There is no knowing the Evil Eyebrow
Mentioned by the Bad Astronomer: Jamie Bernstein was kicked out of the Autism One conference in Austin, Texas because, well, the Antivaxers are a tad nuts. A police officer walked up to Ken and me and said, “Are you aware that you have been asked to leave?” We both replied that no one had previously …
Continue reading “Yes, Virginia, There is an Antivax Conspiracy”
According to the AJC, a University of Alabama fan has poisoned Auburn’s famous Toomer’s Corner Live Oaks, a set of 130 year-old oak trees. Why? From the radio show where he made the claim: According to the Opelika-Auburn News, the caller said he poisoned the oaks because Auburn students rolled the trees to celebrate the …
Continue reading “Humans are Humans and Some aren't very Nice”
Is it a jailbreak if—through inaction—you are released before your time is up? Apparently a woman was released from prison a year early due to a paperwork snafu. If she knew that she still had time left and was complicit in the early release by doing nothing to correct the issue, is she liable for …
A race commentator in New Zealand recently decided that the person who won a race wasn’t “a real runner”. You see, Morgan had won the race but because he’s a big guy the race announcer (Mr. Dark a local Radio DJ) felt he simply wasn’t a real runner. “What right does the announcer have to …
Continue reading “Foot in Mouth Disease: "Runner" Definition”
I’ve been having some lively discussions surrounding Wikileaks’ release of United States diplomatic cables on November 28, 2010. I seem to be confusing some people with my arguments and statements. I intend to clear this up. For the record: I support Wikileaks’ publication of the diplomatic cables. However that information came into their hands, their …
Continue reading “Wikileaks, First Amendment, Espionage, Information Security”
From Bruce Schneier: More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments. […] Ramos-Lopez’s account had been closed when he was terminated from …
Jenn and I use a credit card almost exclusively for everyday transactions. This began as an effort to win Delta Skymiles (and is well worth the bookkeeping effort) but now seems like a good idea in general, unless we go back to cash. In the past, thieves used devices on the outside of gas pumps …
I hate surveys. I hate them because you cannot trust them. Why can you not trust them? Because generally you only see the “results” through the lens of the medium that is reporting them. Be it Fox News or CNN or the Obama Administration or (I’m not trying to pick on politics here) Habitat for …
We get bulletins from our local constabulary. They talk about the crime trends in the area and what else might be going on. Occasionally they’ll send tidbits like the following. Something tells me there’s a lot of excitement hidden behind these dry words (this is not anywhere near our house). 102309 0500 to 102409 0055 …
Everybody knows the Peter Principle, right? It goes something like, “in an organization, a person will tend to rise to their level of maximum incompetence.” Well, researchers from the Universita de Catiana have shown this to be the case in an agent-based system, leading to large reductions in efficiency. Any potential solutions? Yes, indeed. The …