A tribute to the weird, funny, twisted, technology-driven world we live in.
Will you push my button?
What with all the porn on the Internet you might be wondering why there haven't been any virtual sex toys. Well, fear not, the niche has been filled.
Tracking stolen people
In a recent post, I recounted how the National Park Service implanted microchips in a bunch of cacti in Arizona so that they could be tracked if stolen. In Mexico the trouble tends to be less with stolen vegetation than with kidnappings.
Worst captchas of all time
Are you tired of having to squint at twisted letters whenever you want to leave a blog comment? Well, be glad that you don't have to jump through these hoops...
Hitting it big on eBay: New extinct species, futuristic toilets
Richard Harrington, an officer in the UK's Royal Entomological Society, probably thought that chunk of amber with an insect trapped inside that he bid for on eBay would make a nice paperweight -- but he didn't expect that the dead critter would be a representative of a previously unknown species, one that would end up being named for him.
Park rangers create cactus cyborgs
The majestic saguaro cactus is a striking, internationally known, and now microchip-implanted symbol of Arizona -- the better to thwart cactus thieves, you know.
Annals of science: People really are more attractive when you're drunk
British researchers have proven what barflies and frat party attendees have known for centuries: getting liquored up makes other people seem more attractive.
The Internet's strangest communities
"There's a lid for every pot," the old saying goes, and the Internet sure allows the oddest-shaped lids and pots to find one another and discuss lid-pot relations at great length.
Russia-Georgia war rages on in cyberspace
The shooting may have stopped in the Caucasus, but Russia and Georgia are still going at it -- online.
City government cyberscrewups: Wrong skyline, wrong language
Residents of Birmingham, England, probably felt some pride when they got pamphlets in the mail praising their recycling levels -- but then were confused when they realized that the skyline on the leaflet wasn't their home town. Turns out that it was the skyline of Birmingham, Alabama, taken from an "Internet photo archive."
"Invisibility cloak" coming soon?
Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a substance that light actually bends around, rendering it effectively invisible.
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Crimeware: Understanding New Attacks and Defenses
By Markus Jakobsson, Zulfikar Ramzan
Published Apr 6, 2008 by Addison-Wesley Professional. Part of the Symantec Press series.
Enter now! | Official rules | Sample chapter
Securing VoIP Networks: Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Countermeasures
By Peter Thermos, Ari Takanen
Published Aug 1, 2007 by Addison-Wesley Professional.
Enter now! | Official rules | Sample chapter
