Jeremey's Weblog

The Story of Stuff

Please visit The Story of Stuff and watch the video and then do at least something about it, even if it's small right now.

Technorati Tags:
storyofstuff, pollution, green, environment

iRack

This is awesome. I cried.

Online Gambling

Techdirt has a blurb about the amusing online gambling law and its interesting exceptions. My favorite explanation comes from Jon Stewart at the end of his segment on Ted Stevens' Internet tubes.

You Might Live In Texas If...

...a concerned local legislator introduces a new bill to legalize hunting for blind people. Err... hunting by blind people. As Jay Leno remarked, "what could possibly go wrong?" :)

OK, actually hunting by the blind is already legal (with a sighted aid), and this new bill would legalize the use of laser sights because it's pretty hard to gauge a rifle shot looking over someone's shoulder. But it's much funnier to spin it as legalizing blind hunting. Sorta like pin the tail on Bambi.

They Will Know Us By Our... Board Games?

Your holiday shopping just got so easy: get the Joel Osteen board game for everyone on your list! Oy.

In Futility We Trust

Local news has picked up on the stupidity that is Real ID. The worst of it, though, is exemplified by the quote from "a Texas driver" at the end:

"The standing in line part is going to be difficult but I think as long as we have secruity [sic], we can't have enough security"

Huh? Can't have enough security? Whatever happened to freedom and liberty and all that we supposedly stand for as a nation? Whatever happened to thinking?

Oh, but we do have freedom, don't we... I could watch CSI or I could watch Lost... wow... now that's freedom.

Technorati Tags: security

More Wiretapping Without Warrants

Though Wired is hardly an unbiased source, this is worth reading and doing some further research on one's own (like reading the bill in question, etc.): http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71778-0.html?tw=rss.index

Reading proposed amendments is always tricky because it's difficult to tell exactly what the sum result will be. But in any case, this is a worrisome change, as is the move for a unanimous consent motion. One is naturally given to wonder why, if this bill is reasonable and necessary for the defense of our nation against terrorism, Congress would vote on it in such a way as to leave no record of the vote.

This administration would have a lot more credibility if it just said what it thought and then did exactly that, in public. When you got straight A's in 3rd grade, did you hide the report card? No... but C's and D's... that would be worth hiding and misrepresenting. If the administration thinks it needs expanded domestic wiretapping powers, then why doesn't it just say so? Make the case to the people. Hiding it just feeds the conspiracy theorist in us all (there's very interesting psychology research that suggests we all have one living in us somewhere).

Refuse to be Terrorized (Wired)

Another great commentary from Bruce Schneier on the sad state of our coping with 9/11 and the threat of terrorism in general.

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Report

(via Bruce Schneier) Schneier on Security: Annual Report from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Equally (if not more) applicable in the US.

Lauren Weinstein's "Internet and Empires" Talk

This is a really good talk that Lauren Weinstein gave at Google about technology and privacy and so on. It's long, but very good IMO.