It’s so cool when the “random” function on music players plays just what you need to hear.

Remember the time I wrote about the French refusal to support the Iraq invasion and it started a mini civil war on my blog? Yeah, that was weird. I never did read all 140 of the comments, and of course I have no idea what the ones written in French say… 🙂

If you’ve read The Princess Bride and you’re wondering about that reunion scene that Goldman mentions in chapter 5, you can avoid the hassle of writing to the publisher to get it, and instead click here.

Herm sends along a profile of Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal, my favorite public radio host. It was published in 2004, back when he hosted the Marketplace Morning Report. I knew he flew planes, but not that he briefed the Joint Chiefs. I knew he worked in China, but not that he dropped everything and switched to shelving books in Palo Alto while his wife attended Stanford. Fascinating picture of a neat and interesting guy doing good work.

Wow, Spy Pond is all frozen over and there are tons of people ice skating on it! I guess that’s not really surprising, when one thinks about it, seeing as this is winter and the pond was once used for ice making. Still, I’ve never before now seen a big ol’ 100 acre lake covered in kids and adults, prancing about and playing hockey. It’s pretty neat. Anyone, err, have some spare skates?

Welcome to AgBlog Molten, the 7th iteration of this blog. I started working on this just about a year ago, and finally it is done. I’m really happy with it. Lots of improvements in things like legibility and page size, archive view, commenting, and the like. Its based on a solid framework (K2), but still looks pretty unique. All of the different post types are featured on the same footing. What remains is to go through and edit and re-categorize *2339* old posts. So please be patient. The first 100 or so are done, though, so I’m on track to finish around 2012.

I haven’t commented yet on Amazon Kindle because I haven’t been able to see one yet, but at first glance it seems like a usability nightmare. Here are some of the reasons why. I’m still utterly confused by the keyboard buttons. Not to mention how the whole device is just so un-book-like.

The UK’s Channel 4 is running a damning report on Rudy Giuliani’s record as New York mayor. Had his emergency command center been located underground in Brooklyn, as he had been advised, rather than built near City Hall at 7 World Trade Center, Giuliani would have been commanding the city on 9/11 instead of walking the streets.

This year’s Children in Need special episode of _Doctor Who_ has the tenth doctor meeting up with the fifth. Brilliant. And very sweet.

Wow, I’ve been reading Television Without Pity since 1998, and then last week I got “warned” by a moderator for bad manners. Uh huh. And here I thought the whole site was premised on bad manners.

It is never very safe to be a whistleblower when dealing with the typically incompetent federal government, but here is yet another reason to run far, far away.

The Globe & Mail to the north tells us that the massive California wildfires, or at least the damage they are inflicting, is the result of Western migration and overpopulation, the excesses of the Hollywood rich, the stupidity of people who refuse to evacuate, and also global warming. You know what, the folks at the Globe & Mail are fucking idiots.

For those in San Diego, this Google Maps mashup by KPBS shows fires, evacuation alerts, shelters, and the like.

To do: Beat Halo 3 on Legendary mode. Check.

Cotswold cheese is yummy.

There was a report about the shootings last month in the news after all, I just missed it because it was online-only.

James Vasile of the Software Freedom Law Center spoke at Berkman on October 2nd about GPLv3. My unedited notes from the talk are here.

When the Little Rock Nine walked through the doors of their newly desegregated high school on September 24th, 1957, the story didn’t miraculously end with happy music and a fade out. Vanity Fair traces the life of Elizabeth Eckford, the first of the nine, from her time in the high school all the way to present day. Along the way are told the stories of many people surrounding the events, and each of the participants is revealed as flawed and deeply human.

CNet looks at the leak of tons of confidential information from Media Defender, a company that thwarts and gathers evidence against alleged online copyright infringers. A few thousand of their emails, most of their important source code, and even recorded audio of phone conversations have all been stolen and posted online, in part due to shoddy security practices. The information reveals a company that is willing to push up against and sometimes cross ethical lines in order to pursue file sharers. John Palfrey (my boss twice removed) is spot-on with his comments on the ethics of the thing. As is Hilary Rosen, former head of the MPAA, who suggests that perhaps Media Defender needs to spend a bit more time defending themselves.

The Midwest Teen Sex Show is a hilarious send-up of sex education materials. Twice monthly they dish out funny jokes, catchy music, and quasi-factual advice on important topics like surviving high school gym class (and locker rooms), abstinence, and the creepiness of older boyfriends. No nudity, but probably not work safe.