Sony v. Hotz: Sony Sends A Dangerous Message to Researchers -- and Its Customers Co-authored by Corynne McSherry and Marcia Hofmann For years, EFF has been warning that the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be used to chill speech, particularly security research, because legitimate researchers will be afraid to publish their results lest they be accused of circumventing a technological protection measure. We've also been concerned that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could be abused to try to make alleged contract violations into crimes. We've never been sorrier to be right. The real point, it appears, is to send a message to security researchers around the world: publish the details of our security flaws and we'll come after you with both barrels blazing. Not content with the DMCA hammer, Sony is also bringing a slew of outrageous Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claims.
Sarah Lambson's Taste Test Results on Etsy Meet Maurice Tillet, the real world Shrek! This may come to you as a surprise or a silly joke, but it’s nothing but the truth. The popular CGI cartoon Shrek actually existed! Rather, his ogre-ific head was modeled after a real person; he was called Maurice Tillet and he was actually a very intelligent person: a poet and writer who could speak 14 languages, and sure enough he did use plenty of colorful idioms (;)). Tillet was born in 1903, and as a teenager he manifested a rare disease called acromegaly, which caused his bones to grow uncontrollably. As result his body was disfigured, and he turned into what people back then referred to as “freak show”; do you think that put him down? Maurice Tillet reached the title of world champion of the American Wrestling Association in the 1st of August 1944, after defeating Steve “Crusher” Casey. Tillet fought till the end – which arrived in 1954 when he was 51 years old – and he died with a heart attack. Amazon.com Widgets (Visited 3,054 time, 7 visit today)
201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders
Fifth grader refuses to pledge allegiance in name of GLBT rights // Current To Our Faithful Current.com Users: Current's run has ended after eight exciting years on air and online. The Current TV staff has appreciated your interest, support, participation and unflagging loyalty over the years. Your contributions helped make Current.com a vibrant place for discussing thousands of interesting stories, and your continued viewership motivated us to keep innovating and find new ways to reflect the voice of the people. We now welcome the on-air and digital presence of Al Jazeera America, a new news network committed to reporting on and investigating real stories affecting the lives of everyday Americans in every corner of the country. Thank you for inspiring and challenging us. – The Current TV Staff
20 Unique And Creative Ice Cube Trays EmailEmail Who said that ice cubes should be cube-shaped? Silicone ice cube trays can create any shape we want – from snowflakes to brains and guns. 1. Everyone loves Lego! 2. Beautiful snowflakes in your drink! 3. We humans are well known for our highly-evolved sense of humor — as evidenced by Brain Freeze, the ice tray that makes 4 frosty brains. 4. This unique ice tray creates magic wands fit for a fairyprincess – sparkly glittery reusable drinking straws withstar-shaped ice cubes at the tip! 5. What’s that squirming around in your drink? 6. Chill your beverages to the bone! 7. It’s a tropical straw with a frozen twist! 8. Need to dig up a clever party accessory? 9. Planning a princess party? 10. Ice ahoy!! 11. Twilight descends, beverages are poured. 12. It’s time to kick back and chill and here’s a cool way to do it! 13. Feeling a little anxious? 14. Are you always on the go and feeling all wound up? 15. Is your drink packin’ heat? 16. Perfect ice cubes for your geek party! 17.
Piracy trumps obscurity - proof of piracy boosting sales | Ideas for Promoting and Selling Art from the Lazarus Corporation Here’s a short illustrated story for you: Steve Lieber is a comic book artist. He drew Underground , a graphic novel (written by Jeff Parker, drawn by Steve, and colored by Ron Chan). The story follows Park Ranger Wesley Fischer as she tries to save Stillwater Cave – and then has to save herself. On Sunday (3 days ago, as of time of writing) a fan posted scans of every single page onto 4chan (EDIT: archive of the 4chan thread on Steve Lieber’s site ), a well-known discussion forum. Yup, all Steve’s work is now out there for free. He didn’t go mad. He didn’t call in the lawyers. Instead he went to the forum and joined in the discussion: Techdirt have a much-used phrase for this: “ Connect with Fans “. Yesterday Steve posted a blog post – Whole book for free; or learning from 4Chan – explaining what had been happening. What happened next? This has all happened in the past 3 days: a huge surge in sales thanks to “piracy”. Most Commented Posts Piracy trumps obscurity again The future for Publishers
5 Pokemon Episodes BANNED From America There are hundreds of episodes of the Pokemon cartoon, and although almost all of the episodes have made their way onto American televisions, a tiny few have been banned. These are the episodes that have been pulled from circulation, or that never even aired... The Legend of Dratini There’s no official reason why 4Kids Entertainment, the American distributor of Pokemon, banned this episode, but it probably has to do with several scenes where guns are pointed in people’s faces. For a show about a 10-year-old who travels around the wilderness fighting dragons, psychic poultry, and monsters with swords for arms, guns are just TOO VIOLENT. Holiday Hi-Jynx In this holiday episode about Team Rocket trying to get revenge on Santa Claus (seriously), Ash and friends encounter Jynx, a lost Pokemon that belongs to Santa. "Holiday Hi-Jynx" aired only once, and the controversy caused Nintendo to change Jynx’s skin color to purple. Much less racist. Battle of the Quaking Island! Beauty and the Beach
Barn Cars - Now to find someone to perform the highest quality workmanship. We will need Auto Restoration for our hundreds ofSports Cars, Muscle Cars, Classic Cars, Custom Street Rods, Hot Rods and everything in between! Barn Cars A New York man retired. He wanted to use his retirement money wisely, and decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal. The modest farm house had been vacant for 15 years. The owner and his wife both had died and there were no heirs. The New York guy bought it at just half of the property's worth, moved in and set about to tear in to the barn. What was in the barn? Classic cars, specialty cars, Mercedes, Lotus, Astin Martin, Porsche, Volvo, Austin Healy, Alfa Giulietta, BMW, Formula Racers, Chryslers, Mercedes, Austin A30, Alfa Romeo Fiat Cabriolet (1200 or 1500), Ford Cortina MKII, Mercedes Benz 180/190 Astin Martin? Opel GT, Lotus Elan FHC, Lotus Super Seven Series IV, Lotus Elan DHC Porsche 356, Austin Healy Sprite MKII, Volvo PV 544, Ford Y ? Giulietta Sprint, Giulia Sprint Speciale (SS), Nash Metropolitan Alfa Giulietta, Lotus Europa, another Lotus Elan FHC, Matra Djet? Lancia Flaminia Coupé Abarth 1300 Scorpione Lancia Flaminia Coupé, Peugeot 504 and 404 Cabriolet
Bananas and Monkeys Original source unknown. (But the story appears to have some basis in fact.) Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Now, put away the cold water. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. And that, my friends, is how company policies are made. Return to Jim Huggins' Humor Page
For those who want to know: Reliable information on health, energy, media, war, elections, 9/11, more Aliens have landed ... in the headlines By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News Did UFOs interfere with nuclear missile systems in the 1960s? Has the U.N. appointed an ambassador to the aliens? The nuke-test angle was today's highlight, due to a much publicized news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. Several retired military men discussed their recollections of an incident that took place at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in March 1967, relating to reported missile system malfunctions at two locations known as Echo Flight and Oscar Flight. You can hear the two men tell their stories in the video clip above, recorded by the NECN news network, or watch the full news conference here. Another retired U.S. military officer, Charles Halt, discussed the well-known 1980 Bentwaters incident. "I have no idea what we saw that night, but I do know it was under intelligent control," Britain's Mail Online quoted Halt as saying. Ambassador to the aliens? The task group, operating under the aegis of the U.N. Space.com
PS3 Hacker Raised All the Legal Funds Needed to Beat Sony in a Weekend Geohot, aka George Hotz, firmly believes that he has done nothing wrong. When he and the hacker group known as fail0verflow posted the PS3 rootkey online , allowing saavy consumers to install any operating system on the game console, he was not breaking any laws because he paid for Sony's hardware and doesn't have to follow their EULA. On his website Geohot claims that Sony is trying to use his case as a warning and has a team of five lawyers ready to rake him in court to send a message to other hackers. He also points out that other hackers have lost court battle not because they were wrong but because they lacked the money to mount a defense. When pressed with legal fees beyond his means, but a large amount of internet celebrity, Hotz's only recourse was to ask the masses to donate to his cause. Geohot may have underestimated the number of people who support his fight against Sony, as he received enough money for the first phase of defense in about 18 hours. Source: Geohot got sued
Berners Street Hoax The Berners Street Hoax was perpetrated by Theodore Hook in the City of Westminster, London, in 1810. Hook had made a bet with his friend, Samuel Beazley, that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week, which he achieved by sending out thousands of letters in the name of Mrs Tottenham, who lived at 54 Berners Street, requesting deliveries, visitors, and assistance. On 27 November, at five o’clock in the morning, a sweep arrived to sweep the chimneys of Mrs Tottenham's house. Theodore Hook, perpetrator of the hoax Hook stationed himself in the house directly opposite 54 Berners Street, from where he and his friend spent the day watching the chaos unfold. Despite a "fervent hue and cry" to find the perpetrator, Hook managed to evade detection, although many of those who knew him suspected him of being responsible. The site at 54 Berners Street is now occupied by the Sanderson Hotel. See also[edit] List of practical joke topics References[edit] Notes