Scamming the spammers
How to beat the Nigerians (or the Cote D’Ivoirians, in this case) at their own game, and get some lovely handcrafted art out of the deal.
Archive for June, 2006
They hate our freedom
Just so you know, the following U.S. senators voted yesterday in favor of amending the Constitution to limit the First Amendment right to free speech, specifically the means with which we can criticize our government. The measure failed by one vote.
| Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Allen (R-VA) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burns (R-MT) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) Dayton (D-MN) DeMint (R-SC) DeWine (R-OH) Dole (R-NC) |
Domenici (R-NM) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Feinstein (D-CA) Frist (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johnson (D-SD) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lincoln (D-AR) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) Menendez (D-NJ) |
Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Reid (D-NV) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Santorum (R-PA) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) |
And here are the vote results of the U.S. House, which passed the same resolution 286-130.
As Hendrik Hertzberg points out in this week’s New Yorker, this base (in every sense of the word) maneuver has been trotted out every election year since 1995, between Flag Day and July 4. It always passes the House. It always fails in the Senate. This year it was a squeaker.
bk_keywords:Hypocrisy, Censorship, Fascism.
Perspective on the atom and atom guts
I was reading way over my head today on quantum computing (link to the PDF here, from the Ethel the Aardvark’s Weensy Book Of Funderful Algorithms [made you look]). Quantum computing is just starting to be a (scary and exciting) real thing. How scary and exciting? No more secrets, Marty.
The gist of it is, properly harnessed, the mind-bogglingly counterintuitive quantum states of electrons can be used to do a certain type of math problem called Fast Fourier Transforms quicker than puberty on a mayfly, and FFTs done quickly enough will (among other things) make it practical to factor the products of arbitarily large prime numbers, the very unfactorability of which is the basis of modern cryptography. So much for your DRMs and your secure wire transfers and your Colonel’s Secret Recipe.
The other thing that blew my mind atomically tonight was this eleven-mile web page.
bk_keywords:Atomic Kitten, Sneakers.
Hitler or Coulter?
Is Ann Coulter a lying harpy or merely a fraudulent gorgon? I’m not one to get drawn into the fray, but I did enjoy taking the “Who Said It: Adolf Hitler or Ann Coulter?” challenge.
I got 12 out of 14, mostly because of context and linguistic cues (Hitler was a better writer). The two I missed were Coulter quotes I attributed to Hitler.
Also fun:
An article about a formerly gay Christian psychotherapist named Richard Cohen — maybe he’s got a “Jesus made me kosher and fabulous” t-shirt? — who happens to help other men become formerly gay. He does this by cuddling with them and hugging them.
bk_keywords:Lying Liars.
Photographer J
Jessica has a shiny new camera and she’s snapping pictures like a fiend. They’re good!
bk_keywords:Canon Powershot A620.
School of Hard Knox
Stephen Colbert gave the commencement address at Knox College this year.
Thank you. Thank you very much. First of all, I’m facing a little bit of a conundrum here. My name is Stephen Colbert, but I actually play someone on television named Stephen Colbert, who looks like me, and who talks like me, but who says things with a straight face he doesn’t mean. And I’m not sure which one of us you invited to speak here today. So, with your indulgence, I’m just going to talk and I’m going to let you figure it out.
The transcript is pretty entertaining.
Science is great
Thirty-seven years after we put a man on the moon, researchers have finally been able to simulate the synchronized Dancing Waters™ of the fountains at the Bellagio, using only Diet Pepsi and Mentos. It’s oddly beautiful, and I wanna try!
The Boa Eats a Kangaroo
Does the snake get halfway and think, “Crap. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea?”
And from the same site:
Some of the best pictures I’ve ever seen of smoke. Probably CGI, but…
Moola.com
So there’s this kind of addictive game site called moola.com that gives you a penny when you watch an ad, and then you play other people mini strategy games for their pennies, double or nothing. Theoretically, if you won 30 straight times (and played someone at each successively stakier level), you’d have 230 cents, which means you’d have 10 million dollars, although you can cash out any time (say, after you’ve won $20). Accounts are invite-only, but I’ve got a few invites. Drop me a line or comment below if you’re interested in an invitation.
For the record, I’m 23-15 at the moment, and my account balance is currently 17¢.
Kitten In Peril
Here lies some pictures from the wedding of my brother: flickr.com. And oh yes, watch out for Girlzilla!
