The Null Device

2001/5/11

Planning to start a weblog but can't think of an appropriately whimsical and offbeat name for it? The Surrealist Domain Name Generator can be of help. (Also usable for musical side-project names and dot-com startups, where appropriate.) (ta, Bonni)

0

The Victorian government is reopening four passenger railway lines closed in the early 1990s. The Ararat, Bairnsdale, South Gippsland and Mildura passenger railway will be reopened within 3 years, with services run by private operators. Not surprisingly, three of the reopened lines are in the electorates of independent MPs who hold the balance of power. (Still, decent passenger rail coverage is a Good Thing, IMHO.)

politics public transport railway victoria 0

Selling Christianity: Catholic Supply of St. Louis, MO is now selling figurines the Sports Jesus. Lifelike figurines of white-robed Jesus playing a wide range of popular American sports, including baseball and grid-iron. Sometimes it's hard to tell the intentional kitsch from the unintentional. Though, then again, in this age when most people express their identity by consuming products, what better way to profess your Christianity than by conspicuously consuming Christian merchandise?

0

The British government (the only Western democracy to require ISPs to have back doors accessible to the security services) has passed legislation requiring sysadmins to be licensed. They say this wasn't their intention, but nonetheless it is on the books. It'll probably be a useful tool to ensure compliance; sysadmins who are slow in handing over passwords or too eager to tell their users that they're being watched could find themselves struck off the register.

0

Strange bedfellows: It has emerged that, during World War 2, Scottish nationalists allied with the IRA attempted to establish an alliance with Nazi Germany, with the aim of establishing a Nazi-allied Scottish Republic in the chaos of the Blitz, (via Lev)

history ira nationalism nazi republic scotland ww2 0