Science and Technology
windswept: How to kill RFID tags with a cell phone.

When pills fail, electrical implants can mend brains damaged by Parkinson’s, stroke, and depression.

The Richard Dawkins Multimedia Archive. Dawkins, author of many books on Evolution, including The Blind Watchmaker, is an outspoken scientist and atheist.

14+ Money Saving Computer User Ideas

A slim cable for a space elevator has been built stretching a mile into the sky, enabling robots to scrabble some way up and down the line. LiftPort Group, a private US company on a quest to build a space elevator by April 2018, stretched the strong carbon ribbon 1 mile into the sky from the Arizona desert outside Phoenix in January tests.

Microsoft has released a new, free version of Windows Defender.


Miscellany
bigboobedcanuck: Olympic Figure Skating for Dummies

wordweaverlynn points out that photography from the 1906 SF earthquake is on exhibit at the SF MOMA.

The DFL blog celebrates last-place finishers at the Olympics.

This year’s hair trends from the runways.

The FDA has reopened a probe into possible benzene contamination of soft drinks.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, tyee.com is running a “Love on the Edge” series this week: “Breast Wishes” / “Why We Love the Geeks” / “Married to the Wrong Sex”


Politics
The WashPost reported that the GOP was concerned that our VP wasn’t speaking out about shooting his hunting partner. Ari Fleischer chimed in as did Marlin Fitzwater and a variety of editorial columnists. (that last link’s from made_of_paradox.) So... Cheney issued a public statement about the incident yesterday. The WH Press Secretary is having a rough week. Note who is asking him questions: Two of the outlets mentioned in the article are Republican: the NYPost and Cox Communications.

I have a bad feeling about this: Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas joined House Democratic leaders at a town hall meeting on Tuesday to roll out an “innovation agenda” that aims to prepare the next generation of technological entrepreneurs. Note to the Dems, don’t let him write your speeches.

The National Counterterrorism Center maintains a central repository of 325,000 names of international terrorism suspects or people who allegedly aid them, a number that has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003, according to counterterrorism officials.