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Tuesday, December 31, 2002
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It looks like another warm year.
Of course this doesn't mean that it will be warmer where you are, but it does suggest that global problems will be on the rise and that things like storms will be more intense.
11:58:16 AM 
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Perhaps it is time to bring back the draft. If, as the administration argues, the current threats are deep it makes sense to have representation in the military from all class rather than the poor.
Vietnam was a regional conflict that didn't impact the security of the US and the concept of the draft - or a war for that matter - was absurd. WWII was different and even people from rich families like John and Joe Kennedy and George Bush Sr. saw action along with colleges like Bob Dole who came from less influential families.
If Bush Jr is serious it is time to bring back the draft -- and with no exemptions except certifiable CO and 4F...
I'm sure the middle and upper classes will rush to support this as they support their president.
On the other hand there is a newer tradition to be too rich to be patriotic ... witness the number of people in Bush Jr's administration and other close supporters who successfully avoided real service -- including Cheney and W himself.
10:36:18 AM
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Dave points out a link to mp3s of the four CD set of numbers station recordings known to security types and shortwave listeners as the Conet Project.
A number station transmits voices (usually synthesized) reading phonetic characters. To my knowledge no one has claimed responsibility but it is assumed that organizations like the CIA, MI6, etc are responsible. A good deal of speculation associated with this, and it is one of the weirdest corners of the shortwave hobby.
Dave recommends putting these on an iPod for texture, but there is something of a thrill hearing live performances and wondering that is going on...
Some of the strangest stuff you will encounter.
4:31:21 AM
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It seems unusual weather isn't all that unusual.
The big question is what triggers events like these and is human interference near a threshold. There is nearly unanimous agreement in the scientific world that human activities aggravate global warming, but it would be most unfortunate to see something destructive ramp up quickly.
4:30:12 AM
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It turns out there might be a cheap and novel way to keep power lines free of ice in the Winter.
This is from the same Dartmouth professor who invented ski brakes.
4:28:19 AM
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The Pew Internet Project continues to publish interesting reports. It seems that most Americans now view the Internet as a primary information tool. It is interesting to note that most people doubt online personal information, but tend to trust other areas.
So are the killer apps email, IM and google?
4:27:55 AM
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Speaking of Google (have you noticed how google is now used as a verb?), there are many topic specific searches.. Among them:
Macintosh
BSD Unix
Linux
US Government .mil and .gov sites.
Universities
Froogle and catalogs have been mentioned in the past. I'm afraid Froogle doesn't cut it for me, but the catalog search is useful.
4:27:27 AM
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For the hardest of the hardcore Tolkein fans.
When I was in high school a Sara, a classmate, was completely taken with Tolkein and wrote to him on a regular basis. I remember her showing some translucent aerograms completely covered with handwritten Elvish. She said it took her a few days to read his letters and about a month to put together her Elvish reply.
Sara was very cool and none of us realized it at the time.
4:26:52 AM
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