Computer troubleshooting is known to be filled with black magic of a sort, but someone has apparently taken the idea a little too seriously.
Dark Arts: The Real Reason Your Computer Keeps Crashing
Advice for the cybersavvy coven, as published in the spring 2003 edition of New Witch magazine.
I know some tone-deaf folks who could make use of this. I'd personally like to use it to pick up a couple instruments.
Brain machine 'improves musicianship'
"Scientists have created a technique that dramatically improves the performance of musicians. The system – called neurofeedback – trains musicians to clear their minds and produce more creative brain waves. Research, to be published in the journal Neuroreport, indicates the technique helps musicians to improve by an average of 17% – the equivalent of one grade or class of honours. Some improved by as much as 50%."
Feds Doing More Secret Searches
By Julia Scheeres
“A record number of searches and wiretap orders granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2002 underscores a growing trend of reliance on the secret court in government investigations, privacy advocates say.”
Bush’s Year of U.S. Surveillance
By Noah Shachtman
“It may seem unreasonable, unfair and downright mean-spirited to compare the Bush administration to the minions of Sauron, the granddaddy of evil in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But here goes.”
Feds Defend Data-Mining Plans
Plans to collect info on U.S. citizens do not pose privacy problems, lawmakers say.
By Grant Gross
WASHINGTON — Leaders of two much-criticized projects that privacy advocates fear will collect massive amounts of data on U.S. residents defended those projects before the U.S. Congress Tuesday, saying the projects will be much more limited in scope than opponents fear.
Privacy Threat in Primary Colors
By Joanna Glasner
“SAN FRANCISCO — While the U.S. terrorism threat alert level is still stubbornly stuck at orange, a watchdog group says the risk that citizens face of intrusions to privacy remains at a less worrisome yellow.”
Secret Service Questions Students
“OAKLAND (KRON) — Some teachers in Oakland are rallying behind two students who were interrogated by the Secret Service. That followed remarks the teenagers made about the President during a class discussion. The incident has many people angry.”
Pentagon Defends Data Search Plan
By Ryan Singel
“The Pentagon submitted a report to Congress on Tuesday that said the Total Information Awareness program is not the centralized spying database its critics say it is.”
U.S. promises limits on computer dragnet
“A controversial Defense Department program that would comb computer records to identify potential terrorists will have safeguards to ensure that it does not violate individual rights, the Pentagon said Tuesday.”
“Responding to concerns that its Total Information Awareness program would allow unfettered surveillance, the Pentagon said in a report to Congress that the program would have built-in mechanisms to ensure that it did not intrude on Americans’ privacy.”
It’s not my fault – I was programmed to eat a bucket of KFC at every meal!
What Your Genes Want You to Eat
By BRUCE GRIERSON
“A trip to the diet doc, circa 2013. You prick your finger, draw a little blood and send it, along with a $100 fee, to a consumer genomics lab in California. There, it’s passed through a mass spectrometer, where its proteins are analyzed. It is cross-referenced with your DNA profile. A few days later, you get an e-mail message with your recommended diet for the next four weeks. It doesn’t look too bad: lots of salmon, spinach, selenium supplements, bread with olive oil. “
I’m rather skeptical that this fellow will succeed, but more power to him, anyhow. It’s a noble endeavor.
Monkeylike Baby Bot Meets World
By Lakshmi Sandhana
“Pointing at a banana when shown a picture of one is Lucy’s latest triumph. But for Stephen Grand, the proud papa, his orangutan-like bot child has demonstrated just enough intelligence for him to hope he’ll see it through nursery school.”