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05 Mar 2011 18:50

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Tech: Rock Paper Scissors: Can you top the New York Times’ robot?

  • Tied to that post we made about lawyers, the New York Times has a man-vs.-machine Rock Paper Scissors game up on their site. We’re evenly matched, as you can tell. And this was on the “hard” mode, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 15:36

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U.S.: How does the Westboro Baptist Church stay tax-exempt?

  • what Despite their status as being particularly offensive and their strong advocacy of various political issues, the Westboro Baptist Church has managed to stay tax-exempt, despite their 501(c)(3)/nonprofit status preventing certain kinds of advocacy.
  • whyThey know the law really well – note that the church never advocates specifically against legislation, but against groups and people it doesn’t like. So while they may not fight Prop 8’s repeal, the Phelps family advocates against homosexuality in general. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 15:07

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World: Protip to Monks in Bhutan: Don’t carry any tobacco whatsoever

  • one 23-year-old monk living in the Himalayan Kingdom of in Bhutan
  • $3 worth of tobacco (well, roughly) in Sonam Tshering’s possession
  • three years in jail for being caught with said tobacco … wow source
  • » Yes, it’s illegal: Bhutan banned the practice of smoking in the country way back in 2005, and last year tightened the grip further by working to prevent smuggling. For his part, Tshering, who was in tears after the ruling, says that he deserved punishment, “but the penalty could have been lighter. I wasn’t aware about the act.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 14:27

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Biz, Culture: Easy Bake Ovens (as we know them) dead. No brownies for you

  • We are aware that the 100-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be available beginning in 2012. In fall 2011, Hasbro will launch the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven, introducing a new way to bake for the next generation of chefs.
  • Hasbro • Explaining how the rise of green tech accidentally killed one of the more efficient ways for six-year-old girls to bake brownies: The Easy Bake Oven. See, the “oven” used a 100-watt light bulb as its main baking mechanism. But now, the light bulbs are falling out of favor and will soon be off the market entirely, leaving Hasbro to basically invent a new style of oven. Until then, the company is shilling out its “Easy-Bake Microwave & Style” models, which (as you might guess based on the name) don’t use light bulbs. Since we’re terrible cooks and don’t trust ourselves near microwaves, our options are shrinking and we’ll likely starve to death. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 13:55

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Tech: Sucks to be a forensics expert: Solid state drives can wipe data

  • Solid state? Not so solid for data recovery. In perhaps the best complement to our earlier post possible is a report that many new solid state drives include a technology which, as a way to increase efficiency, have the side effect of making it easier to wipe data for good. “A few people in the forensics community had some awareness that something funny was going on with some SSDs, but everyone we’ve shown this to has been shocked at the extent of the findings,” said Murdoch University’s Graeme Bell, who co-authored the fairly alarming study. So, if you’re looking to commit a crime involving lots of information, buy a solid state drive. Leave the hard drives for the amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 13:28

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Tech, U.S.: Really smart computers replacing rooms full of lawyers

  • You tend to split a lot fewer infinitives when you think the FBI might be reading your mail.
  • Cataphora Chief Technology Officer Steve Roberts • Explaining the benefit of his company’s software, which can intelligently parse phrases and figure out when someone is changing their tone (presumably because they have something to hide). This is useful in law cases, particularly ones with a ton of documents – you know, the kind that once required armies of lawyers to do the dirty work. They’re just one of the companies who work in this pretty neat field, and their accuracy rate is actually way better than the people the machines are replacing. “Think about how much money had been spent to be slightly better than a coin toss,” said Bill Herr, a former chemical company lawyer who once herded lawyers in rooms to dig through documents en masse. Like cats. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 12:55

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Tech: Internet Explorer 6, or why most sites look really bad in China

  • Today in reasons to be critical of the influence China has on the rest of the world, we submit to you “IE6 Countdown,” a Microsoft-made site that shows why the browser remains so prevalent a full decade after its initial release. See that giant red spot, showing widespread usage? That’s China. You know, beyond awareness campaigns, Microsoft could do more to get people to stop using IE6. They’re not doing enough, really. source
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05 Mar 2011 12:42

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World: China completely downplays Middle East protests’ influence

  • problem People in China are getting inspired by the wave of Middle East protests and – in small pockets, mind you – attempting protests of their own. China is hard-core communist and limits free information, so this is a problem.
  • solution An editorial! Today in the Beijing Daily (run by the Chinese Communist Party), a front-page editorial suggested that “the vast majority of the people are strongly dissatisfied” by the protests in the Middle East. You sure? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 10:51

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World: Hugo Chavez gains support for mission to Libya, wants all-star team

  • What do Jimmy Carter, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Danny Glover and Sean Penn have in common? Word is that they’re on Hugo Chavez’s short list of a commission to go to LIbya to mediate peace. Confused about how Danny Glover fits into that mix? Well, it’s worth pointing out that Chavez is friends with Glover and has even offered money to help pay to make a Danny Glover movie. Anyway, Chavez earned some key local support for his endeavor from ALBA, or the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas. (The countries in the group include Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ecuador, and the group itself was founded by Chavez.) Hugo’s all about making this happen. “We must make a very large effort, very large. We cannot lose even one day,” he said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2011 10:32

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World: Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh: I’m not leaving until 2013, guys

  • The peaceful and smooth transition of power is not carried out through chaos but through the will of the people expressed through elections.
  • An official for Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh • Explaining that Saleh will not leave his post until at least 2013, continuing to anger the people who oppose his continuing rule. Protests against Saleh, however, keep getting stronger – on Friday, 100,000 people reportedly showed up in Sanaa alone, and thousands of others showed up in numerous other cities in the region. With such a strong groundswell of popular dissent, how long is Saleh going to keep this up, anyway? source
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