In an effort to spend more time focusing on what I enjoy, and less time writing about it, I'm no longer blogging or Tweeting. I now have a static website up at www.fluidscape.com, which I'll be updating on a highly infrequent basis (basically whenever I complete a project, or release new software).

It's been a long while since I participated here - mostly due to my developing a profound cynicism w.r.t. all things political, & deciding to spend my time in other areas, mostly offline - but I see most of the old regulars are still here & active (& that the AGW thread is still on the front page ... damn that's long-lived).

Have fun guys & gals ...

From this article:

...

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) found out in September that the US Trade Representative's office had actually been secretly canvassing opinions on the Internet section of the agreement from 42 people, all of whom had signed a nondisclosure agreement before being shown the ACTA draft text.

After filing a Freedom of Information Act request (the names of the 42 people were considered a matter of "national security" and were not released voluntarily), KEI yesterday revealed the list of people who have had access to the ACTA Internet provisions. Here are the first 32 names, all of them people outside of USTR:

...

"We were told that everyone who needed to see the documents has seen them," he writes. "Outside of Public Knowledge and CDT, everyone who received the documents was representing a large corporate entity."

...

What the hell is going on here? The US Government is negotiating a treaty with implications for everyone involved in I.T., and you have to sign an NDA to view it? And only a (very) select few are even given the opportunity.

I'm afraid I'm left feeling remarkably cynical towards ACTA; I fear it will be another poorly written loophole-ridden law like the DMCA (which was really intended to prevent criticism of photoshopping, don't you know).

Rant over.

Given the recent situation where Robert Campbell is having difficulty verifying that an email originated with Peikoff, I thought I'd write a tech blog post explaining the fundamentals of digital signing.

The Need for Digital Signing

Nowadays, the content you post on the Internet is a determinant of your reputation.

Most people are sufficiently net-savvy to realise that what they post under their own names online is easily searchable - a quick Google search for either me or Armin will show (amongst a bunch of results for different Duncans and Armins) what we've written about technology, politics, philosophy and religion back to the mid 90s - back when Usenet was a Big Thing and Windows 95 had just been released.

Given how important digital content is, it becomes important that people are able to know that something purporting to be written by you was really written by you, and that it if it was, that it hasn't been tampered by anyone since you wrote it.

This post is a classic example; someone is purporting to have forwarded an email from a public figure (Leonard Peikoff), but those receiving it can't be sure that it's genuine and unaltered. All they can do is ask him, and trust that he's telling the truth.

The solution to this problem is to digitally sign your posts and emails.

The full post is here. Please feel free to post comments, suggestions or requests for assistance in the comments (either at Fluidscape, or here).

Researchers have found an inverse correlation between lithium levels and suicide rates, according to this article. From the linked BBC article:

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Allan Young of Vancouver's Institute for Mental Health said "this intriguing data should provoke further research.

"Large-scale trials involving the addition of lithium to drinking water supplies may then be feasible, although this would undoubtedly be subject to considerable debate. Following up on these findings will not be straightforward or inexpensive, but the eventual benefits for community mental health may be considerable."

So. How long do you give it before your Government is mandating mood-altering chemicals be added to public water supplies, "for the common good"? You just know that someone will claim that having the population doped out would reduce the frequency of road rage, school shootings, gang violence ...

According to this story ...

... it controls the world with its tangy citrus goodness and Zionist plots

Sent this to the local newspaper. They've printed my letters before so I have hopes for this one, strongly-written though it is ...

From this article:

Sent the following to NAB after hearing they offer Shariah-compatible products:

To whom it may concern,

The following is a transcript of a conversation on Elijah's blog; he has removed most of my comments, including two I made before asking him whether he was deleting them (I assumed the first was deleted accidentally, or due to a bug in the blogging software). 

I will be updating this post as the conversation continues so that nothing is lost for posterity.

I find that time and time again, certain topics come up in conversation.  So I thought I'd address them in a Q&A style and post them on my blog.  It's much easier to direct someone to some reading on an issue than to repeat myself time and time again.  I'll update this page as I come across new questions, and new answers.

According to the Crimes Act 1961:

I admit that I was wrong & unfair about the Libz - having gone back and reread your latest press releases, it is clear that the party has definitely taken a new & fresh direction over the past year.

After a two-month break, I am flying again. I went up on Thursday morning with the Chief Flying Instructor for some remedial landing lessons, to ensure I don't bend another club aircraft.

This is utterly disgusting. Telecommunications companies assisted the Federal Government by providing assistance with illegal wiretaps - and so the Senate scratches their back by protecting them against lawsuits:

Everyone - and I mean everyone - should read To Our Great Detriment: Ignoring What Extremists Say About Jihad by Stephen Coughlin.

I'm nearing the end of my third week with Team Ruthless.

Now, I wonder why the statist in charge of UNITYblog would choose this particular ad-hominem to smear Rand (my emphasis)?

Yes, followers of the famous amphetamine addict Ayn Rand are opposed to theft.

"The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth" - Bill Clinton

"That depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is" - Bill Clinton!?!?!

I'm sure there must be some more quotes that work this well when juxtaposed ... anyone care to contribute some more?

When I saw this website, I just couldn't help myself ...

So, I'm now doing a workout programme from Team Ruthless; specifically RCAT (Ruthless Combatives Attribute Training).

Hi Sherene,

Thanks for responding in detail to my original email.

> I would be more than happy to invite you to attend one of my upcoming talks. I have one scheduled

So I was riding back to work from lunch on the Bollwell scooter I'm getting about on while my motorcycle is in the workshop. I turned left onto the motorway and crunch - the bike swerved and weaved as though I'd hit something.

My wife Ande will soon be starting the low-level flight part of her commercial helicopter license. She sent me this YouTube clip of someone demoing (advanced) low-level flight in a Schweizer 300CBi.

I have been having a very bad time with vehicles of late.

Clear, unequivocal and direct. It seems that supporters of Western values have a friend in the ICV.

So I learned another important point about flying today. I flared too early (and too slowly) in a strong headwing (variable between 20 to 30kts), and landed hard on the mainwheels (not hard hard, just too-firmly). The nose then came down, and bounced up, again nothing worse than I've done in the past.

"The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs." - Ron Paul

Dear Dr. Paul,

I originally sent this email to some friends & acquaintances, but thought I'd post it here as a blog entry, as it nicely explains my current position on the matter ...

Hi All,