Wes Phillips

English, she is a funny language as she is spoke. But strangest by far is the odd bunch of words we use to connote groups of animals. A chain of bobolinks? A nuisance of cats? A raft of otter? A mob of kangaroo—wait, shouldn't that be a court of kangaroo?

Over at EFF's Deep Links Fred von Lohmann has posted news that nearly caused me to stroke out at my keyboard. Basically, the RIAA has submitted a document to the triennial review of the DMCA, stating that "the fact that permission to make a copy in particular circumstances is often or even routinely granted [does not] necessarily establish that the copying is a fair use when the copyright owner withholds that authorization." In other words, they've changed their mind since last year, when RIAA mouthpiece Don Verilli told the Supreme Court, "The record companies . . . have said, for some time now . . . that it's perfectly lawful to take a CD that you've purchased, upload it onto your computer, put it onto your iPod."

Seconds before they explode, giant stars hum middle C.

Although 1905 is remembered as Einstein's annus mirabilis, there were other scientists doing good work then, too. Tony Rothman gives a few of them a shout-out.

Turns out, it might reinforce a bad call rather than correct one. What works better? Maybe the pause button.

The BTP posits that it's possible to take a solid sphere, cut it into pieces, rearrange the pieces using nothing more than rotation and translation, and then re-assemble them into two identical copies of the original sphere. "In other words," www.kiro5hin.org; explains, "you've doubled the volume of the original sphere."

Hours of mindless fun!