Swans on Tea

Tourist scams

After reading the whole list, one might get the impression that everyone in Europe is a thief.

My wife and I were ready to leave Rome after a great 10-day visit. We were picked up at our hotel by a cab and asked to be taken to the train station. The cab driver asked if we were leaving to fly home, and we said yes. He then proceeded to tell us that there were major problems with the train to Fiumicino Airport, the line was down, etc…but he would be glad to take us to the airport for €80! Thank God I had built enough time into our schedule so that I could investigate the train situation myself. I told him no thanks and asked him to take us to the train station anyway. There was no problem with the train and we made it home sans difficulty.

via Schneier

The other thing your dog does when you let it outside.

The Rise of the Machines

There are now 1 million industrial robots toiling around the world, and Japan is where they’re the thickest on the ground. It has 295 of these electromechanical marvels for every 10 000 manufacturing workers—a robot density almost 10 times the world average

via kottke