brett's logjam

Jamie follows the money to a surprising destination.

Way F’n Cool: While crows have been known to use and make wooden tools (out of twigs and sticks), one was recently observed fashioning tools out of metal. Of course, they’ve been making other types of tools for some time now, but it’s nice to see some more ammunition to throw at those who argue against animal sapience.

Crows rock. Especially Iron Age Rooks.

I think it’s time to go reread The Uplift War.

Speaking of tool use… Dolphins Evolve Opposable Thumbs: ‘Oh, Shit,’ Says Humanity.

You are not ready for this.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you: Tales of the Plush Cthulhu.

(Via Boing Boing via Dorothea.)

SSL: broken, fixed.

Well, it’s fixed for folks who don’t use IE, anyway. Close enough.

I was a fan of Star Trek in the eighties and early nineties. I drifted away in the early nineties but returned to it during the last few years of Voyager’s run. As both VOY and DS9 were in heavy rerun rotation, I quickly caught up on the story and had a lot of hope that Voyager would live up to it’s potential, but was ultimately disappointed. I found myself enjoying DS9 for the Ferengi/Holodeck episodes more than the Dominion War arc, since I knew how it was going to end - badly.

Anyhow, I received a nice email today from the proprietor of the USS Liberty site, he very politely pointed me to a dissenting view of the ethics of the DS9 episode, In the Pale Moonlight. He’d read my piece on the Voyager finale and thought I’d enjoy reading his thoughts on the matter, which I did. I don’t know that I completely agree with him, but I certainly can appreciate his placing Kathryn Janeway on trial.

From Caveat Lector:

That was the best decision they could possibly have made. The server in the little restaurant welcomed them kindly. Did he see how tired and afraid they were? The food they ordered turned out to be excellent, hummus and falafel and grape-leaf-wrapped rice. Suddenly they thought that perhaps they’d make it after all.

They have gone back to the little Mediterranean restaurant every year on move-in day since then. They’ll go again this year.

Wil Wheaton will fight the forces of evil, aka Barney, at the DNA Lounge. (Via Boing Boing.)

Wil Wheaton has a heartfelt post about getting cut from Star Trek: Nemesis. Do yourself a favor and go read it now.

Dan Gillmor finds reasons for optimism.

Fax your representatives in support of anti-CARP legislation.

Oliver takes out the cat door, again.

Poor Oliver.

That’s right: a site devoted to linking to sites with restrictive linking policies and encouraging them to change their stance. Very cool. Via Slashdot.

Google now makes 1U rackmountable search servers?

Too cool.

about being on an agressive round of antibiotics is the way it knocks your whole system down. Sure, it kills the infection, but it takes everything else with it. I’m not really complaining, mind you. I can regrow all the stuff I need. It just takes a bit of one’s energy. So this has been my to-do list for the past few days:

1. Sleep.

When one feels like this it’s less fun than it sounds. Ug.

Once upon a time, a co-worker of mine showed up to work the night shift wearing a button with the message, “Proudly Serving My Corporate Masters.” I loved that button. I think Wil Wheaton has that button, too:

These corporate masters care little for the artists who are filling their 4 car garages with new Porsches and filling their private jets with fuel and “hostesses.”

What they do care about is controlling how you listen to music, or watch movies, and, increasingly, how you discuss and react to our creations.

Quick, catch it before Toho’s lawyers sue!

Unrelated to the Isle of Skye’s ferry woes, dinosaur excavation starts on Skye. (Via Kelly).

It’s been one year for Dean and Gail. Huzzah for romance!

That’s right. Now you can turn your Thinkpad into an iMac. This technology stuff is nifty.

Some mornings it’s better to stay in bed and keep your blood pressure down.

A recent survey finds a heck of a lot of Americans don’t mind giving up their freedoms and due process:

For the first time in the annual State of the First Amendment survey, almost half (49%) of those surveyed said the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees.

I have nothing pithy to say here.

Via /..