I never thought I’d see a government agency do something about malicious software that actually mattered and this Texas lawsuit might just be a cash grab by the state.  But its a step in the right direction when someone who can swing a big stick actually takes a swipe at some questionable practices by a major company.

Keep in mind that SOny is one of the RIAA compaies that has been screaming about the evils of P2P.  One of their arguments has been that P2P software causes exactly the type of security problems that are now being caused by Sony. 

Texas Sues Sony Under Anti-Spyware Law (AP) – AP – The state sued Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Monday under its new anti-spyware law, saying anti-piracy technology the company slipped into music CDs leaves computers vulnerable to hackers.

(Via Yahoo! Top Stories)

 Today’s completely surreal picture brought to you by Engadget.

In the words of someone else….

WTF?!? 

Albert Hubo, meet President Bush –

Help me robo-Einstein, you’re my only hope…

(Via Engadget)

Ever wonder how you can tell if you’ve been thinking too much about work? I believe I have the answer. When you get 1000 copies of a rather involved training poster you developed back from the printer at the end of the day Thursday, then promptly go home, go to sleep and wake up no less than 4 times from dreams of finding TYPOS on the finished product that you hadn’t caught on the proof…that, my friends, is a sign that you need a break.

(For the record? No typos. I checked it yesterday.)

 This post brought to you by the Just Because Its Friday club.  Co-sponsored by the Why The Hell Would They Do That foundation and the Enormous Ego Association.

Kirk’s Kidney Stone –

Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t been dreaming about it for years. A fresh, steaming kidney stone ripped right out of William Shatner’s body? Heaven I say! And Ebay wants you to own it—if you have enough cash in your pocket, that is. While the Cap’n was on the set of Boston Legal he started to suffer from what he thought was chronic back pain. However, Shatner was relieved to find out it was just a kidney stone and feels that it will become the "ultimate piece of Star Trek memorabilia." All proceeds will go to charity, of course.

Captain Kirk to sell valuable gem on Ebay [The Inquirer]

(Via Gizmodo)

 So GW has become isolated and feels betrayed by his advisors?  Shocking.  What’s more shocking is that its taken so long.  There are really only two possibilities at this point.  Either the President has always been a puppet and incapable of forming his own strategies and policies or he was incharge at one point and is now simply reaping the rewards of appointing ethically suspect people to key advisory positions.

Either way I am not hopeful for the next two years. 

In tough times, is Bush tightening his circle? – Writer says that the president has narrowed his group of advisors

(Via Countdown with Keith Olberman)

 Forget Dilbert for a moment.  Scott Adams has a book out and available online for free and it looks like a fun little romp.  I will be dumping this into the Palm tonight for Thanksgiving reading material.

God’s Debris by Scott Adams for free – God’s Debris by Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) is now available for free in PDF form. It’s a controversial book that presents a philosophically strange view of the universe. According to Adams, it splits readers between "the best book they’ve ever read" and "an insult to literature and a disservice to humanity".

(Via Metafilter)

 What I find sadly ironic about this is that this is the exact behavior that Sadaam Hussein adopted when the UN began its search for WMD and led eventually to the war.

Lets hope the EU doesn’t follow the same logic that the US does.

It is not a proud day for Americans.  2008 cannot get here soon enough.  Our only saving grace is than in the US we are offered the chance for regime change every four years. 

UN experts cancel Guantanamo visit, citing US block (AFP) –

AFP – A group of United Nations experts called off their scheduled visit to the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, saying Washington was not allowing them free access to detainees there.

(Via Yahoo! Top Stories)

 This thing looks like about the right size for a camping trip.  ‘Cause you know how we geeks crave WiFi in our campgrounds.

Freeplay Freecharge Weza pedal-powered generator –

We love our lappy, but we gotsa say that the battery life just isn’t what it should be. So while we’re sitting around waiting for those fuel cells to come along and solve all our power needs, we’re thinking of picking up one of these Freeplay Freecharge Weza generators to keep the juice flowing. Of course, physical effort flies in the face of everything we know and stand for, and the product page mentions that “modest dedication” is needed to get this all full up, but if you’re not afraid of a little pedal pushing to charge this thing, you’ve got a nice renewable energy source, or just a nice big battery if you decide to be a slacker and power it up with a wall jack.

[Via Book of Joe]

(Via Engadget)

 We are going to file this under "THE WRONG"(tm).  I am also going to call foul on this on general principle.  But it is some nice flash work and some really exceptional photoshopping.

WARNING: couple of pages are NSFW but you should have no trouble avoinding them.  Just stay away from the section under products entitled "Lust". 

Finally, become more than human – Human Uprgades [flash interface]

(Via Metafilter)

 I’m sure there will be more grisly and sensationalistic reports on this story in the near future but for now I have my own questions.

First and foremost is when are people as a whole going to wake up and realize that guns are way to prevelant in our society?  Why does an 18 year old have a gun when visiting his girlfriend’s parents?  What possible reason could there be for such a thing?

The answer of course is that there is no reason for it.  But I’m sure that we shall learn in future days that the young man, or the girlfriend’s parents, had the gun around for protection or recreational use.

It will take some drastic times before a gun sees the inside of my house.  I’ve fired a gun a few times in my life and I have no desire to add to that experience.  Guns in the home are dangerous and, for 90% of Americans, completely uneccessary.

And you can have that opinion when you pry it from my cold dead fingers. 

Teen Sought in Pa. Slayings Captured (AP) –

AP – A Pennsylvania teenager suspected of killing his girlfriend’s parents in an argument over her curfew was captured in Indiana on Monday with the girl in his car after a police chase that ended in a crash. The 14-year-old girl was not hurt, authorities said.

(Via Yahoo! Top Stories)