Categories
Science Fiction and Fantasy

Intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth

Charlie Stross on The Panopticon Singularity: How the convergence of computing and communications technologies will enable the ultimate police state. Links to some responses are in his blog.

Also from Stross, an explanation why US President Bush’s Mars expedition initiative makes much more sense as an extension of his administration’s defense policy:

  • We believe
    the Martians posess weapons of mass destruction (heat rays,
    tripod death machines, red weed).
  • It is
    possible that Osama bin Laden is on Mars. (Image enhancement
    of the background to bin Laden’s videotapes rebroadcast via Al
    Jazeera are suggestive of a boulder-strewn desolate wasteland.
    We know that Osama bin Laden cannot be found in Afghanistan,
    and Mars is also a boulder-strewn wasteland, so Osama bin
    Laden may indeed be on Mars.)
  • Tony Blair has asked us to allow time for
    diplomacy to work, but the Martians have stubbornly refused to
    talk to the British Beagle 2 lander.
Categories
Comics

Sinister Ducks

Neil Gaiman points to an online MP3 of March of the Sinister Ducks, Alan Moore’s odd little dip into the world of music from way back in the Eighties (I reckon). Catchy!

[ tip-off from PeliG ]

Categories
Software and Programming

Blated Mail Worms

I got two e-mails with a virus (a Worm) from (and adressed to) email adresses that I think are only connected by having been in my address book at some time.
This means it may have been running on my computer, or one of the computers I used.
The virus was identified as WORM.MIMAIL.R, which Symantec calls W32.Novarg.A@mm. Symantec also have a removal tool available.

Categories
Blather short

Scary New Picture

scary new picture

Categories
Oddities

The IKEA Walkthrough

The Morning News: IKEA Walkthrough:

IKEA is a fully immersive, 3D environmental adventure that allows you to role-play the character of someone who gives a shit about home furnishings.