If you haven’t read about this latest virus/scam, click here to check out a good summary on eWeek.com

Basically, this is a Rogue AntiVirus scam similar to ones we’ve all probably seen many times before.  Users are directed to a website that tells them about fake infections on their computer and won’t shut up about it until the user pays them for their fake software to “remove” these infections.

Here’s what I posted as a followup to the eWeek article:

It floors me that these type of scams are not immediately pounced upon by the FBI. Viruses that do annoying/destructive things are harder to track, but things like this which direct a user to a particular URL or set of URLS, and attempt to get money provide authorities with a nice fat trail to the perpetrators. That these things seem to exist for more than a couple of days, to me seems like a major failing on the part of the FBI.

Here are some incredible photos from the New York Times of the devastation in Japan before and after the Quake and Tsunami.  They are interactive, and you can slide the divider left and right to see the exact same satellite image before and after.

CLICK HERE to view the GeoEye images

Ok, so I hang out with a bunch of sick people.  The recent Tsunami in Japan has generated Godzilla related conversations, which inevitably lead to Godzilla’s enemies.  Do you remember all of them?  Here’s a pretty good list: www.thearchnemesis.com/Godzillamonsters.html

Fashion designer John Galliano has lost his job for making anti-Semitic slurs; he may now lose his freedom as well. French prosecutors have announced that Galliano will stand trial on charges of making racist insults in public, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $31,400 fine, reports Reuters. The charges relate to two incidents, one last month and one in October of last year. [newser.com]

Wow – you just don’t want to mess with the French, do you?  I really like living in America.  In America, you can say whatever you want, and while people may not like you anymore, they don’t throw you in jail.  C’mon France – grow up.  Read our constitution and maybe take a few hints.  No, it’s not perfect, but it’s a darn good idea.

Recently I have seen a few roadside billboards advertising an interesting hospital service.  If you visit a website, or text their server, you can find out how long the current wait time is at the ER!  Wow!

But then, this is “Inane World”, not “Cool Stuff Tim Noticed”.  So as you might expect, I think that is quite inane, and have a real fundamental problem with it.  I would hope you do too.  You see, this is for the ER (Emergency Room).  Let’s examine that more closely for a minute.  An Emergency is defined an “event or situation posing an immediate threat to life and limb”.  If you can review the wait time and decide whether and when to go, then it’s not an emergency, is it?  If you are bleeding to death, have severe burns or broken bones, or were brought in on an ambulance gurney, you won’t be able to decide whether to go now or in an hour from now, but you WILL care about having to wait because the beleaguered ER staff is wasting their time treating non-emergency cases.

Get a clue, people!  If it’s not an emergency, make an appointment with your doctor (primary care physician).  The rest of us really don’t want to be paying higher healthcare insurance costs just because your kid has the sniffles and like an idiot, you brought him to the ER (which we all end up paying for).

I can count on one hand the number of times I have been in the ER over the last 45 years as a patient.  I think it’s something like 2 or maybe 3 (given that my ancient brain cells are occasionally unreliable at cataloguing such things).  My parents “got” the idea that the ER was for emergencies.  As a result, I view it the same way, and if I have a non-emergency problem it would never dawn on me to go there!

This is wild – setting a new speed record for driving on ice

I thought this was great – I hope you enjoy!

Here’s a little gold mine for you: http://www.ericweisstein.com/fun/startrek/

Eric Weisstein has compiled plot summaries for all episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series

This is an invaluable resource in settling those oft-occurring geek arguments at work!