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The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) was founded in 1914 to support amateur radio experimenters (hams) that the U.S. began licensing in 1912. The ARRL's 163k+ members refer to each other by strange codes, speak in arcane abbreviations, and do extremely cool things like talk to the space shuttle and international space station via ARISS/SAREX (in the news recently), do two-way EME (earth-moon-earth) communication, and ragchewing (chin wagging) with folks in other countries via commercial and homebrew equipment. And their handbook is a great reference for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of electronics. Sounds like fun.
comment posted at 11:52 AM on May-8-01
comment posted at 11:53 AM on May-8-01
comment posted at 1:14 PM on May-9-01

Let us prepare for impact. A group of scientists is working on a standardized protocol for dealing with the possibility of a comet or massive asteroid striking the Earth, saying humans can do more than the dinosaurs ever could before a colossal impact precipitated their extinction 65 millions years ago.
"We have now overcome the giggle factor."
I don't know if we have........
comment posted at 1:53 PM on May-8-01

Anti-porn groups have declared May to be "Victims of Pornography" month. Looks like some other folks aren't on the same page when it comes to the significance of the month. Which would you rather celebrate? (And for the love of all that is good and right, don't tell us how you're celebrating!)
comment posted at 8:34 AM on May-4-01

Every gadget seems to generate a hobbyist underground: CueCat, TiVo, Big Mouth Billy Bass, DVD encryption, DVD region codes, Web appliances, WebTV, and Palm. The main link is to the New York Times; registration required.
comment posted at 8:55 AM on May-4-01

McDonald's Fries NOT Vegetarian After All While I realize that a large percentage of veggies avoid McDonald's on principle, an equally large percentage of them go there for the fries.

A McDonald's spokesman said the restaurant chain had never claimed to offer vegetarian food and that it freely provides ingredient information to anyone who requests it.

I can assure you that no where on that ingredient sheet does it say there's animal products in the fries. They went to a good deal of trouble to switch to vegetable oil so they could say they were healthier. If they've always contained the beef fat and they are not trying to hide that, then why the hell isn't it on the ingredient list?
comment posted at 10:13 AM on May-3-01
comment posted at 9:31 AM on May-4-01

John Salvati: not funny. Man imprissoned for 30 YEARS, known to be innocent by FBI, FBI kept him there b/c if the real perp was caught, dozens of informants would have been revealed. 30 years, gone, makes me sick feeling. There will be more news on this soon, I hope.
comment posted at 10:04 AM on May-4-01

The Soul of an Old Machine This is a wonderful article on Ron Popeil, founder of Ronco (remember the pocket fisherman?) and the Showtime Rotisserie. Besides some great reading on the marketing of pre-digital technology, Gladwell has some great things to say about usability.

If Ron had been the one to introduce the VCR, in other words, he would not simply have sold it in an infomercial. He would also have changed the VCR itself, so that it made sense in an infomercial. The clock, for example, wouldn't be digital. (The haplessly blinking unset clock has, of course, become a symbol of frustration.) The tape wouldn't be inserted behind a hidden door--it would be out in plain view, just like the chicken in the rotisserie, so that if it was recording you could see the spools turn. The controls wouldn't be discreet buttons; they would be large, and they would make a reassuring click as they were pushed up and down, and each step of the taping process would be identified with a big, obvious numeral so that you could set it and forget it.
comment posted at 10:15 AM on May-3-01
comment posted at 10:16 AM on May-3-01
comment posted at 10:18 AM on May-3-01

Can advertisers get more stupid? I hope so. I find this entertaining. Bud Light is carding people at the door to their website. Refrigerator door, that is! Type in your birthdate, and enter the fridge. And no fair cheating you juvenile delinquents! Anyone wanna share other Stupid Advertiser Tricks they've found?
I don't know why I care. I drink vodka.
comment posted at 10:52 AM on May-3-01

You know those house flags? I recommend finding one with this graphic to send a message to your neighbors. Better yet, how about this one?
comment posted at 10:54 AM on May-3-01

Don't laugh at Robert Downey Jr. anymore. It's time for the DEA, the drug czar and all the state and local municipalities to stop persecuting addicts. It's time for Americans to change the way our tax dollars are spent. We need to fund research that will make rehab work for everyone, not just the few poster children who make it through. We need to stop snickering at the woes of the famous who have not been successful at quitting so far and try to help them, plus those who are not so famous but just as unsuccessful. Addiction is a disease, a malfunction of brain chemicals. I urge you to find compassion in your hearts for those who are addicted, and then write your legislators, urging them to change the laws to help people, instead of continually throwing them in jail.
comment posted at 2:01 PM on May-3-01

Princeton Backs Down "Litigation is costly, time-consuming, and uncertain, regardless of the merits of the other side's case. We remain committed to free speech and to the value of scientific debate to our country and the world." Sorry for the drama, but as a scientist I have to go off and vomit now.
comment posted at 9:18 AM on Apr-27-01

Customer gives sick waitress $1,000 tip
i love hearing stories like this, it bolsters my faith in people.
comment posted at 9:20 AM on Apr-27-01

What do you do when your news company decides to let you go? Why you post a revenge site to mock your former employer.
comment posted at 9:37 AM on Apr-27-01

Pamela Anderson's plastic surgeon? The Courts have finally spoken: it's illegal to enlarge somebody's breasts without permission
comment posted at 9:56 AM on Apr-27-01

Today is the 105th running of the Boston Marathon. Growing up in Natick, Massachusetts, which is the ten-mile point of the route, the Marathon was always a huge deal. I remember watching every year as the wheelchair racers would zoom by to the roar of the crowd. We'd then wait a few minutes until the State Police motorcycles and the press trucks marked the lead runners. Before long the street was nothing but a solid wall of runners in all shapes, sizes and colors. A favorite thing to do would be to cheer someone on based on the t-shirt they were wearing. One year I saw a man wearing a t-shirt with a picture of the Mandlebrot Set. I yelled "Go fractal man!" He looked at me and smiled, and I knew I gave him a little bit of a boost that day. The race is certainly a yearly tradition around these parts. Does the rest of the world care? Is this big news elsewhere or just a small blurb on Page E-6?
comment posted at 12:55 PM on Apr-16-01

Is this troll a troll? or is it instead a metatroll or a precursor to a troll or an anti-troll? Do not send to ask for whom the troller trolls.
comment posted at 11:14 AM on Apr-13-01
comment posted at 11:23 AM on Apr-13-01

Is Radio on the Web Doomed? Does anyone have any thoughts on the legal developments described in this article? I had hoped the Web might be a defense against the downward, ownership concentration spiral of radio; now what?
comment posted at 10:14 AM on Apr-13-01
comment posted at 11:25 AM on Apr-13-01

:( Harvey Ball, creator of the smiley face died yesterday. He was paid $45 for designing it for an insurance company. Neither he nor the insurance company bothered to copyright it, and the rest is history.
comment posted at 10:23 AM on Apr-13-01
comment posted at 10:25 AM on Apr-13-01

It has to stop! (via rc3) Someone puts up a website, people like it and come back for more, then they tell their friends - and so on. The problem is, the site becomes popular and prohibitively expensive and a valuable resource either gets put behind a pay per view gate, disappears, or the site owner has to bite the bullet and pay a huge hosting fee. (more inside)
comment posted at 10:07 AM on Apr-13-01

Anti-Semitism on the comics pages. Is it just me, or is this way over the line?
comment posted at 9:30 AM on Apr-13-01
comment posted at 11:34 AM on Apr-13-01

Apple and Palm's new iPhone? Apparently this is just a mockup, and its a little bit unclear what all the little buttons do, but I still want one.
comment posted at 9:45 AM on Apr-13-01

This Mastercard parody has been on-line for two years, and Mastercard only recently requested its removal. Here is the hilarious response to the cease and desist. What I find amusing is that the MC lawyers never mention that they find the parody tasteless or offensive. Just that it violates their trademarks.
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Apr-11-01
comment posted at 12:09 PM on Apr-12-01

Focus on the Family Contacts Will & Grace Story Editor
...and gets more than it bargained for!
comment posted at 12:02 PM on Apr-11-01
comment posted at 11:38 AM on Apr-13-01

Palm Vx & cell phone combo has swept the streets of New York ... the Verizon stores sell out of them within hours of each shipment's arrival. I was one of the first, and I am, by and large, extremely satisfied ... more within.
comment posted at 4:40 PM on Apr-10-01
comment posted at 12:25 PM on Apr-11-01

Another childhood icon bids farewell First it was Bozo, now Mr. Rogers announces he's ending production on his television series, which has been on the air for 33 years. The show will continue in re-runs, of course. Suddenly I feel very grown up and more than a little wistful. (very sorry for the NYT link, maybe someone can post the free mirror link inside)
comment posted at 12:36 PM on Apr-11-01

Historic as the moon landing? No man or woman in history has ever held all golf's major championship titles concurrently. Is Tiger Woods' sweep of the Grand Slam an achievement of epic proportion, or just a blip on the radar of personal success?
comment posted at 12:21 PM on Apr-12-01

Britney's Battle Plan? Leaked document or Internet bs, you make the call...
comment posted at 6:32 PM on Apr-6-01

PG & E declaring bankruptcy. So if every website in the bay area goes down, it may not be due to the dotcom fallout. And remember kids, when the lights go off, you'll want to loot your local Fry's before anything else.
comment posted at 6:43 PM on Apr-6-01

GM encourages new SUV owners not to drive. "No injuries yet." But how bad does the defect have to be for them to tell their customers not to drive the damn things?
comment posted at 7:33 PM on Apr-6-01

Girl dies during radical therapy session. The mother has been given limited immunity for her testimony against the therapists. This is some scary beans -- does anybody have any experiences with this kind of therapy?
comment posted at 7:42 PM on Apr-6-01

Satellite photo shows no Chinese activity near the spy plane. Whom to trust in this crisis? The American media/govt. spin partnership that maintains that the Chinese are taking the plane apart? Or the photo? Is there any trustworthy source left?
comment posted at 7:46 PM on Apr-6-01

For those interested in the history of the Internet, the RFC #100 seems like a useful starting point: " For historical reasons and for readers interested in tracing through the stages of development of a topic, a brief summary is given for each NWG/RFC relevant to a particular category."Which is good, since even RFC 1 makes it sound like the Internet had already started. I was hoping that RFC #1 was entitled "The Internet: A Novel Approach to Computer Networks."
comment posted at 11:45 AM on Apr-2-01

The unkindest cut. "Standard medical practice dictates that intersex births like Carl's are emergencies that must be 'assigned' male or female and 'corrected' immediately to spare the parents the anguish of uncertainty, with no thought as to what the children would want." Er, wouldn't it be better to wait and see to which sex the child is attracted before slicing him/her to pieces?
comment posted at 12:04 PM on Mar-29-01
comment posted at 12:09 PM on Mar-29-01
comment posted at 12:32 PM on Mar-30-01

A new kind of child porn? Teenage girls set up webcams, ostensibly to extend their social network through interactive technology. Sick bastard male voyeurs create Web site so they can spy on all their "hotties" simultaneously. Thank heavens for little girls? Some of these girls are only 14, and look nothing like what a 14 year old should look like!
comment posted at 5:17 PM on Mar-27-01
comment posted at 8:40 AM on Mar-28-01
comment posted at 10:59 AM on Mar-28-01