From CNN: The full-body scanning technology being adopted and discussed since the attempt to take down a passenger plane on Christmas Day is under attack from privacy advocates who call it a “virtual strip search.”

“Obviously we have a concern because it’s a virtual strip search that is terribly invasive,” said Michael German, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

I like the ACLU. I don’t always agree with them, but they stick to their guns and have done more good for this country than most people will ever know. When we lose our minds as a collective society and are willing to toss away our civil liberties for a vague promise of security or revenge, the ACLU is generally there to remind us that a liberty without freedoms is nothing more than thinly disguised fascism.

However, I believe that in this case, the ACLU is wrong. Dead wrong.

More after the Jump »

When my brother, Fr. Robert — the uberGeek priest, asked me to review gear for TTS, I decided that I would do it if he allowed me to bring a less “techie” and more outdoorsy approach to the products that appear on TheTechStop. I’m somewhat of a geek, but my life consists less of sitting in front of a monitor and more of running, mountain biking and practicing martial arts. I asked the TTS uberGeeks to send me something that could take the bumps, bruises and beatings of a more active lifestyle. I wanted something that I didn’t have to treat with kid gloves. Tech that could survive real life. What they sent me was the Otterbox “Commuter” and “Commuter TL” iPhone 3g/s cases.

More after the Jump »

I know that this is old, but it’s a classic.

A mom with her kids in the car calls 911 on the local Burger King because they aren’t making her burger the way she wants it.

Here’s an excerpt from this bit of fast-food drama…

9-1-1: “Ma’am, then I suggest you get your money and go somewhere else! This is not a criminal issue, we can’t go out there and make them make you a cheeseburger the way you want it.”

Lady: “Well, that is, you’re supposed to be there to protect me!”

9-1-1: “What are we protecting you from, a wrong cheeseburger!? Is this a harmful cheeseburger or something? I don’t understand what you want us to do!”

Lady: “Just come down here! I’m not leaving…”

9-1-1: “No ma’am, I’m not sending the deputies down there over a cheeseburger. You need to go in there and act like an adult and either get your money back or go home.”

Lady: “She is not acting like an adult herself! I’m sitting here in my car, I just want them to make my kid a Western cheeseburger.”

9-1-1: “Ma’am this is what I suggest, I suggest you get your money back from he manager and you go on your way home.”

From the Daily Mail: “My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift,’ he told his stunned congregation at St Lawrence and St Hilda in York.

‘I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

I somewhat understand what this priest was trying to say. He’s not really saying, “if you’re poor, you have a license to steal.” Rather, he’s making a social commentary about a society that has much wealth, and yet in which people go without the most basic necessities. — In that respect I can admire his moxy and rhetorical style: sometimes it takes some shock value to get across a message that has been heard time and time again. I can’t fault him for using such a style as I am prone to doing the same in my homilies.

More after the Jump »

LED, or Light Emitting Diode, light sources have been all the rage recently. Advancements in LED technology have allowed engineers to make them brighter, lighter, longer-lasting, and far more eco-friendly than even the much-touted CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) units that have become THE de-facto earth-saving, energy-efficient, user-friendly green tech of choice for the average Joe. However, though the CFL is undoubtedly more energy-efficient than its incandescent counterpart (replacing 10 standard 120 watt incandescent bulbs in an average American home with the equivalent of CFLs would save more than 20 Kilowatt Hours a day) there have been some serious drawback to the CFL including a toxic composition, reduced life in enclosed areas, light temperature and fragility. — A LED light, which uses even less power than a CFL, generates far less heat than any other lighting technology, lasts tens of thousands of hours and is incredibly durable while bypassing concerns about toxicity and light quality, would seem to be the answer to our eco-prayers.

Indeed, as the price of LED lighting has gone down, we’ve seen them used in more and more applications throughout the tech world. They’ve made a splash in everything from ambiance strips to car headlights to LCD backlighting. IT would seem that they’re the future of energy-efficient lighting… Except for one thing…

They cause DEATH

More after the Jump »

Ok… forget for a moment that the name of this product needs a little work. It is a very cool piece of uberGeek office furniture that allows you to move your workstation from place to place, and easily switch from sitting to standing when you get there. It’s worth a watch if you have ever wished that your multiple-monitor setup was more mobile.

Here’s a YouTube video I found of my brother Ryan putting on a playful demonstration. The cool thing about this demo is that he’s slowed down his movements so that people can more clearly see what he’s doing. (and of course he had to take away almost all of the force… it’s typically not polite to break your friend’s bones while playing) It’s a thing of beauty to see him go at his craft at full speed.

From Wired: “Dutch airline KLM has made the latest step in what appears to be a rush by airlines to demonstrate the use of alternative fuels. The airline made what it is calling the first passenger flight using biofuel.” There are a few notable caveats to this story. First, this wasn’t a flight from the regular schedule. This was a short trip specifically setup for PR. Second, this was an exceptionally SHORT flight for a 747, usually used for long-haul routes. Third, only one of four engines was being powered by a mix of 50/50 bio/aviation fuel.

Yes, this is a publicity stunt brought about by the increasing volume of criticism upon the airborne industries that their business model depends on dirty energy, but that’s not necessarily bad. Any movement towards a use of renewable resources is a good thing.