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Comment This is an uphill battle (Score 1) 641

by teklob (#31962462) Attached to: Climate Researchers Fight Back

I do not envy Mr. Weaver in this case. IANAL but as I understand Canadian libel law, not only must he prove false claims were made, he must also prove they did damage to his reputation. So he will essentially be required in open court to trash himself.

In addition, I believe this sort of lawsuit is counter productive. I agree that the science should stand on its own, and now, despite his lawyers claims that the libel has 'gone viral,' the supposedly libelous story will witness a new level of exposure.

Also, according to the article, he is suing the paper, three writers and will attempt to sue commentors on the paper's website. I say to him, good luck.

Comment Some more resources (Score 1) 165

by teklob (#30986278) Attached to: The Web Way To Learn a Language
The article doesn't mention http://www.sharedtalk.com/ - a free service offered by Rosetta Stone that allows you to chat via text or voice with other people. You enter your native languages and practicing languages, and find people to talk to. Works quite well.

I've been meaning to get through some more rosetta stone mandarin lessons...

If you're interested in mandarin in particular, this guy also has some cool info including a list of the 3000 most used characters, ranked by how common they are. Supposedly 3000 is the magic number for reading your average Chinese newspaper. http://www.zein.se/patrick/3000char.html

Comment Re:So...IPv6 then? (Score 1) 326

by teklob (#29775261) Attached to: Lockheed Snags $31 Million To Reinvent the Internet, Microsoft To Help
As hard as it is for this crowd to hear, Microsoft is very much synonymous with technology for those who have no clue. Unfortunately, many of those people still hold a great deal of sway in the `real world` of politics and corporations.
If I was the US military realizing I had no control over the internet and freaking out, the next best way I can think of to dominate global communication again is to create my own, slightly different internet, where the differences are mostly to do with the level of control I have over it.
Then all I need to do is get everyone else to start using my network, and a good way to start is with the big corporations whose interests already somewhat align with my own.

whoops, forgot I had that foil hat on, never mind
Image

Wired Writer Disappears, Find Him and Make $5k 135

Posted by samzenpus from the hiding-in-plain-sight dept.
carp3_noct3m writes "A freelance Wired magazine journalist has decided to see what it is like to disappear from normal life, all while staying on the grid. The catch, is that he is challenging anyone and everyone to find him, take a picture, and speak a special codeword to him. If you can do that, you can make 5000 dollars, which happens to come out of his paycheck for the article he'll be writing. Oh, and to top it all off, whoever finds him gets pictures and interviews in Wired. He has been posting to his Twitter, using TOR for internet, and the Wired website will be posting his credit card transactions."

Comment Mod Parent Up (Score 1) 647

by teklob (#28947179) Attached to: Philips Develops Roadside Drug-Testing Device
Mod parent up. This is exactly right. Hundreds of accidents are caused every day by perfectly sober people who are just terrible drivers to begin with. Why should I be held to a higher standard because I was actually a better driver at some previous point. Shouldn't the definition of acceptable safety be uniform across the board?
Medicine

Submission + - Psychopaths have brain structure abnormality (examiner.com) 4

Submitted by mmmscience
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Psychopaths-have-brain-structure-abnormality A group of scientists have identified a structure in the brain of psychopaths that is abnormal when compared to controls. The change is found in the uncinate fasciculus, a bridge of white matter that connects the amygdale (emotion/aggression brain region) and the orbitofrontal cortex (decision making region). Interestingly, the greater the abnormality in the region, the more severe the levels of sociopathy in a subject. A researcher on the team suggests the finding could have considerable implications in the world of criminal justice, where such scans could presumably be presented as evidence in a trial.
Education

Blackboard Patent Invalidated By Appellate Court 142

Posted by timothy from the mechanism-for-doing-stuff-described-herein dept.
Arguendo writes "A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Blackboard Inc.'s patent on a learning management system is invalid in light of the inventors' own prior software product. We have previously discussed the patent and Blackboard's trial court victory against Desire2Learn. It's not completely over, but this is almost certainly the death knell for Blackboard's patent. If so inclined, you may read the appellate court's decision here (PDF) or on scribd."
Privacy

Bars' Scanning of ID Violates BC Privacy Laws 198

Posted by kdawson from the drinking-in-private dept.
AnonymousIslander writes "The Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Province of British Columbia has ruled that electronic scanning of driver's licenses (and similar forms of ID) as a condition of entering a bar or nightclub is a violation of BC's Personal Information Privacy Act. The decision (PDF), while dealing with one specific club, will still have ramifications across the entire province. It is not known if the nightclub in question will attempt to appeal the decision in court. A similar decision was reached last year in Alberta. The system in question is known as BarWatch, and has been the target of criticism by many for a number of years. Despite this, a number of bars/nightclubs and restaurants in communities across Canada have installed similar systems, and just days before this decision came down there were calls for the expansion of BarWatch in Victoria to cover restaurants and other establishments serving the post-bar crowds." Similar systems are in use across the US, as we have discussed.
Science

People Emit Visible Light 347

Posted by timothy from the lots-of-girls-I-know-glow-visibly dept.
An Anonymous Reader writes "The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day, scientists now reveal. Japanese researchers have shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light, which is thought to be a byproduct of biochemical reactions involving free radicals."

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