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This would also keep thallium out of the hands of serial killers:
https://www.theledger.com/arti...

Who gets to decide what week is what?

Part of that is the job of Nielsen Media Research, which designates a few specific weeks per year as sweeps weeks. In particular, Shark Week is the name used by Discovery for an annual week-long programming block. And lately it has had splash-over synergy with another network's Sharknado .

we need more apprenticeship / trades schools and less college.

We are sending to many people to college and some of them are not college material and they should be in an apprenticeship or an trades school.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20130329/EDIT02/130329193

Which is irrelevant to the discussion. The fact remains these people, like drug users, have made a choice to do something which is known to cause health issues. Why should the rest of us be forced to pay to protect them from their own choice?

Also, there are contradictory studies on how much smokers cost, to wit:

Abstract

However, more recent studies show smokers DO cost more in healthcare than non-smokers:

NBCnews

Further, the following article talks about not only smokers, but the obese. In both cases the response from people is, "It's my life, I can do with it as I want." Which is correct. With few exceptions, one is free to live as they choose.

However, that does not mean your actions don't have consequences to the rest of us. In this case, their actions cost me money.

The Ledger

Yup, Stamp Collecting is harmless
http://www.firehouse.com/forums/t91087/


Well, maybe not... but darn it, maybe a simple argument over Ford vs. Chevy is then...

http://www.theledger.com/article/20060418/NEWS/604180378


Well, that's unfortunate.

How about stop blaming religion, politics, or any other grouping of people and start blaming oh... I don't know... maybe the people who are responsible themselves? Stupidity is an individual problem that just happens to grow in groups, regardless of the reason for those groups.

Pathetic.

If you're connecting an air hose to an IV, there is something really wrong. Any nurse who does something like this is purely incompetent. I know several RNs and talk to a few on a daily basis. It is a somewhat stressful and fast-paced job, but you cannot ethically exceed your working pace. Every nurse should physically trace each tube to its receptacle. If there are two tubes in the vicinity but not even in proximity, extra care should be taken to trace the tube tactilely. The government-protectionist tone here ("Critics say the tubing problem, which has gone on for decades, is an example of how the FDA fails to protect the public.") is absurd and gives you NO excuse to shed the responsibility for your actions.

If these devices can be designed so this can't happen, then designers, manufacturers, etc. are also not taking responsibility for their actions. It's all well and good to point fingers at the end user, but if you built this stuff and you could have made it more foolproof and didn't, you failed too. It is not necessary of even advisable to have a device with only one layer of defense against misuse. This is a design flaw.

For an excellent example of this sort of design failure, see the Therac-25 case. Therac-25 case used to be taught in just about every system design class for a while. Unfortunately, this happened so long ago that programmers and s/w engineers forgot the lesson and a similar problems have happened again.

Everyone who designs anything that gets used by anyone should read The Design of Everyday Things to disabuse themselves of the notion that it's always the fault of the stupid, incompetent, careless, rushing, undertrained user.

Yes, it's harder. No, you can't anticipate everything. But every problem you can prevent is a person not frustrated, something not broken, money not wasted or even a life saved. So even if you can't do it 100% foolproof, it doesn't mean you don't try your damnedest. Because real users are human, frail, imperfect and subject to many, many pressures.

Interesting story. The ruling seems to turn partly on an odd (?) FL rule that a ticket must be issued by an officer who witnesses the infraction. Now, arguably the pictures are a form of "witnessing" if they were reviewed by an officer? Do you think it would be OK to isue a ticket for infractions observed over closed-circuit TV? Does it matter if it is recorded and reviewed later? Are still pictures fundamenetally different? Etc.

In looking up the story I noticed the FL legislature is considering banning red light cameras completely.

So you're saying a state that sets a goal of 5 percent renewable energy and makes it is doing better than a state that sets a goal of 20 percent renewable energy and may or may not make it?
From a very quick Google search:

California, Brownstein wrote, "emits only about half as much carbon per dollar of economic activity as the rest of America. It generates significantly more electricity than any other state from nonhydroelectric renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and biomass. California registers more patents associated with clean energy than any other state and attracts most of the venture capital invested in U.S. 'cleantech' companies exploring everything from electric cars to solar power generation."

Don't you have some workers to go give terribly inept instructions to?

John Stelmack, elementary school principal, found guilty of child porn for pasting pictures of students faces onto adult nude bodies. He faces up to 25 years at his sentencing July 25,2009.

Read about it here.

Newschief, Winter Haven Florida, had a story april 28th about beagles that glow in the dark. under ultraviolet light of course. http://www.leapbrowser.com/search.cgi?kw=newschief+beagles+that+glow+in+dark beagles that glow in dark http://www.theledger.com/

The whole custom of periodically visiting the graves of your loved ones always seemed puzzling to me. What exactly are you visiting and why? If you can do it online that much less hassle I guess.

If you really have to go a particular place in order to remember your dead grandparents, it seems better to visit places where they lived, where you actually have memories of them alive. In any case, since 82% of Americans believe that their dead relatives are actually still alive, seems more "logical" (in a demented sort of way) to visit a psychic or something.

70% or more of the mp3 market is ipod locked into itunes. The EU should force them to sell it with the rockbox firmware with winamp too.

I'm not sure if you're an astroturfer or just lazy. Wait, I've just taken a look at your posting history. I think I know now.

I'm sure you'd love for people to ignore all the lawsuits there have been over precisely the iPod monopoly issue. Ten seconds with Google reveal several. As yet none have been successful. Not to mention the lawsuits over Apple's refusal to license FairPlay.

It's not likely to be raised in Europe, though: just because you claim the iPod has a monopoly there, that doesn't make it true. In the US they may, possibly, have a market share over 70%; it's not very easy to find figures for Europe, but here's one 2007 source quoting a figure of 20% (5th paragraph from end).

I'm sure you'd love people to believe that 20% -- or even 40%, the figure quoted for the UK -- is a monopoly if it's Apple. But that ain't gonna happen.

Oh wait, let me guess, slashdotters dont really care of freedom or justice or markets or end users or developers. They just want to stick it to MS, per usual.

Nice way to generalise, slashdotter. All slashdotters are identical to one another with yourself as the sole exception, right?

The problem I see with all these discussions of privacy vs. evil child porn is that there is no way to independently verify how big of a problem child porn on the internet really is.

The FBI would have you believe that it is a huge problem worth drastically expanding surveillance powers over. Yet compared to the 70s, when (afaik) there was legal child pornography being produced and sold, what is the production rate for this type of material today? Are there really any child pornography sites on the internet where people can pay to download child porn? (please no links)

I also worry that the focus of law enforcement's "war on child porn" is shifting from the visual depiction of young children actually engaged in sexual activity with adults, to (1) pictures of naked children not engaged in sexual activity, and (2) material that is made by teenagers themselves. The original intent of having an exception to the First Amendment for child pornography is being distorted. This is especially true when you consider that CGI child porn that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing is illegal to possess (thanks to the PROTECT Act), and that people are being arrested for pasting pictures of children's heads on naked adult bodies: http://www.theledger.com/article/20080418/BREAKING/453898235.

So is clicking on these links criminal? How can intent ever be known?

Search results: "5 year old sucks..."

Search results: "Child porn: Buy Photos"

You're right I wasn't implying that the police should have ultimate, unchecked power, but when a police officer gives you a lawful direction, you are obliged to comply.

I've seen a second, better quality video from a better angle, and I still can't make out what the cops say as they first touch him, but I from the looks on their faces I'd guess it was something like "Ok buddy, time to leave." or "You need to leave the premises now". Those would be lawful directions from a police officer.

When the police first touch him it is not a submissive hold: the police touched, then took hold of his arms and gently tried to move him down the isle. He complied for a few steps, and if he had continued like that we wouldn't be having this conversation. Unfortunately, he started thrashing about trying to break free. That was where he became a danger, and escalation of force was needed to control him. He never complied with the officers until AFTER he was tasered, and they warned him it would happen if he didn't stop struggling. Also he was trying to incite the crowd to his defense, which further escalates the situation. If you watch the video below, he seems mentally unbalanced, e.g. worrying about "the government" killing him after being cuffed.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20070917/BREAKING/70917014

The link below goes to a story that claims the F-14 was a formidable opponent for MIGs in Vietnam:

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =/20060919/NEWS/609190338&SearchID=73257582885024/

The Grumman F-14D Tomcat is a twin-engine, two-seat supersonic airplane that in the years since the early 1970s was the Navy's primary fighter. Its battles with Russian-built MiGs over Vietnam made both planes famous.

Clearly he confused the F-14 with the F-4...

I don't know, seeing a fat balding italian guy in a Lamborghini hurts my eyes...

Things that can get you on a registered sexual offender list:

public urination, exhibitionism, nudism, streaking, flashing, mooning, outdoor consensual sex, lewd behaviour.

Dont believe me?

utah law book says:

(d) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state or who enters a plea in abeyance for violating Section 76-7-102, 76-9-702.5, 76-5a-3, 76-10-1306, or 76-5-301.1

and all of those are for lewd behaviour that specifically includes public urination, streaking, and mooning.

LAW LINK

"The study found that people charged with crimes such as public urination, flashing, consensual sex between teenagers, possession of child pornography and adult prostitution are all classified as sex offenders in some states."

Link to source

"Plaistow Deputy Chief Kathleen Jones also said that not every person on the sex offender list has necessarily committed an egregious crime such as rape or molestation because a conviction of indecent exposure, even in cases such as public urination, can land someone on the list."
Link

"According to Michigan State Police Sgt. Troy Fellows, urinating in public is classified as indecent exposure, and requires sex offender registration after three convictions...[And] Judges [can] to order registration after any number of convictions..."

Link

The Ledger is carrying the story.

News.google.com is your friend.

Via name_withheld from SensibleErection:
Colorado
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Florida
Tennessee
Michigan
West Virginia
Wisconsin

A swiss army knife and USB memory drive all in one. Very cool :)

Here are some other links.

Note that this was announced before 4/1.

Here ya go. (The same article is also available in The Ledger)

It's not fundamentally different from any punishment - once you lock someone up for a period of time there is no way for that person to ever get that time back - even if they are innocent and later released and exonerated.

But you haven't lost everything. In Maryland, an man has been found innocent after 27 years in prison, and pardoned by the governor. He can now seek redress; a person in a similar situation received $45K per year of prison.

Not wonderful, but it sure beats having the governor come to your grave and say "Oops!"...

The Ledger (NY Times business section) - Microsoft and Google: Partners or Rivals?
'Microsoft - desperate to capture a slice of the popular and ad-generating search business - approached Google within the last two months to discuss options, including the possibility of a takeover.'

Financial Times (business section) - Google approached by Microsoft for takeover
'The approach "gained little traction" , according to the report, with Google indicating that it preferred to pursue an initial public offering.'

CNN Money - Microsoft courting Google
'Microsoft may still be interested in pursuing the Web search company at a later date' (The page title is 'Mr. Softee Courting Google' despite the article heading.)

It appears that Microsoft is trying to threaten Google with "If you don't merge with us, we'll make MSN search built into Longhorn, and everybody will use it instead of you because they won't know any better." To Google's credit, they think they can do a better job, find new and interesting areas to innovate, and generally tell Microsoft to suck it. The real question remains: Will Google be as good once they are a public company?