Here Today, Gone to Mau'i

SWMBO and I are planning a short vacation to Mau'i in July. But as the date gets closer and closer, I begin to wonder what kind of delays and injustices we will have to endure to get through airport security. I saw something on TV recently where they were literally emptying the contents of a grandmother's suit case on to a table. This table was open to everyone and everyone was free to see what granny had heretofore so carefully packed. What indignities will we have to face?

Some people wonder why air travel is down, especially from foreign countries. But who want's to be subjected to such treatment? In the end, will any of this make us any safer? I don't think so because our enemies are more persistent and take a longer range view than we do. In addition, some of their leaders have more brains than some of ours.

In the end, we will probably go on our vacation, but it will not be as enjoyable as it could have been. Sigh.

On the Home Front

Has anyone checked the price of carpets recently? Has highway robbery made a comeback? In today's economy, how can they charge upwards of $7USD per square foot? One company actually has a tie-in with a bank so you can apply for a loan to pay for the carpet. You will need the loan because our little 1,600 square foot house would cost $14,000 to carpet. No, that is not a misprint. $14,000. I think not. And even if we signed the contract today, it would be six to eight weeks before it would be installed. Three to four weeks of that is to order the carpet from the mainland, and the balance because they are so back logged with orders. Who says the economy isn't doing well?

Klez Forged Mail

It's funny that the press hasn't picked up on the Klez email worm/virus more. There seemed to be mass hysteria about earlier vermin but nary a peep about this. Even though I am getting more of these infected emails than all of the others combined.

What is so pernicious about this one though is that it forges mail headers to make it appear to be coming from someone you know. Even though, of course, it is not. In fact, I got two this weekend which appeared to come from two different people when in fact, the headers showed the same Verizon IP address. Let's be careful out there.

Aloha!

Flat Out Four

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart [not that he's either - ed.] So last year when we bought the ViewSonic 15-inch VE150m LCD monitors for $348USD we may have hit them at a low point in price. Recently, prices have been trending slightly up as demand continues to outstrip supply (if you believe the manufacturers). But there are still some deals out there. See this page from ZDNet here which shows four LCD monitors below or near $400. Included is an NEC and also a Samsung. I can't say much about the other two so stick with the NEC or Samsung.

@nt It KeWl?

As a public service, I bring you this link here from transl8it.com. It allows you to become cluefull by translating from English to SMS Lingo or vice versa. So when those h4x0rz say they 0wNz0ring j00, you'll know what they are saying. Or not, because it doesn't know all the lingo.

Aloha!

MagLev On

What is touted as being the first maglev train in the US is described in this article here from the Virginian Pilot. The track is at Old Dominion University and is about two-thirds of a mile long (~1.2km), connecting one end of the campus to new construction across a major intersecting road.

US v. Drayton et al.

In our never ending "war" against drugs, the US Supreme Court has given law enforcement officers a new weapon (see the opinion here). Secrecy. Under the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution (see it here), "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..." Unfortunately, that does not include the right to be told you have that right. This means the police can stop you at anytime and begin searching you without telling you that you have the right to refuse to be searched and that you have the right, barring reasonable indications to the contrary, to continue on your way.

Heaven forbid you should ever be stopped by the police. But if you have, you understand the coercive power that they have. It is because, in part, of this inferred power, that the police must inform you of your rights when arresting someone. Unfortunately, they don't have to tell you anything up until that time.

I believe in the basic fairness of the people as a whole. But I fail to see that fairness, or balance, reflected in this opinion.

To me, this is just another indication of the shift of power from the people to the government. I guess Big Government is okay if it helps fight the "war" on drugs, or terrorism, or whatever is the fancy of the day.

A Dogs Life or Seal of Approval?

Sometimes a story crosses my desk (see it here) and I just have to say "ahhh". This is one of them. It seems a Labrador retriever fell into a fast moving river. The dog could not get out and soon became exhausted and floundered, his head sinking beneath the rushing waters.

Just as that was happening, a seal appeared out of nowhere and pushed the near lifeless dog to safety. Said one witness:

"I've never seen anything like it in my life. This dog would not have survived in the water if it hadn't been for that seal."

Sub-officer Mark Baxter, of Stockton fire station, said: "It's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. By the time we arrived the dog was on dry land and there were three seals bobbing in the water keeping an eye on him."

The lucky dog is now in the care of the RSPCA until its owner can be found.

Now all together now, "Ahhhh"

What Month is This?

Thank you to reader Jon Barrett and fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey for reminding me that this is June, not May and that I needed to update the dates on this page. I appreciate the headsup guys.

In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me. -- Rev. Martin Niemoeller, German Lutheran pastor arrested by the Gestapo in 1938. He was sent to the concentration camp at Dachau, where he remained until he was freed by the Allied forces in 1945.

Aloha!

Blast from the Past

So its been about two years since the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk. And according to reports, including this one here from the Los Angeles Times, the Russians are finally admitting the sinking was caused by one of its own torpedoes accidentally exploding, causing a chain reaction of explosions from the other torpedoes stored in the bow.

In the public shock wave that followed the Kursk's sinking, naval officials insisted that a foreign submarine lurking in the Barents Sea during Russian naval exercises was the most probable cause.

In February, after last fall's successful operation to raise the bulk of the Kursk, officials announced that the military was abandoning the type of torpedoes used on the sub.

The Russian naval chief, Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, acknowledged in February that the navy had placed unfounded trust in the torpedoes, which are propelled by volatile hydrogen peroxide.

Hard Pressed

The BBC has a story here about a Princeton University professor, Stephen Chou, who says he's invented a way of creating computer chips with higher densities than possible with current lithographic processes. YMMV.

A quartz die is pressed against the silicon, which is melted briefly by a laser.

Professor Chou says his invention can produce chip features 10 times narrower than current techniques.

If he manages to put his invention into practice, it will enable chip builders to pack 100 times as many components into the same area of silicon.

Truth or Consequences

The ongoing saga of just how the forest fires in Colorado started continue. First, our hero was running around trying to catch the person or persons who started the fire. Brave hero. Good hero. Then it turned out our hero was the one who accidentally started the fire while burning a letter sent to her from her estranged husband. Bad hero. But wait, there's more. Maybe the brush fire wasn't started accidentally after all, the evidence suggesting otherwise. Very, very bad hero. See one version of the story here.

Aloha!

It's Friday!

Soccer News

Both the US and England lost their matches today. All I can say is the US got further than anyone could have hoped for. Well done and see you in four years. God Bless America and God Save the Queen.

EssEff Buzzing over Kitty

I'm not going to get anywhere near this one so I'll let the article here, speak for itself (and don't blame me if the PETA folks come after you):

Hello Kitty lunchbox? Cute.

Hello Kitty T-shirt? Sweet.

Hello Kitty vibrator? Cough, splutter, gasp.

It's true, folks. San Francisco's notorious sex-toy shop, Good Vibrations, has received from Japan a shipment of vibrators bearing the lovable cartoon icon's image.

And already, customers are buzzing with excitement.

"They're very popular," said Good Vibrations [Not Safe for Work or Kiddies - ed.] spokeswoman Joyce Solano. "People like them because they're cute, really discreet and can be left on a coffee table or packed in a bag to go traveling."

Values vs. Interests

There is a movie opening today. It is a Disney movie. There have been very good reviews, including a thumbs up from Roger Ebert (See the review here. The link will expire shortly). It is situated on the island of Kaua'i. From all accounts, it is a terrific movie that both adults and children would enjoy. But it is a Disney movie. So I will say no more.

Aloha!