How Well Do You Know Rover?

They never did fully explain the nature of The Prisoner's mysterious balloon sentry, but it was certainly feared, respected, effective and quite capable of serving some serious pain.

Do you think you know Rover? Or would you like to know more? Then go take the quiz over at AMC's The Prisoner Blog. (I scored 3 out of 5, but I was just guessing.)

The technology of The Conversation

The Conversation, and The Technology

The Conversation

The first few minutes of The Conversation (via)

hat tip: ackackack

stray bullets

Surveillance made easy Now German electronics company Siemens has gone a step further, developing a complete "surveillance in a box" system called the Intelligence Platform, designed for security services in Europe and Asia. It has already sold the system to 60 countries. According to a document obtained by New Scientist, the system integrates tasks typically done by separate surveillance teams or machines, pooling data from sources such as telephone calls, email and internet activity, bank transactions and insurance records. It then sorts through this mountain of information using software that Siemens dubs "intelligence modules".... However, it is far from clear whether the technology will prove accurate. Security experts warn that data-fusion technologies tend to produce a huge number of false positives, flagging up perfectly innocent people as suspicious.

Revealed: 8 million victims in the world's biggest cyber heist A Sunday Herald investigation has discovered that late on Thursday night, a previously unknown Indian hacker successfully breached the IT defences of the Best Western Hotel group's online booking system and sold details of how to access it through an underground network operated by the Russian mafia. (via)

Historian suggests Southerners defeated Confederacy This interview will blow away everything you thought you knew about the South and the Civil War. It is a matter of fact that a majority (95+%) of Southerners did not own slaves. A substantial and in some places an overwhelming majority did not support the Confederacy. To this day, Southerners bear the brunt of negative popular opinion that they do not deserve. Most people in the South are not racist and are some of the finest, friendliest and most neighborly people I have met in this country. It's time that people pulled their heads out on this issue.

In a Father’s Clutter, Historic Oddities When her father, John Lattimer, died in May of 2007 at the age of 92, Ms. Lattimer knew her inheritance would include more than the family tea set. Dr. Lattimer, a prominent urologist at Columbia University, was also a renowned collector of relics, many of which might be considered quirky or even macabre. Over the course of seven decades he amassed more than 3,000 objects that ranged in age from a few years to tens of millions of years. “He was like a classic Renaissance collector,” said Tony Perrottet, a writer specializing in historical mysteries who spent time with Dr. Lattimer before his death. “Anything and everything could turn up in the collection, from Charles Lindbergh’s goggles to a bearskin coat that belonged to Custer.”

also:
The next president will disappoint you
Opinion: Why Google has lost its mojo -- and why you should care
Models of Invention: the Science Fiction of Leonardo da Vinci (via)
Help Crack the Russian Hacker Mystery
Early American Counterfeiting
Myra Hindley painting taints London 2012 celebrations
Michael Chabon on 'writers who can dwell between worlds' (via)
Open Sound New Orleans ~A Collaborative Soundmap of the City~ (via)
Fellini's Book of Dreams

viddy:
Mars: Springtime 2020
UCB: Hot Chicks Room
Herbie Hancock - Crossings - Oeuvre réalisée par Philippe Charpentier

stray bullets

Never bet against a pro “The more you do something, the more it is embodied in you,” Grafton says. “It doesn’t just change your muscle memory, it changes the way you see the world around you.” (via)

Tech visionary Wayne Green: Still on a mission Starting in the early 1960s with an army of can-do, build-it-yourself amateur radio fans behind him, Green encouraged readers of 73 magazine (73 means "best regards" in ham radio lingo), his first and longest-lived publication, to push the limits on the electronic bits and pieces that would evolve into today's e-mail systems, cellular networks and PCs. Interview with the founder of 73 and BYTE magazines.

Moustache protector, anyone? Weird inventions on show A grenade that puts out fires, a self-pouring teapot, periscope spectacles, a peach peeler and a moustache protector are among oddball inventions on show at the British Library. (via)

also:
Top 10 Cell Phone Etiquette Rules People Still Break (via)
Frank Deford: The Swimming Legend You Never Heard Of
How to Tap a Phone Line
How to Shoot Light Trails (via)

viddy:
Dynamic Painting - San Base's Amazing Computer-Generated Art
Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter (starring Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi)
The Meters - Tippi-Toes

stray bullets

Beijing Taxis Are Rigged for Eavesdropping As with digital cameras used in cities such as London, Sydney or New York, the stated purpose of the microphones is to protect the driver. But whereas the devices in other countries can only record images, those devices in Beijing taxis can be remotely activated without the driver's knowledge to eavesdrop on passengers, according to drivers and Yaxon Networks Co., a Chinese company that makes some of the systems used in Beijing. The machines can even remotely shut off engines. The whole world is rigged for eavesdropping. (via)

They Will Survive UNLESS John D. McCann, the managing director of Survival Resources, based in Hyde Park, N.Y., is wearing a suit for some sort of business meeting, he always carries in his pants pocket an Altoids tin. There are no mints inside it. Instead, he painstakingly packs the tin — which he explains can double as a mini-frying pan if you’re ever marooned in the wilderness — with a remarkable assortment of worst-case scenario supplies. Survival is good. (via)

Credit card thieves ran a polite, professional help desk Organized criminals often seen to be a step or two ahead of the competition. Many of us would settle for a help desk that was helpful.

also:
The Most Important Generation in History is the One Now Alive
blog all dog-eared pages: understanding media (McLuhan)
Top 50 Dystopian Movies of All Time (like the list, not the order) (via)
Gear Porn: Chemical Brothers Daft Punk
Cleveland Museum of Art via Flickr
Bartleby, the Scrivener.pdf (via)
The temple of tame tigers (photo essay) (patient, maybe)
A PhD in Ufology (via)
Frankie Knuckles Interview
Michel Gondry writes a comic book (via)

viddy:
An Interview With Jim Coudal (via)
The Prisoner: Caviezel and McKellen's First Reading
Smart Birds use cars to open their food (via)
Silent Shadow of the Bat-Man
Lessig on i-9/11
Powers of Ten A film dealing with the relative size of things in the universe and the effect of adding another zero.
Ladislas Starewicz - The Mascot, 1933 (creepy stop-motion animation) (more Starewicz)
Late Night TV in Japan: Spanking Class (this guy takes his spanking seriously)
MST3K 624: Samson Vs The Vampire Women (one of the best) (via)

Greetings San Martín De Sarroca!

stray bullets

8 things Chinese people shouldn't ask Olympic tourists Posters displayed on bulletin boards in the neighborhood which includes tourist magnet the Forbidden City, and which will host Olympics boxing events, counsel locals against a wide range of potentially awkward conversation topics with foreigners. (via)

How to Frame the Internet: Attention and the New News Cycle The challenge is designing a news website that encourage immediate and full attention. The Washington Post’s web chats with authors and public figures is a good example of this. The opportunity to communicate directly with a person of prominence cannot be done later, nor can one participate in a chat with only half his attention. I would also point to the book readings and events staged in Second Life, if Second Life didn’t seem so pet rock to me. A smart website would start using video conferencing software to have its writers interact with readers. The trick is not to archive the footage immediately. Make viewers mark in their calendars for it. Make them miss it if they miss it. Some interesting points in this post. However, what often seems to be missing in the internet news cycle is the follow-up. Posts are archived and we can go back to what was missed, but as we all know, with the blivets of stories that keep popping up, we as the internet audience tend to drift off and not come back. I often hope for follow-ups to many items I find, but they rarely materialize. I think many bloggers fear being the one that beats a story to death and therefore don't give it the proper earthing out. I'm sure we could have learned more about George Carlin apart from the hundreds of YouTube videos and quotes from his comedy routines, but after a while, no one will touch the story because everyone has moved on. Our hyper-awareness seems to lead to hyper-abandonment.

Printer Toner and Contemplative Prayer: Interview with LaserMonks.com Monasteries all over the world have been self-supporting for centuries, and the practice of monks running a small business is nothing new. Most of them, however, don’t end up experiencing 700% annual sales growth, selling 30,000 products, and competing with Fortune 500 companies. Instead of baking fruitcakes for the occasional visitor, the monks from Our Lady of Spring Bank Cistercian Abbey sell laser toner and business supplies throughout the United States. They’ve creatively branded themselves as LaserMonks, but they offer more than just a great story. They also help businesses save an average of 40% off printer ink and toner, and in turn, the monks donate all of their profits to charity. Laser Monks website

also:
China Miéville's top 10 weird fiction books Telling.
How to Read a Book (via)
Literature Map Very interesting, but based on what readers read, rather than what writers write. (via)
Portuguese team makes first paper based transistor (via)
MoocherHunter - Detect & Track Rogue Wifi Users
Couple choose to live off the government grid Some things you might not have known about your SSN. (via)
Cyber Clean Sanitize your filthy keyboard and peripherals.
You Are Beautiful Spread the word. (via)

viddy:
Peter Gabriel Video on the state of the music industry Not completely boring, like this sort of stuff can be.
The future of knife crime A knife that is also a gun.
Flashback: The KLF Burn A Million Quid
Camera-equipped micro air vehicle weighs only three grams

stray bullets

Did Bush really say this? I have my doubts. I'd wager whatever was said was probably blown out of proportion, though that's just my intuition speaking. More dumb than evil. This part is priceless, though: Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice". The White House apologised for what it called "sloppy work" and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it. Haw! (thx)

How your GPS can dob you in Years back, I remember reading that the FBI used OnStar to eavesdrop. The courts told them to stop, but I seriously doubt that they did. (Remember) I've heard through the law enforcement grapevine that they bug whether they can get a warrant or not. You just have to use your own gear. You get your info then back-engineer your case, clean up your evidence and make it look proper for the prosecutors and the courts. (via)

Maps out the hoo-haa Impressive. (via)

houseplantpicturestudio.com was fun. Click on the spines to see the pictures. I recommend A very pleasant afternoon at the home of Phyllis Diller.

Automatic GEOFON Global Seismic Monitor Map marking all the earthquakes on the planet over the last two weeks. The blinking one is the most recent, usually within hours. Lots of activity on this planet.

About all Jeff wanted to know actually pretty consistently - Jeff Bridges the beginning of the start of shooting of every scene - he’d walk up to one or the other of us and ask if we figured whether or not The Dude burned one of the way over…. This Distracted Globe - The Big Lebowski (1998) (via)

Sunday Excursions: I Just Look at the Pictures

I don't feel like reading today, so we're going to look at some pictures and watch a few videos.













from Time
via FFFFOUND
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image: John Henry McNulty
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Man trapped in elevator for 41 hours

This has been all over the place this past week, but for those of you who missed it:


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Supes is 70!











image: Nick Main
from NICKBLAHG
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from Inspire Me Now!
via FFFFOUND!
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Water Balloon Exploding at 2000 Frames per Second:



via Wired Science
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Control Rooms of All Types














NORAD
via linkfilter.net
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Johan Lorbeer, Performance Artist














from Blame It On The Voices
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Synesthesia:

It is not just the eyes that see color. Some people see color when they hear music. This phenomenon, when a sense is stimulated and another sense experiences a sensation, is called synesthesia.

This is what Brahms Capriccio, opus 76 no. 2 might look/sound like to a synesthetic. (more or less; at least the colors if not the shapes):



via Everyone Forever
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Me and my dad, c. 1971
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And finally...

After all these years, this is still my favorite music video.

Röyksopp - Eple


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Have a great week, y'all!

Sunday Excursions: The Rites of Spring

Spring in Savannah means that the heat will be back sooner than we might like. the girls are wearing a lot less and the pollen is so thick it covers everything in a yellow film... oh yeah, and thunderstorms and tornadoes.













Mike Hollingshead has a great job. He's a storm chaser and and his website, Extreme Instability, is loaded with stunning photos, chronicling his dangerous journeys throughout the American Heartland.

I'm one of those people that gets high on thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes, all of which, I've experienced a number. Some like porn, some drool over pictures of kind-bud in High Times, I get off on extreme weather, real or recorded.

via A Moment of Awesome
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From The Lives They Left Behind:

When Willard Psychiatric Center closed in 1995, staff members Beverly Courtwright and Lisa Hoffman, along with Craig Williams, a New York State Museum curator, worked to save historical artifacts there. Beverly found a door tucked under the pigeon-infested rafters of an attic. Prying it open, they found rows of wooden racks, packed with almost 400 suitcases of all shapes and types – men’s on the left, women’s on the right, alphabetized, labeled, and covered by bird droppings, seemingly untouched for years. Realizing they had stumbled across unique and valuable artifacts, Craig had the suitcases moved to the Museum’s warehouse near Albany.

This is where Darby Penney and Peter Stastny encountered the luggage in 1999, wrapped in dusty plastic sheets. Working with a list of names and hospital identification numbers, they went through the suitcases to choose a smaller number of individuals and identify their belongings for closer study.

This online exhibit preserves the forgotten memories of these people, long since passed away. The site also has a great deal of information about the hospital itself, audio recordings of memories of the institution and more information about the book and touring exhibition.

via Mind Hacks
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There were a number of remarkable stories this past week. Here's a small sampling:

This kind of thing usually only happens in movies: A Victim Treats His Mugger Right.

Bra-freaking-vo. I wish I had the balls (and the heart) to do that when I was mugged. Granted, his guy had a knife and my guy had a .38, but still.

via kottke.org
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People move like predators.

News Flash: We are predators. Sorry, George.

via Complexity Digest
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Threat Level goes off on gate-rape and its apologists in TSA Defends Nipple Ring Removal Order, Should Apologize.

I loved this bit:

Two suggestions:

1) apologize publicly to Hamlin today, saying the officers were not following common sense procedures and

2) stop referring to the United States as the Homeland.

Every time you say that word in reference to the United States, you sound like a buffoonish bureaucrat from the Soviet Union. Your underlings won't tell you so, but that's what THREAT LEVEL is here for.

No, really you do. Stop it. And apologize to Hamlin already.

Expletive deleted-ay!
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I saw this story floating about last week. Bruce Schneier brought it back to my attention.

Red light cameras are working so well that cities are shutting them down. Revenues generated by fines are disappearing. Seems that crime does pay...
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Mac Tonnies added a new installment on the Seti.com blog. In fact, read them all.

In my book, Mac is right up there with Richard Dolan and Timothy Good in providing a balanced and rational look into the world of Ufology.

If you try to tell me that there's no evidence, I'll know that you really haven't looked.
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Now to wrap up with a few odd nugs:


Send emails into the future with Time Machiner

via Vitamin Briefcase
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Bootstrapper's 100 Best DIY Sites on the Web

Should keep you DIYing for a while.

via linkfilter.net
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The Presurfer dropped this oddity: Thriving Office.

Instant credibility for home businesses... or, if you business is tanking, it doesn't have to sound like it.

Do people actually use this?
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In memory and honor of the great Arthur C. Clarke, this page of HAL9000 .wavs.

via Contrary Brin
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Have a Sunday Excursion and a great week ahead.

Can you say Ubiquitous Surveillance?

Smart dust isn't exactly news, I heard about this over ten years ago. It's just a little bit closer to being a part of your everyday life.

In the Annals of Galactic History(TM), we'll be known as the species that turned everything in the universe into a camera.