Germany Does Not Want to Block Child Porn

"I will push the position 'delete, not block' [child pornography]," Germany's justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, told reporters. "Blocking [child porn images and content] is not an effective weapon in the fight against child pornography." Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger added that blocking sites "...also leads to a loss of trust among internet users."

This announcement followed that of the European Commission's, which plans to block child porn and abuse sites outside of Europe. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) handles such sites within the U.K., as well as 35 other nations. A spokesperson for the IWF said Blocking is a good first step, and a combination of both blocking and deleting is "a good tactic because it's so dynamic."

Child porn and abuse sites are usually hosted from within the U.S. and North America because our infrastructure is so developed.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Greetings, Announcements, and Invitations

The many events comprising our lives make us the people we are. Recording these events for posterity is usually done through photographs, diaries, and video, but many people prefer keeping mementos of these occasions - a matchbook from the bar at which they attended someone's bachelorette party, the invitation to a baby shower, the tassel from their graduation cap. If you are organizing an event, or wish to commemorate an event, it's worth going the extra mile for a personalized invitation, greeting, or other announcement.

From wedding invitations to baby announcements to the simple birthday card, Peartree Greetings has everything you're looking for, as well as the optional "bells and whistles" which make a traditional announcement special. Keep these mementos in a scrapbook or shoebox, or buy one of their specialized event books.

Teri Hatcher Launching 'Chick Click' Site

Superman's former girlfriend, Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher is about to become a Webmistress. Hatcher is teaming-up with Disney Family to launch GetHatched dotCom, a website she calls "a chick's guide to life." Hatcher will provide "editorial insight," as well as a face for the site, which she says provides "solutions to the needs and obligations of today's modern woman" through blogs, video, and multimedia content.

Hatcher already blogs for Glamour UK, Newsweek, and ModernMom.com. The 45-year old divorcee and mother of one also wrote the bestselling Burnt Toast and Other Philosophies of Life. Hatcher will oversee content production by a staff of experts, in addition to contributing.

The URL (www.gethatched.com) redirects to Disney Family's site under the Category Self. Disney launched the Go.com portal in 1999, after acquiring Starwave and Infoseek. In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment. Both Desperate Housewives and The Adventures of Lois & Clark air/ed on ABC, and Teri Hatcher's first television appearance, and major TV role, was on ABC's The Love Boat.

Get Hatched launches in May.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Wisconsin College Changes Font to Save Money, Environment

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is changing the font they use in their e-mail from the default Arial to Century Gothic, expressly to save money and be more environmentally aware. Century Gothic saves some 30% of ink over Arial when e-mails are printed. A gallon of printer ink costs about $10,000! A spokesperson says the font change is part of the college's five-year plan to "go green."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Internet in Running for Nobel

The number of this year's Nobel Prize nominations breaks last year's record-setting 205 entrants, and the Internet is one of the record 237. Championed by the Italian version of Wired for advancing dialogue, debate, and consensus, as well as 2003 winner, Shirin Ebadi, and Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the $100 laptop project, the Internet was one of the select few chosen from thousands of submissions the committee received worldwide.

While the committee remains tight-lipped as to its list of nominees, those who can nominate - including former laureates, select intellectuals, and national governments - are free to discuss their nominations. Some nominations received as few as one vote, while others were selected by several nominators. The list of nominees will be announced on October 8^th.

Last year's winner was U.S. President, Barack Obama. Many criticized the decision as premature - including the President, himself - but the committee defended their decision, saying he "captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future" and his diplomacy was based on "values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

The only problem now is determining who would accept the award and prizes, should the Internet win. But never fear: The Cyberculturalist will set aside his fear of flying (and the ocean, foreign countries, and trophies) for such a special occasion.

Hey? It's an honor to be nominated.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Window Dressing

Young people tend to think of home as a place to sleep and keep their stuff, but as one grows older, Home comes to mean much more, and a pleasing environment becomes more important. While nice furniture is key to this, artwork and wall coverings, carpeting, lighting, and more come into play, and many - including myself - tend to think of windows as incomplete without blinds.

Payless Decor creates custom blinds for your windows and allows you 90 days no payments, no interest! Check out their website to learn more!

Boys Warned After Posting Bullying Video

Police formally warned six boys between the ages of 11 and 14 after finding a video of the boys bullying a girl online. The girl's mother alerted police that her daughter had been attacked and authorities found video evidence posted by one of the boys. All of the children involved will write formal apologies to the girl and her family.

Authorities involved call the new approach "community resolution," which is an approach being used for lesser crimes. Assault, however, seems pretty serious. Of course, these are only children and I actually agree with the punishment, but I have no idea what the video showed, nor the nature or extent of the assault. As a frequent victim of bullying as a child, I'm not sure I would have been satisfied with a letter of apology; as an adult, I honestly can't think of a more fitting punishment, except for a monetary judgment against the parents of the bullies.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Credit Card Hacker, Albert Gonzalez, Sentenced to 20 Years

Albert Gonzalez, who played a major role in the theft of more than 130 million credit and debit card account numbers, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a judge who called it "The largest and most costly example of computer hacking in US history." 28-year old Gonzalez, from Miami, plead guilty last year.

Albert Gonzalez and two, Russian co-conspirators "injected" SQL coding into the payment processing software of some 250+ retailers to exploit weaknesses in the programs, thus gaining access to customers' sensitive data.

As part of a plea bargain, Gonzalez handed over jewelry, his car, his home, and $1 million in cash he had buried in his parents' garden.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

China Unicorn Drops Google from Mobile

There are more cellphone users in China than computer-users and one of the larger firms announced that it is dropping Google as their default search engine, following Google's decision to reroute its searches on Google.cn through Hong Kong, where there are fewer censorship restrictions.

A spokesperson for Google said the company is undaunted and will likely pull-out of China altogether, once its current contractual obligations have been fulfilled. Chinese officials have condemned the decision to reroute search engine activity through Hong Kong, as Chinese Internet censors are amongst the most stringent in the world. Google currently has deals with more than a dozen Chinese firms.

China Unicorn is the second-largest mobile phone firm in China.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Designer Ties

Men's fashion has few accessories, but the necktie is one of the most prominent. Generally speaking, your tie should match either your hat or shoes, or both. If you do not wear a hat, or your shoes are a different color, then your tie should match your socks. Still, designer ties stand-out no matter what else you are wearing.

Because men's fashion has so few accessories, neckties are important to your wardrobe. You should have at least 10 or more and at least half of those should match socks, hats, and/or shoes already in your collection. A nice watch is another great way to spruce-up your union suit.

Firefox 3.62 Now Available

Scheduled for release at the end of March, Firefox has now made the latest build available following Germany's decision to inform citizens not to use it. The older build had an acknowledged hole which allowed hackers a way to run apps, services, and programs on your computer. Mozilla had the 3.62 release in testing, but decided to release it publicly yesterday. You are urged to update immediately.

To upgrade, simply choose Help from your Menu Bar, then Check for Updates. If you are using Internet Explorer... well, good luck with that.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Troll 2: The Best Worst Movie

According to Wired contributor, Brian Raftery, Troll 2 holds the distinction of being the first Web success story in Moviedom. A short article in this month's magazine details how the movie, originally shot in Utah by an Italian director with a cast who barely spoke English, was so bad it never got an American cinema release, but made it to video and late-night cable airwaves.

Several fans created websites, mashups, trailers, and other media dedicated to Troll 2 over the years, and when 32-year old castmember, Michael Stephenson, began receiving questions about the movie in 2004 (following the DVD release), he decided to track down some of the other castmembers, as well as the director, Claudio Fragasso. The result is the documentary, Best Worst Movie.

Over the last few years, Internet users have managed to help Hollow-wood make a few decisions - like bringing back Family Guy, getting Betty White to host Saturday Night Live, and more - but, if this article is accurate, Troll 2 may have been the first Web success in this arena. "The Web... made the movie accessible to everyone," Stephenson told Wired.

Best Worst Movie will premiere with Troll 2 this April at the Phoenix Film Festival.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Domotics

"Domotics" is apparently the word some hipster has given the technology of "smart homes." Many years ago - about 10 by now - I lived in a two-story townhouse. I had, as always, dozens of computers - most of which were all but worthless. Some of these were mere husks, as I'd pulled the best components from them all to Frankenstein one box. Unfortunately, that box was capable of running only Win95; again, we were already on Win98 and you really couldn't do much with 95, but you could definitely do what I wanted: Create a "Smart Home."

I had a friend whose hobby was electronics. He had purchased one of those DIY laser-pointer contraptions from Radio Shack a few years earlier and showed me how he'd hacked it into a kind of laser disco ball device that could be set to the music, manually controlled, or set to randomly display. It had given me the idea of laser "tripwires" which would control the lights in the rooms - basically turn them off and on as you walked in and out. Of course, you might have to walk back and forth a couple times if it somehow got switched-around. Pretty much everything else was to be controlled vocally.

Needless to say, I never got far with the project, but the idea has always remained.

Now, Mark Hamblin - creator of the original iPhone touchpad - has setup a new business called Touch Revolution. Hamblin's goal is to create and install touchscreens on basically every control and appliance in the home, making them controllable by smartphone or possibly some kind of universal remote, even your browser. The app runs on Android.

While the project is still in the development stages, you could reasonably expect some actual, working model by 2015 (purely a guess on my part, but a reasonable one, I think).

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Skin ID

I honestly had no idea that adult acne was that big a problem, but it obviously is. I know that "acne," in general, is one of the perennial top searches and has been for several years, but I assumed that was mostly due to the number of teens and young adults online. I was surprised to learn so many people well into their 30s and 40s still suffer from acne and even regular breakouts.

There have been a lot of treatments and supposed cures released in the last few years and many have attracted celebrity spokespersons, such as Hayden Panettiere for Skin ID, but if you want to know if it really works, you need to find honest skin id reviews from real users. It isn't easy - there are a lot of sites offering these things but actually pushing other products - but it will definitely save you money in the long run.

Historical Search

Historians will soon have a search engine all their own: The Connected History Project is culling sources from disparate historical documents, databases, maps, images, and similar objects online. Once complete, users will be able to search the entirety from one site. At this time, the project is only concerning itself with properties from 1500-1900, though it is sure to expand later.

So far, 12 institutions have signed-on to the project, though more are expected to join. The first leg is expected to be completed by 2011. While aimed at historians and scholars, everyone will have access to the site.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

New Wired

The latest issue of Wired just arrived, so I will be reading that today (and probably tomorrow), but there is so much happening with computers and the Web right this minute that it's getting impossible to take even a moment off for such things!

I just thought I would take a moment to mention the new issue is available and that a lot of the information I receive comes directly from this great publication, though I try to refrain from rewriting articles in it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Adult Acne

Those of us who suffered the curse of acne in our teenage years remember, all too well, just how defeating it can be. Far more than just a blight on your physical appearance, it affects you mentally, socially, and emotionally as well! I still have the occasional zit, but have not suffered a full-on "breakout" in many years - however, a lot of adults, my age and older, still suffer regularly.

My heart goes out to them, but I want those of you with this condition to know that 85% of all acne medications do not work! While it is unlikely you'll find the right adult acne treatment for you on the first try no matter what you do, you'll definitely save some money if you take the time to research your options first.

Internet No Threat to TV

According to the Nielsen Three Screen Report, some 60% of all Web users say they use the Web while watching TV at least once a month. This directly refutes industry concerns that the Web is "killing" traditional TV viewing - in fact, if the statistics are correct, simultaneous TV viewing and Web use is actually up 35% over 2008. Web users watch TV while online an average of 3.5 hours per month.

The Three Screen also found that DVRs are present in some 35% of all households, with viewers ages 25 to 34-years watching two hours of "time-shifted" TV per week (via DVRs). Mobile TV-viewing is also up nearly 60%, from 11.2 million in 2008 to an estimated 17.6 million in 2009. This increase is attributed to the explosion of smartphones.

I canceled my satellite one year ago next month; my TV-viewing entertainment now comes from Netflix, TNT.tv, Fancast, Shoutcast (via Winamp), and Hulu. Unfortunately, due to my location, I can only get PBS, ABC, and FOX over the airwaves. Not only do I save over $50 per month this way, I don't need a DVR.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Is the Web the Greatest Threat to Endangered Species?

Spokespersons for wildlife conservation organizations say the Internet is the single biggest threat to endangered species, as traders take advantage of its world-wide range and anonymity to trade, buy, and sell endangered species. However, several proposals meant to curb such trade were defeated at the 175-nation-strong Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Conservationists say Web use has all but wiped-out the Kaiser's Spotted Newt and a ban on trading the Iranian salamander passed handily, but similar provisions hoping to curb the trade of red and pink coral, polar bears, and bluefin tuna failed. Changes to policies involving the ivory trade are set for delegation later this week.

Authorities say policing the trade is next to impossible and estimating the damage is just as difficult. Some say they have discovered trades of everything from living, baby lions to polar bear pelts on auction sites and in chatrooms. While China, Russia, Australia, and Europe are offenders, the United States is the worst.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Perdomo Cigars

While not popular amongst everyone these days, tobacco products have been used for thousands of years. Like most things, moderate and responsible use is unlikely to result in any, major problems, but so long as you are going to smoke, you might as well enjoy a good blend, and perdomo cigars pride themselves on their fantastic blend of tobaccos from the Nicaraguan valleys.

A fine cigar is meant to be savored and enjoyed, not quaffed down in a rush. In the 1990s, humidors were all the rage and were even features in some of the major chain restaurants across the country. Though the practice has waned in recent years, there are still many of us who enjoy a good smoke, and Perdomo cigars offer just that.

.xxx

The ICANN is looking, once again, at reviving the proposed .XXX domain for adult websites - pornographic websites, specifically. The idea was first introduced in 2001, accepted in 2005, then derailed by dipshit conservative groups who never make any sense, whatsoever, anyway. These are the very people who should be backing such an idea but, as with everything, are far too stupid to know why. So let me explain:

It is incredibly easy to set Parental Controls to exclude an entire range of domains - far easier than it is to restrict access to hundreds, even thousands, of them individually. By forcing pornographic sites to adopt the .xxx domain, parents and public access points could literally exclude all porn sites simply by restricting access to all sites hosted on .xxx domains. But this is just one aspect.

As a 35-year old bachelor without children, I'm not concerned with restricting access to porn sites on my workstations, but I would like a more effective way of excluding porn-related sites from my web searches and spam filters. Through the clever, yet extremely simple, use of restrictions in my browser and e-mail software, I could eliminate at least some of the spam I - and everyone else - encounter regularly. Again, just one more practical aspect of this issue.

This is not "censorship;" this is literally nothing more than categorization - an improvement to the underlying navigational system of the Web, which is already corroded. People no longer comply with the domain system as it is, and we've no reason to assume pornographers would comply with the .xxx domain registration guidelines, but it is a step in the right direction. Of course people looking to subvert it will find ways around it, but that's what people like that do; to say it's futile because "anyone who really wants to find a way around it will" is exactly like saying, "rape might as well be legal, because rapists still exist," or "there's no sense outlawing murder." Granted, the stakes are nowhere near as high, but the comparison remains valid.

I fully support the .xxx domain regulation, as well as tightening regulations on the existing domain structure, and have since the idea first started being discussed in the late 1990s.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

The Facebook 'Pedophile Panic Button'?

Facebook spokespersons told the BBC they have "no problem" installing a "panic button" which would allow users to report suspected pedophiles. The conviction of Peter Chapman for the rape and murder of 17-year old Ashleigh Hall lead authorities in this direction.

While some criticized the site for not having instituted such a policy earlier, the truth is that it is kind of reactionary. A second meeting will occur on April 12^th between authorities and Facebook executives, but look forward to seeing the "Panic Button" sometime this year. I do not know if this will be a sitewide institution or will only appear to European users.

The button will alert child protection services, so while the focus is on pedophilia, my assumption is that it will also be used to combat suspected cyberbullying.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Car Insurance

Having not been involved in any accident nor having received any traffic tickets or citations since I was around 20 years old, I was dismayed to find my car insurance rates kept going up! This was about the same time the problems with my neck forced me to stop driving altogether, so I wound-up selling my car anyway, but I had planned on searching for a cheaper rate online.

These days, you simply need enter your zip code and fill-out a short form to get quotes from all the top insurance agencies, including Nationwide, Travellers, GMAC, and more. Best of all, you don't have to leave your home to do it!

Happy St. Patty's!

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a large project with a tight deadline that I needed to finish. I'm glad to report I got it done today (hopefully - still have to check-in to make sure everything went through alright)! However, I completely overlooked the fact that today is St. Patty's Day...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Depending on what comes up, or doesn't, I may post some tonight and tomorrow or I may wait and post all these stories I've collected throughout the week over the weekend. I really do apologize for this, but these things happen from time to time, especially with me still being laid-up from that surgery and all.

I hope everyone is safe, though irresponsible - it's St. Patty's Day after all! - and I'll see you soon.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Agenda

I have a whole lot on my plate this week. I have several stories to bring you, some of which will definitely be "dated" by the time they are published, but I'm under pretty strict deadlines for these other projects, so they have to take precedence right this moment.

Enjoy the archives in the meantime!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Merchant Accounts

I am not going to pretend to understand what merchant accounts are - I assume they have to do with accepting payments; I know they have to do with credit cards, and that is as far as it goes. So I honestly can't tell you what the phrase, "sell merchant account" means, but the representatives of www.r3sellers.com certainly can. They have years of experience in the field and own several related websites, so you know they know their business.

If you accept credit cards, you need to check this out. Again, while I know next to nothing about these things, their helpful reps will be able to answer any questions you have and help you determine what best fits your needs.

Daylight Savings Time - Still an Issue?

Remembering to set one's clocks backward and forward to accommodate Daylight Savings Time is one of those legendary hassles. I do not mind admitting there are at least three clocks in my home that show the wrong time for at least half the year, and have for going on three-four years; I simply do not bother changing them because almost no one sees them. But this is nothing new - I grew-up in a house much the same.

As it is, I would totally have missed today's Daylight Savings Time change were it not for my computer. I woke up a few hours ago to find my Internet connection disrupted and it appears to have happened whenever the time updated itself, which is the point of this post:

I would have missed basically every Daylight Savings Time change in the last few years, were it not for my computers! Thankfully, they are all set to automatically update according to DST, so there is always at least one clock in my house which is right year-round. I know I'm not the only one, either.

This is both a reminder that you need to set your clocks ahead by one hour and a reminder of what computers were always supposed to do: make our lives a little simpler. At least in this one regard, we can all agree they do just that.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Facebook Murderer Given Life Sentence

No sentence, no punishment, can compensate for the loss of a loved one, but 17-year old Ashleigh Hall's friends and family may be able to rest a little easier knowing her killer must serve a minimum of 35 years in prison. 33-year old Peter Chapman, who befriended the teenage girl on Facebook by posing as a teenage boy, then raped and murdered her, was handed a life sentence after pleading guilty to the crime.

Chapman had a history of sexual assault stretching back to age 15. He was imprisoned for seven years for the brutal rape of two hookers in 1996. He initially denied any involvement in Hall's death, but later confessed to kidnapping, raping, and suffocating the girl, then dumping her body in a field.

Chapman invented the teenage boy he posed as on Facebook, then pretended to be the boy's father when he picked-up the 17-year old Hall. His license plate number had been in the system because he had failed to comply with proper sex offender registration requirements. When the number was connected to Hall's disappearance, Chapman was picked up and questioned.

Police admitted that, had Chapman not confessed, his vehicle probably would have been crushed and valuable evidence lost.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Murray Feiss Lighting

As an avid reader (and writer), I cannot stress just how important good lighting really is. Growing up, I often read, wrote, and even drew in relatively bad lighting. While I do not think this affected my eyesight or had any real negative impact on my health, it certainly was not easy. It was only when I got older that I realized just how important good lighting was... yes, it may be because I got older, but the point remains.

Of course, screwing in more lightbulbs is not exactly the solution - you want your home to be nice and presentable, and Murray Feiss lighting can provide just that. Check out their many styles and designs - you are sure to find something that works for your needs without compromising your design.

Internet a Fundamental Human Right

According to a BBC poll, four of five people, or over 85%, believe Internet access to be a "fundamental human right." The poll involved some 27,000 people from 26 different countries and at least 50% of those who believe that Internet access is a basic human right "strongly agreed" with the premise.

Also notable is that many in the Western world believe the government should regulate the Internet to some degree, while those in many Eastern countries (excepting China) believed otherwise. Most of the respondents said they believe the Internet provides them greater freedom and many said they felt it was so essential to their lives that they could not live without it.

The study also addressed people's concerns regarding Internet technology, most of which concerned fraud and the easy access of violent and disturbing materials.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Colleges Selling Fake Dope?

Online security firm, Imperva, has uncovered a complex link "piggybacking" hijack scheme involving online education sites and fake drugs. According to the firm, many UK-based academic sites using the .ac domain and php coding have been compromised by spammers selling fake prescription drugs. The scammers injected php code into the colleges' sites which redirect people searching for prescription drugs from the colleges' site to the spam sites which portend to offer them.

The scheme only works when a surfer comes from a Google search for related drug terms. By "piggybacking" on the academic institutions' URLs, the spammers ensure their sites appear high in the search engine. This also made it hard to discover the ruse, as the correct site appears whenever typed directly into the browser.

Because the spam sites are erected and removed so quickly, it's hard to know how many sites have been compromised by the hijackers, but experts estimate it's in the thousands.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Life Insurance Made Easy

Life insurance is an important facet of everyday life if you are 30 or older. You do not want to leave your family with the burden of your bills once you are gone and even though you may be in good health, who knows what Fate has in store for any of us?

LifeInsuranceAgency.com is an online life insurance "broker." They do not sell life insurance themselves; they simply connect you to agents and agencies in and around your area who offer affordable rates on the plans in which you are most interested. The whole process only takes a few minutes to complete, so why wait?

YouTube Adds Closed-Captioning

YouTube has added closed-captioning to its videos to facilitate the deaf and hard-of-hearing. In November of 2009, the site added this functionality in limited quantities to several partner sites. The success with those videos lead to the decision to roll-out this new feature across the site.

While the team working on the project warned the technology is not perfect, but advances in voice-recognition technology have made it feasible. "It is not a complete solution but it is a step on the way to the real solution," engineer, Ken Harrenstien, explained. Harrenstien, who has worked on this project for the last five years, has been deaf from birth.

Many have heaped praise on the team and the site. A school for the deaf made a video in which they signed their appreciation to YouTube, while one college spokesperson said he thinks this will allow their 500+ online courses to reach even more potential students.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Couple Raises Virtual Baby, Starves Real One to Death

A South Korean couple who had become addicted to the game, Prius Online, allowed their premature child to starve to death. Authorities say they only managed to feed their premature baby once a day - in-between 12-hour stretches at an Internet cafe. They were picked-up some five months after reporting their child dead and autopsy reports confirmed the baby had died from protracted malnourishment. A police officer working the case said the couple had become despondent after losing their jobs and sought to drown their sorrows in the online roleplaying game.

While the mother was only 25, the father was 41-years old! Perhaps this has more to do with cultural differences than anything else, but I find it hard to believe anyone can become "legally" addicted to either the Internet or a video game. So sorry. While many in the West, like myself, remain skeptical, several Eastern societies - including China - fervently believe in "Internet addiction." Many alleged sufferers have been sent to treatment camps where deaths have occurred.

I've frequently discussed how I do not actively play video games, specifically because I've known far too many people who literally wasted their lives on them, but these people are actual losers. They knew full-well what they were doing; they were not addicted to the extent that they needed to play, nor were they delusional to such a point that they believed this to be the case. They simply chose to skip work, let themselves go, and withdraw from normal society in order to play their stupid games. I've known people who did this with tabletop roleplaying games, as well.

A 41-year old man simply cannot be assumed not to know better than to let his infant child starve to death unless he is found to be a functional retard.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Technical Difficulties

We'll be back to normal posting later today, but I had some errands to run (and still have a few more). I have also been fighting with my new wireless router, as I'm having issues with streaming media on the laptop - selectively: Winamp doesn't work at all, yet Hulu and YouTube work perfectly. Really weird, if you ask me. I'll be reviewing the router sometime soon and am currently looking into the streaming media issue.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Get a Quote Now

Getting an insurance quote has literally never been easier. All you need to do is enter your zip code, choose the type of insurance in which you are interested, and click the button. You will be carried to a more extensive application form and, once you fill-in your information, you get your quotes!

The whole process takes less than five minutes (well, 10, depending on how fast you type) and you can either print the results or make a purchase right then and there! You simply cannot go without insurance in today's world - auto insurance is mandatory in almost every state - but that does not mean you have to devote entire days to finding the right coverage and company; break it down into easy-to-handle steps and you can be insured in a matter of minutes!

Viacom Pulls Colbert Report, Daily Show from Hulu

A spokesperson for Hulu said the website was unable to secure the rights to the popular Comedy Central shows The Daily Show and The Colbert Report past March 9^th, meaning Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom, has effectively pulled the shows from Hulu. However, he said Hulu was still in talks with the cable company.

Comedy Central receives a percentage of the ad revenue from Hulu, but there have been a number of widely-publicized disputes between content providers and cable companies lately, and this appears to be along those same lines. Earlier this week, ABC threatened to pull shows from Cablevision and last year, Fox threatened to blackout the Superbowl Time-Warner cable services. A compromise was reached in the latter case, but ABC and Cablevision have yet to settle their dispute.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Spanish Police Arrest Three in Conjunction with Marlposa Botnet

Spanish police told the media they had made three arrests so far in an ongoing investigation into the Marlposa botnet, thought to be one of the largest in the world. All three are Spanish citizens with no prior criminal records and "limited hacking skills." The three are all aged 25-31 and have only been identified by their Internet handles, or screen names.

The Marlposa botnet is thought to comprise some 13 million computers in nearly 200 countries, including almost half of the Fortune 1000 companies and more than 40 major banks. The botnet was rendered inactive last December thanks to investigations by authorities, including the FBI. The three arrests were made following one of the criminals' logging onto the network without disguising his IP address His arrest lead to the other two and authorities say more arrests are expected to follow.

One of the accused is alleged to have had some 800,000 pieces of sensitive information on his system, including passwords, account and PIN numbers, usernames, and more. Some of these were from high-profile businesses. In fact, one spokesperson said it would be easier for him to list the companies not targeted than to list the Fortune 1000 companies which were.

Experts say the accuseds' limited computer skills were alarming, proving just how ubiquitous and powerful the spread of this malware is. The Malposa botnet operators made most of their money renting-out portions of the network to other criminals, in addition to utilizing the sensitive information they had collected through the network.

Authorities also say they suffered DDoS attacks following the closing of the botnet, apparently in retaliation.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Mesothelioma Help

Strictly speaking, Mesothelioma should be something of the past, at least for most Americans. Mesothelioma is a specific type of cancer related to exposure to asbestos. When asbestos was found to cause cancer - that is, a direct link was established in such a way that corporations could no longer deny its existence - asbestos was removed from public buildings and the like, however it took many years to complete this massive feat. There was asbestos in my elementary school, for example (though it was actively being removed even then). But that does not mean you, or someone you know, was never exposed to asbestos and could not contract malignant Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Help is far more than just an information site, it is a community dedicated to Mesothelioma sufferers and their friends and families. If your life is affected by this cancer, take a moment to check it out and see if their resources can help you.

Paraben Porn Detector

While social networks are the new "time thief," porn has classically been associated with lost resources where workers are concerned. Now, Paraben has released the Paraben Porn Detection Stick - a flash drive which scans any computer into which it is plugged for pornographic images.

The drive loads specialized porn detection software which scans even deleted images using algorithms keyed to flesh tones, shapes, facial recognition, and other criteria. It does not delete the images outright, moving them instead to folders marked "Suspect" and "Highly Suspect." Scans on systems with 500GB hard drives thought to contain some 70,000 +/- images take about an hour and a half and though false positives are common, they are easy to recognize.

The Paraben Porno Stick costs right at $100.00.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Flesh Drive?

In an attempt to avoid arrest, an alleged criminal swallowed a USB flash drive thought to contain evidence of a crime. When he had not passed the drive after four days, authorities managed to get him to agree to have it surgically removed.

Florin Necula was arrested by Secret Service outside a bank in Queens in late January on suspicion of credit fraud. Authorities say he and accomplices placed readers over ATM card slots which recorded their information when they swiped their cards. Agents recovered a lot of evidence in the way of cellphones, laptops, and more, from an apartment there in New York, but it was during questioning that Necula swallowed the flash drive - in full view of questioners and other witnesses!

A Kingston spokesperson said they had no experience with anyone eating their USB drives and were eager to learn whether or not stomach acid had damaged the device.

I liked something to do with "bytes" better for the headline, but that was already done to death...

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Chat/IRC Functions

I am trying to develop some sort of chatroom/IRC channel function for the site. Long ago, we had a forum, but the spam was so rampant that it became literally impossible to maintain and ran all of the legitimate posters away. However, forums are passe anyway and were just there as an afterthought. What I'm trying to do now is develop a means of instant communication available at all times. That doesn't mean someone will physically be there at all times, just that it will be open whenever anyone wants to go there and chat or hang-out and hope others join.

More than anything, it is for discussing Weirding TV as we view it, but this brings its own set of issues which I'm also looking into right now. So far, Weirding TV is literally just a playlist - a collection of fare from around the Web that I've been presenting each Saturday morning in place of the Saturday morning cartoons we grew-up with that are no longer aired for whatever reason. Once something is established along the lines of an IRC channel, it will develop into something more. The plans are there, the execution is not.

I have only ever played with IRC for a few minutes - literally a handful of hours over the last 12 years or so - and never really liked it. I prefer AIM, but it has its own set of issues. At any rate, I am looking into this matter presently and if anyone reading this has any suggestions or ideas, I'm all ears!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Custom USB Drives

The newest "hip" thing appears to be custom usb drives - and with good reason. This month's Wired has a short feature on them, in fact, offering their suggestions for several bands' albums. This is just one idea for how to use custom USB drives, but a really great one (if you have, or manage, a band). While this is obviously a great way to increase awareness of your company's branding, it is also a cool way to organize your USB drives!

Check out the many designs available to you, many starting at under $5.00!

Darkmarket Fraudster Sentenced to Five Years

33-year old Renukanth Subramaniam, the Sri Lankan who created and ran Darkmarket - called "Facebook for criminals" - has been sentenced to nearly five years in a British jail. Subramaniam was granted British citizenship in 2002 and ran Darkmarket from an Internet cafe under a screen name. Though he owned three homes, authorities say he lived "nomadically," staying most often with friends in and around London.

Darkmarket was a social networking-type site for criminals, where they bought and sold stolen IDs, credit card details, bank logins, and the like. Authorities say it was a "one-stop shop" for criminals of their kind which even operated its own payment system. The site was closed in 2008 and some 60+ people were arrested worldwide from countries including the UK, U.S., Canada, France, and (of course) Russia.

Subramaniam was sentenced to 46 months for conspiracy to defraud and 10 months for mortgage fraud. A second Briton was sentenced to two years for fraud in conjunction with the investigation; 66-year old John McHugh created fake credit card accounts and sold them over Darkmarket.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010