Black Cats and Pumpkins

In the interest of diversity in blogging, and in keeping with the season, Tor has invited a guest-blogger to submit a short essay on what makes Halloween so very special. Dylan Laurence Bean is a black feline-American who lives in Liberty, Maine.

thank you tor-kitty

reaching shift key hard

pardon small letters



halloween is good cos you get to shred -- er -- carve pumpkins

when can we start soon please tor-kitty



oh no tor-kitty is sick and taking drugs

but he smells good for once



i have idea just leave it to me

no need for knives my claws will get the best results





now lights out



see no tor-kitty could do that

can i have some vicks



thanks

dylan

happy halloween

be nice and keep your black kitties indoors tonight

No Silly-Dilly, Vicks is for kids...er, humans. I understand it brings out some nostalgic feelings from kittenhood (your first human used it so often), but I doubt it will do too much good for your mucus membrane. Thanks for subbing while I still recuperate.

Peace,

Tor

Tagged as: black+cats

Filed Under:

• cats
• pumpkins
• Halloween

Proficiency in School

Here's a story I'm drawn to for several reasons. First of all, it's about a public school in which the black third graders have scored better on state-wide assessment tests "than almost every other group of black third-graders in Maryland." Second, those same black students are scoring better than many of the white students in their school.

Tho the tests in Maryland and Maine are doubtless different in many respects, the thing that is truly noteworthy is that these students are doing so much better than the average white students in Maine, if "proficiency" is compared.

Of course, they became especially rigorous in getting their students to file for reduced-rate lunches, and in so doing receive more federal aid. The story doesn't say how much more, so it's hard to judge how much of a difference that made.

To my mind, the biggest part of the school's success is due to the great pains that the administrators took in vetting new hires. Imagine how far they'd go if they were able to actually fire some of the old-timers who look to their paychecks as entitlements.

Let's hope the schools in Maine -- and everywhere -- take note of this shining example. North Glen Elementary, hats off to you.

Peace,

Tor

Category: education

Strunky Music

New Yorker contributor Maira Kalman has issued an illustrated version of Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Also new, a nine-song operatic cycle that is essentially an ode to the work (apparently not yet available on CD.)

The most interesting thing I read in the Newsweek article was that Elements has sold 10 million copies since it was first widely published in 1959. That's it? Everyone I knew in college had one. They couldn't all have been hand-me-downs. If all those copies still existed, that would be only one for every 30 people in the U.S. There simply must be more than 3% of the population that cares about good writing!

Peace,

Tor

Categories: books, language

Technorati tags: usage, grammar

More North Korean Propaganda

Hundreds of Americans are invited attendees of North Korea's Arirang celebration. Included among the number are Dan Rather and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

I hope that if Dan reports on this (if they ever let him on the air again), he'll have as much common sense as this Japanese journalist, quoted by the Washington Post:

"This is 'invitation diplomacy' -- a tool Kim's father used to use to great effect," said Noriyuki Suzuki, director of Tokyo-based Radiopress, which monitors television and radio broadcasts in North Korea. "Kim is trying to show how strong and stable North Korea is -- how firmly he is in control and how popular he remains with the people. Unless there are select groups of foreigners there to see this, his message will not get out loud and clear."

I've never been to North Korea, but I have visited former communist countries in eastern Europe. At the time, a few years after the Berlin Wall fell, one found that, just a few blocks away from East Berlin's showcase Unter den Linden and Alexanderplatz area, many buildings still hadn't been repaired after the street-to-street fighting at the close of World War II. I have to imagine that similar scenes would be easily found by anybody who would be allowed to venture outside of the closely-controlled festivities in North Korea.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: propaganda, North Korea

Technorati tags: Dan Rather, Kim Jong Il, Arirang, East Berlin

Word of the Day: Forensics

Being an amateur wordsmith, I have always been intrigued by how the meanings of words change over time. Most of us are familiar with the change of meaning of the adjective "gay." Some chauvinists still insist on clinging to its former meaning, as exemplified in the Christmas Carol, "Deck the Halls."

Surprized to see the reference to chauvinism? Technically, chauvinism is any belief in a lost cause, after a soldier named Chauvin, who served under Napoleon. In the latter days of the twentieth century, the word became so widely used in tandem with "male" that that one kind of chauvinism eventually came to be assumed without its modifier being present. Most people would be confused or surprized by its use in any other context.

Such a similar path has been taken by forensics. This Washington Post article talks about the confusion involving forensics clubs in high schools.

Forensics has long meant the art of speechmaking and oral presentation. Rusty McCrady, the debate and forensics coach at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, said forensics clubs give students the opportunity to speak effectively....

Today, Forensics Clubs, which teach students how to be sleuths, are popping up in several schools. They are inspired by the hit television show "CSI," which shows detectives using DNA and corpse analyses, as well as other techniques, to solve crimes.

I have to admit I was totally ignorant of the former meaning, and had never heard of forensics competitions here in Maine. Of course, our school lacked even the more popular debate team. The only academically-based competition clubs we had were Math Team and the foreign language clubs.

So how did the word get from speech-making to corpse-poking? As with chauvinism, a word with which it was formerly paired dropped away. But this time, the noun vanished, leaving the adjective to become a noun in its own right, but having assumed the meaning of the entire phrase: forensic science.

Forensic science or forensic medicine (now forensics) is science or medicine used to establish fact in court cases. Where speeches are made about the facts to persuade the court.

I'm still trying to figure out how either of these definitions of forensics could stem from the first meaning, which I learned in third grade:

Ten.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: language

Technorati tags: usage

Aiyiiii....

It's the end of the world!

Peace,

Tor

Categories: Maine, weather

Technorati tag: Red Cross

Gay Marriage in New Hampshire

It looks like the near-term prospects for gay marriage in New Hampshire are zero. 'Tis a pity. They are even recommending against domestic partner registration.

As I have written previously, I am against any law that requires private people and businesses to deal with people they don't want to deal with. However, I am absolutely in favor of forcing the government to deal with all citizens equally. If heterosexuals can enter a legal union, so should homosexuals be able to.

It seems sort of odd that this news comes out on the day after Rosa Parks' death. Now there was a woman who was able to stand up against Jim Crow laws, which not only allowed discrimination against African-Americans, but mandated it. The marriage laws in most states now mandate government discrimination against homosexuals, yet the gay rights lobbies are more concerned with stamping out discrimination in the private sphere.

I do hope that, however the upcoming referendum on gay rights turns out in Maine, it will be decided by a great margin so we won't be faced with another referendum in a few years. The real work of fostering tolerance, acceptance and affirmation of gays in Maine is going undone as long as the theatre-politics continues to be practiced.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: gay, Maine, politics, marriage, obituaries

Technorati tags: Rosa Parks, gay marriage, gay rights, New Hampshire

Like We Needed a Death Ray

So, some folks at MIT and the University of Arizona have decided that trying to build a solar-powered death ray a la Archimedes was a good use of time. With all of the things our geeks should be trying to build, like anthrax and C4 detectors, border monitors, and non-emission vehicles, how dare they focus on such childish stuff? And why wasn't I asked to help? At least to polish the mirrors?

Peace,

Tor

Category: science

Technorati tags: death ray, MIT, University of Arizona, Archimedes

Natural and Artificial Beauty

The town of Lincolnville, Maine will be arguing over whether a proposed cell phone tower will "unduly obstruct or have an unreasonable adverse impact on" the scenic view from Bald Rock Mountain.

I say it will improve the scenic view.


photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com

I have always thought that communications towers are beautiful things, particularly jutting up from a mountainside. Especially lit up like a Christmas tree. As much as I deplore the rudeness of some of the end users of the communications network, I have to admit that the structures look particularly marvelous.

No doubt the authorities in Lincolnville will take into account the aesthetic sense of folks like me.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: Maine, politics

Technorati tags: Lincolnville Maine, cellular communications, cell phone towers

Follow the Money

Daedalus thinks that the U.S. Senate has done a good thing in giving military and civilian employees a 3.1% raise.

Actually, given that the inflation rate for the past 12 months has been 4.7%, the folks getting this "raise" will be bringing in paychecks with less buying power than they had a year ago.

One thing that abates my horror about the government employees' predicament is health care benefits.

Nationally, health care spending by employers is rising much much faster than the overall rate of inflation. Since most government employees, be they civilian or military, receive much better health coverage than most private sector employees, we have to take that into account when we think about their overall compensation packages.

Of course, I agree with Daedalus that the Senate did the right thing (for once) in denying itself a raise this year. Here's hoping the House will follow suit when the bills are reconciled.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: government, economy, health

Technorati tags: health care, Senate, inflation

Maine and Medicaid

According to Village Soup, "Medicaid costs in Maine have grown by $260 million annually for the last three years."

Though a liberal-to-moderate politically, former Maine Governor Angus King brings his business background to bear with keen insight:

“We’ve turned the consumer-driven system, which leads to reasonably priced phone bills and automobiles, absolutely on its head,” [King] said.

“There’s no information about price … and most of us are insured and our employers are paying the premium, so we’re immune to it. Until people participate in the decisions financially, they’re not going to take the cost seriously.”

The former governor also would like to see healthy people get a break on their insurance rates.

“We’re so afraid of violating the social insurance principle that there’s no advantage to people being healthy,” King said. “Why should people who decide not to smoke pay the same as the people who do smoke? We’ve taken the personal responsibility piece from all this.”

While I know that the last thing anybody in Augusta would do is to open up health care to an entirely libertarian free-market system, it is rather encouraging that some on the panel are openly discussing a strategy of taking advantage of market forces to help solve a social problem, rather than trying to thwart market forces. Thwarting market forces almost always engenders terrible unintended consequences. Like $260 million annual growth.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: economics, government, health, libertarianism, Maine

Technorati tags: Medicaid, health care, Angus King

Taxpayer Funds for Religious Groups

Lawsuits involving faith-based initiatives are having mixed results so far. I'm sure the cases will become so prevalent and with antithetical outcomes that the Supreme Court will eventually have to weigh in on this.

I can intellectually appreciate that when government contracts out its social policy, it shouldn't discriminate against groups that are affiliated with or supported by religious groups. But when a religiously affiliated group becomes a government contractor, it should definitely be expected to follow the same rules of religious neutrality in providing its subsidized services and in its hiring practices for those services. It is never acceptable to use government funding to discriminate against U.S. citizens.

I also expect that the Bush administration won't be funding any Buddhist charities anytime soon. If anyone has any information that contradicts my unresearched hunch, please leave a comment.

Perhaps a better solution would be to get the government (at all levels) out of this business entirely, and let private charities, secular and religious, take care of things. Then the lawsuits would disappear, more people would be helped, and we could all get on with our lives.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: religion, politics, Buddhism, charities, government, libertarianism, taxes

Analog to Digital to... Analog?

Tomorrow afternoon, the firm deadline will be set for when all TV stations must stop broadcasting analog signals, and then broadcast only digital signals.

There are a few proposals for the government to subsidize set-top conversion boxes for the folks who can't or won't buy digital sets.

At first, I thought this was a stupid idea, till I read where the money would come from. Part of the transition to digital transmission will allow the feds to auction off a lot of the broadcast spectrum to communications firms who are champing at the bit to use it.

Personally, because I'm cheap, and because my lovely wife Rowan and I only watch one or two shows of broadcast TV per week, I think the government ought to pay the full price for the conversion box I will need. As I understand it, the digital broadcasts are wonderful if you can receive them. However, if you live in the hinterlands of Maine as I do, where even the few channels that can be received are often snowy or affected by other interference, poor reception becomes no reception. Digital receivers won't pass along poor image to the screen: they just "give up" and give you a blue screen. This is known as the "Digital Cliff." I guess I'll be diving over it sometime between 2006 and 2009.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: television, science

Technorati tags: digital television, FCC

Driverless Cars

The Defense Department has been holding competitions for driverless cars. This year, for the first time, five vehicles completed the course without any human intervention.

The one thing that really boggles my mind about this is that the vehicles actually used sensors directly on the road and surroundings to effect their navigation and avoid obstacles. Before I read the article, I assumed that some guidance system would be used. In a former life, I briefly operated an order pick truck in a warehouse. It was totally under human control outside of the narrow aisles, but once inside, it locked onto a signal from a wire embedded in the concrete to make it steer straight. The driver was still responsible for getting it to the right bin in the aisle, but only had to be concerned with up-and-down, forward-and-backward motion. I'm wondering if we may someday put similar signal-carriers in our highways and major roads, so that cars will read them and be able to navigate them safely.

That would be wonderful here in Maine, especially in the winter. Imagine if a car had the following information: where the road was going, what the road conditions were, and also where all the other vehicles were and how fast they were going. Other sensors could work to detect animals or other obstacles on the road. There'd have to be a special one for kitty-kats, because they like to lurk in the ditches and dart out in front of cars.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: science, cats, Maine

Technorati tag: DARPA

An Idiot Ob-Gyn Driver

Today's entry in my continuing series on idiot drivers finds us on Route 1 south, between Belfast and Northport. An idiot driver is about five feet from my rear bumper over the course of 8 miles or so, as we are cruising at 55 mph. It's a silver SUV. After I pull over at my destination in Northport, I can easily read the vanity license plate: OBGYN. Wonder what he does for work. No doubt on his way to an emergency pap smear. If this idiot can't be trusted with a car, why should anyone trust him with all those medical doohickeys?

Peace,

Tor

Filed Under:

• Maine
• idiots

The Pot-Head and the Psychic

In case you missed it, or thought that the topic would be boring because of its boring title, "Panel probes irregular campaign expenses," take a quick look at this story from the Bangor Daily News. I'm sure most of the publicly-funded campaigns in Maine were on the up-and-up, and executed by sincere individuals. But when there's free money to be had from the gummint, someone will figure out how to scam the system:

Julia St. James of Hartford told members of the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices that her independent bid for Senate District 14 in Oxford County was encouraged by her treasurer, Jessica Larlee of Minot, and her campaign manager, Daniel Rogers of Auburn. She said the two talked her into running as a publicly funded candidate and wound up taking payments of more than $13,000 for managing and running her campaign.

But wait, it gets better. St. James calls herself a "pot-head" and "weed farmer," and claims a head injury kept her in a "euphoric state" throughout the campaign, and thus less apt to question her handlers' actions.

And it turns out these folks had another game going, in the person of Green Independent Party candidate Sarah Trundy of Minot:

...Trundy spoke softly through much of her testimony and was overcome by tears when Jean Ginn Marvin, the commission chairman, repeatedly sought details on some vaguely listed expenses without success. Trundy was unable to tell Ginn Marvin who her election opponents were and could not verify that about $1,500 in reported home mailings had actually taken place.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help," she said.

But wait, it gets even better. Psychic warfare rears its ugly head! Larlee and St. James are apparently doing battle in the ether:

"Can Julia St. James not be in this room - I'm not joking," Larlee said. "I'm on a meditation program, and I'm very sensitive to psychic energy. If you measure my brain waves, you'll see that I have a high level of delta waves like Buddhist monks do, and I do believe that she is capable of psychically attacking me."

Despite her claims of psychic sensitivity, Larlee was unaware that St. James had exited the room as she was sitting down.

"Ma'am, she's not in the room," Marvin said in a dead monotone.

"Oh, OK," Larlee replied.

Oh god oh god oh god I hope there's a video of this somewhere. Or at least an audiotape. It's a kookologist's dream. It's not everyday that one hears testimony concerning the brain waves of Buddhist monks in relation to campaign financing.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: politics, Maine, Buddhism, idiots

Spielberg Scoperama

Steven Spielberg says he's invented something that will put the theatre audience right in the center of the action.

Better get that out there fast, Steve. The industry is poised to make a big investment to come into the digital age. They won't be wanting to build all-new auditoriums too soon after that.

Peace,

Tor

Category: movies

Technorati tags: Steven Spielberg, movie technology

Robert Davis

In an update on the Robert Davis situation:

New Orleans police said they typically do not test people arrested for public intoxication. Spokesman Marlon Defillo said judges traditionally rely on an officer's expertise.

If I were on that jury, after seeing the video where police were beating on him and on AP reporters, that would seal the deal. Lock the police up, and let Robert go. Knowing that the incident had been taped, the police would want solid blood or breath evidence. While they may not normally do that in these cases, this was not a normal case. The only reason they wouldn't collect that evidence would be the suspicion that it wouldn't help their case.

I'm not a lawyer, nor an expert on the law, but this is where my logic is taking me on this one.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: idiots, police

Technorati tag: Robert Davis

Coral Reef Fossil Preserved

A section of a 450 million-year-old rock that was once part of an ancient coral reef will be preserved and kept accessible to the public in Vermont.

Now I propose a fund drive to restore it to its original location in southern equatorial waters. We'll fight this global climate change abomination to the very end!

Peace,

Tor

Category: science

Technorati tags: Chazy Reef

New Orleans' Finest

I'm sure you've all heard about this guy by now:

Robert Davis said he had returned to New Orleans to check on property his family owns in the storm-ravaged city, and was out looking to buy cigarettes when he was beaten and arrested Saturday night in the French Quarter.

Police have alleged that the 64-year-old Davis was publicly intoxicated, a charge he strongly denied as he stood on the street corner where the incident played out Saturday.

"I haven't had a drink in 25 years," Davis said. He had stitches beneath his left eye, a bandage on his left hand and complained of soreness in his back and aches in his left shoulder.

There's not much room for being mistaken on this one. Either he's lying, or the cops are. It's obvious the cops are lying about his resisting arrest. I find it hard to believe that the cops felt "intimidated" by him, since they outnumbered him, and one of them was on a horse. If the blood tests come back to indicate that he was intoxicated, I'll start giving the cops some benefit of the doubt. Otherwise, I hope they get an unfair and speedy trial.

Peace,

Tor

Category: idiots

eBay: License Required?

The Associated Press reports that North Dakota is investigating whether people who sell consigned goods via eBay are required to hold auctioneer's licenses:

To get a North Dakota auctioneer's license, applicants must pay a $35 fee, obtain a $5,000 surety bond and undergo training at one of eight approved auction schools, where the curriculum includes talking really fast....

The closest auctioneer schools, in Mankato, Minn., and Billings, Mont., cost $795 to $1,625 for a week to 10 days of training.

The article also lists Maine as a state that has "considered extending auction rules to eBay sellers." I'll have to look into that. I don't want to run afoul of any Maine Auction Gestapo.

This is another example of the government trying to horn its way into something that's working just fine on its own, through privately and voluntarily initiated controls. eBay sellers and buyers treasure their online reputations. When the reputations sour, so do the sales (or the ability to bid). There are already several means of resolving disputes, and tho they may take a while to go through, they work quite well. My wife Rowan and I have both had to use them more than once. I can't imagine how having an escrow account for a five dollar transaction would be cost-effective protection. There are already third-party escrow services for large-ticket purchases, if the buyer and seller agree to their use.

Yes, there are many scams floating about on eBay (and other online sales sites), but they are getting easier and easier to spot. Hint: if they'll only take a Western Union payment for a $1,000 laptop for which you're paying $300, it's probably a scam.

It strikes me that the online world of commerce is the one in which libertarian methods of voluntary resolution have worked remarkably well.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: eBay, government, libertarianism, internet

Technorati tags: online auctions, regulations

Wallace and Gromit Rule

Wallace and Gromit was the most-attended film this weekend. And it fully deserved to be.

I was a bit worried on Friday night, when we showed the film to a medium-sized crowd. Then came the Saturday and Sunday matinees, which essentially sold out. The evening shows were also strongly attended. Every audience for which I showed it gave it a great round of applause when the credits started.

At least now Aardman Studios will be able to rebuild from the fire which destroyed the Wallace and Gromit sets.

I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to see this extremely fun movie. Also, don't let yourself be seen as a dunderhead by going to the lobby to complain that a Madagascar Penguins movie is playing instead of Wallace and Gromit. It's a short that is attached to the feature. The theatres are required by the studio to show it. Just about every major animated feature released in the U.S. in the last ten years has had a short attached to it, so don't pretend like this is something new and confusing. The ticket-sellers and popcorn-sellers are too busy serving the late-arrivers to deal with your vacuousness. Go sit down and watch the show.

The one bummer from this weekend's numbers is that Serenity slipped so far down from its unimpressive opening. I hope it makes enough money so the studio suits will greenlight a sequel or two.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: movies

Technorati tags: Wallace and Gromit, Serenity

Everybody in Maine Knew It Except Them

One of the minor guilty pleasures we have had in Maine in recent weeks has been the trial of Gary Reiner. The lawyer and former Kittery Town Council chairman was convicted on September 30th on charges involving prostitution and money-laundering in Kittery.

Now the Kittery Town Council has requested that the Maine Attorney General's office conduct an open-ended and wide-ranging investigation into connections between town employees and officials and the workings of the club.

Town Council Chairwoman Ann Grinnell told the newspaper that when she and other town officials met with Rowe on Tuesday in Augusta, they asked him to "look at the things that came up in the Gary Reiner case, to put a spotlight on some of our town employees and some town officials -- how did that (the club) survive for all those years in this town?"

The best characterization of this request comes from the Portsmouth Herald's editorial:

Now, as details of the alleged illegal activities come to light in federal court in Portland, it is hard not to think of Capt. Louis Renault in the movie "Casablanca" who exclaims: "I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."

Despite protestations by the local police, there can be no doubt that if they wanted to create problems for the Danish Health Club, they could have. But Kittery Police Chief Edward Strong has admitted the goings-on at the health club were a low priority for local police. He described all the criminal activities as misdemeanors, not worth the time or the effort to curb.

In fact, the last raid and arrest at the DHC took place in 1984, shortly before Strong became chief, and there hasn’t been an arrest made at the alleged brothel since.

I attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick from the fall of 1987 till the spring of 1991. DHC was one of the "road trip" destinations that everyone on campus joked about. And some of the jock-filled fraternities actually went to. There's no doubt in my mind that each and every adult inhabitant of the greater Kittery and Portsmouth area knew what was going on there.

The Portsmouth Herald editorial rightly notes the good success that some other areas of the country and the world have had in decriminalizing prostitution. It makes it safer for the workers, for the clients, and tends to keep organized crime out of the picture. Maine should look into this.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: Maine, politics, trials, crime, prostitution

Technorati tags: Kittery Maine

Isn't This What The GOP Campaigned On?

The U.S. House GOP sounds like it's going to get serious and make some spending cuts to offset tax cuts and hurricane relief spending. If they carry through on this (and I sincerely hope they do, and that the Maine legislature gets a clue and follows their example), they will finally be doing what the Republicans have been promising to do for my whole life.

Remember when the GOP held the house in the 90s? Yes, they campaigned on a Contract With America, but when they got into actual power, most of that went out the window. They started working on anti-abortion and anti-gay-soldiers legislation, instead. And spending didn't really go down -- it just sort of leveled off. As a libertarian, I have to say that I generally find government is most conducive to liberty when one party holds power in at least one of the houses of the legislative branch, and the other party holds a narrow majority in the other. That keeps either the GOP or the Dems from getting cocky and drunk with the power they have over our lives.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: politics, hurricanes, Maine

Technorati tags: GOP, House Republicans, government spending, Katrina, Rita, tax cuts

A Non-Fan's Take on Serenity

Christopher Smith of the Bangor Daily News rates Serenity as an A-! He raves:

From Whedon's script, "Serenity" is based on the director's ill-fated, 2002 Fox television show, "Firefly." If, like me, you never saw an episode, be prepared for an anything-goes thrill ride here....a movie that becomes impressively intense as it veers toward an ending whose climax isn't telegraphed. There are genuine surprises here, particularly at the end, which gives this swift movie a formidable kick.

So now I know that I can recommend this movie without reservation to folks who never saw Firefly. It will doubtless be a fine double feature with Wallace and Gromit.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: scifi, movies

Technorati tags: Joss Whedon, science fiction, Serenity, Firefly

The Internet and the Law

The Washington Post has a quick introductory article to its collection of articles on internet security issues.

The main focus of this article is anti-spyware legislation that is being developed in Washington, D.C. It really strikes me as a libertarian that the feds are the last people we want to be fighting spyware. Sure, there should be laws against stealing data and identities, but there should also be an expectation placed on the owners of computers on the 'net that they will take simple precautions. I know that there are folks in Maine who don't lock their front doors, and leave their keys in their cars. But when you live in Manhattan, you use multiple locks and theft deterrents to keep the bad guys out. The internet is the world's virtual city, with millions of anonymous folks walking the streets.

Especially with so much freeware available for antivirus and antispyware, there's no excuse.

And remember the days before the feds unleashed the CAN SPAM act? That's right: we actually received much less spam in our email accounts in those days. A few big spammers have been put on show trials, but the email keeps coming in. That's about what I predict will happen with the new "SPY BLOCK" legislation, after it becomes law.

While it's unfortunate that so much brainpower and otherwise productive time has been spent by engineers and software coders to defeat spam, it's also unfortunate that so many folks have to put bars on their windows in certain neighborhoods.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: computers, crime, freeware, government, internet, libertarianism, Maine

Technorati tags: CAN SPAM, SPY BLOCK

High Speed Internet thru Power Lines

It is now possible to get high-speed internet service transmitted through power lines. While the business model has yet to prove itself even for populated areas, the potential for bringing high-speed internet to rural areas is what I find exciting.

There are a lot of areas in Maine which have little chance of receiving DSL service or high-speed cable connections. Even cable TV is unavailable to many Mainers, and satellite service for internet is still quite expensive. If online infrastructure can take advantage of the rural electrification grid, there's little stopping it.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: internet, Maine

Leeds Haunts

If you love a good, "true" ghost story, check out Leeds Haunts. It's a new website by Rhys Evans, who hopes to catalog all the supernatural legends of his Yorkshire city. I'm not a believer in ghosts, but I am a lover of good, spooky stories, especially if other people believe them. Just getting into the Halloween mood.

Peace,

Tor

Category: spooky

Technorati tags: ghosts, ghost stories, folklore, Leeds England

Serenity Rocks, Yet Doesn't Sell

Serenity is an awesome movie. My lovely wife Rowan and I took it in this weekend.

Yet it wasn't able to overcome Flightplan in this weekend's lackluster box office. I can only hope that word of mouth will get out about this sci-fi western gem, and that they will eventually earn enough of a profit to make another movie feasible.

The movie has everything that fans of the series Firefly would demand: great dialogue, solid acting and basic good storytelling. There are also a few surprizes in store, tho they provide some closure for some of the subplots from the series. The special effects are very good.

It's hard to tell how much anyone who hadn't seen the show would be able to get into it. The movie starts with a flashback via security feed, showing the doctor rescuing his sister from the "school" she had been attending. A quick orientation to the parameters of Alliance vs. Independents is given. But a lot of the dialogue and events would make more sense to those who know the characters' previous exploits.

The Reavers figure prominently in the story, and they are both fun and scary.

Peace,

Tor

Categories: scifi, movies

Technorati tags: science fiction, Serenity, Joss Whedon