So…one of the neat things about FriendFeed is that it highlights services for me that I don’t presently use, but that keep showing up in the feeds I follow. For example, I checked out GoodReads based on seeing a couple of people using it, and it’s nifty. I’ve got an account there now, in fact […]

So with all the FISA fun and such going on, I’d normally be making more posts. But home has been hectic, and my neck is still sore from my basal carcinoma removal (not sleeping well)…but mainly, I spend my energy right now worrying about our cat Thomas. He’s almost 16, and dealing with either hepatitis […]

Court gives detainees habeas rights – Wow. Joy. Awesome. I realize this freaks a lot of people out and makes them see red…but really, this is right the right thing to do. It doesn’t mean that bad people go free. It means bad people get a trial, and then (if guilty) punished…which is the bedrock, […]

I was reading an article this morning on the new American Airlines luggage charge (THAT’s gonna go over well), and noticed an aside starting on page 3…Las Vegas is using RFIDs in outgoing luggage tags now to help move bags more efficiently. Now, I’m not saying I’m even completely against this, used correctly…but I had […]

Long ago, I reviewed the various free software database-y apps, and made a decision to be more interested in PostgreSQL than MySQL. Don’t get me wrong…I have and do use MySQL when required, or when it’s just more readily available. But my own development, and the (very) minor code review of the actual dbms source, […]

I felt amazingly fortunate today. During my ride to and from work, and while I had free time otherwise, I was able to listen to an great podcast and read an awesome book…both free. Vive la Chris Anderson! The podcast was a Long Now SALT presentation by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, perhaps best known for the […]

I love Boing Boing. It’s a great aggregator, which is a important function on the Web, but I also have a great deal of affinity for many of the topics they favor. Civil and cyber liberties, for example… US customs bar fashionista druggie writer for moral turpitude — Sweet Mercy…can we please find some better […]

Wow…great overview and link: Torture, Same As It Ever Was — Powerful historical references, too: Some denied, on racial grounds, that Filipinos were owed the protective limits of civilized warfare. When, during the committee hearings, Senator Joseph Rawlins had asked General Robert Hughes whether the burning of Filipino homes by advancing U.S. troops was within […]

I don’t think I’ve seen a better explanation of the telecomm immunity issue than this from Brad Templeton (Chairman of the EFF): Whose call is it to say what’s legal?. Thanks, Brad. It’s been difficult at times to watch the rhetoric here. When people say that you want the terrorists to win, or you’ll make […]