From the Round-File

Another listing of interesting items in the news...

Science project prompts SD school evacuation
WOW, talk about over-reactions. After they interviewed the student, it should have been over. This school is, after all, "The school ... emphasizes technology skills"...
Then we read, "Both the student and his parents were 'very cooperative'", and "the device was determined to be harmless", and "the project was intended to be a type of motion-detector device"... so why do they "recommend... that he and his parents get counseling"? If this was a science project, in a school that emphasizes technology skills, and the student had "no criminal intent", but had "violated school policies", what good would counseling do for this student?
What a bunch or morons! If you ask me, the Vice Principal should be fired for wasting city resources.

This next bit is not about the content of the story, but about a comment by the SlashDot "editor" who includes the comment, "It's funny that the APS wants to charge non-subscribers $25 to download what is available for free on the arXiv."
Note the difference in the links provided by SlashDot...
The Weird Science of Tossing Stones Into a Lake

FBI Violated Electronic Communications Privacy Act
It figures... you give them an inch, they will take the whole mile.
FBI Obtains Phone Records With a Post-it Note
Now that is truly a classic...

The Fourth Amendment and the Cloud
The easier way to deal with this question is to look at it in the "bigger sense"...
I live in the United States (the Cloud), yet, I occupy my own little space which I like to call my house and yard, (my data in the cloud)... within my house and yard, I am protected by the 4th amendment, the same should apply to the cloud and my data. The 4th also applies to my and my car, while I am traveling (uploading or downloading data)...
So why is there such a big question about if we are protected by the 4th amendment, when it appears so very obvious?

Reid: 'I am at war with your country'
If you ask me, this Reid guy is insane. He tried to kill himself, and a bunch of other people, to make a point... wouldn't it be more effective to LIVE and make a point? One that you can make over and over and over, getting more people's attention and building a "movement"?
According to my psychologist, only crazy people want to kill themselves.

Changes Causing Backup At The DMV
I remember blogging about how Utah, among other states, decided to not participate in the whole Real ID act?
So why are we making trouble in our state, especially at the DMV (which is already PITIFULLY SLOW)? I guess politicians have to tick us off at every turn this year...

Demand for charter schools surges
And we wonder why?
My son attended a Charter School, called Davinci Academy, in Ogden, Ut. They focus on Art and Science, which exercise both sides of the brain.
They have classes of only 20-25 students and ALL classes are "practical application" type classes... they learn by DOING (gee, what a novel concept).
I have blogged before about indoctrination vs. education, and I guess people are tired of having their "Eagles" come off the assembly line as Pigeons.

ANd here I though that my exercise was going to help save my life... Dang I hate it when we are told things that just aren't true...
Sitting Down Too Long Is Bad Even If You Exercise