One learns fascinating thing on the Internet; things, perhaps, that one wouldn’t want to. While the art of perfumery isn’t exactly the worst of them, and I deny that I’m affronted by its intricacies, I do wonder if I really wanted to know its, uh, animalistic side.

“It is a classic French way to make perfume,” he says, referring to animalic scents, the basest base notes. Civet oil, which is drawn from the anal gland of the civet cat, and which is said to smell a bit like blood. Castoreum, the animalic note in Cruel Intentions by Kilian, which comes from a gland in the guts of a beaver. Perfume critic Chandler Burr has said that it smells of “leather, urine, smokey tar and of anus.

Via Untoward.

Näin eilen Keskustassa vaateliikeen, jonka jokaisessa ikkunassa luki “turkisviikot” isoin tikkukirjaimin. On varmasti ainoastaan onnistuneen propagandan ansiota, että täysin vailla mitään erityistä tunnekuohuntaa mietin miltäköhän näyttäisi, jos ikkunoissa lukisi “murhaviikot”.

M&M: Raisio uskoi rasisteja. Älytöntä. Miinukset Raisiolle.

How to Digitize a Million Books:

“Ultimately, Clancy says, Google would like Book Search to give the same result as someone going to a library, looking in its stacks, and serendipitously finding a book that’s interesting or useful. One way to do this would be to link books to each other by categories and themes, he suggests. The task becomes more complicated, though, when linking works by Virginia Woolf, for instance, to criticisms of her work, works that inspired her, or authors who wrote during the same era. Designing algorithms that can effectively organize all of this new information, Clancy says, is ‘one of the grand challenges and will take many years.’”

“Reddy says CMU researchers are trying to tackle this challenge by using a ‘statistical approach’ to organizing the information. In this approach, Virginia Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness sentences, for example, would be analyzed by an algorithm that would find patterns based on sentence length, structure, and punctuation. This technique might find a work by James Joyce, one of Woolf’s influences — or that of an obscure author whose writings might otherwise never have been found.”

Olen seurannut Jaakko Kuivalaisen Tekij�noikeus-raportointia suurella mielenkiinnolla. Teksti on sujuvaa, ja k�sittelee lain kehittymist� ja mahdollisia vaikutuksia ymm�rrett�v�sti ja yksityiskohtaisesti.

Huvittavin (ja kenties h�lyytt�vin) sivujuonne l�ytyy merkinn�st�, jossa viitataan Mediaviikon p��kirjoitukseen Lex Karpelasta. Kuivalainen ehtii p�ivitt�� merkint��ns� sen verran toteakseen, ett� p��kirjoitus on her�tt�nyt paljon negatiivista palautetta, mutta sittemmin juttu on h�vinnyt kokonaisuudessaan Mediaviikon saitilta!

Tosiasia on kuitenkin se, ett� lain ep�kohdat kiinnostavat vain pient� erikoisryhm��. Se, ett� Lex Karpela ei ole mediassa ja suuren kansan riveiss� her�tt�nyt suuremmin vastustusta, ei sin�ns� ihmetyt�. Mik� kyll�kin kummastuttaa, on se, ett� ep�kohdat vaikuttavat niin r�ikeilt�. T�m� merkint� purkaa hyvin kotiin murtautumisen metaforan ongelmia.

Kopiosuojauksen murtaminen ei ole ainoa ongelmakohta, jossa oikean maailman lakeja sovelletaan tietoverkkoihin. Yksi klassinen esimerkki on tapaus, jossa teksasilainen it-ammattilainen ilmoitti er��lle yliopistolle havaitsemastaan tietoturva-aukosta yliopiston verkossa. Mies pid�tettiin ja tuomittiin murtoyrityksest� — vaikkei ollut yritt�nyt itse hy�dynt�� aukkoa mill��n lailla.

Jos k�visi kokeilemassa pankin ikkunoita, ja huomaisi, ett� yksi on j��nyt lukitsematta, ei kannata kertoa siit� kellek��n. Ikkunoiden kokeilua pidett�isiin murtoyrityksen�: eih�n kukaan lainkuuliainen kansalainen pankin ikkunoita muuten kokeilisi.

“There is a natural trend to reach an ‘equilibrium’ between the agent and the host interests, in order to guarantee concomitant survival for a longer time,” Dr Marco Vitoria said.

What is the box jellyfish, A.K.A. Tripedalia cystophora. And it’s helping solve Darwin’s “how can a complex organ like the eye be explained by evolution” question.

Bruce Schneier’s Individual-i is a symbol for personal liberty.

World Jump Day is a grand attempt to shift the world into a new orbit and stop global warming, extend daytime hours and create a more homogenous climate.

World Jump Day is on July 20, 2006. The time to jump in Helsinki is at 9:39:13, so find a hard surface, and synchronize your clock.

Tutkiessani josko kurssikirjaa olisi joskus saatavilla, t�rm�sin j�lleen r�ike��n esimerkkiin kirjastopalvelujen k�ytt�jien eriarvoisuudesta. Huomaa It�keskuksen kirjan er�p�iv�! Taitaa olla jonkun kunnallisvaltuutetun l�hipiiriss�, tuo lainaaja.

Kuusi nuorta on pid�tetty ep�iltyn� satojen, jopa tuhansien tarrojen sek� keraamisten laattojen liimaamisesta, kertoo t�m�n p�iv�n Helsingin Sanomat. Poliisi otti ep�illyt kiinni maanantaina. Read more

Fantastic photos of Zell Miller and Dick Cheney. Does Miller remind you of anyone? Where are the blue lightning bolts shooting out of his fingers?

Supo haluaa suojelupoliisi.fi-domainin itselleen. First come, first serve -periaatteella se ei tosin heille kuulu. Kiinnostaisikohan verkkotunnus yht� paljon jos osoitteesta l�ytyv�ll� sivustolla ei olisi Supolle kriittisi� linkkej�?

Ylioppilaslehden vuonna 1999 julkaistusta Supon lyhyt historia: Kommunistien tarkkailusta kettutytt�ihin:

Poliisin ylily�nneist� h�n kertoo esimerkkin� pian Orimattilan turkistarhaiskujen j�lkeen tehdyn uutisen, joka kertoi kuinka poliisi oli ratsannut el�inaktivistien pes�n, asunnon, jossa oli muun muassa r�j�hteit� ja lentolehti�.

"My�hemmin julkisuuteen tulleiden tietojen mukaan kyseess� oli toista kuukautta vanha juttu, joka oli selvitetty. Mit��n yhteytt� turkistarhaiskuihin ei oltu todettu. 'R�j�hteit�' oli ollut joku yksitt�inen luoti ja lentolehtisi� miehen itsens� saamat lentolehtiset. Poliisi vuoti ilmeisesti sen Orimattilan iskujen j�lkeen rikostoimittajille. Poliisin piti tarhaiskujen j�lkeen n�ytt�� nopeasti saavansa jotain aikaan", Rantanen kertoo. Ratsatun asunnon alkuper�inen vuokralainen oli Luonto-Liittoon kuuluva nuori, joka oli lainannut tutulle asuntonsa.

Research shows that money may make you happier, but it won’t help your sex life. Sex, however, will make you feel like money in the bank.

Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 911, by Dave Kopel.

And from New Yorker’s profile on Michael Moore:

The trouble was that the workers who had become middle class began thinking middle class. “People started to believe that the factory would always be there, that the health benefits would always be there, the four weeks’ paid vacation,” Moore says. “So when the company started taking them away people were, like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ Well, when was the last union meeting you went to? ‘Never been to a union meeting.’ Do you vote in every election? ‘I try to.’ Everybody got their two cars, their house in the suburbs, their snowmobile, their cabin up north, and decided to check out from job No. 1, which is being a citizen of the United States of America.”

Despite being a favorite of libertarians, I rather like this George Bernard Shaw quote:

“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.”

Siemens won’t be moving production to Hungary after more than 4000 workers agreed to work five more hours a week without additional pay. Hooray for capitalism!

When real life looks like an ad. The caption reads: “Family members of a kidnapped and murdered girl take pictures of the dead bodies of the three men convicted and hung for the crime in Saudi Arabia.”

From The Nation’s article The Junk Science of George W. Bush.

“Science, like theology, reveals transcendent truths about a changing world. At their best, scientists are moral individuals whose business is to seek the truth. Over the past two decades industry and conservative think tanks have invested millions of dollars to corrupt science. They distort the truth about tobacco, pesticides, ozone depletion, dioxin, acid rain and global warming. In their attempt to undermine the credible basis for public action (by positing that all opinions are politically driven and therefore any one is as true as any other), they also undermine belief in the integrity of the scientific process.

“Now Congress and this White House have used federal power for the same purpose. Led by the President, the Republicans have gutted scientific research budgets and politicized science within the federal agencies. The very leaders who so often condemn the trend toward moral relativism are fostering and encouraging the trend toward scientific relativism. The very ideologues who derided Bill Clinton as a liar have now institutionalized dishonesty and made it the reigning culture of America's federal agencies.”

On joitakin asioita, joita en harkitsematta mainitse uusille tuttavuuksille. Ei sen takia, ett� h�pe�isin niit�, vaan sen takia, ett� ne johtavat liian usein vakiokeskusteluun, jossa sanotaan aina samoja asioita. Read more