Two words: Giant Rat

I'd like to start off today with a public service announcement. Crave UK is reporting that some Dell laptops featuring aluminum casings, namely the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530 come with a faulty AC power adapter that is not grounded properly. Combined with the metal case, this can result in repeated electric shocks ranging for a slight tingle to a rather alarming jolt. Dell's response has been a complete snow job, they point out that the current produced is not enough to be dangerous, however I find that a pretty poor response on their part. Just because it's not dangerous doesn't mean that it not startling or at least annoying. We've already had massive recalls on exploding lithium-ion batteries; can we please get a laptop power supply that is constructed properly? Oi.

Dell's customer service reps where outclassed this week by the discovery of an even bigger rat, this time a fossil skull discovered in Uruguay. Beat that segway! Anyway, your garden variety rat (the most common species being the brown rat Rattus norvegicus or the black rat of plague fame, R. rattus) usually tip the scales at 300 grams for females and up to 500 grams for males, and are about 5 inches in length (not including the tail) when walking (they can stretch quite a bit). The capybara, the largest living rodent, comes in at 65 kg and 130 cm long. The new discovery, according to the BBC news, belonged to an animal 300 cm long and weighing close to a tonne.

Finally, a Canadian law professor has offered an 8-point copyright reform plan offering a constructive alternative to a controversial bill much like the badly botched Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US. It'll probably never see the light of day, but it is refreshing to hear a plan with some sanity and some idea that consumers ought not to be treated as criminals. Now if only we can get the RIAA to vanish in a puff of logic...