businessweek article about micro$oftees defecting to google and other companies:

Lucovsky said in a sworn statement that after he told Ballmer about his plans to move to Google, the beefy CEO threw a chair and cursed Google's chief executive. "F__ing Eric Schmidt is a f__ing pussy. I'm going to f__ing bury that guy.... I'm going to f__ing kill Google," Ballmer said, according to Lucovsky. In a statement, Ballmer calls Lucovsky's account "a gross exaggeration of what actually took place."

Gov. Sonny Perdue gave his approval Tuesday to a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions

Another portion of the bill tightens parental notification requirements for minors. Parents would have to be notified either by telephone or in person before a minor could have an abortion.

“This bill will ensure that those who care most about them—their parents—can provide the loving support and guidance that they need.”

yeah, like the "loving support" of having to get a full time job and an apartment at the age of 15

smuggler hauls art into the museum.

"These galleries are just trophy cabinets for a handful of millionaires. The public never has any real say in what art they see. It's good to screw with the selection process sometimes. 'Comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable' as Eleanor Roosevelt once said." (quote from the artist's website, the wooster collective.)

last night i read an article in the ny times about the cryonics institute, where you can have your body frozen so that many years in the future when the technology exists, you might be brought back to life. it costs $28,000 upon your death.

Poll #447265
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 48

Would you freeze your brain/body to be revived in the future?

"Scientists have begun blurring the line between human and animal by producing chimeras—a hybrid creature that's part human, part animal.

Chinese scientists at the Shanghai Second Medical University in 2003 successfully fused human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were reportedly the first human-animal chimeras successfully created. They were allowed to develop for several days in a laboratory dish before the scientists destroyed the embryos to harvest their stem cells."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0125_050125_chimeras.html

"Gary Webb, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who wrote a controversial series of stories linking the CIA to crack cocaine trafficking in Los Angeles, has died at age 49. Webb was found Friday morning at his home in Sacramento County, dead of an apparent suicide."

the last issue of the seattle weekly had an article about a man convicted in a HIV assault case. he knew he had HIV and continued to sleep with 17+ women without telling them. as a result, he could go to jail for the rest of his life. hiv assault is a class A felony in washington (same category as murder or rape).

obviously he's an asshole and every one of those women could die as a result of his actions. but where does personal responsibility fit in? all of the women knew that he was promiscuous and that they were not his only sexual partner. the article didn't give the impression that any of the women were unaware of the existence of HIV and other STDs. having unprotected sex is akin to sharing needles while doing drugs. you *KNOW* that you are risking your life and your body. i'm not saying that excuses his actions. however, he didn't rape anyone.

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65704,00.html

'However, under the proposed language, viewers would not be allowed to use software or devices to skip commericals or promotional announcements "that would otherwise be performed or displayed before, during or after the performance of the motion picture," like the previews on a DVD.

The entertainment industry has been lobbying hard for quick Senate passage during the lame-duck session, with opponents gearing up for a tough fight.'

"The House has passed HR 2391, which is being considered by the Senate today (11/16). Successful passage by the Senate will put this bill on the President's desk late this year or early next.

This bill makes it a violation of the Copyright Act to skip commercials using a technological means (hardware or software) -- and it makes it a violation to make the computer program that allows people to skip commercials. You can get information on the bill here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:h.r.02391
http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/HR_2391.pdf

you can comment about this to senators/representatives at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121 or via email at http://www.senate.gov or http://www.house.gov. "

r.i.p. winamp .. you really did kick the llama's ass ;)

http://www.gedikian.com/2004/10/closing-of-chapter.html

i read an ad in the american airlines inflight magazine about choosing your baby's gender and then googled and found "brave new babies".

i'm idealistic about technology, but not about the ways people might use it. *shudder*