6-Year-OId girl on US terrorist watch list

The father of a 6-year-old Ohio girl who turned up on the U.S. government's terror watch list says the worst thing his daughter has ever done is probably been mean to her sister.

But Santhosh Thomas, a doctor from Westlake, Ohio, says he's sure that's not enough to land his 6-year-old Alyssa on the no-fly list of suspected terrorists. "She may have threatened her sister, but I don't think that constitutes Homeland Security triggers," he told CNN.

An airline ticket agent informed the family of their predicament when they embarked on recent trip from Cleveland to Minneapolis. "They said, 'Well, she's on the list.' We're like, okay, what's the story? What do we have to do to get off the list? This isn't exactly the list we want to be on," Thomas said.

The Thomases were allowed to fly that day, but authorities told them to contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to clear up the matter. Now they've received a letter from the government addressed to 6-year-old Alyssa, telling her that nothing in her file will be changed.

Federal authorities have acknowledged that such a no-fly list exists, but as a matter of national security, they won't comment on whose names are on it nor why. "The watch lists are an important layer of security to prevent individuals with known or suspected ties to terrorism from flying," an unnamed spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration told Fox News.

"She's been flying since she was two-months old, so that has not been an issue," Alyssa's dad said. "In fact, we had traveled to Mexico in February and there were no issues at that time."

That's likely because of a recent change by the Transportation Security Administration, which used to check only international passengers' names against the no-fly list, but since earlier this month has been checking domestic passengers as well.

The Thomases told CNN they plan on appealing Alyssa's status to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security again, and will be sure to leave plenty of extra time for check-in the next time they fly.

(Via AOL news.)

OddJack DysonComment
Aussies shoot each other to see if it hurts...

HORSHAM, Australia, June 23 (UPI) -- Police in Australia said two men dubbed "dumb and dumber" by investigators shot each other with an air rifle to see whether it would hurt. Horsham police said the two 34-year-old men decided to have a "bit of fun" after drinking beer Sunday and decided to shoot each other with the air rifle to see whether the shots "would penetrate their skin or it would hurt," The Australian reported Wednesday.

Police said the two men shot each other at about 5:30 p.m. and apparently believed they had escaped injury until two days later when they were hospitalized with pain and had pellets surgically removed from their legs and buttocks.

Investigators said they revoked a firearms license held by one of the men and took away his guns. They said the investigation is ongoing.

(via)

sillyJack DysonAustralia, guns, social experiments gone wrong, stupid peopleComment
Repetitive, bored or urgent - which one are you?

When designing applications, Google breaks down users into three different categories: repetitive now, bored now and urgent now.

The "repetitive now" user is someone checking for the same piece of information over and over again, like checking the same stock quotes or weather. Google uses cookies to help cater to mobile users who check and recheck the same data points.

The "bored now" are users who have time on their hands. People on trains or waiting in airports or sitting in cafes. Mobile users in this behavior group look a lot more like casual Web surfers, but mobile phones don't offer the robust user input of a desktop, so the applications have to be tailored.

The "urgent now" is a request to find something specific fast, like the location of a bakery or directions to the airport. Since a lot of these questions are location-aware, Google tries to build location into the mobile versions of these queries.

The same is true of writing (especially for web). The best applications, and indeed the best magazines/papers/blogs/whatever all have something in them that appeals to all three types.

writingJack Dysonapplications, design, google, usersComment
So fresh so clean

“For the first time there is a product that prevents wetness and the uncomfortable feelings of being sweaty, sticky, and chafing in the groin area, which all men suffer from. Fresh Balls is a natural product and is formulated to keep your private area fresh and dry, and solves the perspiration problem. Our product is Aluminum Free, Paraben Free, and Talc Free, and contains Oatmeal as an anti-irritant and Tea Tree Oil as an anti-bacterial. Fresh Balls is an easy to apply lotion that dries quickly, so it won’t clump on your skin or leave a powdery residue in your pants. It can be used as often as needed and is recommended to use as part of your daily grooming routine.”

sillyJack Dysonfresh balls, male groomingComment
Rob Green / England v. USA jokes...

...don't say I never do you any favours. What's the difference between Rob Green and Justin Bieber? Rob Green knows how to drop his balls.

Steven Gerrard says, "The whole team is behind Rob Green." In retrospect, that's a good place to stand.

That was great. So when't the 3rd quarter?

England v USA - Kick off 19:30. USA will turn up at 19:41 and then claim victory

My PC has the Rob Green virus...I can't save anything!

England Goalkeeper rob green walked into the dressing room at full time, totally dejected, he threw his head into his hands.....and missed....

All these rob green jokes are getting out of hand, they're crossing the line

What's the difference between rob green's spill and BPs spill? robert green has got a cap for his.

Have you seen the new "rob green condoms?" They're extra slippery and you're guaranteed not to catch anything!

The name's Green. Robert Green. License to spill.

It would seem that rob green has got slippery fingers. Do you think he's been visiting Wayne Bridge's girlfriend too?

Don't shave for England! Do you think rob green misheard that!

What's the difference between rob green and Cinderella? Cinderella got to the ball!!

The England camp are saying that the new world cup ball was to blame for rob green's howler. If the hand of God wasn't bad enough now we have to pit our wits against a magical orb

sillyJack Dysonfootball, jokes Comment
Tokyo spam sandwich (with pork beans)

People have funny little routines when they get home from work. Some people turn on the telly and tune out until bed time. One very good friend of mine likes nothing better than to just sit on the sofa with all the lights off. Another turns on his Xbox 360 and rains merry hell onto the heads of digital terrorists from his virtual gunship. I don't have a telly (I do, but it's only for films and stuff), so I quite like to cook. It's very relaxing - meditative if you like. And you know what? I'm not alone. The video below comes from jetdaisuke, in Tokyo. Turns out we share a great deal in our cooking techniques (and, I think, general attitude to life). I need to know where he got his panda-thing from. And I love the way he says "sliced cheese". Rocking. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H2bRd91sZw]

Odd, silly, VideoJack Dysonjetdaisuke, tokyo cookingComment
First lines of novels...

...harder than you might think. These aren't all my favourites (some are other people's) but they're all good. Bit of  shock, a dash of reversal and you're hooked. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. 1984, George Orwell

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger

Mother died today. L'Etranger, Albert Camus

It was the day my grandmother exploded. The Crow Road, Iain Banks

All this happened, more or less. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C. S. Lewis

It was a pleasure to burn. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built, and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders, head forward, and a fixed from-under stare which made you think of a charging bull. Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. Scaramouche, Raphael Sabatini

---

In a similar vein, spoke with someone yesterday who was saying the trick to blockbusting book titles, at least according to Martin Amis and some of his buddies, is to pick someone else's bestseller and just change one word.

art, meJack Dysonbooks Comment
4chan and the case for online anonymity

You may not know 4chan. It's an online message board. Users don't so much push the boundaries of acceptability as do the web version of running around naked, waving porn mags and shouting racist jokes. That said, what it does is important in a number of ways. Anonymity is - for me at least - an important part of internet subculture. Here Christopher "moot" Poole explains his side of things. He explains some of the memes that have sprung from 4chan and also shows how the "Anonymous" community, for all its flaws, has actually effected change. Yes there's often a lot of vulgarity, but... so what? There's a good chunk of free speech about to go down the pan if this sort of site is threatened. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall (not Voltaire) said: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_1UEAGCo30] ps - when he talks about /b/, that's the name 4chan give to the random category, so basically that's where the boobs and willies (and worse) are. Point is, you don't *have* to go to /b/ to enjoy the site's benefits. There's a rather nice board that's all about recipes too. 4chan

VideoJack Dyson4chan, anonymity, censorship, Chris Poole, internet, mootComment
The grown-up film, the children's book - lil' inappropriate

You might recognise Josh Cooley's pen from his time at Pixar. For the last two years, he's spent his spare time working on his Lil' Inappropriate Book line. They've now been compiled into a book, and will be released alongside a rocking set of saucy playing cards. There are a few galleries dotted around. I want to buy one of the prints. There's a link here to some larger images, and a larger range (though smaller) on his blog. Click through and see if you can recognise the films...

art, design, OddJack Dysonanimation, films, josh cooley, pixar, retro, why isn't this my job?Comment