While some of these chips might have kill switches, I doubt many do and I doubt that many governments are competent to keep track of this sort of thing. To say nothing of actually implementing an attack.

"Q. All the vowels have disappeared from a paragraph I wrote! What's going on?

A. We did it. Someone (a moderator, one of the Boingers) was expressing displeasure at your remarks. The technique is called disemvowelling. It deprecates but does not delete the remark. With work, the disemvowelled text should still be readable. "

The above is very, very stupid.

Like the comments above I've tried to like Miro but it still doesn't obey OS DPI/font settings. I can't use it until it does.

This Google News URL also works:

http://news.google.com/news?svnum=10&as_scoring=n&hl=en&q=*+source%3Awall_street_journal&btnG=Search

I would hope anybody who his done to them beats the shit of whatever lame-ass prankster.

Wow lots of snooty assholes looking down on Arkansans.

Two words: Fuck you!

Not sure how effective this is but I admire the ingenuity behind it.

The only way to keep a bike from being stolen around here is to make it look as shitty as possible. Locks, irrespective of type, have little deterrent effect.

I adjust rabbit ears about once a week. Better HD quality than my cable company.

Some are just wishful thinking--like not driving a car? Not practical for 90% of the US population.

I also disagree with "paying with cash". Still needed for some small businesses, individuals, garage sales, and general anonymity.

And with "reading a paper map". I use Google Maps and Mapquest like anyone else but I still print out their maps. On paper.

I went to Starbucks today for the first time in 5 years (to burn off a giftcard). It was horrid--a bunch of hybrid hippies/yuppies conspicuously showing off their latest Apple purchases.

I hope to not go back for at least another five years.

BTW everything they sell is laughably overpriced.

This seems perfectly reasonable.

Does microwaving boiling water really work well for cleaning a microwave?

This is ex post facto style bullshit.

Some pointless youtube zen: Vanna White talking about fonts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4uXrpvTWNo

What the hell are the admins thinking, scrambling posts??? WTF?? What small-minded pettiness!

The Boston PD just can't let it go, can they. Yeesh.

Nice hips.

Der Untergang.

It seems faster but Miro still doesn't obey Windows DPI settings. That means fonts are too small to be readable on an HTPC.

I like the idea of the I Heart Miro extension, but are these guys trustworthy?

This is terrible and wonderful.

"Worn parchment and fading ink" may make James Gleick pause, but that doesn't do it for me.

Different strokes.

People get old because of their genes, not their outlook.

Regarding coinstar you can avoid the service charge by going to one that does giftcards. So long as you get paid with a giftcard, no service fee.

You can also get straight cash with no fee by unplugging the modem connection--when the machine can't call home, no fee. I'm sure this is illegal though there's a very definitive guide somewhere in the web explaining in great detail how to time it.

I wish there was an answering machine this simple. I hooked one up for my grandmother post-Christmas and it's just too complicated for her.

There was a movie about the same sort of stunt, pretty sure it was an actual Walmart in the movie. Can't remember the name though.

Did they raise their arms to the sky in triumph during a thunderstorm?

From my time in Germany I have "kein anschluss unter dieser nummer" burned into my brain.

I Am Not A Lawyer.

Not a good sign when an educational agency must remain neutral on teaching freaking _science_.

Note to self: Don't buy a Western Digital product for the next 20 years.

This fills me with sweet sweet schadenfreude.

Yes it's safe, it's uranium ore not pure uranium. Basically rock that you can you to scare people if you have a Geiger counter handy.

Best Buy is about as bad, with the bonus that their receipts fade really quickly.

I'd buy it...after an 80% price drop. Let the early adopters bear the pain of R&D.

Microsoft has just announced a similar privacy violation on the Xbox Live service. With less than a week's notice anyone will be able to see who your friends are, and it's opt-out instead of opt-in.

But suicide by burger is the very best kind of suicide. Slow and oh so delicious.

"Using Miro is as easy as using a TiVo."

That is absolutely not true, not even close. That said, I hope Miro continues to improve and eventually becomes a big success. I've certainly discovered some shows there that I otherwise never would've heard known about.

Shmuel ninjaed me.

I lived in Germany back in the 90's and can say that used books are available for less than new ones. The link from your post confirms this:

"Save for old, used or damaged books, discounting in Germany is illegal"

The Notes blocking must be some kind of blundering mistake.

It'll run ok for basic email, web browsing, and word processing. More than that, get a better system.

There was a huge number of these sorts of books published in the mid-80s. About as kitschy as a communist state gets.

Great reading and fairly accessible as most any university with a good library would have copies of similar books.

This guide is a little harsh on US schools/libraries, at least in my experience. My local library has censorware, but it can easily be set to be disabled by default.

And the local ginormous state university has no blocking software at all.

I'd be interested in hearing what other people have experienced in their local libraries and schools.

Fascinating stuff. That is one very specific convention.