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Wrangling Over Proposed Privacy Laws Continues
zurab writes "USA Today reports several U.S. lawmakers introduced a long-awaited privacy bill Wednesday that would allow U.S. businesses to share information about customers who have not explicitly forbidden them to do so. And one of the supporters of this bill - the beloved Mr. Boucher."
You're a winner; don't let anybody tell you otherwise! Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything.
You, as-well as everyone else, have probably noticed a recent increase in the number of advertisements on Slashdot. These banners are quite annoying as they can be simple and small banners on the top of the page to large and annoying squared banners in the middle of the page.
:)
I get quite easily annoyed by advertisements on any website and have taken such steps to ensure that I will not see them. I will share these tips with you so those in the Slashdot General Public can have a slight taste of what those in the subscribed section have.
Here are some software to help you out...
The Proxomitron
This program basically acts as a proxy server that filters whatever you want and will also allow you to write your own as-well. Configuration is easy and all you have to do for the browsers is tell it to use your computer (or someone else's computer) as a proxy. It will even allow you to proxy to another machine while you're at it too.
And fear not if you're a Linux user. This program has been tested and verified to run in WINE by the program's author himself.
Bannerblind (Mozilla Addon)
If you're a Mozilla user, this might do what you want. Install it and enjoy. It works for all OS-versions of Mozilla and is open-source.
Other things you could do is edit your hosts. Your hosts file is generally located in "/etc/" or "/usr/local/etc" (UNIX), "c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc" (NT), or "c:\windows" (Win9x). Open the file up in notepad, vi, pico, nano, or whatever and do the following...
0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net
0.0.0.0 images.slashdot.org
Note: The second one will block some images coming from the Slashdot website that are not advertisements.
I'll update this whenever I find the time, but for now, enjoy.
*BSD hero/seabird killer Francina Minnie, 17, was sentenced to six months in prison without the option of a fine on Monday for failing to fulfil a community supervision sentence.
Acting community correctional services head Nomalizo Mqingwana said Minnie would start her sentence immediately at East London's medium security C prison.
The teenager was sentenced to 384 hours of community service in September last year after being found guilty on charges relating to the violent slaughter of nine penguins, two pelicans and two gannets at the East London aquarium.
Minnie was re-arrested in March and remanded in custody after she failed to report for her weekly four-hour stints cleaning aquarium pools and for not reporting her change of address.
Mqingwana, who gave evidence at the trial, said Minnie had violated her house arrest conditions and failed to give a valid reason for missing her community service duties.
The matter was investigated by correctional services before it was referred back to the court.
Minnie represented herself after turning down the offer of legal advice as she did in her first court appearance.
When passing judgment in the East London Magistrates Court, Magistrate Henk van Houwelingwen said the slaughter of the birds had captured the attention of media around the world.
He said Minnie was also paying the price of covering up for other accomplices.
The teenager was the only person arrested in connection with the crime but at least three other people were questioned in connection with the slaughter.
Commenting on the sentence, aquarium director Willie Maritz echoed the magistrate saying Minnie had been the reason nobody else had been arrested.
"Her family must realise that she was not innocent. She was guilty and she did not co-operate to apprehend the others."
Maritz said he was happy that the court had upheld the sentence and that aquarium staff would have been more sympathetic if she had helped convict others involved.
CmdrTaco: The inherrant flaw in the system is that people working for free won't be perfect.
CmdrTaco: Dissing someone popyular is a great way to make yourself seem smarter or more important.
CmdrTaco: Linux is better. But these days many people use it 'cuz its cool to be different. Its a fad!
CmdrTaco: people are always suspicious of everything. This is *slashdot*. Everyone is paranoid of everything! I'm paranoid! You're paranoid!
CmdrTaco: Some days I just go home so fucking angry because some dickless wonder with no information and a paranoid fantasty is convinced that I'm the antichrist.,
CmdrTaco: People are mean to me in the comments.
CmdrTaco: we have editors discretion.
CmdrTaco: we abuse it sometimes.
CmdrTaco: else we'd get bored.
QuoteMstr: CmdrTaco: So your own personal amusment is more important than a website read by thousands?
CmdrTaco: Quote:Hell yeah.
CmdrTaco: I want to sell karma.
Here's a mirror.
Over at OQO they have a 4" x 3" x 1" 1Ghz 256mb 10+Gb mobil media device that supports Firewire, USB, Audio out, 802.11b, Bluetooth, a built in 4" color LCD, and external LCD projectors. Runs WinXP, but nothing's perfect (or unhackable).
Slashdot rejects the submission, I'll let you decide.
anytime even
Mister, I can make my user agent say Cowboy Neals Fantastic Internet Explorer if I want to. Install Windows? Whos gonna pay for it? You?
Its not very often that a piece of mail arrives in my snail mail box that I actually read, but when this envelope arrived, I had to open it. It was labeled with enticing comments like "What do women want" in a font that spanned almost the entire height of the envelope on both sides. And since Dragonball Z wasn't on for another 5 minutes, I opened it. If only I had known.
Now I'm not sure what I bought where that allowed my name to fall into the clutches of the warped corporation that sent this letter to me. I suspect that it was that copy of 'Girls Gone Wild' purchased one evening after 6 shots of whiskey, while watching Howard Stern on E! with Kurt The Pope and Sarcasta (Don't get it. Its horrible. After 60 seconds, it becomes remarkably similiar to pulling teeth as a "Real Girl" after "Real Girl" takes it off for a crowd of learing men. "Real" is code for "won't ever be in a magazine accused of exploiting women". The only really attractive women are the ones you've already seen in the ads. And when you add this soundtrack, it just makes it all seem evil).
So at this point, I've made the fatal mistake: I've opened the letter. never do that! They start fast and hard by attacking my belief system and forcing me to question my own manhood. Now I've never been particularly concerned in this dept. But here's the thing: even John Holmes would've been curious about this. He would open this package and think "Hrm, 2 extra inches! Why, that'd be nifty" and immediately order a case of LONGitude. And odds are it'd work and he'd end up gaining another foot and killing some poor chick on the set. Thank god LONGitude didn't exist in the 70s or there would have been a lot less porno, and lot more "John Holmes Kills Again" headlines.
So being good marketroids, they take things that I considered conventional wisdom, and they attack them in a carefully planned campaign designed to destroy any chance of ever having any sort of pride in my own sexuality again. In fact, if these statistics are true, I'm embarassed for our whole gender:
- 85% of women say they NEVER achieve an orgasm during sex...
- 72% of women said they FAKED orgasms they never had..
- 67% of women say they're UNHAPPY with their lover's penis size...
Now these statistics shatter my belief system. I mean, while she's down there moaning, I'm usually wishing I could just finish up and watch The Daily Show 'cuz Jewel is gonna be on, and boy I bet her comments on the GWB/Gore Debate will be insightful (to her). But according to these statistics, 72 of the last 100 women I've had sex with were faking orgasms! And since 85 of the last 100 women I've slipped my salami into never even achieve orgasms in the first place, I guess I really don't have much of a chance of pleasing her at all. But the real heart breaker is that 67 of the last 100 women I've humped think my dick is to small, (a very special personal note to the 67 of the last 100 women I've had sex with who think my dick is to small: Yeah?! You think so? Well, maybe you just a really stretched out vagina! Didja think of that? Maybe you should stop doing that trick where you stick the can of soda up there and open the flip top with your uterus muscles.Sorry. Got a little out of hand there. I'm back now.
Now I am a college graduate. This doesn't make me smart: frankly, I'm not exactly sure how I managed to graduate in the first place. I just skipped 1 class less then allowed, and managed to squeeze by, setting records in "Collegiate Minimilaism" (this works really well in art. Less well in history). But during my academic sentence, I managed to take a whole biology class and its required lab. I learned much in these classes about biology, but even more important, they taught us all about "The Scientific Method (lather, rinse, repeat.)". This means that I can't just make stuff up and have it be true (as evidenced by the large number of "C's" I got in my labs). I mean, at first glance, this looks good: Its from a "Former Viagra Pharmacist". I mean, they don't say which viagra pharmacist, but if he's anything like my old pharmacist, he's like 50, and he hates it when you spend to much time playing tag in his store and reading his baseball card price lists without paying for them. This man is most definitely qualified to invent a Scientific Breakthrough like LONGitude.
Obviously he doesn't get much: the sad little white jacket is proof enough that he ain't a big hit with the ladies. So he's got incentive. Plus he works at a pharmacy. LONGitude's marketing materials explain that their product is 100% safe and natural, and contains Zinc, 300 Yohimbe, Maca, Catuaba, Muira Pauma, Oyster Meat, I-Arginee, Oat Stra, Nettle Leaf, Cayenne, Pumpkin Seed, Sarsaparilla, Orchic Substance, Licorice Root, Astragalus, Tribulus, Boron, and Ginseng. I bet this bored pharmacist has access to many of these chemicals, and since its not like it takes all day to give dirty looks to the teenagers that buy birth control and condoms. He would still have plenty of time to try every conceivably combination of these substances until he discovers the one that makes his dick bigger. I mean, with that many chemicals, one combination practically has to do it, so at least he had a goal.
So I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, 'So all this does is make my dick bigger?'. But NO thats not ALL. It has OTHER features that are just as important... the following features are quoted directly from the marketing materials, as I am not creative enough to actually concoct this stuff myself:
Strengthen and harden your erections like a length of STEEL PIPE! what exactly does this mean? My grammar resolution engine is confused by this sentance. And my grammar resolution engine is really generous all things considered, as evidenced by the fact that I ran this column through babelfish it came out in german for gods sake! What a shitty grammar checker!
Develop your PC Muscle to form a truly "muscular" looking penis that will impress and arouse your lover. I guarantee they'll brag to their friends. First off, I'm kind of opposed to developing a muscular looking anything. Second, I didn't know that there was an aesthetic for a muscular looking penis, and finally, I don't want my "lover" talking about my manhood to anyone (except girls who refused to date me in high school. She may brag to them all she wants). But now that I know there is an aesthetic that my penis should strive for, I have another part of my body to be embarassed about. And I thought it was just my bad haircut, beer gut, and teeth.
Enlarge your penis 1-4" or more AT HOME, without vacuum pumps, weights, or surgery. OR MORE! ADDING MORE THEN 4 INCHES?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! OH MY GOD! FOUR FUCKING INCHES?! WHAT SORT OF CRAZY FOOL WOULD WOULD ATTEMPT TO ADD MORE THEN FOUR INCHES ONTO THEIR DICK! WHAT THE FUCK! ARE LOOKING FOR FUCKING RETARDS HERE?! ISN'T ENOUGH ENOUGH!? STOP THIS CRAZINESS!
Intensify your orgasms So you're telling me that this miracle herbal breakthrough will not only give me a wang that would make porn stars envious, but it will make orgasms better? Lets be honest here: there isn't much on this planet better then an orgasm in the first place. Telling me you can make them better is like like saying you figured out how to make heroin more pure, or removed the annoying sportscaster commentary from battlebots leaving only robots doing battle for the full 30 minutes, without commercials or annoying banter from lame broadcasters who weren't cool enough to compete with Dennis Miller.
And much, much more! Like what? Global peace and harmony? A recording contract with Sony for 3 albums with a multi-million dollar signing bonus? Sex with Jennifer Aniston (note: not year 2000 Jennifer Aniston as fucked by Brad Pitt, I'm talking about 1995 Jennifer Aniston, as nipples scene each week on "Friends"). But really, haven't you offered me enough? Length, Girth, Intensification, A bragging Girlfriend, and a more aesthetically pleasing muscular dick? What more could you provide? Could my semen taste like chocolate, or maybe be 100% pure liquid gold that I could sell on the market for a grand a jizz? I have to say that I suspect that I speak for all recipients of this random mass mailing when I say "No LONGitude, you've done enough. Thanks. But there's just no need for you to give me 'Much Much More' for this 'Low Price'".
With great power also comes greater responsibilities. 'CP Direct- Creators of LONGitutude' warn you that if you continue to take this miracle breakthrough in herbal medicine, you will continue to grow. They warn you not to grow beyond 9 inches because you will start damaging your dates! This is a fair warning: you just know some dude who burned his dick with scalding lethal McDonalds Coffee will overgrow his penis and impale some girl on his 17 inch piece, and he'll sue. And win. This is America, land of the free, where we should all be entitled to 17" cocks without fear of lawsuits. Now they guarantee that this is a risk free endeavour. If LONGitude doesn't work after 30 days, you can return it for a refund. Of course, this does mean that you have to explain to 'Candi', the helpful and perky girl who will answer the phone when you call to tell her that
- Your penis is small.
- You thought LONGitude was a worthy investment towards solving #1
- Your penis is still small.
- You are fucking cheap and willing to swallow the embarassment of admitting all of the above just to reclaim your sixty bucks, even tho any male with one drop of self respect would simply forget the 60 bucks to save himself the embarassment of admitting that he is stupid, cheap and has a small dick.
But to be quite frank, I don't think that the real fear is that this stuff doesn't work. No, for me the real fear is that I will take it, and my dick will explode. Josh Bowens goes into great details (well, 2 paragraphs at least) in his pamphlet to explain to me the science behind what LONGitude sets out to do to your fireman.He explains us that his drug will make the chambers of erectile tissue larger. Now I don't know about you, but I'm thinking of a balloon here, and what happens when you plug it into the helium machine and hold the lever down a little to long: yup, thats right. The balloon explodes and coats the room with a fine layer of human blood. I can't think of anything less sexy then having your dick explode, and coating you, your lover, and most importantly of all: your bedsheets with a mixture of seman, erectile tissue, and dozens of natural chemicals mixed together by former viagra pharmacists.
I hate doing laundry, and if your dick blows up on your "Lover", I'm willing to bet that not only will she never ever have sexual relations with you, but she will not speak a single word to you ever again. And believe you me, you will most definitely not scrub the erectile tissue out of your sheets... and that stuff just isn't gonna come out either.
Now I don't think that LONGitude would work any more then a penis pump. But I also have never tried a penis pump. And I know that there is a market for these things since I've seen them regularly at novelty shops next to the 14 inch double ended jet black vibrating dildo. However the fact that things like this exist proves that there is a market of people who would be willing to send their $59.95 to these guys. I considered it. Not for me of course. Purely in the name of science, I wanted to administer it to Kurt The Pope and Ryan the Felon before I risking my own genitals. After no deliberation, they both said no. Fuckers. This is science we're talking about. Maybe I should explain the scientific method to them again. I doubt it would matter... Dragonball Z is on. Its pretty tough to talk them into anything while Dragonball Z is on.
As noted on the Smithsonian Institution's site, the first official American flag had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, each representing one of the thirteen original states.
The flag icon for Slashdot's 'United States' section is missing its first stripe - the stripe that represents Delaware, the first state admitted to the Union. While a simple oversight could be forgiven, it should be known from here on out that Slashdot is in fact aware of the missing stripe, and even worse, refuses to do anything about it!
This vulgar flag desecration and rabid anti-Delawarism must be put to a stop. Let the Slashdot crew know that we will not accept a knowingly mutilated flag or the insinuation that Delawarians deserve to be cut out of the union. I ask you, what has Delaware done to deserve this insolence, this wanton disregard, this bigotry?
I hear that bathroom thing has been found unconstitutional. We all now have to hold it for our entire lives. That way our eyes turn brown, like politicians because were so full of shit.
Subscription what?
wars not make one great
Sapere Aude - Homer