The Null Device
2001/8/21
Your next T-shirt could power your MP3 player: Scientists in Germany have developed synthetic fibres that generate solar electricity. The fibres are machine-washable and could be used to make clothing that generates power for wearable computers, or solar-powered tents for techno-nomads or aid workers, or a wide range of other applications. (via the Viridian list)
You know the dot-com boom is over when even the porn sites are struggling to survive. (via techdirt)
Now here's a historical relic: seen in the booklet of Single Gun Theory's Flow, River of My Soul (1994):
For more information, contact us via the Internet at pete.rivett-carnac@f406.n712.z3.fidonet.org
Do you suppose it still works?
Scare meme of the day: Do video games cause frontal lobe damage, and poor impulse control, in children? Professor Ryuta Kawashima seems to think so, and has experimental results to back that up. What promotes proper frontal lobe development in kids? Reading, writing and arithmetic.
Australian screen hunk Russell Crowe has recently been touring the US with his pub-rawk band; The press, however, seem less than enthralled:
"It's about 98 per cent obsessed women and two per cent insecure husbands and boyfriends," said Chicago fan Tom Storcz.
Perhaps in a few decades he'll be the next Michael Bolton...
A government commission in Jamaica has recommended legalising marijuana. The National Commission for Ganja (now there's a name for a band) has said that the righteous herb's "reputation among the people as a panacea and a spiritually enhancing substance is so strong that it must be regarded as culturally entrenched". Peter Tosh would be proud. However, the ink on the report was still warm when the US embassy issued a stern warning that any moves to legalisation would have grievious consequences for Jamaica, so it's not going to happen (or if it does, the CIA-backed administration that replaces the government will overturn it).