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Peter Nixon
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Sunday, 22 August 2004
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The small bits of life have always been the key.
[ABC News]
12:12:42 AM 
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Saturday, 21 August 2004
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It was inevitable:
Beijing Haidian People's Court yesterday held a session in a case that involves Mr. Wu Mingming, a furniture manufacturer, who had bilked two students' parents of about RMB180000 by pretending he was a secretary of an Education Minister in China. One of the students submitted a photo taken with a mobile phone as evidence. The photo is a small one, but it shows one of the parents handing money to the defendant, Mr. Wu. The parent said he took the photo because Mr. Wu refused to give him an invoice, and he was afraid he would be cheated.
So far, no judgment has been made in the case. This is the first documented time that mobile phone photos have been submitted as evidence in a court in Beijing.
Link (Thanks, James Tyre)
[Boing Boing]
10:35:46 PM
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Friday, 20 August 2004
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Thursday, 19 August 2004
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This is stuff I was reading in high school in the late 60s and ealy 70s.
[Scientific American]
12:20:40 AM
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Wednesday, 18 August 2004
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My latest article for TheFeature is about an audio algorithm that battles cell phone background noise:
My friends seem to spend an inordinate amount of time inside wind tunnels, aboard locomotives, and underwater. At least, that's what it sounds like when they call me from their cell phones. Blame it on the background noise. Unlike calling from home or a telephone booth, we have little control over the noise pollution that surrounds us out there. It's sort of like extra baggage that our voice is forced to carry when it travels across the wireless ether. Now though, researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a novel bit of technology that may someday alleviate us of the audio aggravation.
Link
[Boing Boing]
11:20:21 PM
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Tuesday, 17 August 2004
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The Index for Free Expression has a great article on the proposal to extend the European copyright on performaces for another 20 years, and the disaster this presents for the freedom of expression:
Faced for the first time with losing significant back catalogue profits, the industry is lobbying to change the law. The industry describes the law as a "loophole". In fact it is anything but.
For every one recording that has the power to reach number three in the commercial charts fifty years after its original release, there are hundreds if not thousands of tracks that do not.
Although these recordings no longer have any commercial value to their rights holders, they are of tremendous value in terms of our cultural heritage. But the mechanisms of copyright law mean that, should the European Parliament choose to heed the music industry, keeping Elvis out of the public domain for a further 45 years or even more, the King will drag down with him this huge body of commercially worthless but culturally significant work.
Link
(Thanks, Becky!) [Boing Boing]
12:45:46 AM
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The Interational Olympic Committee -- whose high-horse is well and truly elevated when it comes to lecturing atheletes about doping -- is policing spectators at the games to ensure that they aren't toting brand-marks for their sponsors' rivals. Penalties for buying the wrong product range from confiscation of your goods to being forced to wear your t-shirt logo-side-in. The worst of it is the steaming craopla from the IOC official who says "We have to protect official sponsors who have paid millions to make the Olympics happen." Oh, rilly? Or what? They won't sponsor the Olympics anymore? Earth-to-official: companies sponsor your games because they're important and lots of people watch them, not because they can be assured that Olympic venues will be swept clean of rival logos.
It's well and good to tell atheletes that they compromise their integrity and shame the games when they take steroids, but what about the perceived integrity of the game when a ticket-holder is turned away for carrying the wrong brand of bottled water?
Strict regulations published by Athens 2004 last week dictate that spectators may be refused admission to events if they are carrying food or drinks made by companies that did not see fit to sponsor the games.
Sweltering sports fans who seek refuge from the soaring temperatures with a soft drink other than one made by Coca-Cola will be told to leave the banned refreshment at the gates or be shut out. High on the list of blacklisted beverages is Pepsi, but even the wrong bottle of water could land spectators in trouble.
Link
(Thanks, Alfie!) [Boing Boing]
12:08:56 AM
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Monday, 16 August 2004
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Probably not a surprise to anyone, but it seems to be borne out across species.
[Scientific American]
10:38:52 PM
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Sunday, 15 August 2004
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A man standing trial for rape is killed by a group of women in a courtroom in the city of Nagpur in central India.
[BBC News | World | UK Edition]
11:20:17 AM
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Jiangsu Shinco Electronic Group is a Chinese company that manufactures "super-correcting" DVD players that automatically correct for the low quality of pirated DVD discs (though the article doesn't say whether this corrects for bad pressing or bad recordings, I suspect it's the former). They get some of their parts from Sony!
Enter the caoqiang jiuchuo or "super-correcting" Chinese model of DVD player. Developed by the Jiangsu Shinco Electronic Group and selling for about half the cost of brands such as Philips and Sony, it is designed to cope with the poor quality of pirated video discs.
Along with half a dozen domestic brands that have followed its lead, the company's Shinco brand has grabbed about 80 per cent of the Chinese market. Its factories produce 5 million DVD players a year, and, says Zeng Ming, a management expert who has studied the company, its annual sales are about $US1 billion ($1.35 billion).
Reg Req'd Link, use "reader12345678910/read1t"
(Thanks, Sys Admn!) [Boing Boing]
11:11:10 AM
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A major HIV drug trial in Cambodia is shelved after the government said it violated people's human rights.
[BBC News | World | UK Edition]
10:30:09 AM
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Saturday, 14 August 2004
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Thursday, 12 August 2004
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My friend Pia makes custom hats in British Columbia. One of her hats is called the "Poppy" for its red, petalled character.
The Canadian Legion sells plasic poppies every year to raise money for charitable causes. This week, Peter Underhill of the Canadian Legion left this on Pia's public guestbook:
I tried your contact email but the address wouldn't copy. The "Poppy" is a trademark registered to the Royal Canadian Legion. Please remove reference to Poppy on the Poppy Hat. Thank you for your consideration. P. Underhill
If the Legion thinks that shaking down craftspeople on bogus trademark claims is the way to create goodwill for its causes, it's got another think coming.
Link
(Thanks, Richard!) [Boing Boing]
9:40:37 PM
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Ms. Eastman's computer classes at this Washington, D.C., elementary school used to focus on using technology to enhance academic skills. But three years ago, after watching some kids spend as long as 10 minutes searching for the letters to enter a sing [Educational Technology]
9:11:21 PM
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 Wired News reports on a deep-sea probe mission to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where several possible new species were discovered, including this mystery animal scurrying around the ocean floor at 6,500 feet. The scientists were unable to capture the foot-long create for closer study.
"Although the unknown animal is "kind of a sensation," (researcher Olav Rune) Godoe said in an interview, finding new and strange creatures wasn't surprising given that researchers collected more than 80,000 specimens. Moreover, little is known about the deep ocean. "It's much easier to observe the surface of the moon or Mars," said Godoe."
Link [Boing Boing]
7:43:48 PM
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Wednesday, 11 August 2004
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Tuesday, 10 August 2004
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Monday, 9 August 2004
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Paul "Red" Adair, whose exploits fighting oil well fires around the world made him a household name, dies in hospital.
[BBC News | World | UK Edition]
1:14:41 AM
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Sunday, 8 August 2004
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Brad Stine. 
One of his new routines makes fun of bumper stickers that read "GOD IS MY CO-PILOT." He says, "I think a good rule of thumb is, if God's in the car, Let. Him. Drive."
...and made fun of churches that organize "Harry Potter" book burnings. "Here's a good rule of thumb: If Hitler tried it - maybe go the other way."
Gay marriage: "Guys want to marry other guys?" Beat. "Cowards!"
[Paul Boutin]
4:53:09 PM
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Saturday, 7 August 2004
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Friday, 6 August 2004
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Scientists have sequenced the genome of the bug that causes zits. It had previously been mistaken for a part of the human genome.
“Sequencing the whole genome has revealed that the bacterium can actively degrade human skin tissue because of the massive presence of these enzymes, and also that there are specific immunogenic proteins which are present in this bacterium which trigger the immune response,” Brüggemann told New Scientist....
Severe acne is usually treated with common antibiotics, but many strains are becoming resistant to these. “With the genome sequence it’s now quite easy to generate specific drugs against this bacterium,” says Brüggemann. “That’s the next task.”
Link [Boing Boing]
12:03:04 AM
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Wednesday, 4 August 2004
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The WHO says it is optimistic the disease can be eradicated globally, after vaccinations resume in Nigeria. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]
9:55:04 PM
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Tuesday, 3 August 2004
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I'm proud to relate that EFF is representing Jib Jab, the creators of the wonderful "This Land is Your Land" Flash parody that aroused the ire of the holder of Woody Guthrie's copyrights and resulted in a threatened lawuit. Here's a little bit of my cow-orker Fred von Lohmann's letter to the copyright-holder's lawyers.
In your July 23 letter, you contend that "This Land" offers no "satirical comment" on the Guthrie original. You are mistaken.
While your view of Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" as being predominantly about "the beauty of the American landscape" and "the disenfranchisement of the underclass" is interesting, most Americans think of the song as an iconic expression of the ideal of national unity. Jib Jab's parody addresses, among other things, the lack of national unity that characterizes our current political climate (ending with the optimistic hope that unity might be rediscovered). In short, "This Land" explores exactly the same themes as the Guthrie original, using the parodic device of contrast and juxtaposition to comment on the original. See Abilene Music v. Sony Music Entertainment, 320 F .Supp.2d 84, 90-91 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (emphasizing the role of contrast and juxtaposition as parodic devices). The parodic comment takes on an additional dimension of irony when viewed in light of the often omitted closing stanzas of Guthrie's original.
556k PDF Link [Boing Boing]
1:00:54 AM
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Sunday, 1 August 2004
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The author of the "Dark Materials" fantasy series introduces a surreal Australian children's classic that's nearly unknown in America, Norman Lindsay's "Magic Pudding."
I's nice to know there are Americans who get it.
On Salon you can usually scroll down to get a free day pass.
[Salon.com]
12:34:27 PM
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The copyright owner of "This Land is Your Land" is peeved over a
Flash animation parody featuring Bush and Kerry...
By now you may have seen the JibJab.com Flash animation (and if
you haven't, go watch it) parodying This Land is Your Land by
Woody Guthrie. The song was originally written as a socialist
response to "God Bless America."
Now the publisher that... [morons.org headlines]
10:51:18 AM
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The Mobility Denial System is an oil-slick-in-a-can, a combination of "Drilling Mud Additive, Flocculent and water" that renders surfaces as slippery as wet ice. Lots of tasty acronyms and buzzwords on the sell page, including "Anti-Traction Material (ATM)" and "Non-Lethal Slippery Foam."
Once applied, the material will degrade or impair the adversary's ability to move. For Interior applications it can be applied to flat, smooth, non-porous surfaces such as linoleum, tile, wood floors or staircases. Exterior applications include sloped, rough, porous surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, and grassy areas.
Link
(via Coolhunting)
[Boing Boing]
10:35:30 AM
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Canadian government demands nude pix of stripper-immigrants. Canadian Immigration officials are requiring that exotic dancers looking to enter Canada submit nude photos of themselves dancing, so ensure that they aren't nude-dancer-impersonators, sneaking into the country to do other kinds of work.
The potential dancers have to prove they can dance in the nude, immigration lawyer Mendel Green said Monday.
"They can't be partially nude," he said. "If they don't have pictures in the nude, they are not going to wiggle their bottoms in Canada."
Reg Req'd Link [Boing Boing]
1:15:15 AM
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Morons in the News: Congress Whipped by RIAA. The Senate is trying to undo the Betamax decision.
The Betamax decision refers to a SCOTUS ruling that said that if
the a given technology has legal uses, it's legal, even if it
could be used for illegal purposes as well.
The Inducing Infringement of Copywrites Act (S. 2560), proposed
by Orrin...
[morons.org headlines]
12:50:07 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Peter Nixon.
Last update: 27/9/05; 9:40:24 PM.
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