'Researchers at the University of Manchester this week revealed a detailed face tracker that runs in real-time on the Nokia N900 mobile phone. Unlike existing mobile face trackers (video) that give an approximate position and scale of the face, Manchester's embedded Active Appearance Model accurately tracks a number of landmarks on and around the face such as the eyes, nose, mouth and jawline. The extra level of detail that this provides potentially indicates who the user is, where they are looking and how they are feeling. The face tracker was developed as part of a face- and voice-verification system for controlling access to mobile internet applications such as e-mail, social networking and on-line banking.'
In both Suki book series, voyeur cams have some capability of tracking individuals. It is a bigger factor for Suki in the Suki With A Twist series.
Someone just put the morons at the DC ABC station out of my misery. They do not deserve electricity.
I have been attempting to watch the NASCAR Bristol race since the third lap, around 8:00 PM tonight. What have I seen? Damn near nothing. THIS IS THE ONLY STATION IN DC THAT CANNOT BROADCAST OVER THE AIR LIKE A REAL TV STATION!
No shit, what is this, some little pirate OTA hacker operation or something? Is the transmitter a modified 1970's Heathkit rig?
I am just a couple of miles away, in Crystal City. Every other station in the area comes in fine. Even the Spanish language NTSB stations.
The Indy 500 was the same way earlier this year. There was heavy wind that day, so I thought that was a problem. Watched it on cable or satellite in a bar. No problem.
What the hell is the problem today? Unless it is a commercial, all I get is a fucked up, pixilated mess.
"(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK) —Outrage is rocking the nation, with the epicenter being Oklahoma City.
Seemingly deaf to the cries of “Disgrace, disgrace!” from the protestors outside city hall, the Oklahoma City Building Commission voted Wednesday to allow the demolition of a parking garage near the Oklahoma City National Memorial and have it replaced with an “American militia cultural center,” built by the Anglo-American Militia Alliance (AAMA)."
"STOCKHOLM - Swedish prosecutors withdrew an arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks on Saturday, saying less than a day after the document was issued that it was based on an unfounded accusation of rape.
The accusation had been labelled a dirty trick by Julian Assange and his group, who are preparing to release a fresh batch of classified U.S. documents from the Afghan war.
Swedish prosecutors had urged Assange _ a nomadic 39-year-old Australian whose whereabouts were unclear _ to turn himself in to police to face questioning in one case involving suspicions of rape and another based on an accusation of molestation.
'I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape,' chief prosecutor Eva Finne said, in announcing the withdrawal of the warrant. She did not address the status of the molestation case, a less serious charge that would not lead to an arrest warrant.
Prosecutors did not answer phone calls seeking further comment."
What are the Swedes doing tossing about warrants like this for?
This appears to be the "perfect defense" from the hard-core extremes of the spectrum. Claim the government is setting you up every time you get caught violating the rights of others. See the recent revelations about Bill Ayres, or the Peruvian adventures of Van der Sloot, for a less political version.
"Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- The founder and editor of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been charged in Sweden with rape and molestation, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office told CNN Saturday.
Spokeswoman Karin Rosander said the charges were filed Friday night, but she didn't have further details.
Assange denied the charges in a posting Saturday on the WikiLeaks Twitter page, saying, 'The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing.'
Assange was in Sweden last weekend, but Rosander said it's not clear whether he is still in the country. She said police have been unable so far to make contact with Assange."
Update: 08/21 15:58 GMT by S : Multiple sources are now reporting that the warrant for Assange's arrest has beenwithdrawn. Aftonbladet has coverage in Swedish. Chief prosecutor Eva Finne said, "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape."
For the most part, the Slashdot bunch takes to defending Assange in humorous ways, from the Whoopi-esque "it wasn't rape, rape" versions, because of the broadness of Sweden's laws, to the USA is making a bigger effort in this case than they are for bin Laden. At least one directly notices the Roman Polanski parallel.
Now for something really funny. If you thought the Slashdotters knee-jerk accusations that the victims are part of a US plot was good, CNN has a new blog story and all of their primary sources are bloggers and media speculators.
Series tie-in: Criminal law abroad is not addressed in the books.
Holy crap! I am listening to Roe & Roper on WLS-890AM and they are covering this (only nine of the fifteen): Is My Husband GAY? As a service to our readers, I shall post my honest responses to their questions and you can go back and forth to score as you will.
1) Secretive late night use of cellphones and computers
Yea! I am not secretive at all about my late-night computer use and you, the readers, are usually reading what I wrote late at night with an accompanying timestamp.
2) Looks at other men in a flirtatious way
Creepy, no way. At least if I know it is a guy. My favorite sports pub is right down the block from a drag bar, so you can't blame me for what walks by on their way to karaoke. Still creeps me out when men look at me like that. Much less now that I grew this gray hair, beer gut and bald spot.
3) Feigning attention in church and prayer groups
Are you fucking kidding me? the only way I am ever in a Church is when some chick invites me.
4) Overly fastidious about his appearance and the home
Unless waiting until the last possible moment to shower (sometimes) before leaving my secret, undisclosed lair, then no. Does cleaning at all count as fastidious? I only clean when I know a date is coming home with me.
5) Gym membership but no interest in sports
Funny! There is a gym in my building I never use. Same with the last four buildings I have lived in. My cheapness rule prevents me from purchasing a gym membership when I am already paying for a gym that I don't use. NASCAR is my main sport, followed by other motorsports. Their answer at the link is pretty gross too. Another reason not to buy a gym membership, or wait until you get home for your shower.
6) Clothes that are too tight and too “trendy”
They get too tight when I gain weight. However, when I buy new clothes nobody accuses me of being trendy. When pinstriped button downs, khakis and cowboy boots become trendy then I may be guilty of this one.
7) Strange sexual demands
Nothing strange at all about leather cuffs, spike heels, collars and gags on her. Next question!
8) More interested in the men than the women in pornographic films
I don't like men in my porn at all. Next question!
9) Travels frequently to big cities or Asia
Haven't yet and I prefer my Asian women Americanized, just like my killer bees.
10) Too many friendly young male friends
I don't like the young in general and young males who are stupid enough to get friendly with me are usually drunk enough to get thrown out of the bar at my request to the manager.
11) Sassy, sarcastic and ironic around his friends
The article includes speaking with one's hands in this one. GUILTY! Look at my name for the genetic clue.
HAHA! My chest looks a lot better shirted than bare these days. So does my waist.
14) Sudden heavy drinking
That is not sudden. I have been doing it for years and am pretty good at it now.
15) Ladies, have you dated men in the past who turned out to be gay?
The ladies reading can answer that for themselves and I welcome your responses in the comments. A woman or two from my past has said they dated guys who they later suspected of being gay, but no outright confessions of that.
There you have it! Straight and kinky, so go buy my books. How about a little clean my kitchen and make dinner after you stop by the grocery store?
President Obama doesn't need to step foot in a church to find spiritual inspiration -- it comes directly to his BlackBerry.
Blago preaches a lot.
Every day, the president receives "devotionals," or passages meant to bring one closer to God, from Joshua DuBois, the head of his Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
"Whether it's a passage of scripture or a piece out of a book that I think he might be interested in or a prayer, it's something to start his day off on the right note," DuBois told Fox News.
When he took office, Obama fought vehemently with his security staff to keep that BlackBerry, a highly-secure version of the standard store-bought phone and messaging device that has now become something of a spiritual lifeline.
Paula White
In the past year, the president and his advisers have faced occasional but persistent questions about one of the most visible expressions of one's faith: picking a church. The Obamas have yet to pick one after separating from their longtime church in Chicago in 2008. At the time, Obama publicly split from the church's now retired pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, following a controversy over videos capturing Wright's incendiary sermons that nearly derailed Obama's presidential campaign.
I won't go as far as Limbaugh and say that " . . . Obama tweets God and God answers back," no, I won't go that far at all. I will say that B. Hussein Obama has officially dropped one rung below television preacher. What happened to his White House Marxist Spiritualist Jim Wallace? Now we have this new guy, his e-mail preacher Joshua DuBois.
These named advisors, from Reverand Wright to Joshua DuBois are all self-identified Christians. Where is Obama's Islamic advisor Mazen Asbahi? Wait, he was the old one, thrown under the same bus as Jeramiah Wright. Who is the new one? Is Obama in touch with imam Feisal Abdul Rauf via BlackBerry?
Obama is much safer with his base letting people think that he is a Muslim than, say, a Christian who cannot stay in the same luxury hotel as his wife and daughter on his birtyday. Just think about it, if he is a non-prostelitizing Muslim who lets his wife dress nice while trying to destroy every beneficial alliance the US has (especially that pesky one with Israel), how could that possibly hurt him with San Francisco and Manhattan voters?
"The moon is shrinking according to a team analyzing new images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The images reveal previously unknown cliffs, called lobate scarbs. These are thrust faults that occur primarily in the lunar highlands that indicate the moon shrank globally in the geologically recent past and might still be shrinking today. Although they were first recognized in photographs taken near the moon's equator by the panoramic cameras flown on the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions, the fourteen previously unknown lobate scarbs revealed by the very high resolution images taken by the LRO camera indicate that the thrust faults are globally distributed and not clustered near the moon’s equator."
'Apple yesterday applied for patent to allow remotely disabling electronic devices when 'unauthorized usage' is detected. The patent application covers using the camera to take pictures of the unauthorized user and using GPS to determine location, and it involves ascertaining whether the phone has been hacked or jailbroken, using that as criteria for detecting 'suspicious behavior.' The patent would allow the carrier or any other 'authorized' party to disable or restrict the functionality of the device. Is this Apple's latest tool to thwart jailbreaking?'
Series tie-in: This war between users of gadgets and their creators continues with fewer and fewer avenues of legal recourse. People can disable targeted ads from their gogs, but seldom do after targeting gets better.
“Last year, Obama gave you goose bumps, but I don’t think you’re going to see that this year,’’ said Alex McCluskey, co-owner of the Locker Room, who sold more than 4,000 “I vacationed with Obama’’ T-shirts last year. But so far this year, he said, his hot item is T-shirts of former President Bush asking, “Miss me yet?’’
"A tweet from the guv today: 'Pelosi's investigation of Harry Reid&Howard Dean&others who oppose Ground Zero Mosque will be enlightening,we're sure.(Note to AP: GZM term)' Keep the roaches on the run, governor!"
"Free Cities is a new private-sector development paradigm that would allow the United States to offer millions of people in developing countries the same freedom and non-corrupt prosperity that Hong Kong enjoys — without the baggage of colonialism.
Hong Kong was always different from other colonies. It began as a minor trading post, surrounded by empty territory. Over time, more and more people moved there, attracted by opportunity and freedom — just as they were drawn to the United States. In 1984 Hong Kong became a free city under a 50-year agreement between Britain and China. The Chinese government let Hong Kong retain its self-government, all its existing laws, and its free-market economy. Post-colonial Hong Kong has been a spectacular success, energizing and accelerating the transformation of Communist China itself.
China calls this remarkable arrangement “One Country, Two Systems.” It provides a model the U.S. can use to seed new outposts of freedom and prosperity around the world."
This is excellent! Go to the link and read the rest. Series tie-in? Sounds a whole lot like the way John writes Northern Virginia in the 2030's.
Series tie-in: America in the 2030's has fewer immigrants, but a much more open immigration policy. As the rest of the world moved toward free markets there was less incentive for people to leave their homeland to make a good living.
"LONDON (Aug. 18) -- Mankind has eaten countless animal species to extinction, from the lumbering dodos of Mauritius to the (unfortunately delicious) North American passenger pigeon. But we no longer have to feel guilty about wiping out the woolly mammoth. According to new research, natural climate change -- not our spear-wielding, meat-loving ancestors -- did the big beast in.
That's the finding of a research team from the universities of Durham and Bristol in England and Sweden's Lund University. They set out to discover why so many mega-fauna -- huge mammals like the mammoth, woolly rhino, giant deer and cave bear -- disappeared at the end of the last ice age some 11,000 years ago."
Climate change and extinction are not addressed directly in the Suki series. Suki's best friend, Patricia, believes in the 2030's version of man-made climate change.
Expect B. Hussein Obama to blitz Christian Churches of every stripe, most Sundays and maybe Wednesdays, from now until Novembeer 2012. - John Tagliaferro*
If you are not familiar with Reason's Morning Links, you haven't been reading Suki's posts much. I don't remember the last time I posted anything about them. However I do read them regularly.
After Reason's barrage of Ground Zero Mosque (stories that had little or nothing to do with libertarian issues), that seemed like months but was probably just a few days, my annoyance level has been elevated. Today's morning links diffused that a bit when I spotted one to have some fun with: New poll: One in five Americans believes Barack Obama is a secret Muslim. Unfortunately, Rush was talking about this for over an hour (he is talking about it again now) and I just got to it after hearing his take. I did hear about the poll long before Rush's show came on the air.
What would be the libertarian take on this bit of electorate confusion? I know the Libertarian issue: Barry Hussein Obama is not Bob Barr, the small L issues are many.
First, something Rush observed that dovetails with mine: It really does not matter what Obama's religion is. Unless you are a member of a religious party in the US, it really should not make any difference if he is in a Christian sect, a Muslim sect, Jewish or none of the above. It probably matters greatly to Cosmotarians, in some shallow and meaningless way, but to those of us who value freedom of choice, his personal choices matter not one bit to us.
Rush played some MSNBC audio from a Pew Research Center representative who was being interviewed about the survey. I am going to start with the Washington Post article that Radley Balko linked to. Remember his title? One in five Americans believes Barack Obama is a secret Muslim. In the first paragraph, the Post informs us that this is an increase since B. Hussein Obama entered the presidency. Now that is the makings of a headline! Obama has had more air time in a few months than any other president since television was created. No telling how many internet eyeballs he gets. He is mentioned on this blog regularly too. We report, you do what you want.
So, on the social issue, fit for Entertainment Tonight or the 700 Club (is that still on?) more and more people believe Obama is a Muslim. Soon after the Post informs us that this is a trend, they mention that it could be a political problem! "Rising trend in Obama's Supporters Percieving Him as a Muslim could be a Reelection Problem" might sound a little better and more accurate, but the Post article does not mention Democrats and runs off into 'mean media' conspiracy theory for an answer. For some reason, they mention only Republicans and Independants:
More than a third of conservative Republicans now say Obama is a Muslim, nearly double the percentage saying so early last year. Independents, too, are now more apt to see the president as a Muslim: Among independents, 18 percent say he is a Muslim, up eight percentage points.
Note the interesting phrasing. For Republicans, the percentage doubled in a year. For Independents it went up eight percentage points to 18%. Pretty much double there too. What of the Democrats?
First, I had to dig up the Pew results, since neither the Post nor Reason bothered to link there. From their headline and first paragraph, it is a bit of a stretch to say "one in five" since they cite 12%:
A July Pew Research survey found 12% of Americans continue to say Barack Obama is Muslim, virtually unchanged from 10% in March. This misperception is not limited to voters who oppose Obama. Identical percentages of Republicans and Democrats (12% each) think he is Muslim, and 37% of those who think he's Muslim intend to vote him. A quarter doesn't know, but significantly those who have heard different things back McCain (48% to 33%) while those who just don't know back Obama (48% to 33%).
Ah, Democrat perceptions are identical to Republican and rising at the same rate. I like my headline better :)
What could possibly explain all this? Rush pointed out, he does not attend services like other presidents have. I will add that Bill Clinton only went Church crazy when he was well on his way to his impeachment hearings. Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Bush did not need any prompting to attend and made no secret about attending. Maybe something in Obama's actions is giving people these impressions?
George Stephanopoulos tried to help him out, but a copy of the interview floating around does not help:
Looks like about 1:20 into this clip.
How about other factors? Like running to the rescue of the "Allahu akbar" shouting MAJ Hasan, to the point that command influence may be a major defense strategy. Maybe it is how he jumped into the Cordoba/Project 51 Mosque/recreation center issue? Maybe it was when he gave NASA a new mission, to stop exploring space and help Muslims with math and science? How about all that bowing? Skipping the National Day of Prayer? Phoning in his address to the Boy Scouts? Sending the Ground Zero imam on a vacation at tax-payer expense? The only thing the Post can blame on talk radio is the tendancy for them not to ignore these things like the Post and MSNBC tend to do.
*I have heard similar from others already today.
"Free Cities is a new private-sector development paradigm that would allow the United States to offer millions of people in developing countries the same freedom and non-corrupt prosperity that Hong Kong enjoys — without the baggage of colonialism.
