David Baron writes an absorbing post about the future of downloadable font formats for the web. With current or near-release version of all major browsers supporting the W3C standards on Embedded OpenType (EOT) fonts, websites will no longer be limited to text in the Microsoft Core Fonts which the vast majority of users have on [...]

“The experimental section of the paper enjoins the reader to wear a face shield, leather suit, and ear plugs, to work behind all sorts of blast shields, and to use Teflon and stainless steel apparatus so as to minimize shrapnel. Hmm. Ranking my equipment in terms of its shrapneliferousness is not something that’s ever occurred [...]

Thanks to alistair_uk for giving me permission to post this fantastic action shot of sparks from an angle grinder The original is on Flickr, here.

“Evangelical sects mixing traditional African beliefs and Christianity have flourished in Angola since the end of the civil war in 2002, and Benedict urged Catholics to convince people who had left the church to return and to reach out to those believing in witches.” The irony of religious belief and absolutist faith in one true [...]

The Observer reports on a radical change in America’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan, moving away from the “brute force” approach which has dominated up to now, towards one supplemented by negotiation and diplomacy. Ideas floated by the US aim to bring the Taliban into the democratic process through several channels of dialogue and possible political [...]

Time reports on the “dash for Burma”, as major Asian powers fight to access resources in the military dictatorship, cosying up to a the regime to mine and exploit fossil fuels, minerals and precious metals. Although not altogether surprising given the human rights records of China, Malaysia and others, this is disgusting. Countries are trampling [...]

German police have had to release identical twin brothers despite their DNA linking them to a €5 million jewellery heist. The similarities between their genetic code means that the authorities can’t distinguish between the two men using current DNA analysis methods, although police seem pretty sure that at least one of the brothers was involved [...]

“So, it’s not exactly the most profound observation, and I’m far from the first to make it, but it’s worth noting again: There isn’t that much going on. While the constant flow of information is entertaining and addictive, it is, by overwhelming consensus, primarily filled with bits that are of little to no value.” Anil [...]

This fantastic image is one of a set taken by a group of Spanish students. On a total budget of just €1000 and using an €80 camera, they sent a latex balloon into space and snapped a series of amazing pictures. Incredible stuff for which they’re receiving some well-deserved publicity. The image is on Flickr, [...]

Silicon.com reports that Ofcom is working with the UK mobile operators on an emergency mobile roaming service. Currently, phones only connect to 999 or 112 through their home network – so if O2 doesn’t have a signal where you are, for instance, you can’t use Orange’s network to call for help. The new agreement would [...]

“Investigations into what apes can and cannot do may provide some insight into the evolutionary origins of our unique abilities. But it cannot tell us very much, if anything, about what it means to be human. Rather, today’s increasingly shrill claims that apes and other animals are ‘just like us’ reveals the degraded view some [...]

Over the last decade, civil liberties and human rights in Britain have been eroded like never before. Centuries of hard-fought democratic freedoms are being diluted and outlawed. The government uses any pretence it can – from fighting terrorism to social order – to justify the increasing oppression and silencing of the British public. At the [...]

Lol, love it! From The Book of Biff, here. Reproduced by kind permission of Chris Hallbeck.

“Since 1948 Palestinians have lived in perpetual humiliation. They can’t breathe without permission. They have lost their country, their land, their water, their freedom, their everything.” Eduardo Galeano writes an impassioned criticism of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. While there are parts of the article which make me wince and cringe, with its complete and [...]

BBC News reported on Friday that Al Gore and Dot Eco are submitting a proposal to create a new TLD, with the .eco domain reserved for sites ‘supporting environmental causes’. While the aim of promoting environmental causes is laudable, the new TLD is a bad idea on several levels. First, it adds yet another domain extension [...]

As Ars Technica notes, while the free market generally promotes innovation through competition, the patent system is an exception. John Timmer reports on a recent Science paper in which researchers carried out an experiment to compare the results of a free-market model with the current monopolistic one. Despite a multitude of reasons as to why [...]

I love this photo because it leaves so much to the imagination, leaving you to wonder about the person wearing the shoes and what the picture says about them. Photo by ℜick on Flickr, here. Via Rick’s HideOut.

New Scientist has a fascinating article about Lagrangian points – regions of space in a planet’s orbit where the gravitational forces of the planet and the Sun completely neutralise each other. As these areas are completely void of gravity, anything which falls into them may be suspended there forever, weightless and trapped. What really fascinates scientists [...]

“US President Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem cell lines, according to reports … Officials say Mr Obama will authorise the move by executive order on Monday. “ Obama has reversed yet another Bush policy which denied potentially life-saving medical treatment for millions of people, this [...]

I’ll have to remember this in future… From xkcd.