Origami-Inspired Disaster Shelters

The Origami-Inspired Folding Bamboo House

They look a lot better than tents, that's for sure.

New Battlestar Galactica Title Sequence

Now someone needs to make one about Obama/Biden. After all, they are simply party clones as well, even if they don't think so. "Many are programmed to believe they are human."

Nuclear Terrorism as Theater

The article below consists of a Q/A session with an Terrorism expert from the Rand Corporation. In case you don't know, Rand does an excellent job of tracking and cataloging threats, terror organizations, and outcomes worldwide.

Expert says nuclear terrorism is not a major threat (10/20/08) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

A couple of key points to take away from this article.

"We talk about the next catastrophic attack not as a matter of "if" but "when," implying that it's unavoidable"

"Instead of spreading fear, our leaders should speak to the American traditions of courage, self-reliance, and resiliency. Heaven forbid that an act of nuclear terrorism ever actually occurs, but if it does, we'll get through it."

Read the article, draw your own conclusions. Many folks don't necessarily agree, but remember this: One goal of terrorism is to create fear and insecurity. Even the *thought* of a terrorist organization with a nuke achieves this goal.

Terrorist Fear Mongering Seems to be Working Less Well

Bruce Schneier weighs in on how perhaps fear mongering as a secuirty tactic may be on the decline. One can only hope.

Schneier on Security: Terrorist Fear Mongering Seems to be Working Less Well, Part II

Palin Rap from SNL

Wave Power Generators Go Online

Wave Power Generators Go Online

Interesting article about wave power generation. There is still progress to be made, but this is an encouraging step in the right direction.

A More Civilized Rap Battle

Taliban and al Qaeda Split?

I don't have time for an in depth analysis, but this could be very interesting news.

Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace - CNN.com

First of all, I think it's interesting on two points. First, this is a shift in Saudi policy regarding Afghanistan. For the past 25-30 years, the Saudi government and Royal family has always dealt with Afghanistan through intermediaries, usually Pakistan. For these talks, they are going directly to the parties involved.

Second, we must remember that al Qaeda's relationship with the Taliban has always been one of convenience for al Qaeda. It would appear that the Taliban have begun to question the value of that relationship.

Or, it's all business as usual, with double talk and misdirection. Very possible.

Removing the PC Cruft

There are always programs and settings on a PC that you don't need or don't want. Many of them were installed without you knowing about it, either by malware or the PC Manufacturer. All of them cost you time and performance.

I always recommend to people that they thouroughly clean thier new PC's of all this crapware, but it can be a confusing and time consuming process. "Is this something I need? What about this?"

I just found and easier way, and it looks to work very well. Head over to PC Decrapifier and get their freeware program. It doesn't require an install, and cleans off all the assorted programs that you don't need. And for the geeks, it can be run from a thumb drive, so you can take it with you without hassle.

And I love the name.