Morality: Don't be afraid - science can make us better - via NewScientist.com - While I don't agree with the insinuation made by the author that "economic prosperity" is a suitable moral guide, I do enjoy a good debate on the subject.  "Economic prosperity", or as it's better known, "Making a shit-ton of money" is one of the primary causes (if not the main cause) that people abandon morals that would otherwise preclude them from doing something.  I'd like to see more research on the "morality as an evolutionary response" theme mentioned in this article.  Better living through technology, I say!
 
Popular Facebook apps found to be collecting, selling user info - via ArsTechnica.com - Surprise, surprise!  Most of those "FREE!" apps and games you've been using on Facebook have been mining and selling off your personal data.  Unfortunately most people would sell their soul for a free cheeseburger, so I don't expect many people to care.
 
Surviving the Apocalypse Hollywood Style - via Wired.com - Everything I know about surviving the end of the world I learned from movies.  This one breaks it down by sub-genre:  Virus/Nuclear, Natural Disaster, Alien Invasion, Authoritarian Distopia.  For anyone concerned, the Zombie Apocalypse falls under the Virus/Nuclear category.

Interview: Trent Reznor discusses The Social Network soundtrack - via DrownedInSound.com - Interviews with Trent Reznor are always interesting.  If you can get past the (very) many spelling and grammar mistakes in the transcript you won't be disappointed with this one.  Among other things, the interview touches on the creative process of scoring the movie, the philosophy behind free (and pirated) music, and my personal favourite, the concept and implementation of Facebook itself.  It's a bit out of context but here's a quote - "I don't think it's actually executed that well.  The layout's kind of foolish and the processing is terrible...he [Zuckerburg] was in the right place, at the right time, with a functional tool."  Hit the link for the whole transcribed interview.

Outrageous School Punishments - 10 Examples of Punishment Gone Too Far - via DegreeScout.com - I've commented here before about disciplinary actions taken by school officials.  Here's a list of 10 that are notable for how far overboard they went.  To reiterate what I've said before - Schools have no business interfering with what their students do outside of class time and off school property.  School officials have no right to physically repremand or punish a child.  Strip searches?  Nope.  Last but not least, this "Zero Tolerance" bullshit has to stop...see number 3 where a six-year old boy was suspended for making a gun shape with his thumb and index finger.

Race China to the Moon, Stop '1000 Pearl Harbors,' Says Controversial Candidate - via Wired.com - Yup, another interview but a completely different topic.  Here a political candidate argues the extremely alarmist idea that China could use Cuba to stage a second "Cuban Missile Crisis" resulting in the "1000 Pearl Harbors" from the title.  He also states that a new moon race is necessary to maintain technological superiority over China.  The bit about "1000 Pearl Harbors" goes too far, but I'm with him on the moon race part.  Diverting the money that would be necessary for such an undertaking into the branches of science involved would be hugely beneficial to everybody.  Think about it - A Second Space Age.  Why does it have to be a "race", though?  The benefits of sharing the research burden with China seems to be a better plan.  Draw your researchers from the best and brightest of a larger candidate pool and split the costs between the two countries.  Even better, let any country that wants to shoulder some of the cost participate.  Science doesn't care about borders.

Voodoo Software Removes Objects From Video In Real Time - via PopSci.com - Take a look at this video.  I'm still skeptical.  If it's real you can never believe anything you see on TV ever again. 

The changes to the video shown wouldn't be that impressive, except this apparently works in real time.  I need to see this for myself. 

Maybe they can use it on the "footage" from the new moon landings...

Just kidding.

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.

It's been a while since I had a chance to sit down and rant about anything in the news.  I've been a touch busy, what with the economy imploding, trying to keep my day job, and working in another country for a couple months.  But enough about me and my hiatus.  On to more important things.
 
Here's one I just read about today: "Prison Officer Sacked After Befriending Inmates on Facebook."
 
My friends and coworkers have commented to me that I rarely have anything good to say about anything, and that assessment is pretty accurate.  I usually say to them that I used to be an optimist, but then I started paying attention.  In this case, though, I actually have something positive to say.  My simultaneous first thoughts when I read the above headline were "GOOD!" and "Wait just a fucking minute...they get Facebook in prison?" 
Not that I give the tiniest of shits about Facebook personally, but I can't even get there from work, nor can I check my gmail account or view most message boards and forums.  Why the hell do convicted criminals have access to the Internet?

Arse-puckering news out of the U.K. recently. Noteworthy articles can be found (here) and (here). In a nutshell, there are plans in the works to allow government and law enforcement entities to collect, catalog, and monitor personal information from various internet services including instant messaging, gaming, and social networking sites. It should come as no surprise that the idea of someone looking over their shoulder the whole time they're online pisses a lot of people off, but this isn't the only reason to worry about this kind of surveillance.

Now I'm not saying that it's not important, but I'm going to try to sidestep the whole George Orwell/1984/Big Brother side of the discussion. Issues of privacy as a fundamental right are absolutely important, but the first thing anyone ever points out is that this kind on monitoring of the public is a slippery slope into an Orwellian dystopia. So for shits and giggles (and a brief thought experiment) let's assume that your government loves you, terrorists really are using Facebook to plot global annihilation, and this proposed project has nothing to do with targeting legitimate political dissent and freedom of speech. Warm and fuzzy? Off we go...