Thursday, February 26, 2004

Undead Films - The Best in Zombie Movies

Undead Films - The Best in Zombie Movies

"Evil has come to the Butte County Institute of Special Education, and its students will never be the same. After surviving a battle to the death with his own monstrous creation, Dr. Stern returns to continue his horrible research in this blood-drenched sequel to the cult hit 'Monsturd.' Armed with a fatal hyper-intelligence serum, the mad doctor transforms a quiet community into an army of flesh-eating zombies. It's a showdown of limb-chopping, head-bursting proportions as Stern's nemesis, F.B.I. agent Susan Hannigan, and the local Sheriff's department take on the zombie plague in the ultimate battle royale."

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Death From The Skies!!

News

"The Thames is home to over a hundred species of fish but never, until now, has a piranha been found in its murky waters.
One of the deadly Amazonian fish, shoals of which can devour big prey in seconds, mysteriously landed on a moored vessel in Dagenham, east London, having apparently fallen out of the sky." [via Undiscovered]

OberCon

A gaming con at Oberlin this weekend, Something*Positive creator R*K Milholland will be in attendance and apparently running a game.

OberCon

Furryweekend: What Happened?

This seems curious to me. I know its already happened....but it makes me wonder what was going on that they were trying to hide so zealously. I know furries, and I know a bit about the "subculture." I can imagine what they might have wanted to keep secret, but frankly it bothers me. It bothers me because this is something that could reflect badly on geekdom in general. So...who knows what happened?

FWA 2004: Press & Media

"Policy: As per our policy, the staff has decided not to allow ANY media coverage at the convention for our first year - the press and media are NOT welcome at Furry Weekend. Our goal is to produce the best convention for our attendees and it is our right as a private function to deny entry to the media. Attendees purchasing a membership agree not to act as media agents in any way, shape, or form while attending Furry Weekend. Questions about this policy should be addressed to ceo@furryweekend.com.

"Making photographic, audio or video recordings of any Convention event for investigative or commercial purposes is strictly forbidden."

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Pot For Teacher

Pot For Teacher

"FEBRUARY 23--Here's a bit of advice for high school administrators everywhere: If a drug-sniffing police dog somehow misses the pot you planted in a troublemaker's locker, just let it go. Patrick Conroy, however, felt the need to tell Michigan cops about his harebrained attempt to frame a student he believed was selling drugs at L.C. Mohr High School. Conroy, who resigned his assistant principal's post Friday when the Herald-Palladium reported on his scheme, last month laughingly told a K-9 cop about planting the pot, according to the below South Haven Police Department reports. Saying, 'I know this isn't or wasn't ethical,' Conroy, 52, told the cop he put the baggie of marijuana in the student's locker since 'we both know he is dealing drugs, and I wanted to catch him so I put drugs in the locker.' The dog, named Herbie, did not cooperate, however, failing to detect the weed. For his part, Conroy repeatedly steered the K-9 team past the bank of lockers, to no avail. Conroy is now the subject of a criminal probe. (7 pages)"

YETI@Home

YETI@Home

"What is that rustling around in your backyard? What was that shadow darkening the flatbed of Junior's abandoned El Camino? What left that clump of brown hair sticking to the prized azalea bushes? Could it be a large dog? Curious George? Burt Reynolds? Your mother-in-law?

"Or -- better yet (apologies to Burt Reynolds fans) -- a YETI? Yes, the mysterious Yeti...also known as the Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Momo, Skunk Ape, Abominable Snowman, and 'Mahatma Gandhi on a teeter-totter, Vern -- what the hell is THAT over yonder in the dumpster!?!'"

Friday, February 20, 2004

FBI Press Room

FBI, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ENTERTAINMENT AND SOFTWARE INDUSTRIES

"Los Angeles, CA- The FBI, in conjunction with leaders from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today announced a broad initiative to combat the theft of copyright protected material -- a multi-billion dollar a year crime problem.

"At a press conference at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Jana Monroe highlighted the FBI's ongoing efforts and successes in addressing the growing number of criminal complaints. Also released at the press conference was an 'Education Letter' designed to inform the public of the risks and vulnerabilities associated with sites where users exchange file information as well an introduction of the FBI's new 'Anti-Piracy' seal and warning text to be displayed on future copyrighted materials."

ShirleyBlog

John Shirley

"I feel vindicated--I always felt I might come off like a crank in stories like 'Where it's Safe' and in novels like DEMONS, where I talked about this sort of thing. Now the Nobel laureates are getting my back. This from the San Francisco Chronicle, look it up at sfgate.com: 'Sixty-two of the nation's top scientists, including a dozen Nobel laureates, denounced the Bush administration Wednesday for 'misrepresenting and suppressing scientific knowledge for political purposes.' In an unusually harsh critique of White House policy-making, the scientists signed a joint statement accusing the administration of systematically distorting research findings, disbanding scientific advisory panels, ignoring or demoting its own staff experts and misleading the public on issues ranging from lead poisoning to climate change. The statement accompanied a lengthy report from the Union of Concerned Scientists... detailing example after example of what it called 'the Bush administration's misuse of science.''"

Alvin Toffler

Toffler's books Future Shock and The Third Wave are two of my favorite sociology books. I really have to re-read them again soon. I became introduced to Future Shock after reading the late John Brunner's spectacular novel Shockwave Rider. Pay no attention to the crass knock-off of Shockwave Rider (the TV show Pretender).

Alvin Toffler and the Third Wave

"In the annals of contemporary change literature, Alvin Toffler is the 600-pound gorilla. He and his wife and collaborator Heidi Toffler have written a baker's dozen of books that have all been best-sellers, starting way, way back in 1970 with Future Shock. The family tree of thousands of books about the future, and about how to cope with it, all lead to the leafy canopy where he makes his roost."

How To Network With Blogger

How To Network With Blogger

"In 1973 a guy named Mark Granovetter wrote an article called The Strength of Weak Ties. The thing was lousy with brilliance and included the idea that you're more likely to get a job through a friend of a friend than a close friend. I think he even had pie charts backing him up. Very scientific, but it's not the seventies any more.

"Now it's the future and we have lots of social networking web sites that show us our weak ties. So many in fact that people are getting overwhelmed. Folks, you don't need a hired hand to manage your social networking duties. If you're a Blogger user, then you're already signed up to the ultimate networking tool--one that plugs you into a world blind to height, weight, and eye color; where your thoughts, opinions, and ideas represent who you are.

"I invite you to join me in an only slightly different dimension. A dimension in which Blogger exists as 'Push Button Networking for the People.' In this version of reality, Blogger does not change, just our perception of it. Let's tour some crazy features to see how blogging doubles as social networking of a different color."