a blog for j z dot net

The uncanny valley (or divide) still has a way to go, but it seems this software has brought it a bit closer.

CITIZENS UNITED, APPELLANT v. FEDERALELECTION COMMISSION

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

[January 21, 2010]

JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG, JUSTICE BREYER, and JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR join, concurring in part and dissenting in part.

The basic premise underlying the Court’s ruling is its iteration, and constant reiteration, of the proposition that the First Amendment bars regulatory distinctions based on a speaker’s identity, including its “identity” as a corporation.   –J. Stevens

from: Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n

Capitalism wins!

sage advice: (How-to) Not be a noob:

Noobs are the players you meet who are selfish, rude, inconsiderate, unskillful, seem to have no concept of spelling or grammar, and are always bored – because the pleasure they derive from annoying others never quite seems to satisfy. Does this describe you? Don’t worry – there is hope!

Please note that noobs are not all to be confused with newbies – as the latter are friendly, willing to learn, and busy developing their skills – while the former are diametrically opposite.

* If you think that being a noob is fun, you are missing out! Wait ’till you see how much more fun is is to be a respected member of the Mars Explorer community – and the world in general!

* Though this may seem counter intuitive, the first step towards attaining the esteemed position of non-noobishness is to work on your communication skills. Once you establish yourself in the habit of fluently articulating everything you enter into a computer, not only will everyone else respect you more – but you will also be forced to think before you speak – and best of all, you won’t be automatically identified as a noob by others you come in contact with.

* Once you are communicating with ease, the only other skill you need to master is courtesy. When you begin treating others as fellow human beings with insightful ideas, valuable time, and intrinsic worth – instead of just objects to freeload from and annoy – you will no longer be a noob.

* Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It is easy. All you need is dedication and will, and you already have both of these – Exercise them!

* In closing, imagine what you will be able to do with all the time you are no longer investing in pointless activities! Find something productive that you enjoy, and become the best that you can at it – whether it’s rocketry, knitting sweaters, playing a musical instrument, entrepreneurial endeavours, or hacking.

via Mars Explorer – FAQ.

Boeing’s Latest Mobile Laser Weapon Tracks and Shoots Down Drone

By Clay Dillow Posted 11.18.2009 at 11:49 am 13 Comments

Laser Defense: Boeing's MATRIX high-energy directed weapon knocks a UAV out of the sky. U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

via Boeing’s Latest Mobile Laser Weapon Tracks and Shoots Down Drone | Popular Science.

just returned from an amazing week spent in Belize – sailing the Turneffe Atolls and hiking the Mayan pyramids at Lamanai – from finding a long-forgotten rusty machete and using it to harvest and enjoy some fresh young coconuts, to the still, glassy waters of the New River – it’s easy to see why so many people fall in love with Belize.

so attempting to purchase some items on a heavily trafficked site the other day, and received the dreaded

Server Error in ‘/’ Application

error — this is likely due to an under-resourced windows webserver(s) running  inadequate software.  Why are folks with sites still running that crap?

POWWOW(tm) END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Last Updated:  May 9, 2000

NOTE:  Tribal Voice, Inc., may revise the End User License
Agreement from time to time without notice by posting
a new version of the document on the Tribal Voice web
site at http://support.tribal.com/powwow/info/license/.

Accordingly, you should consult the most current version
of this document regularly to ensure your activities
conform to the most recent version.

For information on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA), visit the Tribal Voice web site at

http://support.tribal.com/powwow/info/coppa/

on the Internet.

ALL USE OF POWWOW CLIENT SOFTWARE IS SUBJECT TO THIS LICENSE
AGREEMENT.  BY CLICKING ON THE “YES” BUTTON BELOW, YOU ARE
AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS
AGREEMENT, AND YOU CONSENT TO BE BOUND BY AND BECOME A PARTY
TO THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, CLICK THE “NO” BUTTON AND YOU
WILL NOT HAVE ANY LICENSE TO AND MAY NOT USE ANY PART OF THE
POWWOW SOFTWARE.  TRIBAL VOICE’S ACCEPTANCE IS EXPRESSLY
CONDITIONED UPON YOUR ASSENT TO ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
OF THIS AGREEMENT; IF THESE TERMS ARE CONSIDERED AN OFFER BY
TRIBAL VOICE, ACCEPTANCE IS EXPRESSLY LIMITED TO THESE TERMS.
THE TRIBAL VOICE POWWOW ACCEPTABLE-USE POLICY TERMS AND
CONDITIONS <http://support.tribal.com/powwow/info/policy/>
ALSO APPLY TO YOUR USE OF THE POWWOW SOFTWARE.

PowWow copyright (C) 1995-2000 by Tribal Voice, Inc.  All
rights reserved.  PowWow is distributed free-of-charge for
personal non-institutional use by individuals.  Tribal Voice,
Inc. reserves the right to charge for all other uses.
Licensing information is available by contacting Tribal
Voice, Inc.

GRANT

By using the PowWow Software (“PowWow”), you agree to
abide by the terms of this license agreement (“Agreement”).
Subject to the terms of this Agreement, Tribal Voice, Inc.
(“Tribal Voice”) hereby grants you a limited, personal,
nontransferable, nonsublicensable, royalty-free, nonexclusive
license to use one copy of PowWow in object code form only on a
single computer and only in accordance with the applicable end
user and technical documentation for the purpose of accessing
the Tribal Voice Registration Services in order to interact
with other PowWow users via the Internet.

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the sun sets over the mount tamalpais

The golden gate lives up to it’s name in this shot from Albany in the east bay.