Posts from — July 2003

Whoa! The cowboy shooteth from the hips.

‘There are some who feel like that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on,’ Bush said. ‘We’ve got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.’

What does that remind you of? It reminds me of what Dirty Harry says in Sudden Impact… “Go ahead, make my day!” :-P

Sex at 60 mph is OK in Germany

Having sex while driving at 100 kph (60 mph) down a motorway is not an offence in Germany. But if you hit something make sure you don’t run off.
…
“The man was convicted of hit-and-run and sentenced to a fine of 600 euros,” court spokesman Juergen Mannebeck said on Tuesday. “It’s hard to believe but in fact no law was broken with the intercourse on the motorway. It’s a situation lawmakers never thought about.”

Ahem Ahem!! LOL!!

The courts worldwide, are an endless source of mirth!!

Giving Sharers Ears Without Faces

In response to recent threats to file traders, peer-to-peer developers say they’re seeing an upsurge of interest in tools that purport to hide identities.

You’ll recall that RIAA had recently threatened to track online file-sharers and sue them. If you don’t recall, read my post about it.

This was bound to happen! Is RIAA so naive?!!

Behold the pentaquark

Physicists have discovered a new class of subatomic particle that will provide unexpected insights into the fundamental building blocks of matter.
…

The new particle is the so-called pentaquark - five quarks in formation. Until now, physicists had only seen quarks packed into two- or three-quark combinations
…

The discovery of the pentaquark, also known as a new exotic baryon state, should have far-reaching consequences for our theory of particle interactions that attempt to explain the structure of matter.

[link via Metafilter]

Bloggers Gain Libel Protection This is a victory for free speech advocates and also for bloggers… well, at least in the US!

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can’t be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.

Online free speech advocates praised the decision as a victory. The ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists. One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.