Lafayette citizens vote to approve municiple project to provide high-speed fiber optic connectivity to every home and business – What a wonderful glimpse of what is to come. I’ve thought this should happen for a long time now.

Hillary Clinton continues to be a moron – Because clearly what we need more of is the Congress and Federal Trade Commission telling us what is and is not appropriate computer software for us to choose to spend out own money on to aquire for our own use.

Karl Rove’s America – Paul Krugman is far, far too restrained in talking about how very sickening Republican politics has become in the age of George W. Bush. As much as I bash the Democrats for not figuring out in the last six years what’s going on and how to adapt to it, I can almost feel sorry for them in their naivete and confusion about just what went wrong.

Personal blogs can do a lot to hurt — and very little to help — the academic job-seeker – “We all have quirks. In a traditional interview process, we try our best to stifle them, or keep them below the threshold of annoyance and distraction.” I get the impression that my blog may have hurt me with some of the jobs I applied for, but I can’t really know for certain. In my case, though, I was looking for a job that really fit my personality, so perhaps it was all for the best. There sure are a heck of a lot of cautionary tales out there, and certainly no one wants to get Dooced. It’s a really fine line, isn’t it? I’ve commented on this sort of thing before, I don’t really have any answers. It’s too early in the game. (via JP)

CSMonitor talked to Africans and attendees of the Live 8 concerts to get some perspectives on the Africa “problem” – There seems to be a bit of a disconnect here.

Miller’s Time – And the opposite view.

The Anonymity Trap – Arguing that Time made the right decision and the New York Times was wrong in how they handled the Plame leakers.

Pigment in curry helps fight cancer – You may remember back in Jaunary the same was said about Alzheimer’s.

And here are the questions people should be asking about the Plame leak – Because what Novak said and what Pincus is saying are two very different things. (via Daily Kos)

Robert Novak’s original Valerie Plame column – My first time seeing it. He says two senior administration officials told him that Wilson’s wife was a WMD analyst at the CIA, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication that Novak knew she was an undercover operative. Did the administration officials know? Who knows?

Some very strange things are happening in Carroll County – The article does a good job of repeating over and over that the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission are being threatened with jail time for refusing to approve a development plan, but it never once tells us why. Now that’s some fine reporting!

A completely useless article on a potentially wonderful treatment for AIDS – So where are the details?

The hypocritical Heritage Foundation report on virginity pledges used bad, politically-motivated science to attack real scientists with a good methodology and no political agenda

London responded correctly to the bombings, but the US did not

Circumcision results in 70% decrease in HIV/AIDS infection rate in African study

Sadly enough, a devoted Mennonite makes a better poster child for removing “under God” from the pledge than an athiest – Last time this got to the Supreme Court, they dismissed it on a technicality and ignored the important issue. This time it will be harder to do that. (via Kevin)

Serious athletes do more poorly after training on treadmills – The article attemps to answer questions about how equivalent a treadmill is to real running conditions, and generally concludes that the nature of a treadmill is such that as you get to higher speeds the workout is significantly different and less intense. I find some of the numbers a bit confusing (since when do “joggers” run at 13mph?) but the conclusions seem sound.

The BBC’s Stephen Evans reflects on America’s barbecue traditions – Kevin recently took me to a barbecue place nearby and I fell in love. I’m a big brisket fan, and was introducted to burnt ends, which are pretty fun as well. I gotta get me some more barbecue! (via Aaron)

A profile of the genius behind This American Life, Ira Glass – “I’m trying to make perfect moments,” he says. “And those generate meaning. If you go deep enough in how to make a moment, very quickly you come to how narrative works — to what we are as a species, how we’ve come up with telling stories in scenes and images.”

You’re building a massive fortress with reinforced steel and glass and a 20 story tall concrete base devoid of any windows or natural light — so why the heck are you naming it “Freedom Tower”?