Georgetown U lost a hard drive full of personal data on students and staff. Of course, if they get a credit freeze, they won't have as much to worry about. Tags: Identity Theft, Universities

In a new law that passed that contains a provision barring any funding for permenant bases in Iraq, Bush's signing statement shows that he plans to break the law by ignoring it. Will anything be done about it? Probably not. (H/T to digg for the link) Tags: Bushiness

This is so very cool. I believe memory is the keystone of intelligence and it's what makes your life worthwhile. After all, what is the point of living if you can't remember anything?

The man, who has not been identified, was also tested on his ability to learn lists of paired objects. After three weeks of continuous hypothalamic stimulation, his performance on two learning tests was significantly improved. He was also much more likely to remember a list of unrelated paired objects with the electrodes turned on than when turned off.

(H/T to digg for the link) Tags: Science

I know this is off-topic, but dang if it isn’t cool. Tags: Smart Kids, Snow Machine

It should be no surprise to anyone that enterprising scumbags everywhere are using the hopes of the economic stimulus package to scam people out of their information.

“They’re calling people on the phone and asking for their personal information, and the people are thinking they’re going to get some money quicker than they normally would,” Special Agent Jeff Lanza, spokesman with the FBI Bureau in Kansas City, told WDAF-TV.

Remember simple safety: don’t give out information over the phone especially to someone who calls you.

Say what you want about Arnold, but there has been some really good laws and policies to come out of California since he became governor. Getting rid of payday loan scammers is another great ideal from the "Governator". (H/T to Public Citizen for the link) Tags: Arnold

Video here Picture propaganda here Personally, I worry about power like that turned in the wrong direction, but while it's only focused on corrupt organizations, I have ho qualm. (H/T to digg for the link) Tags: Scientology

I’m not so sure we’re ready to start messing with nature like this. It didn’t work so well the last time, and that was just selective breeding.

I'm putting out the call for all people who get money unexpectedly to take the unpopular route and use it to pay down some debt rather than spend it. The very idea that you are in a position to spend new money while you're in debt at all is why Americans and America is in so much trouble right now. Embrace the philosophy of a total-money-makeover and work towards it. Even if it violates the implanted logic that businesses and the credit industry have forced upon you, work your way out of debt before starting new ones and learn to live debt free. Now realistically, I will probably spend some of the money on something nice like going out to dinner or a small gift for my wife. Psychologically, many of us will need to spend at least some of the money, but I'm OK with doing that if you still apply the vast majority to outstanding debts. Tags: Money

I’ve built several bears with my kids, but I always balk at the part where they’re supposed to put in their information. They just don’t need that much personal data about my kid. Instead, I put in MY personal e-mail address so that if it did get “lost” and recovered, they would be able to e-mail me at the least, though we’d probably just replace it anyway… Tags: For Families, Kids