Stuff 12/13/12

Betsy's Page - The Debate Over the Fiscal Cliff is Really a Debate Over the Size and Scope of Government:

It's a debate that is worth having, but we don't seem to be hearing much about that important question.

 Slashdot - Learning Rocket Science With Video games (Mentioned - Kerbal Space Program)

Ars Technica - In Soviet Russia TV Watches You

If you use a Samsung "Smart TV" that's connected to the Internet, there's a good chance Luigi Auriemma can hack into the device and access files stored on connected USB drives.

...

"At this point the attacker has complete control over the device," he wrote in an e-mail to Ars. "So we are talking about applying custom firmwares, spying on the victim if camera and microphone are available, stealing any credential and account stored... on the device, using his own certificates when accessing https websites, and tracking any activity of the victim (movies, photos, music, and websites seen) and so on. You become the TV."