Zoli's Blog

A Kalashnikov for Everyone

Posted on January 25, 2006 ·

Seth Godin reports: The 83 year old inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle (which has probably killed more people than the atomic bomb) traded his name for 30% of a company that makes umbrellas.

The new Kalashnikov-branded umbrella is believed to be un upgraded (2.0) version of the well-tested reliable model:

SecretIntel.com has the details: As for spy gadgets, these have been many and varied over the years, with perhaps the most famous being the KGB’s so-called “umbrella gun”. This relatively low-tech but highly effective device utilized a compressed gas cylinder to fire a tiny metal pellet containing ricin, a highly toxic poison. The umbrella gun first came to Western attention in September 1978, when KGB agents used it to liquidate Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov. Markov, who was “accidentally” jabbed in the leg by a stranger on London’s Waterloo Bridge, had been broadcasting the abuses of Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhikov over BBC Radio.

This may not be the weapon of choice in California… or Arizona

Filed Under: Humor, Misc ·

OMG, I Got Toogled! :-)

Posted on January 24, 2006 ·

Toogle. (hat tip: Paul Kedrosky)

Tags: Google, Toogle

Filed Under: Software, Technology ·

Splogs, Spomments & Spambacks (or is it Trackspam?)

Posted on January 22, 2006 ·

Fred Wilson is fed up with comment spam. He would like to be protected, but still does not want to impose comment authentication on all his readers. I wonder why not?

There are only a handful major blogging platform, creating a profile on each is really not a big deal. On Blogharbor, the platform I use it’s called a Reader Account, Typepad’s equivalent is Typekey. I actually find it easier log into my Typekey account once, then filling out the name / email / website fields individually – it really is not a hassle. There is a healthy discussion on the subject at the Blog Herald. The comments are worth reading to get the full picture.

Anyway, Splog got wide acceptance as the term used for Spam Blogs, so why don’t we call comment spam Spomment from now on? That still leaves trackback spam, where we’re facing a dilemma: is it Spamback or Trackspam? You can vote here: (the dpolls thingie gets lost in the feed, so please click to come to my site where you can vote)

Tags: Blogs, blogging, Spam, Spam blog, splog, splogs, comment spam, spomment, trackback spam, spamback, trackspam

Filed Under: Blogging ·

Enemy of the State – 2006

Posted on January 22, 2006 ·

The TV is running in the background, some movie started on ABC. An elderly congressmen and another overcoat are having a heated discussion at a lakeside:

“Telecommunications Security and Privacy Act! Invasion of privacy is more like it. You read the Post? “This bill is not the first step towards the surveillance society. It is the surveillance society. ”

– Liberal hysteria.

– Listen, I’m not gonna sit in Congress… and pass a law that lets the government point a camera and a microphone… at anything they damn well please.

– Phil. – [Grunts] Look, I don’t care who bangs who, what cabinet officers get stoned. But this is the richest, most powerful nation on earth, and therefore the most hated. And you and I know what the average citizen does not: That we are at war hours of every day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do I have to itemize the number of American lives we’ve saved… in the past months alone with judicious use of surveillance intelligence?”

Hm, must be a very new movie, discussing the NSA’s extensive surveillance powers, recently enacted by President Bush. King George. But wait .. the Mercedes that two minutes later becomes the Congressman’s coffin is a really old model… it can’t be a new film – what is this?

It’s the 1998 movie, Enemy of the State. Wow. This is scary. Not the film itself. But the fact that a 1998 film so precisely fits our everyday politics today, in 2006.

Tags: Politics, Surveillance, Wiretapping, Privacy, Bush, King George

Filed Under: Misc, Politics ·

MSN Censors Downloaders

Posted on January 20, 2006 ·

MSN IM now appears to block certain words, e.g. download.php, gallery.php …etc.

If you include these words in your chat session, on the sender everything appears normal, i.e. you will believe your IM just went through, however, the other side never receives it.

Tags: MSN, IM, MSN IM, Blocking, Censorship

Filed Under: Misc, Software ·

Say Goodbye To Good Ol’ U.S.A.

Posted on January 19, 2006 ·

Say hello to Greater Georgelandia. It’s power to the peephole. Yay! Mark Fiore. (Flash). SFGateOpinion

(Hey, I warned ya’all)

Update (1/19) : Patriot Search has been released…

Tags: Politics, Humor, Political Humor, Bush, Bushland, Georgelandia, Mark Fiore, Patriot Search

Filed Under: Humor, Politics ·

CNN Banned From Iran for Mind-reading

Posted on January 16, 2006 ·

Iran’s government banned CNN journalists from working in the country Monday after a translation error broadcast by CNN mistakenly quoted Iran’s president as saying his nation has the right to build nuclear weapons, the state-run news agency said.

In fact the President said that Iran had the right to nuclear energy, and that “a nation that has civilization does not need nuclear weapons.”

Apparently the interpreter working for a translation company hired by CNN misquoted him as having said Iran has the right to build nuclear weapons. He must have read his mind … interpreting his thoughts rather than his words

CNN issued a correction and apologized; however, the Iranian government revoked the press cards issued to CNN journalists in Tehran.

Tags: Politics, CNN, Iran, Nuclear Weapons

Filed Under: Politics ·

The Blog Herald (being) Sold

Posted on January 16, 2006 ·

The Mystery Blog being put up for auction by Jeremy Wright is no longer a mystery; it is:

Wow! Congrat’s, Duncan! But I’ll be missing your posts

Update (1/16): Stowe Boyd thinks it’s underpriced – my thoughts exactly. But for all I know, the bidding process is not over, and who knows… there may be a reason why Jeremy announced it before closing

Duncan chimes in before turning on the coffee machine

Tags: blogs, blogging, blogherald