Monthly Archives: March 2004

Report from the Front Lines of Electronic Voting

Posted on March 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

My day as an election judge is a very interesting first-person account of a day as an election judge baby sitting electronic voting machines—written by Avi Rubin, a leading critic of Diebold's Accuvote machines. (Spotted via Ed Felten blog.)

Posted in Sufficiently Advanced Technology | Comments Off on Report from the Front Lines of Electronic Voting

For Brian Leiter

Posted on March 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Attention Nietzsche scholars. America's Finest News Source™ discloses New Nietzschean Diet Lets You Eat Whatever You Fear Most. [Link updated thanks to Hugh Hyatt]

Continue reading →

Posted in Completely Different | 1 Comment

Florida Anti-Climax

Posted on March 3, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

I was looking forward to voting in a contested primary. But with Florida due to vote next Tuesday, it doesn't look as if my vote is going to count: now that Kerry has effectively wrapped up the nomination our primary becomes something of a meaningless ritual.

Not that in Florida we can ever take having our vote count for granted….

Posted in Florida | 1 Comment

Mars Suffering From Extended Drought

Posted on March 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

He's probably thirsty:

We Want Your WATER

Posted in Science/Medicine | Comments Off on Mars Suffering From Extended Drought

RFID Tags in $20 Bills? Nah.

Posted on March 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

RFID tags are big news these days, and for good reason. But I'm fairly sure that if there were any truth to this claim that RFID tags were snuck into the new $20 bills and that the RFID Tags in New US Notes Explode When You Try to Microwave Them, I'd have heard about it. Slashdot ran the story, but I still think it's not so.

In contrast, RFID tags are going to be embedded in Euros. Which I think is supremely stupid, and an invitation to high-tech targeted mugging. Plus hiding cash under the mattress won't work if the burglars have an RFID detector. No word yet on what happens when you microwave a new-model Euro.

Posted in Econ & Money, Law: Privacy | 2 Comments

I Am Against Classroom Autodefenestration

Posted on March 2, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

I'm working desultorily on a longer post about strange things that can happen in the classroom, which may be why this story in the Miami Herald leapt out at me over breakfast:

Teacher loses bet over leap out window: A 17-year-old boy jumped out of a second-floor window at Miami Beach High last week after betting his teacher he was strong enough to do it and not get hurt.

He won the bet, landing unharmed. No immediate word on whether he got any money out of it.

The teacher has been reassigned to a non-teaching job at a regional ACCESS Center while police and school officials investigate the incident.

The science class was in the middle of a lecture on evolution on Wednesday when the student — whose name was not released — began talking about jumping out the window to prove his point, according to the police report.

The teacher, Yrvan Tassy Jr., bet him $20 that he would hurt himself if he jumped, police said.

That's when the boy jumped out the window. He landed on his feet — in a patch of dirt and grass — and returned to the classroom, the police report stated. He asked Tassy for the $20, and Tassy said he'd bring it the next day, students told police.

Unlike some other incidents I have in mind, where I can feel sorry for the teacher, this one defies sympathy. I will take a firm stand on this complex question: Autodefenestration has no place in the classroom. Indeed, I'll even go on record against all forms of classroom defenestration, especially from above ground level.

Posted in Miami | 8 Comments