Courtesy of kuro5hin, a fascinating ethical dilemma: What’s the ethical response to a dying 15-year-old boy’s last wish — to lose his virginity?

From AP at 5:19EST: BOSTON (AP) — CNN is reporting that an American Airlines jetliner en route from Paris to Miami was diverted to Boston when flight attendants discovered some type of explosive device on one of the passengers Saturday. The network says the man was subdued and taken off the plane.

Leaving aside all the nasty cracks about airport security (don’t start me), am I the only one wondering how the stewardesses found this device? Am I being paranoid when I wonder if the airlines are now instituting in-flight cavity searches? (Oh, totally random of course. Yeah right. Wanna buy a dot-com?)

Ewww — here’s a sleazy little anti-union tale from the computer industry, which is already woefully under-organized. (Unions: We may not get you Aeron chairs, but when your dot-com employer goes out of business we’ll make sure you get more than your Aeron as severance.)

I’m not always wild about Simson Garfinkel’s privacy writings, but this one really stands out: It seems he’s been singing the Airport Security Blues too. (And he’s only had to fly once! Lucky Simson.)

Giant squid? No, I think scientists have finally proven the existence of Cthulhu. And just in time for the holidays!

…and a happy Xmas, NASA-style, to all…

Will some kind soul please come over here and help pick my jaw up off the floor? I was just watching television (oy) and saw an interview with the widow of a Cantor-Fitzgerald mucky-muck who died in the WTC attack, arguing that it’s not fair for all families of survivors to get equal compensation since some people “worked harder and were worth more.” Jesus fucking Christ on a breadstick. All I can think sitting here is: As horribly as her husband died, at least he missed dealing with this venal bitch come alimony time.

UPDATE: It’s January and Salon has done an interesting, albeit rather bloodless, piece on the problem.

For those craving writing on things ethical, Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman have a terrific essay up today on corporate behavior, ethics, and why “limited liability” is actually a big liability for society.

Prosopagnosia: The reason I’m not really as aloof as most people think. (I’m tempted to print this site out and hand copies to the people who have to deal with me dealing with this — my family, for instance, who get annoyed when I don’t recognize them in airports.) Be sure to check out the (quick-read) Face Blindness And Stones page. I did pretty well recognizing the stones.

Eep! I was Memepooled whilst on vacation! Someone call the embassy!!! (Pretty cool, it was… I’d like to thank the Academy, my parents, my friends, and most especially Google for linking to a page that’s currently “hidden” on my site. No worries.)

Much to say and vent about this month’s Adventure In Airport Security (yeah, I ran amuck again), but for now pray entertain yourselves with my friend John’s mighty, nay transcendent, nay contest-winning biff. I am so proud, not to mention so amazed that he survived. The boy always was confounding.