US troops in Iraq come up with an aesthetic idea

Just noticed the 23 July Business Week, page 33: "Beam of Light Technologies (Portland, OR) imports green lasers from Taiwan for such civilian uses as classroom teaching and birdwatching. Soldiers in Iraq have found that green lasers, easier to see than red ones, can be used to warn motorists to stop when they approach a checkpoint. The alternative - firing a few warning shots - often frightens drivers, prompting them to accelerate instead, which can cause soldiers to open fire. The REF (an Army office) reports that green lasers have reduced aggressive drivers at checkpoints by as much as 80%." Positive news is hard to find in the mainstream media.

The Encyclocentral Idea

Another great idea to write one's educated opinion and get paid for it. I have discovered Encyclocentral, where they run a Paid Article Submission Program. This must be a high-quality live database, judging by their zero-tolerance for plagiarism and stringent requirement for spell and grammar checking before submission. The site, makes the writing somewhat easier than other write-for sites, by providing the participants with common key phrases, which have to be developed into titles. One certainly needs to be really good at writing, in order to produce quality output, submit it diligently through an on-line process, which includes providing a snippet of the article, in order to make his time worth $5, paid out into a Paypal account.

RIAA loses a case on music file posting

Arizona Judge Shoots Down RIAA Theories slashdot.org/palm/31/08/04/29/1840250_1.shtml

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In Atlantic v. Howell, the judge has totally
eviscerated the RIAA's theories of 'making available' and 'offering to
distribute.'

In a 17-page opinion (PDF), District Judge Neil V. Wake
carefully analyzed the statute and case law, and based on a 'plain reading
of the statute' concluded that 'Unless a copy of the work changes hands
in one of the designated ways, a "distribution" under [sec.] 106(3) has
not taken place.'

The judge also questioned the sufficiency of the RIAA's evidence pointing
towards defendant, as opposed to other members of his household. This is
the Phoenix, AZ, case in which the defendant is representing himself, but
received some timely help from his friends. And it's the same case in which
the RIAA suggested that Mr. Howell's MP3s, copied from his CDs, were
unlawful. One commentator calls today's decision 'Another bad day for the
RIAA.'"