I've Always Hated Walgreens

"Less than a month after a Palm Beach woman sued Walgreens for labeling her CrAzY!!" and "psycho" in its nationwide computer system, two more Floridians have come forward with similar allegations.

A Palm Beach Gardens grandmother, 64, filed suit Wednesday, accusing the retail chain of negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress for typing in its system in May 2003: "WATCH CONTROLS SHE SEEMS SHADY."

The drug business which is America's number one money maker, was one reason why I hate corner drugstores like Walgreens. This article just gave me another reason.

Google Keeps Search Data Private

"Google will not have to hand over any user's search queries to the government. That's what a federal judge ruled today when he decided to drastically limit a subpoena issued to Google by the Department of Justice. (You can read the entire ruling here and the government's original subpoena here.)

The government's original request demanded billions of URLs and two month's worth of users' search queries. Google resisted the subpoena, prompting the judge's order today. In addition to excluding search queries from the subpoena, Judge James Ware also required the government to limit its demand for URLs to 50,000. We will fully comply with the judge's order."

A significant win over privacy concerns. This DOES affect you and me, folks.

Official: Playstation 3 delayed until November

" Sony Corp., the world's biggest video-game console maker, will delay worldwide sales of the PlayStation 3 by about six months to November, giving Microsoft Corp. time to raise its share of the $20 billion global market.

The company had problems with the copyright protection standard for its Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology that will be included in the console, Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony's gaming unit, said at a conference with analysts, media and software makers in Tokyo today. Sony had planned a spring release. "

Not surprising by any means since it was supposed to launch in Spring yet everyone's been hush hush about its details. Come on Blu-Ray!

Google Mars!

Yes, Earthlings, it's true. Google has mapped the planet Mars using their oh-so-lovely mapping software intellect. It works damn well too - type "face" in the search field and see what comes up.

More Cassini Images

Some new images of Saturn's moon, Encaledus, where NASA's Cassini showed photographic evidence of water geysers erupting from the surface. (images courtesy of NASA. linked from wired.com)

Samsung's Flash Laptop

Samsung unveiled this 32GB flash laptop at one of the biggest and most important computer expos called CeBit. Supposedly costing around $30 per Gigabyte, it's not cheap, but it'll be quick, light and thinner than standard notebooks. Slick.

Saturn Moon, Encaledus, May Have Water

"NASA said Cassini images show icy jets and towering plumes ejecting huge quantities of particles at high speed. After studying the images, the scientists believe they show evidence of water jets erupting from near the icy surface."

"We realize that this is a radical conclusion, that we may have evidence of liquid water within a body so small and so cold," said Carolyn Porco, a Cassini team leader at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. "However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms."

Boy would this be a huge boost for NASA's space program amidst the financial problems and cutbacks they'd be likely facing if something big didn't happen fairly soon. Perfect timing, hm...

The "Why" and "How" of RSS

"Chances are, you're not entirely sure what the point of RSS is. I saw that little orange icon in Firefox, I've also seen their "live bookmarks" feature, which just looks cumbersome, and just never thought it could be helpful to me. Now, I wouldn't live without it. Here's why.

If you're like me, you have a ton of sites bookmarked or on your favorites list, depending on your browser of choice. That browser should be Firefox, by the way, but that's beside the point. You may have evolved and developed a list of maybe five, ten, fifteen sites you check every day to "stay in touch." RSS is a way you can be MORE in touch — with a higher number of sites — while doing less work."

Good article describing what RSS is and how to get the most out of it. Mostly geared towards Firefox users (which you should be using right now anyway).

Looks Like A Photo Of A Kitchen To Me...

..But it's not. The image on the right is a render. That's right, a computer render crafted by Benjamin Brasdau from Germany. The link in the topic title is direct from the CGSociety forums. There are a few more images in there - all jaw dropping. Please do yourself a favor and check them out. If someone showed me those images, I would have never guessed that they were computer generated. Awesome work.

Dubai's World-Beating Buildings

By the beginning of the next decade, relatively tiny Dubai -- it's smaller than Canada's Prince Edward Island, and has a population of about 1.4 million citizens -- will be home to an astonishing number of superlative architectural projects. These include Earth's tallest skyscraper, the first luxury underwater hotel, and a man-made archipelago of private, residential islands (yes, the biggest development of its kind) that will resemble a map of the world when seen from above.

Ok, forget about Dubai Ports Authority and the possible acquisition of some of our ports for a second and check out these amazing near future architectural masterpieces that they've got planned.

The topic is a direct link to the pictures. The link to the original article can be found here.

HD vs. DVD - Lord Of The Rings

Here are some supposed screen captures of The Lord Of The Rings captured in both High Definition and DVD. Mouse over each image for the High Definition version. Each screen is within one or two frames of each other, making for a good comparison.

Death To The Cubicle!

"Like many problems in the work arena, this one turns on numbers. The savings that accrue from jamming employees into cubes rather than offices, particularly in high-rent markets, can be huge. The productivity gains that come from giving workers a space where they can do uninterrupted, heads-down work -- those are harder to quantify."

Good article on those oh-so-wonderful boxes that some of us get to spend our work hours in.

Google Not Giving In To The Government

"Already on the defensive about its domestic spying program, the Bush administration has alarmed privacy and free-speech advocates by demanding search information from millions of users of Google and other Internet companies.

The moves raise questions about how far the government should be allowed to go to probe into American homes. The administration is pushing back hard, defending its surveillance as helping to protect the nation from terrorism and, to a lesser extent, shield minors from pornography."

Apparently the government wants internet search engines database information to crack down on child pornography. Uh. That sounds like a great idea until you realize how much information about you and your surfing habits that these internet search engine databases hold. Why not go after the websites that are hosting this crap instead of sifting through every American's search history?

Google is not giving up its information yet, stating that the government's request is ""unduly burdensome, vague and intended to harass."

I'm not sure what's more disturbing: The fact that MSN and Yahoo gave up their information in a heartbeat or the fact that the government is seeking this type of information. All of a sudden this news brings it to the attention of the general public which is now screaming "OMG, they store information about us?!!?!?" People that are upset about this need to pull their heads out of their collective asses. The internet isn't completely private and never will be - especially when you're talking about a free service. Those who think otherwise are complete morons, so stop your whining.

What's next? Will the government start demanding copies of your emails? Do you really think that just because you have the email in your inbox on your pc that a copy doesn't reside on the email server it came from? Laff. Go take a couple of reality pills and get back to me.

"See you next year!"

I'm going to deliver a roundhouse kick to someone's throat if I have to hear that again. What is it with people saying that? Do they think it's actually funny? That they're somehow witty using such a ridiculous statement? I'm sure it got a hearty laugh the first time you heard it, but never after that. Do people say it thinking the other person has never heard it before? If you are one of those people, here's a tip: Shut up. Just say Happy New Year and be done with it.



Happy New Year everybody!

Getting The Perfect Nap

"When billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett broke the record for around-the-world solo jet flight last March, he slept just 60 minutes in 67 hours of flight time -- 60 minutes broken into two- and three-minute naps. "I slept when I needed it and awoke refreshed," he says. Fossett, who holds world records in ballooning, sailing, and flying, adds that none of his feats could have been done without these micro-variety "power naps."

I've never been much of a napper because it seemed like more often than not, I would feel more sluggish than I did previously. From the information in the article and the following chart, I can see why - my naps were about half an hour, which they shouldn't be. I'm going to try shorter intervals when I feel I need some extra z's.

Almost forgot...

Wanted to wish my few readers a Merry Christmas and hoping for a great New Year for everyone!

*for those of you that get "offended" by me saying Merry Christmas, get over it. political correctness is a joke*

Santa IM worm hits AOL, MSN, and Yahoo

"A Santa Claus worm is attempting to trick America Online, Microsoft MSN and Yahoo instant-messaging users into clicking on a file that delivers unwanted software to a victim's computer.

The IM.GiftCom.All worm attempts to dupe IM users into thinking an acquaintance has sent them a link to a harmless Santa Claus file, according to a security advisory issued Tuesday by IMlogic."

I'm hoping most are smarter than this, but usually that's not the case. Please be very careful of what you receive and send in emails and Instant Messages. While we're on the subject of Security, double check to make sure that your anti-virus is up to date. How do you check? Right click on the application's icon in your taskbar and find where it says update. If, for some reason, you don't have anti-virus software or the one that came with your pc expired because you didn't want to pay the annual fee, you can download and install AVG Free Edition.

Game being developed for "sex ed"?

"The CanWest News Service has a piece up on Heather Kelley, an Ubisoft game designer who has created Lapis, a prototype of a Nintendo DS game that offers a "stealthy primer" on female sexuality.

At first glance, the game sort of looks like Nintendogs, but with a fluffy blue bunny. But as it turns out:

The prototype teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation on the cartoon. Players tickle, touch, tap, and stroke Lapis using the touch screen of the Nintendo DS, a hand-held video game device. They can also talk, sing and blow on the bunny's fur using the device's built-in microphone."

I doubt that this will make it through Nintendo, but is this the kind of crap we can expect our kids to get their hands on? Ridiculous.

Ebay CEO/President says 40,000 Xbox 360's sold

"As reported by Dow Jones last night based upon a presentation at the CSFB Annual Technology Conference, the 40,000 unit figure has left pundits flabbergasted. If launch supply estimates from American Technology Research are accurate, that would mean that 10% of all Xbox 360 consoles sold in the US were either sold or resold through eBay."



Might be a good idea to reserve several Sony PS3's once you're able to. Some of the Xbox 360's went for >$1000. Incredible.

Windows Live Safety Center

Windows Live Safety Center is up, in beta form, and looks to be a nice set of tools for the unsaavy computer user. Click on the link above to check it out. Here is the first review I've seen of Microsoft's new site.