Slashdot Mirror

The site seems to be slashdoted, so here's the Google cache and a Youtube video

The site doesn't seem to mention it, but why a wiimote? Why not a standard RC joystick?

The wiimote is okay with games, where misjudging the position of the wiimote will just screw up a virtual character. But why bring that into the real world where misjudging the position of the wiimote will send an industrial mower (with very sharp very fast spinning blades) off in the wrong direction? At least with the standard RC joystick if you let go of the control it'll snap back to the center and the mower would stop. You don't have the same feature with a wiimote, if you want to stop the mower you have to find the neutral zone yourself, if you drop the wiimote, the mower will go shooting off in some potentially dangerous direction (especially when near a road.)

Preston makes it sound so simple and easy to accept. Who among us aren't concerned with information security and the Internet? Preston lists a laundry list of issues that plague the Internet today. Who wouldn't support battling these issues?

The question, however, is who is going to support it. Preston claims that's what the CyberSafety Constituency would do. But do their supporters understand that?

Take some time to view the ICANN mailing list to register comments on this proposal. Note the emails sent in support. Then note how many of Preston's laundry list issues are mentioned. You'll be hard pressed to find anything that doesn't directly (or imply) one single issue: pornography.

Go ahead and look at that list's thread index . It'll help make the form letters stand out. Pornography becomes even more apparent.

Preston claims that this is not an issue of the Mormon church. However, if you look at the proposed initial membership, two things tend to form the familiar pattern: ties to the Mormon Church and pornography.

I'm not sure who Preston thinks she's fooling. Us, or the various people who have written in to support her proposal.

From her most infamous, and probably well-connected, supporter:

In Support Of Cyber Safety Contstituency

        * To: cyber-safety-petition@xxxxxxxxx
        * Subject: In Support Of Cyber Safety Contstituency
        * From: Ralph Yarro
        * Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 22:22:32 -0700

It is amazing that it has taken so long to add a voice of family values, decency, and children's rights to the ICANN family. I am Grateful to all those within ICANN that have recognized and hopefully support this much needed Charter.

Though far from balanced, this gesture will serve as a signal that ICANN cares about the hundreds of millions of Internet users who want to see families needs and concerns considered in the formation of policies and representation.

Please approve this most important voice for decency. It is an important step in the right direction. Thank you in advance.

Ralph Yarro

It's a pitty that even Ralph Yarro, who's business is technology, is so badly misled. That is, if you believe Preston.

I don't.

from the cache page.

Names, titles, and short phrases or expressions are not subject to copyright protection. Even if a name, title, or short phrase is novel or distinctive or if it lends itself to a play on words, it cannot be protected by copyright. The Copyright Office cannot register claims to exclusive rights in brief combinations of words such as:

* Names of products or services
* Names of businesses, organizations, or groups (including the name of a group of performers)
* Names of pseudonyms of individuals (including pen name or stage name)
* Titles of works
* Catchwords, catchphrases, mottoes, slogans, or short advertising expressions
* Mere listings of ingredients, as in recipes, labels, or formulas. When a recipe or formula is accompanied by explanation or directions, the text directions may be copyrightable, but the recipe or formula itself remains uncopyrightable.

Nope, haven't forgotten that, am aware of it, and also at the elevators and so on as well (although a lot of elevators had a very hard time keeping up with demand this year from a propane shortage for winter wheat). It is still MUCH lower than back when we maintained national food stockpiles. We had enough to provide some minimal basic foods for everyone for more than one complete growing season (and we fed poor folks domestically and used it for food aid overseas a lot back then), now we are at at best hoping this years growing season is OK all the time. *Hope* is the keyword there, because there is no backup. We will this year if harvests go good have a little more grains than last year, because of the economic slump. As to produce, California farmers are mostly SOL this year because of the drought, they just got their taps shutoff recently, that will cause some shortages as they are the largest producers. And, there's very little carry over of foodstuffs that can be stored sans refrigeration, some, but nothing like there used to be, the stuff gets sold or used quickly. If you are interested here is a (google cache) article from last year talking about the last of the official grain stockpiles being sold off.

And the other part of the equation is we were talking originally about some big electronic disaster, space weather wildcards. This would really impact getting stuff-food- delivered around and more food actually grown again the next season. The whole interconnected system needs to be up and working..for the whole system to be up and working. We can survive a small percentage downtime as long as it is spread out all over, this is what we do today, that's normal, but a general sudden drop in modern tech would devastate not only ag production but about everything else.

The whittling out toothpicks from tree branches industry would do OK though ;).

When will Outkast learn:
"Do not shake or bend developing pictures."

http://www.polaroid.com/service/userguides/photographic/one600classic_ug.pdf
or
http://74.125.93.104/search?q=cache:TMzxjpjAo28J:www.polaroid.com/service/userguides/photographic/one600classic_ug.pdf+do+not+shake+site:polaroid.com&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

A bit buggy (lassen sich derartige Kommunikationen leicht abhÃren, anyone?), but here it is.