Over The Edge – Dan Rosenbaum's random musings

Caffeine-Free Escargot

From CNN: A study published in this week’s edition of Nature says that snail and slugs can be repelled and even killed by a solution of 2 percent caffeine. The findings “aren’t something that surprises me,” said Campbell. “There’s data in frogs, fruit flies, and mosquitoes” that suggest caffeine may be toxic to these animals. The researchers found […]

Wire Lede of the Day

From the AP: PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) — Pigs can’t fly, after all — at least not in the passenger cabin. The story’s about Northwest Airlines sudden refusal to treat Vietnamese potbellied pig — named Pork Chop, incidentally — like a small cat or dog. The pig’s part of a ventriloquism act that was destined for […]

9th Circuit Nixes The Pledge

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — which has federal judicial authority over Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — says the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. Seems the words “under God,” which were added in 1954, constitute an establishment of religion. Whatever do the judges do with their coins, every […]

Wi-Fi Hobos

bOing bOing scores another. This one’s a keeper. Some of you may know that private wireless network nodes have a habit of leaking signal out into public spaces. Some companies, like Starbucks, have built rudimentary businesses out of selling public wireless Net access. Other companies just seem to let their bandwidth leak. Bryant Park, just […]

Broadband Users Produce as Much as They Consume

Very interesting item on bOing bOing this evening. Seems that this first wave of broadband users is as interested in — if not more interested in — creating content than consuming it. This might have ramifications for the architecture of the Net itself, which is based on having (comparatively) fewer servers and (comparatively) more clients. […]

American Gets Serious About E-Tickets

I always feel kind of naked when I show up at the airport without a paper ticket. I’m grateful that I have one less thing to lose, but I worry that when I walk up to the counter, it’ll be like making the maitre d’ “find” the “missing” reservation, or persuading the auto rental clerk that […]

I Can’t Even Decide on a Color for the Bathroom

The astronomers who discovered the color of the universe (and then changed their mind, like any good homeowner) have given the color a name: Cosmic Latte. Their colleagues helped pick. Here are their Top 10 choices. I kind of liked “Big Bang Buff” myself. Sounds maybe a bit too much like a porn star, though. Sudden […]

Does the Net Require a New Kind of Law?

Check out John Stanley and Ernie the Attorney via The Shifted Librarian for some thoughts about the legal system and the Internet. As Mr. Stanley writes: A cyber Code of Hammurabi will not suffice. There was no artificial intelligence in Babylon. Another Magna Carta will be required, another Grotius, another Blackstone. Within the body of […]

More RAM For Gram

My mom brought this interesting NYTimes article to my attention. My wife, the Lovely and Curious Olivia, came up with the headline. (For the geeks among you, I’m typing this at the dining table over my Wi-Fi network.) One day, though, a computer chip may do some of the work of a damaged hippocampus, replacing […]