Need to Sneak Across the Border "Safely?" – there’s an app for that…
Japanese man ‘marries’ computer game character – if the guy is allowed to marry a computer game character, then why aren’t two actual people who happen to be of the same sex marry, huh?
also, One Hundred Percent EDIBLE Googly Eyes! with which to make, what else, chriFSMas treats! you can guess what i’ll be doing later on… 8)
Need to Sneak Across the Border “Safely?”
Professor Creates Cell Phone App. to Help Guide Immigrants Across Border
By James King
Dec. 2 2009
A brand-new cell phone app., developed by a professor at U.C. San Diego, is supposed to help guide illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border similar to how a GPS system works in a car.
UCSD visual arts Professor Ricardo Dominguez created the app., which he is calling the Transborder Immigrant Tool, to give people crossing the border “a way not to die.
“It locates where you are in relation to where you want to go, what is the best way to get to that point and what you can expect when you reach the endpoint,” Dominguez tells the North County Times.
Hmm. What to expect “when you reach your endpoint?” If that endpoint is Maricopa County, the device should probably alert users to a certain malevolent law-enforcement agency that will try and hunt them down like dogs.
Law enforcement agencies are worried that the app. will be used by drug dealers and human smugglers as they try to navigate their way into the United States, and some say Dominguez may be held criminally responsible if it can be proven that someone coming into the country illegally is using the device.
“If I drive you over and show you where to cross, that’s a crime,” says Peter Nunez, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. “If I’m standing at the border and help you climb over, that’s a crime. Theoretically, if you could give them a map, whether it’s hand-drawn or computerized, that would also be illegal.”
The app. is currently only available on certain types of inexpensive Motorola phones, but Dominguez hopes to have it available for free on other phones like the ultra-suave Apple iPhone.
Japanese man ‘marries’ computer game character
A Japanese man infatuated with a character in a computer game has married the object of his desires in a solemn ceremony in Tokyo.
By Julian Ryall
03 Dec 2009
The groom – who calls himself SAL9000 – says he fell in love with Nene Anegasaki from the Nintendo DS game Love Plus after a string of failed romances with girlfriends from other animated games.
The wedding took place at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and was presided over by a priest. The groom, dressed in a white suit and tie, read his vows before Ms Anegasaki flashed hers up on the touch screen of his red Nintendo.
The event was broadcast live on the Nico Nico Douga website, with the groom’s best man giving a speech and Ms Anegasaki’s maid of honour – also imaginary – posting an on-screen message expressing her happiness at the first union of a man and computer character.
The reception included a disco and the entire event attracted thousands of online comments before SAL9000 and his new wife jetted off to the Pacific island of Guam for their honeymoon.
In an online message, SAL9000 said: “I had heard before that the groom is very busy during a Japanese wedding, but it was much more than I expected.
“Both the actual wedding space and the live web site were full on the day and I’m so happy that so many people were able to witness this.
“Now that the ceremony is over, I feel as if I have been able to achieve a major milestone in my life,” he wrote. “Some people have expressed doubts about my actions, but at the end of the day this is really just about us as husband and wife.
“As long as the two of us can go on to create a happy household, I’m sure any misgivings about us will be resolved.”
The message included photos of the groom shopping in Tokyo with his bride in his hand, as well as photos from their honeymoon – including one of SAL9000 playing on the beach watched by his new wife, a tropical flower resting gently on her screen.
There may be trouble ahead for the newly-weds, however, as SAL9000 has not informed his parents that he has got married. The couple plans to visit his family over the New Year holidays to announce their betrothal.