This is no ordinary counterfeit import issue – I found a nice article describing the shipments – the CPU was a piece of lead, with a sticker of a fan attached to a “heatsink” piece of molded plastic. And, of course, the usual translation issues.

Check out the article at PCMag’s Gearlog for pictures of this early April Fool’s joke.

I have long been an opponent of the 17th Amendment. Ratified in 1913, this gave the American people direct popular election of Senators. Prior to this, Senators were selected by the states (some states held popular elections), as the Senate was designed to represent the state governments, while the House of Representatives would be democratically-elected representatives of the people. This is stated in the Federalist Papers and apparent when you compare the powers of the Senate to the views of the Founding Fathers (e.g. ratification of treaties, ratification of future constitutional amendments) . Since the 17th’s ratification in 1913, we have had extensive growth in government, often against the will (or budget) of the state governments (more recently REAL ID, No Child Left Behind, etc.) and a repeal would once again make the Senate subservient to the state governments while keeping the House subservient to the people.

It is written by “Epaminondas” of An Anti-Federalist’s Blog, and has two parts:

Part 1
Part 2

The article is long, but a recommended read.

Since 1977, RSA public-key encryption has protected privacy and verified authenticity when using computers, gadgets and web browsers around the globe, with only the most brutish of brute force efforts (and 1,500 years of processing time) felling its 768-bit variety earlier this year. Now, [three people] at the University of Michigan claim they can break it simply by tweaking a device’s power supply.

By fluctuating the voltage to the CPU such that it generated a single hardware error per clock cycle, they found that they could cause the server to flip single bits of the private key at a time, allowing them to slowly piece together the password. [They] were able to successfully hack 1024-bit encryption in OpenSSL on a SPARC-based system, without damaging the computer, leaving a single trace or ending human life as we know it.

Well, it was bound to happen someday…

Any person in this state, who shall carry or cause to be carried, or publicly display any red flag or other emblem or banner, indicating disloyalty to the Government of the United States or a belief in anarchy or other political doctrines or beliefs, whose objects are either the disruption or destruction of organized government, or the defiance of the laws of the United States or of the State of Oklahoma, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the Penitentiary of the State of Oklahoma for a term not exceeding ten (10) years, or by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by both such imprisonment and fine.

They say I got brains, but they ain’t doing me no good,
I wish they could
Each time things start to happen again I think
I got something good goin’ for myself
But what goes wrong?
Sometimes I feel very sad
Sometimes I feel very sad
Can’t find nothin’ I can put my heart and soul into
Sometimes I feel very sad
Can’t find nothin’ I can put my heart and soul into
I guess I just wasn’t made for these times

Every time I get the inspiration to go change things around,
No one wants to help me look for places where new things might be found,
Where can I turn when my fair weather friends cop out?
What’s it all about?
Each time things start to happen again
I think I got something good goin’ for myself
But what goes wrong?
Sometimes I feel very sad
Sometimes I feel very sad
Can’t find nothin’ I can put my heart and soul into
Sometimes I feel very sad
Can’t find nothin’ I can put my heart and soul into
I guess I just wasn’t made for these times
(I guess I just wasn’t made for these times)
I guess I just wasn’t made for these times
(I guess I just wasn’t made for these times)
I guess I just wasn’t made for these times
(I guess I just wasn’t made for these times)

Sited upon small volcanic cone in the high desert midway between Las Vegas & Los Angeles, this 60-acre retreat seems to cap the mountain top with its dome-like roof: Concrete and truss beams form its dome allowing the interior to embrace 360 degrees of stark, strong almost lunar landscape. Main house of two bedrooms, 2 baths and open entertaining areas. Guest house of one bedroom and bath, lake, and ultimate privacy. Truly one of a kind property in the most impressive of settings.

Cost: ……Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars!!!!!

Embedding is disabled for this video, click to watch on YouTube:
The Gathering – Strange Machines

“So would you run if I told you I love you,
would you run if I asked you to stay?
“Would you cry if I said that I missed you?
Sorry is all I can say…”