Adult Star Kirsten Price Tests Kinect's Nude Filter - via G4tv.com - Microsoft's new Kinect for XBOX 360 is an incredibly promising bit of technology despite possible privacy concerns (see here and here).  Here's a video!

To Thwart Distracted Driving, US Government Considers Cell Phone Jammers in Cars - via PopSci.com - The Nanny-state is in full swing these days.  Some jack-holes just can't resist yacking on the phone while driving, so let's put a jammer in every car.  Nevermind the fact that this would also inhibit passengers from using a phone and could also stop a driver from calling for help in the event of an emergency.  I can't see this actually happening, but the fact that anyone is even considering it is evidence of a head up an ass.

Distressed Toddler Gets a TSA Pat Down - via RawJustice.com - This whole body scanner/enhanced pat down business is far from over.  Judging from this story and others like it that are pouring in from all over it looks like the bogeyman terrorists have won.  People have gone to jail for touching children like this, but since it's sanctioned by the government I guess it's OK, right?

Quindell Sherman:  Repeatedly Slams Baby Into Cement in Fight With Girlfriend - via TrueCrimeReport.com - No joke...skip this one if you have a weak stomach.

Quindell Sherman is a piece of filth who got in a fight with his girlfriend, then decided to prove what a big man he was by slamming her infant son into the concrete then throwing him 25 feet into the street.  This motherfucker needs to be put down.  Slowly.

Violent Video Games: Our Responsibility, Not the Courts - via PCMag.com - The bottom line here is that parents have a responsibility to be aware of and control whatever media their children have access to.  This extends beyond video games to movies, music, and TV as well.
 
Teen suspended for riding horse to school - via Boston.com - Another school official overreacts to an innocent stunt.
 
How the AK-47 Rewrote the Rules of Modern Warfare - via Wired.com - As firearms go, the AK-47 is one of the most widely recognized in the world.  Here's an interesting article on it's history and engineering behind a design that's been in use for over 50 years.
 
Foo Fighters Reunite, Krist Novoselic Joins the Band - via PrefixMag.com - The surviving members of Nirvana are back together and making a new record with the help of Butch Vig, who produced the iconic album Nevermind.  While it would be nearly impossible to top the success and historical significance of Nevermind, this new record might be so good that it cures cancer.  True story.    -  p.s.  Nevermind is going to be 20 years old in 2011.  I feel fucking old.

Here's a link to the IGN.com UK Review of Fallout: New Vegas.  It's for the PC version but the console folk should get the idea.  Fallout: New Vegas was released today.
I would be playing New Vegas and not just talking about it, except my XBOX fucking red-ringed last night.  Oh well, it lasted longer than expected, considering it was salvaged from a garbage can in the dead of winter and dried out with a hair-dryer...but that's a story for another time.
Right now, it's time to buy a new XBOX, I guess.

Here's a link to a review of Medal of Honor over on Ars Technica.
MOH was released today.
 
With Call of Duty: Black Ops just over the horizon, I can't say I'm too excited to play Medal of Honor.  Except for the fact that they spell "honour" incorrectly this game looks pretty, but it seems derivative.
I lost whatever interest in this game I had left when EA caved to media pressure and the U.S. military and removed the word "Taliban" from the multiplayer mode of the game.  No matter how you want to dress it up this is a GAME, you fucktards.  It's no different than playing as a German in any WWII era game or for that matter, playing as Covenant in anything from the Halo franchise.
NO.
FUCKING.
DIFFERENT.
If I even bother playing this one it won't be a title I buy new.  This is a "wait for bargain bin" title for me.

New technologeis confuse reality and fiction: Pope - via MontrealGazette.com - I'll admit at first I jumped to the conclusion that this was going to be the Pope railing against science.  I figured what it would boil down to was "reality is whatever the church tells you".  To my surprise this was not the case at all.  In his statement, he cautions that technology can lead to "the risk of indifference towards real life."  It's hard to disagree with that statement.  While we're still many years from virtual reality technology that's passable as actual reality, the concept is sound.  I see it as a form of escapism.  Even today there are people who spend more time playing videogames than doing any of their other daily activities.  Other people get lost for hours on end living vicariously through celebrities and their friends in social media circles.  However, I don't think any of these people are "confused" on the line between real and virtual.  These technologies offer an escape from the monochromatic boredom of everyday life.  Where things will get interesting is when technology is actually able to simulate reality in a convincing way.  Then you'll see people giving up on the real world to retreat into whatever virtual world they like.  What is the Matrix, indeed.

Robots Guarding US Nuclear Stockpile - via SingularityHub.com - Our robot overlords are almost upon us.  This is some pretty cool tech.  Between this and the cool shit Google has been driving around lately, pretty soon I shouldn't have to deal with all you assholes cutting me off.
 
Ars Technica: Banned in Iran! - via (shocker!) ArsTechnica.com - It looks like Iran's government maybe didn't like the reports Ars Technica was publishing on the Stuxnet infection wreaking havoc on Iranian computer networks.  It's scary how a government with the proper infrastructure in place can effectively cut off whatever website or content they want without any notice.

Superhero or supervillain: Which lurks inside you? - via MNN.com - Results from a study asking people if they would do good or evil if they were to one day find themselves with superpowers.  I like to think I would be a benevolent dictator.

Anybody that says videogames aren't art needs to take a look at this trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops.

Scheduled release date - November 9, 2010

Infamous 2: Simply Electrifying - via IGN.com - It seems there are lots of (hopefully) good sequels in the works.  Watch Cole McGrath toss some cars around in this gameplay footage of Infamous 2.

New Class of Malware Will Steal Behavioral Patterns - via TechnologyReview.com - Great.  Not only are there assholes out there trying to steal your credit card and bank account numbers, but now they're trying mine your activities online to create a model of your behavior.  This is data that could be useful for all sorts of things, and changing your behavior isn't exactly as easy as cancelling a credit card.  Just another reason to be careful how much data you put out there...

Why Your Company Needs Paid Sick Days - via Focus.com - I've argued this point with every employer I've had since high school.  The only problems are the inconsiderate fucks who use up all their sick days playing golf then still come to work when they're sick.  If you're lucky enough to work somewhere that gives you paid time off when you're sick and somebody still comes to work spewing phlegm everywhere you should be allowed to put them out of their misery...with the cleansing beauty of fire.

The first Deus Ex is still one of my all time favourite games and I've been waiting for a decent sequel for years.  I never really cared for Deus Ex 2.  From the trailer and videos posted so far, Human Revolution looks like it's going to be a fantastic game.

Over on IGN.com there's an interview with the art director for the new game, scheduled for release next year.

If you do this in an email, I hate you. - via TheOatmeal.com - Read this.  If any of them apply to you, die.  Except you, Mom.  Keep sending me those funny cat pictures and email hoaxes that have been circulating since the 90's.
 
Why Comcast can (but probably won't) read your e-mails, IMs - via ArsTechnica.com - This could also be titled "Another reason why lawyers suck." or "If you're THAT worried, use encryption!".  The end of the article sums it up perfectly - "...take comfort in the fact that your activities are (probably) boring enough that they will never bother to [read your email]".  Think about how many billions of emails are sent daily.  Are yours so important that anybody will give a shit what they say?  Doubtful.  If you are that important (or that paranoid) then there are commercial encryption solutions available to safeguard your email.  Just get it before the U.S. government legislates their way in the back door.  What difference does it really make, anyway?  Everybody knows the tech support guy has been reading your email for years.  
Clive Thompson on the Power of Visual Thinking - via Wired.com - Although it boils down to "A picture is worth a thousand words" this is still an interesting article.  The comments underneath it are also becoming a decent debate.
 
Duke Nukem Forever Demoed - via MaximumPC.com - Duke Nukem 3D was released in January of 1996.  The sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, has been rumoured and promised since April of 1997.  It has been vaporware for so long that it's actually been retired from some lists.  I'm still expecting this to all be part of an elaborate scam for the publisher to rake in millions of dollars in pre-orders, then disappear.
 
Google TV may finally get TV right in the online video age - via ArsTechnica.com - If Google pulls this off, expect big changes in how people use their computers AND their TVs.  The evolution of on-demand content is getting very interesting.  I wonder how internet service providers who also provide cable TV will treat this new technology and lost ad revenue.
 
Toshiba to Launch Glasses-Free 3D TVs Later this Year - via HotHardware.com - I can't wait to see this technology in action.  Too bad it's tiny screens and huge price tags.  Must have patience.
 
Anti-Government Sovereign Citizen Movement Makes a Comeback - via AlterNet.org - I'm really not sure what I think of this one.  On one hand, I agree with the idea that the government should stay out of the lives of private citizens.  On the other hand, if you want to be part of a society, you have to live by its rules.  I do admire the way they stick to their principles, though, because I don't care how many guns you have, the government has more.
 
The Office Worker's 101 Guide to a USB Thumb Drive - via MakeUseOf.com - This article has some handy tips.
 
And The Bonus!
Oral and Anal Sex Are Becoming More Popular - via Asylum.com - Several interesting statistics.  I found a certain inequality to be of particular interest.  According to this study, "85 percent of men claim they gave their partner an orgasm during their latest sexual event, whereas only 64 percent of women said they achieved orgasm during their most recent sexual encounter."  Congratulations, ladies.  21 percent of you are very good actors!  Well played.