Can you imagine the writing novel potential to this?

Heart Device Hacked to Prove Point

Eric Bland, Discovery News

March 27, 2008 -- Scientists from three universities recently hacked into an implantable biomedical device through a wireless connection, stole information about a hypothetical patient's health and personal history and changed the cardiac defibrillator's settings.
Had the patient been real, he could have been killed.
The researchers say it was the first time anyone has hacked into a biomedical device.
"We were able to show how to retrieve and program info from the device," said Kevin Fu, a study author from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "The ramifications of this are still being worked out."
The scientists used an implantable cardiac defibrillator that can either send small bursts of electricity to ensure a regular heart beat or large amounts if the wearer experiences a heart attack.
Wireless technology was originally added to the device to allow physicians to check and reprogram the device without resorting to surgery. But could it put patients at risk?
Don't start worrying about wireless assassination just yet, say the researchers who conducted the test.
"In my opinion, it would be highly unlikely to use to use standard wireless communication devices" to reprogram a biomedical device, said Fu.
The programmer must be within a few inches of the device to obtain information or to change settings. While the information is transmitted wirelessly though radio waves which easily extend over large distances, a strong magnetic field -- much harder to extend -- must also be present.
"If you were trying to generate that kind of field to reach 10 to 20 feet, you would probably kill them with radiation before you could hack it into their device," said Avi Rubin, a professor of computer science at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the research. Rubin's commercial company was the first group to hack the iPhone.
A special device is also required to program the defibrillator, and while such a device can be manufactured, it took the researchers well over a year to assemble one.
"I think it's interesting that they looked at this problem," said Rubin. "Too often industries look at devices without looking at security."
The researchers urge device manufacturers to consider how to prevent the hacking of biomedical devices in their designs.
For now, "I don't think people need to be worried," said Fu. "It's much better to have one of these devices than not. But we do need to asses how these devices will be used in the next 15 to 20 years."

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Oh, the drama!

When you think  you have it all sorted some drama comes along and stuffs it all up.

In the same vein I would like to award HP South Africa as still the worst Service provider in history, topping all the other useless vendors, becomes no-one is as aggressive and as useless as their call centre agents. And their only service provider does not even have a turn around time! Bloody tossers! Why is it that their overseas counterparts are so much easier to deal with?

UPDATED: The drama will still be forthcoming when I get enough courage and time to backup my data and drop off my laptop at the HP Service provider.The only HP provider in the country, and they still cannot give me a turn around time. It is all based on a first come, first serve basis!  My baby not under my supervision, oh woe me!

A tragic and somewhat harrowing tale

From the press office of Mayor Tertius Rattus, esq
My fellow rats, it is with great sorrow that I want to announce the passing of our dear fellow, Mr Frikkus de Raties. He was an upstanding member of our community greatly contributing to the rise of our population, even winning the prestigious 'Breeder of the month' award for our area. Unfortunately, he was struck in the prime of his life by the terrible tragedy that is human poison. Mr de Raties took his upcoming death stoically, gently refusing the help from his innumerable children and the current Mrs de Raties, who is affectionately known to us as Mookie. He has chosen a place of choosing to die on his own, as befits an upstanding member of his community.

Please join us for the funeral tomorrow where cheese and garbage au tartaire will be served by our very own Mookie and afterwards, you are invited to the general forum about the decreasing food supply in the area due to the humans'  food price rise.

In the meanwhile, back at the human settlement....

"Gregory, get up to the geyser area and see what is happening!"  Gregory is also called 'Daddy' by me

"I am telling you, since they installed the new geyser, everything in that area is clean.. Oh, wait, I see it, a dead rat indeed. It is quite a huge one."

EWWW - there is no way to describe my Mom's response phonetically.

My mother drops off something to put the rat in plus a can of Doom to spray and like Superman, uses her super speed to disappear downstairs.
I reluctantly accept the package with the corpse and drop it off in the communal gardens to dispose of later.
My Dad descends the small ladder which he used to get up to the attic area where the geyser is and goes off to dispose the corpse.
I open every single window in my room to refresh the air.

THE END.

P.S. The reason my mother identified the smell as that of a decaying body? She used to work in the morgue when she was studying part-time for her degree and then a few years after that.