archive
index

gp originals
google i
google ii
celebrating porn
idiot voters
 

Notice: GeekPress is back up and running, thanks to Paul! It's still a not-so-serious tech news blog, but the format is significantly looser. Diana, having given up programming for philosophy, has her own philosophical blog NoodleFood. More of her work can be found at DianaHsieh.com.

 

The largest thing in the universe

2:27:21 am mst / 9 January 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source NY Times 67 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

Astronomers have discovered the largest structure in the universe -- a cluster of galaxies and quasars 600 million light years in size.

What are the rules used to decide if a grouping of astronomical objects counts as a single "structure"? Otherwise, I could just declare everything to my left as a structure.

Copyright your own DNA

8:55:19 am mst / 9 January 2001 found by paul / filed in legal / source Christian Science Monitor 38 hits / 0 comments / 1 e-mail

A high school science teacher in Oakland, California has his students perform a "poor man's copyright" on their own DNA. Each student takes a picture of himself standing in front of the daily newspaper, sticking their tongues out with a postage stamp at the tip of the tongue. The picture is then sealed in an envelope which is stamped with the same stamp containing the student's saliva, and then mailed to the student himself. The postmark and the photograph verify the date, and the cheek cells in the saliva stamp prove the ownership of the DNA. Artists and songwriters have long used a similar method of mailing their works to themselves to establish their claims.

Interesting idea. Of course, now that the USPS has switched to the self-adhesive sticker style stamps, the process becomes a little ickier.

Review of "Crypto"

10:46:07 am mst / 9 January 2001 found by paul / filed in cryptography / source Wired 40 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

Declan McCullagh reviews Steven Levy's new book Crypto, calling it the first modern history of computer cryptography, with a lot of information that hasn't been published elsewhere. Overall, he gives it a thumbs-up.

I've already ordered my copy from Amazon.

L@@K! Date with Pale Scrawny Guy!!

11:16:14 am mst / 9 January 2001 found by diana / filed in humor / source Ananova 165 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

A skinny, pasty-white, 17 year-old computer geek has made himself available for a date to the higest bidder on eBay. He has posted a picture of himself, naked except for a pillow covering his privates. He has even offered a complicated price structure for men and women over 35. (EBay has taken down the auction, so the main link is now to the Ananova story.)

He's cheap right now: just $8!

First the French, Now the Greeks

11:45:58 am mst / 9 January 2001 found by diana / filed in culture / source The Times 55 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

Forty Greek intellectuals are calling on their goverment to stop the flood of "Greeklish" that they regard as having been foisted upon an unsuspecting populance by the computer industry. (Thanks to The Register for the pointer story.)

Of course, like with the French, "Greeklish" is being used because people prefer it over their pure native tongue, not because of a failure to provide Greek-language software.

Download the New Napster

4:39:45 pm mst / 9 January 2001 found by diana / filed in digital media / source ZDNet 24 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

Version 2.0 beta 8 has been released! (You can download it here.) However, you have to manually uninstall the old version first, or it will move all of your MP3s to your root folder (c:/). The new release allows you to exclude files when searching, but bewarned: it doesn't allow third-party programs like Napigator.

I'll have to download and test later tonight!

Siphon Power

9:05:04 pm mst / 9 January 2001 found by diana / filed in science / source Straight Dope 103 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails

Cecil Adams explains the nitty-gritty details of how siphons work. It's more complex than you might think!