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Fitting tributes? SEWilco writes "New Scientist reports that an asteroid was officially named "18610 Arthurdent" on May 9; it is not known if Douglas Adams heard of it before he died May 11."
And dclydew writes "We at Binary Freedom would like to propose "Towel Day." May 25, two weeks after Douglas Adams' passing, all fans worldwide are encouraged to carry a towel around for the day."
It would be nice to see Thursday renamed as well.
Wait till the Jedi control the Senate. Slightly aging news, but CuriousGeorge113 writes "According to this Theage.com.au article, the Australian Government has issued yet another warning to Star Wars fans intent on writing in 'Jedi' as their religion in the upcoming census. It appears that this e-mail is beginning to pick up some steam."
Join the parade. Macki writes "Three weeks ago, Ford Motor Company sued 2600 over a DNS entry pointing FuckGeneralMotors.com at the Ford website. A hearing is set for May 18th in Detroit. Supporters are invited to join a caravan to Detroit that will go through up state New York and Canada in time for the hearing. A motion has already been filed for a protective order from legal shenanigans while in Michigan-- it's a good read and gives a thorough run-down of the case."
Open for the public, yes. Delphion may be about to start charging for certain of its formerly free services, but my note that the USPTO should put more documents on the Web was too harsh. A USPTO employee helpfully wrote:
"The United States Patent and Trademark Office offers the entire USPTO Patent database online for free (we've been doing this for some time now) -- just click any of the Search Patents links to get started.You can search text for all patents since 1976 and view images of all patents since 1790 (except those files lost in the early Patent Office fires and fractional patents). We have the entire available patent database on line. You will need a TIFF image browser plugin (we offer a link to a free plugin on our site).
We also offer Patent Application Publications online. These are pending patent applications received after the new rules went into effect (from March 15 2001 through the present weekly issue). The database consists of the full text of US published applications (including new utility and plant). The full text of a published application includes all bibliographic data, such as the inventor's name, the published application's title, and the assignee's name, as well as the abstract, the full description of the invention, and the claims. All of the words (text) in the publication are searchable."
Thanks for the information. Sorry for being the source of FUD. Now where are the searchable PDFs? :)
I'm guessing you weren't known as a ladies' man.
They finally replaced the touted in the Washington Post "Wildly Explosive Search Tool?"
--
WolfSkunks for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.keenspace.com";
--
# Canmephians for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.net";
And anyway Jedi is a formal religion in Australia: http://jediaustralia.org/
Hmm.
Any estimates on the size of the USPTO's patent database? If it's something that could reasonably fit on a few hundred CDROMs, it might be worth asking them to think about distributing it.
Having an on-site copy of the database for searching and data-mining at your local university or large company's library would raise very interesting applications. Write the correct tools, and you could easily see what the state-of-the-IP-art is in any given field, and I'm sure that organizations like the EFF would like an easier way to peer-review the patent database, too.
OTOH, if you'd need the proverbial 747 full of CDs, this wouldn't be practical.
The real problem here is the process by which funding is allocated on the basis of census data.
In the US, during the census push, they went on and on about how filling out the census would help your wise and powerful legislators appropriately apportion the largess of taxes to the people. To me, it completely damages the credibility of the census as an 'apolitical' process.
I don't want a 'father government' who I must tell the truth to so that he might wisely care for the needs of the individual family members he is somehow responsible for. The whole belief structure leading to the idea of needing an accurate census is an anathema to me.
If someone in my community wants my help, they can ask me. They shouldn't go running to the government to get them to take money from my pocket and put it in theirs. That kind of thing breeds dissension and distrust and destroys communities.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
What I find shocking/funny is that someone pointing out that New Zealand and Australia are two different countries is considered +5 insightful! (and that its necessary at all!)
I guess now its "News for Nerds, and Computer Folks Who Never Looked at a Globe".
Next up: Georgia! It's both a state AND a country!
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Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
I believe this is the relevant article in the Australian Consitution:
116. The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
Blog
so, the Oz government is really saying "I find your choice of faith... disturbing."?
dave
No, no... the really disturbing part is
"Yes, of course they're anonymous. Unless we don't like the answers, then we hunt you down and fine the shit out of you."
Anyone else notice this bit? Isn't there something very, very wrong with looking at census results before stripping off the identifying information?
-grendel drago
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
I agree with 2600 that Ford should've asked them nicely first, to remove the pointer of www.fuckgeneralmotors.com. On the other hand, I can understand Ford's point of view. How would you feel if someone pointed the URL of allslashottersareassholes at your site? The problem is that people who see this pointer will assume that Ford owns the site. Yes, people are that stupid. So Ford's just trying to protect itself... not in the smartest way possible, but still reasonably.
As a side note, doing a car caravan to protest actions by a car manufacturer is a fairly bizarre idea, isn't it? Why not do a bicycle rally instead? It might hurt Ford more...
Thalia
116. The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
This is true, but the Census and Statistics Act 1905-1973 doesn't prevent you from believing what you want. You have the right not to declare what religion you practice. However, if you choose to answer the question, you must answer it honestly. If you can honestly answer that you are a practicing Jedi (and show proof thereof), the ABS can't fine you.
This is confusing two issues - one is the freedom to practice religion, one is lying on a government form. You have the right to practice any religion you want, you don't have the right to lie to the government.
On a different note, S.52(xi) of the constitution gives the federal government the right to make laws concerning the census. Just a bit of trivia ...
This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
Unlike most people here, I actually contacted the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics, the organisation that does the census to ask about this. The $1,000 fine for putting false information on the census is an actual penalty. The key issue, though, is knowingly providing false or misleading information. You don't have to answer the religion question if you don't want to. However, if you do ansewr it, you must answer truthfully. Jedi would be a legitimate answer if you can demonstrate a clear belief structure or if you can show that you try to live your life according to those precepts.
The information about religion is used by the government for distribution of funds. For example, a area surveyed with a high number of Orthodox Jews will see a lot of community funding going to Orthodox Synagogues. People who deliberately falsify their religion interferes with this process (making it more difficult for the ABS, which is only trying to do their best).
This isn't a case of 'the man' trying to shut people down. It's a case of a bunch of idiots thinking they're protesting (because they received chain mail that's been circultating since the NZ census - duh) when all they're actually doing is screwing up funding for other people in their community. If you don't want to answer, don't. What's the point? It doesn't matter how many people put Jedi down, it's not recognised as a religion. Before the devil's advocates come out the woodwork, it is not a religion that people currently follow. People could probably build a belief structure around it, but I doubt you could show active Jedi belief. You might as well say Trekkies are religious.
For the record, the person I spoke to at the ABS was very helpful and friendly.
This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
your midichlorian count is above 250.
Duh.
-Adam
Honk if you've never seen a bazooka fired out a car window.
This sig 80% recycled bits, 20% post user.
I dunno. I think ethnicity is kinda cool. I like learning about other people's cultures. I'd hate for those cultures to suddenly melt into one.
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Join the parade. Macki writes "Three weeks ago, Ford Motor Company sued 2600 over a DNS entry pointing FuckGeneralMotors.com at the Ford website.
Lets get some facts straight here. This is slander which is illegal, not only that but it is a waste of Ford's resources via way of bandwidth which is unfair. Aside from that 2600 may be whoring themselves in too broad fashions nowadays to make some outrageous statements for "the cause" well which cause of Hacking/Phreaking does General Motors fall into?
2600 which is a semi good magazine should be a slight bit more responsible with their actions, especially now that they're under the gun with e DVD case. I believe they should have the right to say whatever they want, its an Amendment, but they have no right to point Fuckgeneralmotors at Ford's website. I'm sure Ford never authorized it. They should have just created a virtual directory on their own sites with their own petty propaganda.
What if it were Apple making a "FuckLinux" website which pointed to Microsoft? I'm sure they'd be an uproar.
Get responsible 2600
Want Root?
yup you're right - if you're allowed to claim you believe you're haunted by prehistoric murdered space aliens and that exorcizing them will give you powers over matter and energy surely you must be able to claim you belive little latex guys with an hand stuck up their butt can teach you to do the same thing (and at $7.50 a pop it's way cheaper than the Co$ alternative)
Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn't conjured up the stolen data plans nor given you clairvoyance enough to find the location of the rebel's hidden forghhghhhg.
Someone you trust is one of us.
If there were really a group of people, however small, following 'Jedi' then it should be (and would be) allowed on the census. But there is not; there is simply a bunch of people that think a stupid stunt like this is 'beating the system'.
Although that would have been a great twist for Adams to have thrown into one of his stories...
So, I wrote in "Linux". After all, we have a diety (Linus), a satan figure (Gates), rituals (compiling the kernel) and wars (KDE/Gnome).
Well, while it is not with the late Adams' approval, I believe there is a bar in Montreal called Zaphod Beeblebrox's, and of course they serve a drink they'd like to call the pan-galactic gargle-blaster. It is simply a shot from every bottle of hard liquor on the shelf poured into a very tall glass. Personally, I figure a pan-galactic gargle blaster is pure ethyl alcohol with LSD and a thimbleful of pear-flavouring. I'm more interested in how to make a martimmy anyways.
Anybody want to take bets on when 18610 Arthurdent will be demolished in order to make room for the Mars-Jupiter expressway?
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
As a New Zealander I should point out that New Zealand and Australia are not the same place. The suggestion that they are is one that people in both countries would find equally offensive ... :-)
We've had our census recently and I believe there was a similiar move to make/prevent Jedi being recorded as a religion.
Does anyone else remember this game or should I just check myself into a "home" (as my wife has threatened to do to me recently)?
It did exist, we all loved it (that damned babel fish!), and you can play a java version of it here.
For the Goatse-paranoid, that's http://www.xcalibur.co.uk/games/hitchhik.html
If they won't let someone put Jedi, why do they let people put Christian? Muslim? Jewish? All of these religions are recognized by some people, while others think the whole religion is full of it. Just because a few government officials don't think that 'Jedi' counts as a religion doesn't mean that it's NOT a religion.
-
On a side note, it's not like even following the 'Jedi Code' would get one locked up! As far as I can tell, Christianity and 'Jedism' would follow extremely similiar belief systems. Nobody (well, a very small minority) would say that Christianity encourages bad things- murder, rape, etc. Jedism wouldn't either. If I lived in Australia you can bet I'd put Jedi!
P.S.- In America denying someone the chance to put down their religion, whatever it is, would be unconstituational.. is something like this the case in Australia?
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No sig for you.
I guess that in my view, ANY attempt to decree what is a "valid" religion, no matter how hokey it seems, would be ludicrous and immoral. Hey, if some guy worships tulips, good for him, hey may well believe it's his religion. All the (flower) power to him. q:]
MadCow.
I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.
Well, my religion means something to me (I'm Council President at my church), but my government's curiosity means little to me, and their need to know my religious beliefs means nothing to me. To the contrary, any government's request to know my religious beliefs offends me, and I would gladly enter "Jedi" or just leave the form blank.
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
The illustration on the jacket ignited a few brain cells that I thought I had long ago killed with alcohol, and memories of my Commodore-64 days rushed through what is left of my brain. I recalled a "Hitchhiker" game for the C-64 that I had nearly completely forgotten. I vaguely remember being Zaphod and Ford and every other character in the book, saving the universe and everything in 64 k-bytes through a text interface.
Does anyone else remember this game or should I just check myself into a "home" (as my wife has threatened to do to me recently)?
I can't really agree with 2600's actions here. This doesn't come off as a valid protest of any sort - it comes off as a childish prank, and this is how the general public will see it. This doesn't do anything positive for "the cause", rather, it is only likely to hurt it. Would you (for example) use this incident as an example when trying to convince your mother? There are many far more mature ways to make a statement. This makes h(cr)ackers look really bad to the public, and provides exactly the kind of material organizations such as the FBI love to have for their anti-hacking campaigns to convince the government to give them more power and people less freedom.
I'm sorry, I just can't for the life of me see how pointing a DNS entry "fuckgeneralmotors" at ford's website can be construed as "making a statement" (unless the statement they're trying to make is that the DNS system can be too easily manipulated or something). I think its childish. I can imagine having found this sort of thing funny when I was 14.
*cough*Scientology*cough*
Put Transcendentalism as your religion. The whole Jedi system is a direct rip off (not that it's a bad thing) of Transcendentalism. Some may argue that Transcendentalism isn't a religion (I agree with them) but hey it's as close as you can come to putting Jedi. Seriously, read "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldon Emerson, it's a great read and you'll start seeing the references there are to it everywhere in society. "The Force" is really the "Oversoul," and then there's the whole, "evil is simply a lack of good," thing. I could go on for hours, but I did that for English class already, so I'll spare you.
"A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire