internet censorship "trials" completing

The government is shortly going to make a decision on whether the idiotic censorship of Australian internet will go ahead now that the "trials" are ending.

This obscenity will slow the net down, block legitimate sites, be easy for the bad guys to circumvent, will cost many millions of dollars to operate, and will give an unaccountable few the ability to secretly muzzle anybody.

Sign the petition at:
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/AddTheirNameToYours

GetUp has managed to get more than 100,000 signatures to this so far. The more we get the greater chance we have of stopping the government proceeding with this obscenity.

This Friday GetUp will publish the petition in The Australian newspaper. You have about one day to add your name and to get as many of your friends as possible to add their names too. This is very important. Don't let Australia become a laughing stock. Our damn country is moving backwards!

If you want to contribute to GetUp to help them buy more space with more impact then contribute some money to them at:
https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet

See more info on why the attempt at censorship can't possibly work:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/conroy-urged-to-end-net-censorship-farce-20090902-f7n3.html

3 kids send camera to near-Earth space for US$150

How cool is this?

Oliver Yeh, Justin Lee, and Eric Newton sent a cheap digital camera up 28km into near-Earth space to take photos, then return to Earth for recovery... all for the cost of $150 (AU$170).

On their website (http://space.1337arts.com) they describe how their incredibly ingenious, surprisingly low-tech procedure. They've also posted the pictures there, and a time-lapse video compiled from them on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCBBRRp9DOQ&feature=player_embedded
and on Vimeo for those in China, behind the internet censor (a fate soon to befall Australia if we don't get our act together)
http://vimeo.com/6650343

How fabulous are these kids!