Octavia Butler, R.I.P (Link Roundup)

It's time once again for a list of some recent interesting reads. I'm debating moving the link roundups off to their own newsfeed, but that'll have to wait until I've free time. Now, in mostly-devoid-of-pithy-retorts format:

Octavia Butler, R.I.P

I'm sure you've already heard, but in case you haven't...

Gulf War vet supports veterans traumatized by war

Regarding an ongoing project by one of the PIGies.

New Kids on the Block

Pinball is all about a spherical object rolling around on a smooth surface, so the thought of building a pinball game from Lego doesn't immediately seem like one of the better ideas. But that's exactly what Gerrit Bronsveld & Martijn Boogaarts from The Netherlands have achieved.

The Ugly Face of Crime

Not only are physically unattractive teenagers likely to be stay-at-homes on prom night, they're also more likely to grow up to be criminals, say two economists who tracked the life course of young people from high school through early adulthood.

The Long March to Nerd Prom Begins

Warren Ellis v. Joss Whedon. Y'know y'wanna.

( Demons, Perl... )

New Body Armor Technology Aids Athletes

Slalom racing suits provided to the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams by ski wear maker Spyder, for example, contain pads from the British firm, d3o, that contain a fluid that hardens when struck, said Spyder spokeswoman Laura Wisner. [...] "It's very soft and pliable when you just manipulate it in your hand. However, when you hit it with a hammer or some kind of impact, it instantly becomes hard."

( Roleplaying, appalling crimes, cooking/recipies, fuck.com... )

Hubble Confirms Two New Moons of Pluto

The confirmation [of the moons] reinforces the emerging view that the Kuiper Belt, a swarm of icy bodies encircling the solar system beyond Neptune, may be more complex and dynamic than astronomers once thought. Pluto resides inside the Kuiper Belt and is about 3 billion miles from the Sun. Pluto was discovered in 1930.

Stealth sharks to patrol the high seas

More controversially, the Pentagon hopes to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails. By remotely guiding the sharks' movements, they hope to transform the animals into stealth spies, perhaps capable of following vessels without being spotted.

Editing tips from the NSA (I forget if I've posted this)

Hiding confidential information with black marks works on printed copy, but not with electronic documents, the National Security Agency has warned government officials

Brokeback of the Dead

Who says goths can't take their music unseriously?

( anime... )

Love Yourself and Your Blog

Some tips (and links to more tips) on how to blog well. Tips of which I'm flagrantly ignoring for the moment due to time constraints. But this quote bears repeating: "If you start thinking you're a big star just because a lot of other nerds read your online diary, you need to aim higher. Go outside."

canadians confuse anime with pr0n... again

And now for the Macworld roundup:

MPAA suits expand war on illegal file-trading

Widening its legal assault on copyright infringement, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed seven lawsuits in U.S. federal courts against search engines and news groups affiliated with P-to-P (peer-to-peer) networks.( ... )

Political rivals unite against AOL, Yahoo e-mail plan

Both sides of the U.S. political spectrum have found an issue to unite them: Free e-mail. ( ... )

With CertifiedEmail, senders agree not to send unsolicited e-mail. They pay a fee of between one-fourth of a U.S. cent and one cent in order for their messages to receive preferential treatment in AOL and Yahoo in-boxes.

Germany joins calls to end Google's "free lunch"

The chief executive of Deutsche Telekom AG became the latest head of a major telco to call for Web companies, such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., to help pay for the billions of dollars required to build and maintain high-speed Internet infrastructure. "Customers should not be the only ones to pay for this new world,"

RIM to judge: BlackBerry too important to shut

( ... )

"I'm surprised, absolutely surprised, that you'd leave this ... incredibly important decision to the court," he said.

Li verdict shows Yahoo played key role, group says

Yahoo Inc. played an important role in the Chinese government's prosecution of Li Zhi, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday, citing a copy of the court's verdict to back up its claims.

And now that you've been amazed by what the future promises, mourned the loss of the past, been enraged by human actions, witnessed the attempted mockery making of the judicial system, and more it is now time for me to retire. And so, I bid you adieu.