Tom Tomorrow blog! [via matt]
It snowed last night for the first time since I've been in California. I spent the morning outside taking pictures and enjoying the view as the sun came up. I was sure the snow would be gone as soon as the sun hit. But it was a pretty good amount, and it's still covering everything.
Isn't this weird?
There's a mushroom growing in one of our houseplants. I won't be eating it. Any mycologists out there who can tell me what kind this is? And how it got in my house?
sxswb is back! (though at a slightly different location.) Stop by to discuss all things related to the South By Southwest Interactive conference happening in March.
Update: sxswb.com now points to sxswbaby!
I'm not sure why a national opt-out list for telemarketers is a great idea. Why should the burden of "opting-out" be on the people being annoyed? I think there should be a national "opt-in" list. If your name is on it, you can receive annoying sales calls...everyone else is opted-out by default.
Have you ever noticed that people outside the US say touch wood instead of knock on wood? It's so gentle. I think you have to knock to get the full luck going.
I'm sick like meg. And I was on that hike. And I also said, "I never get sick either now that I'm in California." Forgot to knock on wood. And I was surrounded by trees. Now I sound like Barry White. If Barry White had congested sinuses.
Here's an O'Reilly interview with Brewster Kahle about the Wayback Machine. [via evhead] I enjoyed this answer about using existing knowledge (which seems almost counter-intuitive in the tech world): "The first company I worked in was Thinking Machines. And we blew it. We built the fastest computer in the world that very few people could program. It required people to think in a new way. What a horrible thing to have to do to be able to attract customers. The idea is to be able to think the same and be able to do more." Think Different?
A question in yesterday's letters to the editor in my local paper: "Who hurt America more, Ken Lay or John Walker?"
Interesting article about Martin Luther King, Jr.: "If the King of 1955 or 1965 were alive today, he would be accused of treason for his pacifism, as he was reviled for 'Communism' then; instead of the FBI trying to bring him down, he, and most of his associates, would be prosecutable under new anti-terrorism statutes." I'm not sure that statement is entirely true, but it does show the contrast between an established national holiday and his once outsider status as someone bringing about fundamental unwanted changes in our government. Recent laws have been passed to make sure things don't change. And from what I've seen on the news today, this holiday is not a celebration of peaceful civil disobediance; King's most powerful tool for change.
His final speech always brings tears to my eyes, and I remember vividly where I was when I first heard it on the radio. If you don't have time to read all of it, scroll down to the section that begins, "It came out in the New York Times..." Of course it's much more moving to hear him speak the words. (The last audio file on this page contains a brief section of the speech.)
skp and I went for a nice hike along the coast near Bodega Bay. It was windy and muddy, but beautifully clear.
Dinah articulates what many people (including me) feel about CNN's war cheerleading. In the long run it will hurt AOL/TimeWarner.