The Dvorak has written up an interesting article about computer obsessions. The basic premise is that there is a double standard for people who spend all their time playing a game like basketball as opposed to if that same person spent all their time playing a computer game.

Nevertheless, the kid shooting hoops for an extra 2 hours is seen as a hard worker, and the kid who plays computer games for an extra 2 hours is seen as a slacker. He or she is antisocial, too, as if the kid standing at the free-throw line shooting for hours and hours isn't.

Its kind of tough to separate stereotypes from truth. Thanks t0m.

Just when you we're sitting there eating your poptart thinking life is good, you find out we're all gonna die. It looks like there is a star moving at about 14km/second towards a solar system with a lot of comets. If/when that happens, well... :

the star will send comets plummeting towards the Sun and so put the Earth at risk. [snip] The star is a red dwarf known as Gliese 710. It is more than 100 000 times as massive as the Earth.

That kinda sucks. While you're at it, this Nasa study of blackholes is kinda cool. Did I mention its not for a million years? Thanks KELLEY. Previous reasons we're all gonna die: [1 ,2 , 3 , 4]

We're pretty much done with the whole Metallica/Dre/Napster thing around here but this one was too good to pass up. It looks like Napster has sent a legal letter (more info here) of their own against Offspring (the music group). Offspring has been noted previously as a voiced support of Napster and MP3 trading online. Here ya go:

...to the Offspring with a legal order Friday (June 2) to stop selling merchandise imprinted with the Napster logo, [snip] "It's all fair," an Offspring source said on Thursday. "We've already said you guys [can use] our stuff we're gonna do yours, too. You shouldn't have any problem with that, should you?"

Quite amusing. Here is the Offspring website where they are selling the 'bootleg merchandise' 6pm update: FreshView dug up this update on MTV.com with word that they have reached an agreement.

Jay Thompson sent in this link to an article on Sunday-Times.UK with word on some scientists who claim to have broken past the speed of light. The implications etc. of their work is just a bit crazy to say the least. The work is being done on the US:

The implications, like the speed, are mind-boggling. On one interpretation it means that light will arrive at its destination almost before it has started its journey. In effect, it is leaping forward in time. [...] It would also shatter Einstein's theory of relativity since it depends in part on the speed of light being unbreachable.

It looks like there wont be anymore Anon@ posters being naughty around here pretty soon. This newsarticle has word on one of the first steps towards a bad thing. Ending online anonymity when it comes to being critical of anything.

We are not saying that individuals can't post anonymously. We are not saying that individuals can't criticize," Fischman said. "Absolutely, there is a First Amendment right for people to speak, and if people choose to be anonymous, they can speak any way they chose to speak. "However, if they damage somebody, if they injure somebody, if they commit libel or interfere with a business relationship, then they can be held responsible and disclose who they are."  

So basically some dude lost his job because an anonymous source on the internet posted stuff about him. Now he's raising hell and somehow got a judge to play along.

In an attempt to appeal to the super-geeky side of the readers here (myself included) here is a story that David Levesque sent in about "Super-fast computers that use light to calculate and communicate" basically in an attempt to replace electricity (!) to process and store information. This is pretty much that crazy StarTrek stuff but the development team believes we can start to see the fruits of their labor within 5 years.

Unlike current silicon chips, which are made in two-dimensional layers, Prof. Ozin's group has had to make a three-dimensional structure in order to trap light. They have also had to arrange and order the silicon atoms to the precise size to block a light wave, in this case, 1.5 microns or one one-100th of a millimetre.

Being as that it is a weekend you're supposed to go outside and take a look at the world or some such nonsense. I've dug up a few reasons why you might want to reconsider that though.

- There are retarded criminals falling from the sky.
- You might end up accidently walking into one of these shows.
- You should stay home and bid on the deathrow auction!
- There are 50yr old naked guys running around the public parks.

Not to mention Maarten is in heat.

Ut oh, Napster better watch out, Eminem is after them! Everyone's favorite white rapper has a few choice words for them in this excellently worded speech from Yahoo Urban News (I took the liberty of reinserting the curses). Thanks Tookycat.

"I think that shit is fucking bullshit," says Eminem, who's also had his home address and phone number revealed on the Internet. "Whoever put my shit on the Internet, I want to meet that motherfucker and beat the shit out of him, because I picture this scrawny little dickhead going, 'I got Eminem's new CD! I got Eminem's new CD! I'm going to put it on the Internet.' I think that anybody who tries to make excuses for that shit is a fucking bitch. I'm sorry; when I worked 9 to 5, I expected to get a fucking paycheck every week. It's the same with music; if I'm putting my fucking heart and all my time into music, I expect to get rewarded for that. I work hard … and anybody can just throw a computer up and download my shit for free.

"That Napster shit, if that gets any bigger, it could kill the whole purpose of making music. It's not just about the money … It's the thrill of going to the store; you can't wait till that artist's release date, taking the wrapper off the CD and putting the CD in to see what it sounds like. The Internet is taking the whole fucking thrill away from that."

Sounds like Maarten's been writing this guy's speeches, huh?

Wow. I can't believe it could have been that bad. Avoid this movie like the plague. Really. The only entertaining thing is seeing Tom Cruise do his own stunts. And it's not entertaining like "Wow, I can't believe he could do that." It's entertaining like "Wow, that's funny as hell, look how they have to slow down his action scenes."

Want more proof? GeorgeB @ 3DR and ChrisH @ 3DR. Here's proof that the cnn.com reviewer is either an idiot or paid off.

update Steve: Saw it yesterday too. It was dissapointing for sure but not horrible. Just mediocre at best.
update Jack - Ok, I've decided to be a bit more forgiving on it. Some of the gunplay was really cool and the motorcycle stunts were pretty amazing. Doesn't make up for the other 90% of the movie though. If this thing's ever on TV, I'll probably watch about 10-20 minutes over again, but that's about it. This ain't no True Lies, but it did have _some_ coolness, so I've taken two of the sucks off the subject :)

To celebrate The Daikatana showing up on store shelves after all these years, John Romero has put up his 'lucky asshair' for auction. Be a part of the legacy! Place your bid!

It looks like gaming violence has reached another level entirely. According to this BBC News story a government 'backed booklet' says that the childrens game musical chairs encourages aggression. Here is the reasoning: (Thanks Zif268on)

Towards a Non-Violent Society, the booklet produced by the Forum on Children and Violence, argues that musical chairs only rewards the "strongest and fastest".

If it's not the Canadians, leave it to the English to come up with weird stories, thanks L1thium. Don't Fire, Just Say 'Bang' is a news story on Excite, saying that British Royal Navy recruits are being ordered not to fire live shells, but rather shout 'BANG'. This is because the shells are rather expensive, and the Ministry of Defense there would like to save some money.

They check co-ordinates, line up a target and prepare to fire the shells, which cost 642 pounds each. Then they shout "Bang."

A Navy spokesman said the gunnery school was to close in April next year and it was felt that live firing was no longer necessary.

The hot Sunday news today has to be about the artist formerly known as Prince reclaiming his glory and the name Prince. It looks like the reason behind him changing it in the first place was a restrictive publishing contract he signed with Warner-Chappell a while back. (I had no idea, I just assumed he was a freak) Here is what he said:

``I will now go back to using my name instead of the symbol I adopted to free myself from all undesirable relationships.''

Why the hell is this here? Its Sunday. The day we all go to church and then come home and watch Prince videos for 8hrs straight. At least thats what my family used to do. Thanks JayZee.

Just as you're wondering how weird this world can get, you read about goats producing spider webs. Yes, that's right, goats producing spider webs.

Canadian scientists have implanted spider genes in a herd of goats, resulting in the production of silky strands in goat milk that can be used for sutures and other applications.
[snip]

Always those crazy canadians...

Some good news to put to rest those rumors that seem to float around the net about per-minute internet charges every few months. The US House of Representative just passed a bill preventing the FCC from ever imposing those kinds of charges on consumers. Now what about that goofy email tax? :)

Big surprise of the day, the proposal that Microsoft put together to punish themselves for being naughty didnt fly. The US Government isnt really impressed. I guess Bill Gates saying "I'm sorry, slap me on my hand" wasnt bad enough. Check it:

``What remedy does Microsoft propose to undo the damage to competition caused by its past illegal conduct?'' the government said in a 70-page brief filed in U.S. District Court. In the next sentence it answered its own question: ``Nothing.'' [snip] A Microsoft spokesman said the government's views were an unfortunate -- but not surprising -- attempt to defend an extreme proposal that would damage consumers.

It looks like Metallica is no longer alone in the request of Napster to ban users. Dr Dre has submitted a list of users from Napster that he wishes to have banned from the service because of what he feels is illegal distribution of his work. It's only 239, 612 users that he wants banned though. (Thanks to the 15 people who sent this in)

Dr. Dre further said he informed Napster he would prefer the company just delete his songs from its service, in which case no user need be denied access to Napster. [snip] Dr. Dre's documentation lists the specific description of each alleged infringement of Dr. Dre's copyright and the specific user involved in each violation.

Ah yes, lawyers who dont understand the internet (or Napster) handling cases like this... I can smell the dead horse getting beaten but I figured this is worth mention.

It looks like the Metallica / Napster / MP3 war is raging on. This time around 30,000 of the users who got banned (about 10%) have sent in complaints that they were falsely accused and blocked from the service. Napster has begun forwarding the letters and petitions to the Metallica attorneys. What are the lawyers saying? : (Thanks Goddimus)

``They're absolutely lying. There's no question that they're lying,'' said attorney Howard King. ``Each and every one of them was offering Metallica MP3s for uploads.''

This is one of those stories that really makes you want to buy bottled water. Apparently some city workers in Louisiana connected a sewage line to the drinking water for the city for 3 months. Rumor has it when the Mayor of the city found out he said "oh shit." There will be upcoming personnel changes. Oh and read this:

"We will have to look at the way that we do business in the Public Works Department," he said. "The health and well-being of our citizens comes first."

Of course, over in California those guys are thinking about doing this stuff on purpose! Thanks Conan Ford.

If you are a red blooded American (or um.. from some other country) then you probably hate spam emails. Well the recent Spam Summit 2000 convention is just wrapping up and it looks like a new idea came out of it. Offering rewards for the 'scalps' of people who send out spam.

A bounty, however, might make the idea of pursuing spammers in court more appealing. Bounties could even be distributed to individual Netizens, instead of just ISPs.

Sounds good to me. FYI the emails in all shack accounts have never been made public to spam lists.