Slacking

I've been sort of slacking around the holidays, I swear I'll make more posts after the New Year! It can be my first resolution I break or something like that. I actually don't remember the last time I've really made any resolutions, so maybe I should do that :^P Seems like the popular thing to do.

Monday

I've been busy so there hasn't been many posts lately, sorry. Even though its almost the weekend(woooohooo for 5 day weekends!), Monday's still suck!

Sony Robot

Sony has a robot that can run I saw the same story on slashdot yesterday, unfortunately the article was actually in Japanese, so I couldn't read about it. It did have some movies with it so I snagged those for my (and your) viewing pleasure. You can find them here. The running isn't really that spectacular, in the videos I think it really looks like its walking fast. My favorite two were the robot throwing a ball, and the choreographed dance. (last 2).

*edit* Found a more technical description of it.

Back up

well, I've gotten everything running again. However before i reformatted my server, i forgot to save my templates. I might still have them on my PC at work, if not, it'll be a day or so before i get things back to normalish. Until then, enjoy the semi blending of my blog and Dave's style sheet :)

Fun with Badgers

Badger Badger Badger

Wow...

Read this article on MSNBC. Its about the security of ATMs. Apparently its much easier to get an ATM than most people think, esp. if you have a business to put it in. Lets just say, if I wasn't happy living a nice legal life, it would be pretty easy for me to pull something like this off. My favorite was the ATM Card Cleaner idea, people swipe their cards, you get a free account number!

If you think about it, one disreputable maintanace person could basically do the same thing with all those pay-at-the-checkout devices. The would be more than enough room to add in circuitry to steal account numbers and PINS. What kind of safe guards do those devices have? It would be interesting to know what regulations the companies that produce those have to follow.

Stupid Iraqi Quotes

Stolen from an MSNBCarticle:

Many residents said Saddam loyalists attacked the Americans, but that U.S. forces began firing at random and many civilians got their guns and joined the fight. Many said residents were bitter about recent U.S. raids in the night.
“Why do they arrest people when they’re in their homes?” asked Athir Abdul Salam, a 19-year-old student. “They come at night to arrest people. So what do they expect those people to do?”

Okay, here's what I don't understand. Maybe it's a culture or translation thing *shrug*. The 19 year old student apparently seems shocked that people are being arrested when they are in their homes...at night. If you look at how police raids are done in the US, this is what I'd expect. I mean, if you want to capture someone and you know where they live, wouldn't a time when they are home be a good time to go in and arrest them?

Perhaps its a culture thing where the Iraqi's are used to Sadam's police force just busting in during the day and killing them, and this entire night time thing just confuses them.

Since most SWAT team members have significant military training, I'll use them as an example. Many drug raids are done late at night for a reason. When you are awakened suddenly, most people are very confused for a short period, especially when its to a flashbang. Heck, some people take a long time to wake up and function normally when they aren't awakend by a flashbang. The SWAT teams are specifically trained to be on top of their game at any time. They can also prepare for late night events since they will be planned in advanced. The people being raided have no idea anythings coming, and will be groggy/disoriented, making it usually very easy for the SWAT team to get in and out with a minimized risk to themselves.

Then we have:
Hassan, who was wounded by shrapnel in the battle. “They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are terrorists. What do they expect when they drive among us?”

I'm fairly certain the US troops are under strict orders to not initiate firefights, its a fairly common thing when you are doing a police action. Now they might be allowed to shoot first if Joe Iraqi points his AK47 at them, but that's probably unlikely. I don't know for sure, maybe someone will care enough to search, but I'll just make up facts :) Doesn't picking up a weapon and shooting it at an occupying force pretty much make you an enemy soldier even if you have no formal military association? I'm know the German army wasn't really nice to french resistance fighters if they were discovered (yeah yeah...i just compared the US in Iraq to Germany in France...go me..someone give me a better example)

So in closing, what do we expect when we drive among you? MAYBE FOR YOU NOT TO F&@%!^g SHOOT US?

Walking Bio Weapon

Thanksgiving isn't nearly as fun when you're sick the entire time! So far I've been sick for the last week and 2 days. Hopefully I'll start feeling better soon.