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There have been several studies of Coral reefs and are linked to a rising ocean temperature... This is an interesting interview on the subject. Now I am not saying that "global warming" as it is presented by some is true, but you can't ignore some things. One should get educated and read information from both sides of the argument. One thing is certain, changes are occuring be they from a 1000+ year cycle, mankind, or both. Who knows, it could even be multiple cycles coinciding... *shrug*

I for one am pleased that at least one government is responsible enought to step in to put limits on this bizarrely violent form of brainwashing. I'm speaking now about the Point & Shoot video games with graphic results and no consequences.Are we so naive that we think this has no impact on kids. Probably it would be best that adults not mess with this sh.. either, but it's hard to put the Genie back in the bottle. And even a commie Canuk knows there is a limit to what the state can and should do to protect adults from their own self-abusive behaviour. At least one battlefield psychologist, Colonel David Grossman, sees these "games" as little more that killing simulators that are alarmingly similar to the type used to desensitize solidiers and law enforcement agents -- but without the discipline and supervision that keeps these state-trained killers in check. While I don't agree with all that Grossman says (in fact I think he's a bit shell-shocked himself), he makes good reading and there is audio available here as well.

But seriously folks, be glad you don't live here in Salt Lake City, we have to put up with this hipocracy daily. They lie cheat and steal to get the Olympics here, but nowthat they have it, they will be angry if anyone butts in.... I am truely, truely sorry that you all have to watch the 2002 winter olymipics in your own country be so throughly screwed up. I really am.

Hey, it could be worse, you could be in Sydney.

One of the more amusing storylines was the registration of a personal domain by a Mr. Sydney Games . . .

I moved here from the US, and noticed a vast difference in the govt. attitude towards the net/media.

The US policy in general is that business must be left alone, unless necessary to safeguard consumers. The Australian policy is that govt. must *guarantee* good results to consumers. This can take comical effect.

In parliament, you can hear the Prime minister and the opposition leader argue over the management details of how Telstra, the govt. monopoly phone company, should be run, what the pricing policy should be, etc. From a US perspective, this is shocking stuff - elected leaders running company business.

Thus it is not surprising that the govt. here is dreaming about regulating streaming media on the net. For all the whining that Americans do about how bad they have it, they have no clue how lucky they are.

The problem is not that the Aussie govt. is particularly clueless about the net. All govts. are equally clueless - the problem is that the Aussie govt. has WAY too much power over what people can hear and read.

The govt. can decide what/when/how things should be broadcast. Check out this story on ABC news , the govt. funded media/news corporation. But it's even funnier when politicians regulate pr0n.

Yes, Virginia, there is censorship in Australia. Want to see what the Aussie govt. thinks of your favorite multiplayer game? Go check it out! Yes, books are censored too. Don't you want to be sure the public doesn't read naughty things?

Having said there, there is considerable irony in some situations. Breasts can be seen all over the place, even on movie posters in public view. Some weeks ago there was a TV show on censorship, and lo and behold, there was shown a scene of two women licking breasts, on prime time news. Unthinkable on good old American soil, land of free speech and all. Yet openly shown in a country with censorship, on a program on censorship, on a govt. funded TV channel. The irony doth overflow.

Overall, though, the regulation stifles competition. One side effect of all this is that Australia lags behind the US by about 4-5 years in bandwidth, because everything is so heavily regulated and the competition is dampened. When I check out ISPs, there are still those stupid "plans", depending on your download limits and how many hours you spend online. Not one ISP in this city offers unlimited bandwidth AND unlimited hours. All on 56K, of course.

Anyway, I'm done with my ranting. Australia sucks on a grand scale when it comes to the internet.

w/m

more censorship info here

I moved here from the US, and noticed a vast difference in the govt. attitude towards the net/media.

The US policy in general is that business must be left alone, unless necessary to safeguard consumers. The Australian policy is that govt. must *guarantee* good results to consumers. This can take comical effect.

In parliament, you can hear the Prime minister and the opposition leader argue over the management details of how Telstra, the govt. monopoly phone company, should be run, what the pricing policy should be, etc. From a US perspective, this is shocking stuff - elected leaders running company business.

Thus it is not surprising that the govt. here is dreaming about regulating streaming media on the net. For all the whining that Americans do about how bad they have it, they have no clue how lucky they are.

The problem is not that the Aussie govt. is particularly clueless about the net. All govts. are equally clueless - the problem is that the Aussie govt. has WAY too much power over what people can hear and read.

The govt. can decide what/when/how things should be broadcast. Check out this story on ABC news , the govt. funded media/news corporation. But it's even funnier when politicians regulate pr0n.

Yes, Virginia, there is censorship in Australia. Want to see what the Aussie govt. thinks of your favorite multiplayer game? Go check it out! Yes, books are censored too. Don't you want to be sure the public doesn't read naughty things?

Having said there, there is considerable irony in some situations. Breasts can be seen all over the place, even on movie posters in public view. Some weeks ago there was a TV show on censorship, and lo and behold, there was shown a scene of two women licking breasts, on prime time news. Unthinkable on good old American soil, land of free speech and all. Yet openly shown in a country with censorship, on a program on censorship, on a govt. funded TV channel. The irony doth overflow.

Overall, though, the regulation stifles competition. One side effect of all this is that Australia lags behind the US by about 4-5 years in bandwidth, because everything is so heavily regulated and the competition is dampened. When I check out ISPs, there are still those stupid "plans", depending on your download limits and how many hours you spend online. Not one ISP in this city offers unlimited bandwidth AND unlimited hours. All on 56K, of course.

Anyway, I'm done with my ranting. Australia sucks on a grand scale when it comes to the internet.

w/m

more censorship info here

Okay, firstly it's Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I'm pedantic, so sue me! ;)

It's interesting that there's an emphasis on 'streaming', because after all in terms of data transfer, the streaming is no more a broadcast than any other form of data on the net is it?
That may be nitpicking, but I really can't see a similarity between a TV/Radio broadcast and an ordered download of a video file!
It's really a one-to-one file tranfer that's initiated by the user, and stoppable by the user. It's also only part of the medium.

I suppose it just depends where you draw the line on a broadcast. What I am trying to convey is that it's less intrusive than traidional broadcast media. For now at least.

If it'll stop the net turning into a big TV at the expense of bandwidth, it probably a good thing though!

"How much truth can advertising buy?" - iNsuRge - AK47

So the smarter, bigger rats have already noticed that the Web is the wave of the future and decided to carve their place into it, haven't they?

After all, although the bird is far less intelligent than the rats, it is probably a superb choice as a test animal for a browser to be used by smaller mammals.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Lets look at the facts folks:

We've made them bigger.
We've made them smarter.
We've made them glow.
We've cured their diabetes.
We've even armed them with ears on their back!

Am I saying the world is going to be taken over by hyperintelligent glowing super mice that shoot insulin from the ears on their backs?

Of course not!

I'm saying the pan-galactic beings from another dimension who run this planet are getting ready for war, and they are using the Earth as a training facility.


(If you haven't read the hitchhickers guide to the galaxy let me first say don't panic! Secondly, go read it.)

• The ABC web site has a transcript of the story on Thursday's 7.30 report.
• The Australian's web site also has an article on the issue. The Australian is Australia's national newspaper.

• The ABC web site has a transcript of the story on Thursday's 7.30 report.
• The Australian's web site also has an article on the issue. The Australian is Australia's national newspaper.

Link: Managing Director of Crimenet says visitors to the updated site must state if they are jurors on a trial before they can access information.

Link: "Queensland has joined New South Wales and Victoria in expressing concern about the impact of an Internet site which contains details on criminals."

Link: "Australian attorneys-general will consider ways to protect the jury system, after an Internet site forced a murder trial to be aborted."

Link: Managing Director of Crimenet says visitors to the updated site must state if they are jurors on a trial before they can access information.

Link: "Queensland has joined New South Wales and Victoria in expressing concern about the impact of an Internet site which contains details on criminals."

Link: "Australian attorneys-general will consider ways to protect the jury system, after an Internet site forced a murder trial to be aborted."

Link: Managing Director of Crimenet says visitors to the updated site must state if they are jurors on a trial before they can access information.

Link: "Queensland has joined New South Wales and Victoria in expressing concern about the impact of an Internet site which contains details on criminals."

Link: "Australian attorneys-general will consider ways to protect the jury system, after an Internet site forced a murder trial to be aborted."

... and do something about it!

Seriously, is there anybody who would like to perhaps donate a server and some bandwidth to set up a pay-per-mp3 site? Sure, mp3.com already sells mp3s over the 'net, but there's nothing wrong with a little competition (something the RIAA would most likely disagree with).

I see plenty of people saying "I'd buy the song for $x", but nobody saying "I'll sell the song for $x". This is something that is almost certainly within our power as a community to correct. mp3.slashdot.org anyone?

Perhaps selling mp3s simultaneously at 128kbps (for use with Rio etc) and 256kbps (for PC use), or maybe even do audio burns onto CD or MiniDisc for the neato factor? This would allow for the "mix-n-match" CD's that so many people seem to be wishing for.

I realize that many people would be turned off somewhat working for free on a project designed to make other people money, but that could perhaps be rectified by a *modest* percentage of sales (2.5%? 5? It'd add up eventually :p) going towards paying for bandwidth (initially) and the people working on it.

Getting groups to participate would most likely be dead easy - Triple J (as an example) has their yearly "Unearthed" feature where they call for tapes or CDs from local bands in certain areas, then take the best tracks, rerecord them professionally and put them on a CD. According to their web site they have received over 4000 entries since they started.

You have to admit, it'd look good to be able to have a headline reading something along the lines of "Evil DeCSS and MP3 hackers outsell RIAA", wouldn't it?

I know that I'd certainly be willing to help out if it meant paying less for the music I like, whilst at the same time paying the artist more for their work..

Ah well, that's just my thoughts on the issue. Perhaps here we have a chance to wipe out their intended image of "hackers" and beat them at their own game.

Actually now I live in New York, I don't pay AUD Taxes, but Triple J is still my background programming noise. Listen to it now Non commercial, full of quality programming, sounds like an OS we all know.

I think we've just found the next candidate for the UK's Intelligence Agency's hiring spree. It might not hold a candle up to
Skevin - "I want to protest the DeCSS ruling but my boss won't let me"
Database Design and Programming
Disney Televentures
Burbank, CA.

Incidentally, someone rang in to my favourite talk back radio show on Thursday, to ask DR Karl (the top Australian science guy) why he is getting a ball of lightning whenever he places a lit candle and a tooth pick into a microwave!

Here is the link to the actual question that was asked, and here is a link to the discussion which is very interesting.

Also if youre lazy to check out the above links, here is a direct link to a web page that has instructions on how to make your own ball of lightning!!

Enjoy :)

Incidentally, someone rang in to my favourite talk back radio show on Thursday, to ask DR Karl (the top Australian science guy) why he is getting a ball of lightning whenever he places a lit candle and a tooth pick into a microwave!

Here is the link to the actual question that was asked, and here is a link to the discussion which is very interesting.

Also if youre lazy to check out the above links, here is a direct link to a web page that has instructions on how to make your own ball of lightning!!

Enjoy :)

Incidentally, someone rang in to my favourite talk back radio show on Thursday, to ask DR Karl (the top Australian science guy) why he is getting a ball of lightning whenever he places a lit candle and a tooth pick into a microwave!

Here is the link to the actual question that was asked, and here is a link to the discussion which is very interesting.

Also if youre lazy to check out the above links, here is a direct link to a web page that has instructions on how to make your own ball of lightning!!

Enjoy :)

Coal Combustion: Nuclear Resource or Danger?

Releases in 1982 from worldwide combustion of 2800 million tons of coal totaled 3640 tons of uranium (containing 51,700 pounds of uranium-235) and 8960 tons of thorium

I only found this out recently from a chapter in one of Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's New Moments in Science books. And there's a whole lot of other nasty emissions besides. It makes nuclear power look safer than baby wipes in comparison.

In Perth at least, Triple J is already broadcasting on RDS I believe. My Mum's car radio picks it up.

The small West African nation of Gambia has emerged as one of the only countries in the world to be seriously affected by power blackouts and other disruptions in the New Year.

The International Y2K Cooperation Centre, based in the US, says the Gambian energy sector experienced significant power outages while air and sea transportation, the financial sector and government services have been crippled.

Failures have been reported in the Gambian Treasury Department, the National Tax Service and at the Customs Service.

[More at URL...]

The small West African nation of Gambia has emerged as one of the only countries in the world to be seriously affected by power blackouts and other disruptions in the New Year.

The International Y2K Cooperation Centre, based in the US, says the Gambian energy sector experienced significant power outages while air and sea transportation, the financial sector and government services have been crippled.

Failures have been reported in the Gambian Treasury Department, the National Tax Service and at the Customs Service.

[More at URL...]

The main Australian site for Y2k event reports, http://www.y2kaustralia.gov.au/ clearly shows no events in any sector, in any state. Yet, the ABC breaking news site has a story of Y2k problems hitting a transport ticketing system in one or two states.

This is just one I've spotted. How many other events aren't being reported on official Y2k event reporting sites?

The main Australian site for Y2k event reports, http://www.y2kaustralia.gov.au/ clearly shows no events in any sector, in any state. Yet, the ABC breaking news site has a story of Y2k problems hitting a transport ticketing system in one or two states.

This is just one I've spotted. How many other events aren't being reported on official Y2k event reporting sites?

Regarding "brain drain" I was looking for an article about the sledging Bryan Gaensler, the Young Australian of the Year, gave the govt on Science and education policy before thumbing his nose and heading for a postdoc in .edu.us. The closest I can get is this which gives this extract:

Government 'has driven science to crisis'
The Young Australian of the Year, Dr Bryan Gaensler, said yesterday he would be ``absolutely insane to come back to Australia" and work. Dr Gaensler, 25, an astronomer who is now on a scholarship in the United States, launched a scathing attack on t ...
Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 1999 (358 words)

So to any expat aussies thinking about return (as I did) the lifestyle issues would have to be overwhelming.

In case anyone is interested.

I agree with the previous poster - didn't have much about what he was ot be doing other than "working for Linuxcare via the internet"

According to the ABC (the .AU one, not the American one), this will be covered by new privacy legislation. Whether this is effective is a different matter.

For all the /.ers who were saying that the Australian media doesn't care (mainly in yesterday's article), this led the 6pm news on ABC today. Maybe the ABC reads slashdot...

• a Sunday Age (Melborne) article which describes the discovery of a 52 year old computer found in a dusty warehouse weighing in at 2,000 kilograms.

• Because the tunes were first played between 1951 and 1953, Doornbusch is confident it was probably the first computer music anywhere.

• In 1948 he, with Maston Beard, commenced the design of a stored program electronic computer. This machine, the CSIR Mark I, was developed largely independently of work then underway in Britain and the US.

• http://www.pearcey.org.au/
• 
  http://www.pearcey.org.au/obituary.html

There are penguins in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
Here is a link to a news story about them.

Can someone please explain for all us Aussies who the Sandman is that you're talking about? jjj :-)

To quote from Internet Names Australia's (the .com.au domain name register) the .com.au domain has similar rules to .ca:
'[a business] currently registered and trading in Australia [may] register an Internet address (domain name) that is closely aligned with their commercial name.'

There is also a provision disallowing generic product names (whois.aunic.net has no listing for beer.com.au for instance :-) ).

However there are several problems with this policy.
(i) Businesses cannot use registered trademarks as domain names. They get around this by registering 'shelf' business names, ie ones they're never going to use... This annoys people with interests in promoting a commercial product, but they get around it by registering a shelf name they're never going to use. Not ideal.
(ii) The above provision also causes trouble by allowing people to squat on non-generic, but recognisable names by registering a related business name. The national youth ('alternative') radio station, Triple J, has a website at http://triplej.abc.net.au, but of course, domain name guessing might lead a "young fan" to type 'http://www.jjj.com.au' (JJJ being the station ID), which is currently (and amusingly defensively) being squatted on.

I choose to start this comment now.

Who is Sandman you are talking about. Coming from Australia, the Sandman is a bloke originally on a radio station, now on tv, that is a "loser" at everything.... Actually very funny. His trademark lines are "I choose to start this story now.", and "The end.".

For more info, go to Triple J.

sorry to the !".au" majority here. It only makes sense if you have ever listened to or watched Roy and HG on ABC or JJJ

sorry to the !".au" majority here. It only makes sense if you have ever listened to or watched Roy and HG on ABC or JJJ

sorry to the !".au" majority here. It only makes sense if you have ever listened to or watched Roy and HG on ABC or JJJ

The Australian security service wants to be able to do the same thing, except that they dont want to go to the bother of getting a search warrant or anything like that. Check out http://www.abc.net.au/news/features/stories/s43177 .htm I havn't been able to find out much about this, it looks like the government are just trying to skip it past without anyone noticing.

For a quick summary (copied from that link),

Australia's Security Intelligence Organisation, ASIO, wants new powers to allow it to hack into computers and tap into people's tax records.

The ASIO Legislation Amendment Bill,
now before Parliament, has not yet
provoked much public debate, despite
the wide range of new powers the
organisation is seeking.

The Bill includes:

The power to hack into targeted computers for information
and to add, delete, or alter data in that computer.
The power to access the confidential tax files of targeted
individuals or companies and pass on that information to
unspecified third parties.
The power to access the international financial trading
records of their targets.
And the power to contract out agents to do commercial
business.

"...drinking coffee could protect people from radioactivity, according to scientists in India..."

looks like they could be looking into ways to protect their population from fallout? with the trouble in the Kashmir highlands, the timed release of reports like this do nothing to ease the possibility of nuclear sabre rattling.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that the bill, according to Senator Alston (who herded the bill thought the Senate), applies to some forms of E-mail as well. In particular to list mail and so will be subject to scrutiny and censorship. See here for more detail

Marijuana : a special report from New Scientist (Mar 1999)

What's your poison: an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) documentry series (from the Quantum show) comparing Nicotine, Caffeine, Alcohol, Marijuana and Ecstasy. (Apr 1997)

But we can't feed everyone in the world on an average western diet.

It's recently been estimated that each person in Sydney requires 4.5 hectares of productive land. If all the world's people were to live as people in Sydney do, we would need three times all the productive land on the planet ( Radio interview with Dr Ted Trainer, UNSW)

This is mainly due to the enormous amount of land needed to grain to feed to cattle for beef. Genetic engineering might help here, but perhaps more importantly, we need some social engineering to reduce the high meat diet of most of the western world. (That said, I'm not a vegetarian myself...).

Of course efficient communication is an vital tool for education, which might be able to encourage this sort of social change. So Freeman Dyson might have a point here regarding the internet.

Having mentioned Internet and Genome, I suppose I should comment on the Sun too :) One of the major problems with western culture is it's phenomenal energy consumption. I don't think relying on solar power (or fusion) is neccesarily the answer. We need to reduce energy consumption. Don't panic. I'm not suggesting we turn off all our computers to save energy. In fact, computers and the internet could (and should) actually reduce the energy consumption of our society.

A large percentage of western energy consumption is spent on transport (heating and cooling are also big factors - use proper insulation!). But of course we can now cut at least our own transport cost to almost zero: Telecommute to work!

The cost of transporting food is a pretty amazing. Did you know that the for each litre of milk consumed in the US, half a litre of diesel is used to get it there?

Ted Trainer provides fairly radical suggestion for reducing both the amount of land we use, and our energy consumption. Live Simply ... so that others can simply live. It involves changing what we define and expect of our standard of living, and restructuring our cities with things such as more local food production (permaculture, urban market gardens), and decentralised business/industrial districts.

Heh. I heard that this morning as I was in that semi-asleep mode after waking up. They had me confused there for a few minutes until I remembered the date.

Darn you TripleJ :)