- When an American artist came under unjust scrutiny from the feds, he conceived a modern variation of the old “over-compliance” trick originated by 1960s draft protestors. (Video of him giving a talk about it.) (Tip o’ hat to MJR)
- This is such a cool, clever, innovative idea. Wonder how long before the feds hit it with a drone strike? (H/T C^2)
- Sharp-eyed Kent spotted this review of Safety Not Guaranteed, the movie inspired by the classified ad written by our own John Silveira. The film was a smash at Sundance, is just coming into theaters, and currently stands at an impressive 91% positive on RottenTomatoes.com.
- Microsoft and Google play chicken over Do Not Track. With MS on the side of the angels this time. (H/T PT)
- Some of us have been saying for decades that if the government wants our money it can just hold a bake sale. Supporters of NASA have finally taken our suggestion. Not that they really mean it or anything.
- Damn, damn, damn. The best radio show in the universe (no offense, Brian Wilson and the various podcasters hereabouts) is going to cease production.
- Guns, corruption, and the drug war on the U.S. border. Although the middle of this article reads as if the Obama admin is trying to bury Fast & Furious in a hail of “everybody else is doing it” accusations (and uses that irritating term “botched sting” for an operation that was “botched” only in that the ATF was caught by Mike Vanderboegh, David Codrea, and other astute watchers), it’s a pretty good picture of the havoc wrought on one small town by drug prohibition and the violence it’s spawned.
- Finally, here’s a bitter truth to have a good laugh over: “How to Fix Any Computer.” (Thank you, S)
There’s nothing new about raising funds to support a NASA program. in 1979, when budget cuts threatened the Viking program, the Viking Fund collected money to keep the data flowing from Mars. http://www.nss.org/resources/library/spacemovement/chapter08.htm
Indeed, Samuel Adams. They raised money … but I searched for “bake sale” in that article to no avail.
Over compliance is a staple tactic in my line of work. Every so often we get a new boss that decides the minions are incompetent. Wants to see everything, review everything, sign everything. So, we comply. Every piece of email is CC’d. Every manual, letter, survey etc is sent for review / signature. By the end of a week everything will have ground to a halt and the boss’s Boss is PO’d because nothing is getting done.
I don’t see how those foreign workers are going to pick lettuce and harvest produce from a ship out at sea. The plan might need some tweakage. I would suggest that the U.S. has more than enough middle managers that we don’t really need to import more even on a daily basis. They don’t need a drone to strike the ship, just send the USCG to harass and inspect until the ship sinks under the weight of the paper work.
Border towns, of any country, have always been involved in smuggling. The only long term cure is real free trade. If the drug war was gone, then the smuggling would be people, or booze, cigarettes, porn etc. In years past cities on borders used to make good money by “smuggling” stolen livestock one way or the other. I hear smugglers are making ready to take 24oz sodas into NYC even.
Yes, the Tappet Brothers have been (an important) part of my weekend for many years.
I’ll also miss Arasmus B. Dragon, Peakoff N. Dropoff and the lawfirm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe.
I remember hearing about the Blueseed new original idea at least once before.
hxxp://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Taking-tech-jobs-offshore-could-create-a-sweatship/2005/04/22/1114152324696.html
and
hxxp://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9023122/Shipboard_offshore_development_plan_still_docked_after_two_years
homepage
hxxp://www.sea-code.com/
It doesn’t look like they’ve made much progress in 7 years or so.
I love the ideal of the retrofitted cruise ship sitting in international waters. The only issues that I see with the project seem to be logistics. Remember there would be a lot of folks to feed. Plus there is the ship maintenance. The sea is very harsh environment corrosion wise. Given all that I really hope that it works well and it turns out to be a money maker.