Utility Fog

Look Over There, It's Halley's Comet!

"UK researchers are working on fitting CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence, allowing them to more quickly respond to crimes.

The technology, being developed by University of Portsmouth scientists, would allow cameras to "hear" violent sounds and react, swiveling quickly in the direction of a broken window or somebody shouting abusively for example, before alerting an operator.

The artificial intelligence powering the camera would also be able to respond to visual cues such as fights, or violent behaviour.

Scientists say the aim is to allow the camera to react just as a human might, hearing a scream and then swinging around to find the source with the same speed as a person, which is about 300 milliseconds.

Over time, the scientists claim the AI algorithms would learn, picking up key words and phrases it associates with criminal activity."

Everyone at Slashdot had the same reaction to this that I did: Arrange for some noise over there so you can do your crime over here unobserved.

AI could power next-gen CCTV cameras
Via Slashdot

First!

The world's first album cover
Via Kottke.org

Bo

Bo Diddley - Hey, Bo Diddley and Bo Diddley

Via {feuilleton}

Serious Dogs

You Better Have a Pocket Full of Porkchops
Via Snuzzy

Frozen Donkey Wheel

The Top 30 "WTF?!" Moments in LOST History
Via The Tail Section

Giant Sand Art

3 miles across, 100 miles and 7 days of walking - "freehand"

The Largest Human-Made Art on Earth

Magic Smoke

$500 audio cable - Flim Flam
Snarky Reviews - Priceless

Via Bifurcated Rivets

Weeee!

"Simply, Mexico is in a guerrilla war and the majority (54%, in a recent Reforma poll) of the population thinks the narco-guerrillas are winning. Last month, the guerrillas decimated the senior staff of Mexico's law enforcement organizations and there are threats of more assassinations to come. In small towns, policemen are resigning en masse as the drug gangs continue their killing spree. Placards and banners are openly displayed in town streets promising death to the police that oppose the drug gangs and/or offers to recruit anybody with military experience.

Calderon's effort to crush the syndicates has backfired. As the top leadership of the syndicates were arrested or killed, a myriad of smaller and more violent groups have emerged to replace them (as predicted by global guerrilla theory). Currently, the groups are fighting each other more than the government, which has reduced their effectiveness. That will slowly change as territories are become fixed, connected to the primary loyalties of village or neighborhood. Eventually, a fully formed open source insurgency will emerge and the government might find itself only in command of the capital. At that point, Mexico will be a hollow state. A government in name only. This is going to be interesting to watch.

NOTE: The only existential threat the US faces in the near term, is from global guerrillas in Mexico and not the Middle East. A breakdown there could result in massive population movements, refugee centers, and the spread of guerrilla warfare into US border states. "

But, but, we've got a giant wall to protect us! And lots and lots of aircraft carriers.

Global Guerrillas

Keep Your Head Down and Your Mouth Shut

"Four young residents of a North Philadelphia house who circulated petitions questioning police-surveillance cameras were rousted from their home Friday and detained 12 hours without charges while police searched their house.

Daniel Moffat, 28, a co-owner of the house, said police had no warrant when they entered. The house was examined by officials from several government agencies and then shuttered by the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections.

"This leaves me homeless, without access to things I need. My whole life is disrupted," Moffat said yesterday.

The raid on the property on Ridge Avenue near Parrish Street was led by 9th District Police Capt. Dennis Wilson, who was quoted in an online story by the City Paper as saying of the residents: "They're a hate group. We're trying to drum up charges against them, but unfortunately we'll probably have to let them go.""

Who needs some guy making audio tapes from a cave in Pakistan when you have the Philadelphia PD?

Moscow on the Schuylkill: Philly cops bust activists...for what?
Via Futurismic

Nice

There's ice on Mars
Via kottke.org

Wait...I'm in a Mall? WTH?

David Levine has infected me with the Zombie Meme:

"You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have:

1. one weapon.

2. one song blasting on the speakers.

3. one famous person to fight alongside you.

* Weapon can be real or fictional; you may assume endless ammo if applicable. Person can be real or fictional.
Weapon: The BFG 10000 from Quake III. Best. Weapon. Evar.
Song: "Bat out of Hell" by Meatloaf. Nothing rocks more.
Person: Harrison Ford as... oh, I'm not sure. Han's more ruthless but Indy's more indestructible. Maybe Super President from Air Force One, who is both ruthless and indestructible plus, as a special added bonus, can call in a nuclear strike, just in case."

So, let's start the festivities:

Weapon: Kzinti Variable Sword-Instant zombie sushi.
Song: "Walk on Hot Coals" by Rory Gallagher, the Irish Tour '74 version, please.
Person: Jet Li seems to be taken already. I thought about Superman, but that seems too easy: I could be armed with a licorice whip and humming tunelessly if I'm packing that kind of backup. I pick Special Agent Dana Scully. She's smart (doctor!), tough, weapons trained, and of course..."Last Man on Earth".

Cracking Wise

I'm digging the hep new Middle Man show. It's chock full of snappy patter and snark.

Funky Cabbage

"Without kimchi, Korea would not be the same country---there might be a nation in the same place, and it might even be called the same thing, but it would not be Korea.

If you think I'm exaggerating, you haven't been to Korea. It's enough that the stuff is ubiquitous: outside of Western-style fast food, there is not a single meal eaten here that does not somehow incorporate kimchi. According to the International Herald Tribune, Koreans eat more than 1.6 million tons of kimchi every year. But it's more than its presence on tables that makes it so important and so prevalent. Fat brown kimchi pots and huge bales of leafy green cabbage are mainstays of the Korean countryside, giving it its own contours and mood. The ajummas hunched in the field, digging radishes and scallions for the winter gimjang out of the soil with thin trowels, are Korea's iconic naifs, Millet's gleaners dressed in blue polyurethane visors and floral blouses. When Koreans pose for photos, it's not cheese they invoke to bring smiles to the faces of the subjects, but "Kimchi!" Kimchi is monumental in a way that no prepared North American foodstuff can ever hope to be---it is a touchstone of Korean life, the leafy skein from which the country's history and self-image has been woven."

On Kimchi
Via MetaFilter

Just Another Day

"Their model suggests that new universes could be created spontaneously from apparently empty space. From inside the parent universe, the event would be surprisingly unspectacular.

Describing the team's work at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in St Louis, Missouri, co-author Professor Sean Carroll explained that "a universe could form inside this room and we'd never know". "

Take that, mundane reality!

Hints of 'time before Big Bang'

Wuh?

Chihuahuas don't cure asthma

Civics 101

"That a law invalidated by a court is supported by a large majority is not an argument supporting the conclusion that the court's decision was wrong. Central to our system of government is the premise that there are laws which even the largest majorities are prohibited from enacting because such laws violate the constitutional rights of minorities. Thus, the percentage of people who support the law in question, and how long and pain-staking the process was that led to the law's enactment, is totally irrelevant in assessing the propriety of a court decision striking down that law on constitutional grounds.

Contrary to Wittes' extremely confused argument, a court striking down a law supported by large majorities is not antithetical to our system of government. Such a judicial act is central to our system of government. That's because, strictly speaking, the U.S. is not a "democracy" as much as it a "constitutional republic," precisely because constitutional guarantees trump democratic majorities. This is all just seventh-grade civics, something that the Brookings scholar, Wittes, and those condemning the California court's decision on similar grounds seem to have forgotten.

The duty -- the central obligation -- of judges faithfully applying the law and fulfilling their core duties is to strike down laws that violate the Constitution, without regard to what percentage of the population supports that law, and without regard to whether it would be "better" in some political sense if democratic majorities some day got around to changing their minds about it. It's perfectly appropriate for, say, marriage equality advocates to take into account whether it would be preferable, in some political or strategic sense, to achieve gay marriage only once there is majority support for it. But that is a completely inappropriate factor for a judge to consider, because the judge's sole consideration is whether the law is consistent with Constitutional protections."

Whenever I come across the phrase "activist judges" my bullshit detector lights up.

The California marriage decision and basic civics

No Reason...Just Wondering

Zombie bites a Vampire

Happy Face

21 Best Mugshots Evar
Via MonkeyFilter

Real World Applications

The world (or at least the news media) is all agog with monkeys controlling mechanical arms with their thoughts.

But I've seen nada about Joe Internet's concerns:

When will this tech be used in videogames?
Can it be used for pr0n?
Is this another step down the slippery slope to the Terminator?

Finally

David Gerrold's website reports that he's going to turn the 5th Chtorr book, "A Method for Madness", in to his publisher in Octorber 2008.

I just hope the next 2 books don't take this long.

Via pianodwarf

Now I can only dream of some action on Thomas Harlan's "Land of the Dead"

Glitter and Doom

Tom Waits interviews Tom Waits:

"Q: What's hard for you?

A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things correctly. Straight lines. Sheet rock. Finding a safety pin. Patience with others. Ordering in Chinese. Stereo instructions in German.

Q: What's wrong with the world?

A: We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness. Leona Helmsley's dog made 12 million last year... and Dean McLaine, a farmer in Ohio made $30,000. It's just a gigantic version of the madness that grows in every one of our brains. We are monkeys with money and guns."

Tom Waits True Confessions
Via MetaFilter

Noticeable By It's Absence

This is a press release courtesy of Oregon State Police

"Oregon State Police forwarded reports to the Lane County District Attorney's Office for consideration of money laundering charges after troopers discovered over $61,000 cash in a car during a May 20 traffic stop near Cottage Grove. OSP troopers and drug enforcement detectives believe the cash is tied to drug trafficking, but no arrests have been made pending review by the district attorney's office.

On May 20, 2008, at approximately 9:30 p.m., a Cottage Grove police officer stopped a 1993 Honda Accord two-door displaying California license plates southbound on Interstate 5 near milepost 186 for failure to maintain a single lane of travel and suspicion of DUII. OSP troopers were requested as backup during the stop and after arriving noted indicators that the vehicle may be involved in criminal activity.

Further investigation led to the discovery of $61,340 cash concealed inside the vehicle. No illegal drugs were found. An OSP trooper and drug dog assisted during the investigation.

The car's two occupants, a 38-year-old male driver and 21-year-old male passenger, both from southern California, were detained and later released. Their names are not being released because they have not been charged in this case.

Information developed during the investigation is being forwarded to the Lane County District Attorney's Office for consideration of money laundering charges."

There's one thing missing from this story: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY? $61,340 worth of suspicion

Lost - Ep# 413 - "There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3" - Initial Thoughts

So, in three years (Dec 2007?) Locke will be dead. Why did the Island allow him to die? And isn't it great that even if he's dead that doesn't mean no more Locke goodness?
My guess is that the off-Island Oceanic 6 scenes in 2007 will become the new "present day" and the flashbacks will be on-Island starting right after the Island moved and will move forward in time until final Season 7 when they converge. Or visa-versa.
How did they fit a polar bear into that little chamber in the Orchid?
Big Question: Why doesn't the Island just tell people what it wants them to do?
Jin and Daniel aren't confirmed dead.
I think Sun wants to get back to the Island and find Jin. She may be working with Ben.
I really want to know why the bad things that happened (will happen, whatever) on the Island after the Move are Jack's fault.
Dream Claire doesn't want Aaron to return to the Island. WTF is up with that? That would guarantee that Aaron would be "raised by another"-isn't that supposed to be a Bad Thing? Does Aaron have to be one of the group for them to return?

Because Learning is Bad

"A masters student at the University of Nottingham who was arrested under the Terrorism Act under suspicion of possessing extremist material was studying terrorism for his dissertation, Times Higher Education can reveal.

Academics and students have expressed concerns about the police's handling of the case, which saw police searching campus property.

Rizwaan Sabir, a 22-year-old who was studying in the politics department, was arrested along with a 30-year-old member of staff. Both were released without charge on 20 May after having been held in custody for six days.

Mr Sabir's lawyer, Tayab Ali of McCormacks solicitors in London, told Times Higher Education that as preparation for a PhD on radical Islamic groups, Mr Sabir had downloaded an edited version of the al-Qaeda handbook from a US government website. It is understood that Mr Sabir sent the 1,500-page document to the staff member - who was subsequently arrested - because he had access to a printer. Mr Ali said: "The two members of the university were treated as though they were part of an al-Qaeda cell. They were detained for 48 hours, and a warrant for further detention was granted on the basis that the police had mobile phones and evidence taken from computers to justify this.""

Research into Islamic terrorism led to police response
Via Cryptome

Continuity of George?

"Few Americans--professional journalists included--know anything about so-called Continuity of Government (COG) programs, so it's no surprise that the president's passing reference received almost no attention. COG resides in a nebulous legal realm, encompassing national emergency plans that would trigger the takeover of the country by extra-constitutional forces--and effectively suspend the republic. In short, it's a road map for martial law.

While Comey, who left the Department of Justice in 2005, has steadfastly refused to comment further on the matter, a number of former government employees and intelligence sources with independent knowledge of domestic surveillance operations claim the program that caused the flap between Comey and the White House was related to a database of Americans who might be considered potential threats in the event of a national emergency. Sources familiar with the program say that the government's data gathering has been overzealous and probably conducted in violation of federal law and the protection from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.

According to a senior government official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations, "There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived 'enemies of the state' almost instantaneously." He and other sources tell Radar that the database is sometimes referred to by the code name Main Core. One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention."

Martial law would make a nice alternative to an election that can't be fixed.

The Last Roundup
Via Boing Boing

The Dark Side of Tofu

"What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant---someone to show up at "vegan potlucks" throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort's primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division's website, is to "investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines.""

Me, I keep fantasizing about the FBI prosecuting the Republican Party as an "ongoing criminal conspiracy" under the RICO statutes.

Moles Wanted
Via ACLU Blog

Why I Stopped Working in Bookstores

""Hi. Do you sell just mysteries here?"

"Yes. Broadly defined. We have thrillers, suspense, capers, true crime, but yeah, mysteries."

"Oh. Okay. Do you have any Kurt Vonnegut?""

I was asked once where the padlocks were.
Via Fran's Ramblings

Glitch Bop

Classical Hindustani Glitchtronica
Via MetaFilter

I'm Not Alone

The Journal of Cartoon Over-analyzations
Via MetaFilter

Fine In Theory...

Not so good in practice:

" Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.
...
Use of CCTV images for court evidence has so far been very poor, according to Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, the officer in charge of the Metropolitan police unit. "CCTV was originally seen as a preventative measure," Neville told the Security Document World Conference in London. "Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be used in court. It's been an utter fiasco: only 3% of crimes were solved by CCTV. There's no fear of CCTV. Why don't people fear it? [They think] the cameras are not working."

More training was needed for officers, he said. Often they do not want to find CCTV images "because it's hard work". Sometimes the police did not bother inquiring beyond local councils to find out whether CCTV cameras monitored a particular street incident."

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police
Via UK Liberty