atheists exist, orders atheist to stop testifying – Boing Boing
Ill. Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) faced off against Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove, who objected to the state of Illinois giving $1 million to the Pilgrim Baptist Church, excoriating him for not believing in God and for having the temerity to say that the Church and State should be separate. She told him that she believed it was dangerous for children to know that atheism exists. She ordered him to stop testifying and insisted that in the Land of Lincoln, “people believe in God!”

This is one psychotic B!#(H and has no place in a government office! I too feel that the government of any state has no place giving moneys to a church and that they should be separate entities. I suspect that her outburst will cost her her job and if it doesn’t, it should. 👿

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By Dave, April 7, 2008 11:25 am

U.S. Health Agency Forbids Sensitive Data On Apple MacBooks — Security — InformationWeek
In the wake of a widely publicized security breach that left thousands of patient records exposed, the federal government’s National Institutes of Health is forbidding all employees who use Apple’s MacBook laptops from handling sensitive data as of Friday, InformationWeek has learned.

Employees at the health agency who store medical records and other personal information on laptops must use systems that run either on Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s Windows operating system or Linux, according to an agency memo.

This is beyond words. Go, read the article, especially the comments. Typical top management CYA BS.

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By Dave, April 7, 2008 11:13 am

Broadband Network Management – CUSystems
New traffic shaping can disrupt a Comcast Internet connection

Recently, it has been observed that Comcast is disrupting TCP connections using forged TCP reset (RST) packets [1]. These reset packets were originally targeted at TCP connections associated with the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol. However, Comcast has stated that they are transitioning to a more “protocol neutral” traffic shaping approach [2]. We have recently observed this shift in policy, and have collected network traffic traces to demonstrate the behavior of their traffic shaping. In particular, we are able (during peak usage times) to synthetically generate a relatively large number of TCP reset packets aimed at any new TCP connection regardless of the application-level protocol. Surprisingly, this traffic shaping even disrupts normal web browsing and e-mail applications.

Well that just makes me want to go right out and get me a Comcast Internet connection, NOT! 👿

I’ve noticed several of the sites I check regularly have been having problems with dropped connections in the past few days. Guess either they are on Comcast or the connection is being routed through the Comcast net. Either way it’s a REAL pain in the arse and I’d thing that making folks reload time after time to finally get a connection would create MORE traffic than just letting it all through the first time. ArseHats! 👿

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By Dave, April 6, 2008 11:46 am

The Cost of E-Voting | Threat Level from Wired.com
One reason election officials around the country have given for purchasing touch-screen voting machines is that they say the systems save money — both in the cost of printing paper ballots and in storing them after an election. Officials have made this claim, despite the fact that the machines carry a steep price tag (about $3,000 per machine).

So SaveOurVotes (.pdf), a voting integrity group in Maryland, decided to see if the 19,000 touch-screen machines their state purchased really did save money. The results aren’t really a surprise — the machines are wildly more expensive than anyone anticipated. But just how expensive they are makes their analysis mandatory reading for any legislators and state or county budget committees that approve voting equipment purchases.

Talk about untruth in advertising and long term hidden costs! Looks like the true cost is FAR more than we have been led to believe. 👿

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By Dave, February 5, 2008 1:13 pm

Ultra-minimalist political flyer, Los Angeles – Boing Boing

Nuff said… 👿

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 11:47 am

Giz Banned For Life and Loving It: On Pranks and Civil Disobedience at CES

Well said and said well. I thought it (the prank) was funny when I first read about it and all the bs that has been coming down since has made me wonder which orifice the writers heads were inserted in. Give em hell Giz! 😆

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By Dave, January 13, 2008 10:09 am

PlexNex: Today’s Lesson: Do Not F**k with the Negroponte Brothers

Interesting slant on OLPC and the Intel mess. It’ll be a hoot if they do manage to drag Gates and micro$loth into it. 😈

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 12:33 pm

Slashdot | National ID Cards Mandated in the US, If You’re Under 50

Well I ain’t planning on ever boarding another plane and I’m already over the big 5 0 so the DHS can kiss my arse! These folks are out of control and need to have a muzzle installed asap. 👿

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By Dave, January 2, 2008 11:22 am

Slashdot | Copyright Cutback Proposed As RIAA Solution
“InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe proposes a novel solution to the ongoing spate of RIAA lawsuits over alleged music copying. He suggests legislation which cuts back corporate copyrights from 120 years to 5 years. “We should do what we do to children who misbehave,” he writes. “Take away their privileges.”

Not only YES but HELL YES! This sounds like the best way to handle the insanity that I have seen/heard yet. Legal ramifications non-withstanding, the innovation stifling effects of the longer and longer copyrights is doing massive harm in so many ways. So lets roll em back and screw the RIAA in the process…

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By Dave, January 1, 2008 7:50 pm

The Raw Story | Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US

More power to them! Makes me think about moving…

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By Dave, September 22, 2007 9:00 pm

Cory Doctorow speaking at the Beijing Bookworm

Good way to spend an hour. 😉

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By Dave, September 18, 2007 4:12 pm

Copyright office should free the database of copyrights! – Boing Boing

Typical bureaucratic BS. And YES the database should be free, as we the people have paid for every bit of it. ASSHATS!

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By Dave, September 6, 2007 12:07 pm

Judge Strikes Down Part of Patriot Act
A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court’s approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said the government orders must be subject to meaningful judicial review and that the recently rewritten Patriot Act “offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.”
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Good!

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By Dave, September 5, 2007 7:24 pm

US court rules that free speech trumps copyright (sometimes) – Boing Boing

Good news! Still got more battles to win before the war is won but at least some of the judges are listening.

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By Dave, August 31, 2007 12:10 pm

Federal agency rejects enhanced oversight of genetic tests
In a decision that places cost concerns above public health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected a petition filed by a coalition of health and consumer groups calling for the agency to strengthen standards for genetic testing laboratories. Citing cost concerns, the agency told petitioners in a recent letter that it would not pursue the safety standards.
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Considering the emphasis that the current administration places on money this move doesn’t surprise me. Though it does piss me off a bit more than I already was at their total disregard for the future health and well being of the folks that were stupid enough to put them in power in the first place.

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By Dave, August 31, 2007 9:31 am

Science Fiction Writers of America abuses the DMCA – Boing Boing

First the RIAA then the MPAA and now the SFWA are abusing the DMCA. This is a good read about a bad problem that isn’t going away and in fact seems to be getting a LOT worse.

The one good thing that I noted as I finished reading the article is that Boing Boing now has comments! At last!

Several of the comments about this latest atrocity are by Sci-Fi writers and for the most part they aren’t at all pleased by the actions of the SFWA. Only one (at the time I read this prior to posting) thought it was a good thing but the guy didn’t give his full name so who knows if it was an actual author or just a troll.

As much as I hate lawyers, I think the authors that have been affected by this stupid act need to file suit against the SFWA and the person who caused this. Don’t know if it will do any good but it might add a bit more fuel to the anti-DMCA movement.

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By Dave, August 30, 2007 6:08 pm

Groklaw – Sweden’s SIS Declares OOXML Vote Invalid – Will Change Vote from Yes to Abstain

Seems that Micro$loth’s vote fixing hijinks has caused Sweden to reexamine the process and declare the vote invalid. I don’t think they are winning any friends with this stupid and costly behavior.

If they would just put the money that they waste on crap like this into making products that are simple, effective and generally usable then they wouldn’t have to lie, misrepresent and bribe their way into getting folks to buy and use their products.

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By Dave, August 30, 2007 3:01 pm

Nina Burleigh: Satan’s in the Stall Beside Me – Politics on The Huffington Post
The demise of mountain state Republican Senator Larry Craig amuses those of us who enjoy watching right-wing heroes crash to the ground, spiked on their own hypocrisy. It further confirms my theory: prick any conservative and the kink oozes out. The rockier the rib, the more likely you’ll find pink lingerie under the trousers or a bullwhip and manacles in the bedside drawer. You can bet those Beltway dominatrices, madams and escorts (gay and straight) have been able to buy second homes — maybe even in Sun Valley! — with their haul during W’s reign.
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Snicker, snicker, chortle. And the rest of the article is just as good if not better. I just love seeing those conservative sexually suppressed republicans getting their kink dragged out into the open like this. Two faced asshats!

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By Dave, August 30, 2007 10:36 am

Point, Click … Eavesdrop: How the FBI Wiretap Net Operates – Boing Boing

I just feel SO much safer now, don’t y’all?