After allegedly burglarizing a studio apartment, Matthew Ryan Hahn could not believe what he found among his ill gotten gains. To his disgust Hahn discovered a memory card containing images of a small child (one or two years old) being molested. Out of a concern for the child, Hahn (despite facing a life sentence under California's "Three Strikes" law) sent the memory card to the police with a note explaining who the card's owner was and a plea to "please remove this animal from the streets". Because of Hahn's actions, the police were able to arrest John "Robbie" Robertson Aitken (who had no previous criminal record). Aitken confessed when confronted with the evidence of his heinous crime. Among Aitkens belongings police found over 100 pornographic images, many of which were of children. Both men are currently awaiting trial.

I know this story doesn't have much of a tech angle, but I felt the need to share. It's nice to see that with the world getting more screwed up everyday, that there are still people willing to do the right thing despite the high cost. Hahn is a hero in my book for doing the right thing even when doing so meant facing a life sentence.

Risking a life term to protect a child [via Digg]
Technorati Tags: law

From the "we had nothing better to do with our research budget" department:

Belgian scientists, who have obviously been locked in their lab too long, conducted a study to see if men are distracted by women. The study used a financial simulation game to measure the effectiveness of men's decision making abilities after being shown "alluring" photos of women in lingerie. No surprise to any man that has ever seen a pretty girl while driving (or during any other activity that requires even the slightest bit of concentration), the study found that men were distracted and more likely to accept an unfair offer than men who had not been exposed to the female form.

Sex cues ruin men's decisiveness [via Digg]
Technorati Tags: news science sex

America's largest retail chains is being sued by Winternals over the use of unlicesensed copies of their diagnostic software. The suit alleges that Best Buy's Geek Squad subsidiary have been using pirated versions of the Texas company's software since licensing talks between Winternals and Best Buy collapsed. The data recovery and protection software costs $1,200 per copy and the deal between Winternals and Best Buy is said to be worth millions of dollars.

The moral of the story: Either pay for your software or go open source (my personal choice).

Best Buy Hit With Restraining Order [via Digg]
Technorati Tags: news software piracy Best Buy Winternals

NASA announced Monday that it will be sending its first unmanned probe to the moon since the end of the Apollo program more than 30 years ago. The probe, dubbed LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite, will study a crater that will be created near the moon's south pole by the rocket used to carry the LCROSS from Earth. The impact, which will occur some time in 2008, will create a crater 100 feet wide and 15 feet deep on the moons surface. The main goal of the mission is to see if water ice is as prevalent in the region as scientist believe. (This belief is based on findings from an earlier mission, Lunar Prospector). The impact is expected to throw dust and debris over 35 miles high. High enough that amateur astronomers may be able to view the impact.

NASA Unveils Plan to Go Back to the Moon -- With a Bang [via ABC News]
Technorati Tags: news NASA moon space