"Miami Beach police did their best to destroy a citizen video that shows them shooting a man to death in a hail of bullets on Memorial Day. First, police pointed their guns at the man who shot the video, according to a Miami Herald interview with the videographer. Then they ordered the man and his girlfriend out of the car and threw them down to the ground, yelling, 'you want to be f****** paparazzi?' Then they snatched the cell phone from his hand and slammed it to the ground before stomping on it. Then they placed the smashed phone in the videographer's back pocket as he was laying down on the ground."
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Man Ordered At Gunpoint To Hand Over Phone For Recording Cops
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/06/04/201228/Man-Ordered-At-Gunpoint-To-Hand-Over-Phone-For-Recording-Cops
Friday, June 3, 2011
Update on Ashcroft v. al-Kidd
http://www.scotusblog.com/?p=120589
The Bush Administration’s wide use of an arrest tool to take terrorism suspects off the streets barely — and perhaps only temporarily — survived a major test in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, even though its principal architect — former Attorney General John D. Ashcroft — will not have to go to trial to defend it. While finding that Ashcroft is entitled to limited legal immunity for a single, controversial use of the tactic, fully half of the eight Justices voting on the case sent out clear indications that they are deeply skeptical about it. That was the somewhat contradictory outcome in Ashcroft v. al-Kidd (docket 10-98).
How to Tie Five Useful Knots
I do some outdoors activities like backpacking and canoeing. During these activities, there is occasionally a need to tie knots. I've noticed that no one in our group (myself included) knows how to tie any knots, and I feel this would be a useful skill. I did some searching and found a small set of knots that seem to be pretty useful and learned them. They are all relatively easy to learn, although I must say figuring out knots from pictures can be a bit confusing. Luckily, this Animated Knots site is pretty good.
Square knot (Reef knot)
A square knot is one of the most basic knots. Prior to learning these knots it was pretty much the only knot I knew. It's easy to tie and looks pretty with its symmetricalness. That being said, it is apparently a pretty poor knot to use. "There have probably been more lives lost as a result of using a square knot as a bend (to tie two ropes together) than from the failure of any other half dozen knots combined." - Some Knot Expert. In addition to its tendency to come undone it is very easy to accidentally tie the much worse granny knot. It's easy to spot a granny knot when tying, so go to the above site and look at the differences.
Sheet Bend
The sheet bend is similar to the square knot, except better. Since it holds much better than the square knot, and is just as easy to tie, it should be used instead of a square knot whenever possible. It is also useful for rope of different sizes.
Double Fisherman's Knot
This is a good knot for connecting two pieces of rope into a longer one. I knew this knot before, but the single version. The double is bit more than just tying a double knot, but still pretty easy. Once you know the double you can easily do the triple or more for added security. I must say the animation was a bit bewildering at first, but you are essentially just looping the rope around itself and the other rope twice and then passing it back through those loops.
Bowline
The bowline is a pretty good knot, useful for putting a strong loop at the end of a rope. It is probably the most complicated knot in this list, but really isn't very hard at all. The general consensus seems to be that this is the best knot for forming a loop, strong under tension and easy to untie (without tension). Its one flaw seems to be that it can undo itself if there is a lack of tension, which seems like it could be fixed by adding a double overhand knot to the free end (half a double fisherman's knot).
Half Hitch
Frankly, I don't think the half hitch seems that useful. It is used to lash rope to a post, but the bowline seems better to me. I did see it mentioned a lot as a useful knot which is why I'm including it here. It's also worth noting that a half hitch by itself is pretty weak, but it almost always followed by another half hitch (making a full hitch I guess).
Bonus Knot:
Because I like you so much I'm throwing in an additional knot for free. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this knot here before, but I think it deserves an additional mention. It is a much more secure way of tying your shoes. I have a pair of old sneakers on which the laces of worn down so smooth that even double knots would come untied in a few hours. This knot has never come untied on its own (and I leave my shoes tied for months just slipping them on and off). It is basically the same as the bunny ears method of tying your shoes, but you tuck both ears through the center instead of just one.
Square knot (Reef knot)
A square knot is one of the most basic knots. Prior to learning these knots it was pretty much the only knot I knew. It's easy to tie and looks pretty with its symmetricalness. That being said, it is apparently a pretty poor knot to use. "There have probably been more lives lost as a result of using a square knot as a bend (to tie two ropes together) than from the failure of any other half dozen knots combined." - Some Knot Expert. In addition to its tendency to come undone it is very easy to accidentally tie the much worse granny knot. It's easy to spot a granny knot when tying, so go to the above site and look at the differences.
Sheet Bend
The sheet bend is similar to the square knot, except better. Since it holds much better than the square knot, and is just as easy to tie, it should be used instead of a square knot whenever possible. It is also useful for rope of different sizes.
Double Fisherman's Knot
This is a good knot for connecting two pieces of rope into a longer one. I knew this knot before, but the single version. The double is bit more than just tying a double knot, but still pretty easy. Once you know the double you can easily do the triple or more for added security. I must say the animation was a bit bewildering at first, but you are essentially just looping the rope around itself and the other rope twice and then passing it back through those loops.
Bowline
The bowline is a pretty good knot, useful for putting a strong loop at the end of a rope. It is probably the most complicated knot in this list, but really isn't very hard at all. The general consensus seems to be that this is the best knot for forming a loop, strong under tension and easy to untie (without tension). Its one flaw seems to be that it can undo itself if there is a lack of tension, which seems like it could be fixed by adding a double overhand knot to the free end (half a double fisherman's knot).
Half Hitch
Frankly, I don't think the half hitch seems that useful. It is used to lash rope to a post, but the bowline seems better to me. I did see it mentioned a lot as a useful knot which is why I'm including it here. It's also worth noting that a half hitch by itself is pretty weak, but it almost always followed by another half hitch (making a full hitch I guess).
Bonus Knot:
Because I like you so much I'm throwing in an additional knot for free. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this knot here before, but I think it deserves an additional mention. It is a much more secure way of tying your shoes. I have a pair of old sneakers on which the laces of worn down so smooth that even double knots would come untied in a few hours. This knot has never come untied on its own (and I leave my shoes tied for months just slipping them on and off). It is basically the same as the bunny ears method of tying your shoes, but you tuck both ears through the center instead of just one.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Embed a Video, Go To Jail?
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/06/02/1211245/Embed-a-Video-Go-To-Jail
"A few weeks ago, Slashdot had a post about the new bill in Congress to make streaming infringing videos a felony, punishable by up to 5 years in jail if just 10 people watch the video. As more details come out, the bill keeps looking worse and worse, as it appears that the definitions used in the bill would mean that merely embedding or linking to an infringing YouTube video could put you on the hook for jail time. Obviously, supporters of the bill insist that's not who will be targeted with this bill, but just the fact that they could be should be worrisome enough. We've seen other laws "misused" in the past."
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Q: What would Earth be like to us if it were a cube instead of spherical? Is this even possible?
http://www.askamathematician.com/?p=6657
Life on a cubic Earth would be pretty different. Although gravity on the surface wouldn’t generally point toward the exact center of the Earth anymore (that’ a symptom of being a sphere), it will still point roughly in toward the center. So, the closer you are to an edge, the more gravity will make it feel as though you’re on a slope. So, although it won’t look like it, it will feel like each of the six sides forms a bowl. This has some very profound effects.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
FCC Commissioner Leaves To Become Lobbyist
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/05/11/2156237/FCC-Commissioner-Leaves-To-Become-Lobbyist
"Meredith Attwell Baker, one of the FCC Commissioners, is leaving the FCC to become a lobbyist for Comcast-NBC, just four months after approving their merger deal. She refused to put any significant conditions on the merger, saying that the deal would 'bring exciting benefits to consumers that outweigh potential harms.' Comcast has released an official statement saying that, 'Meredith's executive branch and business experience along with her exceptional relationships in Washington bring Comcast and NBCUniversal the perfect combination of skills.'"
Monday, May 9, 2011
Battle Brews Over FBI's Warrantless GPS Tracking
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/05/09/1415258/Battle-Brews-Over-FBIs-Warrantless-GPS-Tracking
"The FBI's use of GPS vehicle tracking devices is becoming a contentious privacy issue in the courts, with the Obama administration seeking Supreme Court approval for its use of the devices without a warrant, and a federal civil rights lawsuit targeting the Justice Department for tracking the movements of an Arab-American student. In the midst of this legal controversy, Threat Level decided to take a look at the inside of one of the devices, with the help of the teardown artists at iFixit."
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
What is the GPL?
Intro
The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a license used for open source software. Open source software is simply software which makes the source code (or blueprints) available along with the version that people actually run on their computers. This allows others to edit and improve the software, as well as verify that it doesn't do anything malicious. The current version of the GPL is about 5200 words or 31,000 characters. This may seem very verbose for something that seems rather simple. Indeed, many may question why one would even need a license if they were simply giving the source code away with their software. The answer is that the GPL does a lot more than simply give away the source code.
What does the GPL do?
Recently there was a discussion on Slashdot about the GPL. Slashdot is generally very in favor of the GPL. A few users were going against the grain and commenting on how the GPL was actually virus like. Their point was that any code that became infected with GPL code became GPL code itself, and it was difficult to clean the GPL code out. The replies were that this is the very purpose of the GPL. The GPL essentially says that anyone may use the source code, however they must always make the full source code available with the program. Any changes to the source code are automatically covered by the GPL and must also be made available. The addition of a small piece of GPL code to a very large program makes that entire program GPL'd and the entire source must be released.
How does GPL do this?
Some might see this as unfair. What right does this GPL have to force me to release the source code to software I wrote? The answer is none, unless one agrees to it. How does one agree to it? By using code that is covered by it.
Copyright Review
In just about any country today copyright is automatically applied to anything anyone writes. For example, this blog post is copyrighted by me, despite bearing no formal copyright notice, and despite me not registering it. No one may use this post in anyway without my consent. My consent could be as simple as "you can use it any way you want", or it could be much more complex, with many conditions. In that case, it is called a license. I may come up with whatever conditions I want for you to use this post. Perhaps, I say you can only repost it on Tuesdays, or if you are located in Houston, TX. Note these restrictions don't apply to me, since I "own" the content. I can require you be in Houston to repost it, while I myself am not in Houston. The key is that you are free to not use my work, so you can't argue that my terms are unreasonable or silly.
Another important point is that if you take this post and change it in some way and then republish it, that is called a "derivative work". You may only make derivative works if I consent, and I may place whatever restrictions I wish on the derivative works (however they must be made clear prior to our agreement). A common example might be the requirement that you don't sell the derivative work, i.e., you make it freely available. Or, I may require you to pay me some fee for each copy you do sell. Again, I can come up with whatever restrictions I want, and you can choose to agree to them and make the derivative work, or not agree and not use my work.
Those are the principles the GPL uses to accomplish its job. If someone wants to use code that is covered by the GPL, they are free to do so. However, they are agreeing to a license that says they will then make all derivative works also freely available and covered by the GPL.
BSD License
For software, the main alternative to the GPL is the BSD license. The BSD license is much simpler and can be generalized as saying that anyone can do anything they want with the code as long as they attribute the original author. This is often called a freer license, and strictly speaking, it does place less restrictions, and is thus more free. That being said, the BSD license will allow someone to make changes to software and then keep those changes secret. This is a benefit to the person making changes but hurts the end users who no longer have access to the source code. It is often said that BSD license is more free for programmers and less free for users.
Creative Commons
Creative commons are a recent addition to the family of sharing licenses. While the GPL and BSD license are specifically tailored for software, CC licenses are used more generally by anything covered by copyright (websites, music, video, pictures, etc.). It is perhaps most well known as the license used by Wikipedia. CC offers greater flexibility, and licenses similar to both the GPL and BSD license can be created using it. There are four main conditions which the author can choose to use or not, each with a two letter abbreviation. Attribution (by) requires that one must attribute the original author when one redistributes the work. While technically optional, all the common licenses have the (by) restriction. Noncommercial (nc) requires that one may not sell the work or derivative works. No Derivative Works (nd) means that one may not change the work in any way. Share-alike (sa) means one may only redistribute using an identical license. This gives a similar "virus like" nature to the GPL. There are 16 combinations of those 4 restrictions. However, some can't be used together (e.g. (nd) and (sa) make no sense) and, according to Wikipedia, 98% of licenses use (by). With that in mind, there are six commonly used licenses combinations, which can be reviewed in greater detail on the CC site.
The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a license used for open source software. Open source software is simply software which makes the source code (or blueprints) available along with the version that people actually run on their computers. This allows others to edit and improve the software, as well as verify that it doesn't do anything malicious. The current version of the GPL is about 5200 words or 31,000 characters. This may seem very verbose for something that seems rather simple. Indeed, many may question why one would even need a license if they were simply giving the source code away with their software. The answer is that the GPL does a lot more than simply give away the source code.
What does the GPL do?
Recently there was a discussion on Slashdot about the GPL. Slashdot is generally very in favor of the GPL. A few users were going against the grain and commenting on how the GPL was actually virus like. Their point was that any code that became infected with GPL code became GPL code itself, and it was difficult to clean the GPL code out. The replies were that this is the very purpose of the GPL. The GPL essentially says that anyone may use the source code, however they must always make the full source code available with the program. Any changes to the source code are automatically covered by the GPL and must also be made available. The addition of a small piece of GPL code to a very large program makes that entire program GPL'd and the entire source must be released.
How does GPL do this?
Some might see this as unfair. What right does this GPL have to force me to release the source code to software I wrote? The answer is none, unless one agrees to it. How does one agree to it? By using code that is covered by it.
Copyright Review
In just about any country today copyright is automatically applied to anything anyone writes. For example, this blog post is copyrighted by me, despite bearing no formal copyright notice, and despite me not registering it. No one may use this post in anyway without my consent. My consent could be as simple as "you can use it any way you want", or it could be much more complex, with many conditions. In that case, it is called a license. I may come up with whatever conditions I want for you to use this post. Perhaps, I say you can only repost it on Tuesdays, or if you are located in Houston, TX. Note these restrictions don't apply to me, since I "own" the content. I can require you be in Houston to repost it, while I myself am not in Houston. The key is that you are free to not use my work, so you can't argue that my terms are unreasonable or silly.
Another important point is that if you take this post and change it in some way and then republish it, that is called a "derivative work". You may only make derivative works if I consent, and I may place whatever restrictions I wish on the derivative works (however they must be made clear prior to our agreement). A common example might be the requirement that you don't sell the derivative work, i.e., you make it freely available. Or, I may require you to pay me some fee for each copy you do sell. Again, I can come up with whatever restrictions I want, and you can choose to agree to them and make the derivative work, or not agree and not use my work.
Those are the principles the GPL uses to accomplish its job. If someone wants to use code that is covered by the GPL, they are free to do so. However, they are agreeing to a license that says they will then make all derivative works also freely available and covered by the GPL.
BSD License
For software, the main alternative to the GPL is the BSD license. The BSD license is much simpler and can be generalized as saying that anyone can do anything they want with the code as long as they attribute the original author. This is often called a freer license, and strictly speaking, it does place less restrictions, and is thus more free. That being said, the BSD license will allow someone to make changes to software and then keep those changes secret. This is a benefit to the person making changes but hurts the end users who no longer have access to the source code. It is often said that BSD license is more free for programmers and less free for users.
Creative Commons
Creative commons are a recent addition to the family of sharing licenses. While the GPL and BSD license are specifically tailored for software, CC licenses are used more generally by anything covered by copyright (websites, music, video, pictures, etc.). It is perhaps most well known as the license used by Wikipedia. CC offers greater flexibility, and licenses similar to both the GPL and BSD license can be created using it. There are four main conditions which the author can choose to use or not, each with a two letter abbreviation. Attribution (by) requires that one must attribute the original author when one redistributes the work. While technically optional, all the common licenses have the (by) restriction. Noncommercial (nc) requires that one may not sell the work or derivative works. No Derivative Works (nd) means that one may not change the work in any way. Share-alike (sa) means one may only redistribute using an identical license. This gives a similar "virus like" nature to the GPL. There are 16 combinations of those 4 restrictions. However, some can't be used together (e.g. (nd) and (sa) make no sense) and, according to Wikipedia, 98% of licenses use (by). With that in mind, there are six commonly used licenses combinations, which can be reviewed in greater detail on the CC site.
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