Warren Ellis has some simple words of wisdom on the Mark Waid firing (original). Let it rip, Warren: I dunno. I used to know Mark. He’s been humped by Marvel two or three times previous to this. If you keep going back to a place where they fuck you in the arse with spiky metal things, then after a while people will simply assume you like it. It’s kind of a non-story. ...
Boston’s doing pretty well in the community wireless sphere, although perhaps not as well as Portland (original). Now Somerville is talking about business-based free community wireless networks. Not only is this fun times for me, it’s got cool potential as a prototype that could easily catch on elsewhere. Michael Oh is thinking of each network he builds as an instance of a larger concept, rather than building one-offs, which is the kind of thinking that makes a difference in the long term. ...
The new — the last — Warren Zevon album comes out on August 26th. The buzz is good.
Not getting so very much press, but there’s a little war brewing between Ashcroft’s Justice Department and the American jucidiary. The proximate trigger was a recent Ashcroft’s directive to federal prosecutors: he wanted ‘em to research judges who give light sentences (original). Ashcroft has kind of been under the radar recently, what with the war and all. Seems as good a time as any to link once again to his interview (original) with the neo-confederate magazine Southern Partisan. (They called him “a jealous defender of national sovereignty against the New World Order.”) ...
First, watch this (Quicktime, 1.7 megs). Then, read the rest of the Web site. Especially make sure you read the thesis, even though it’s long. You never knew about Disney dissecting fawns before, did you?
Every now and then someone writes a really good document on interacting with non-techies for techies. Here’s one about giving status reports. As I changed from a techie into a manager with delusions of techieness, I could feel myself beginning to want the strange things Richard Threadgill talks about therein.
As we all know, many suspected terrorists in the United States are enemy combatants (original). This designation is used for those whose detention is a matter of national security. They don’t get the same rights as you and I, because giving them an open trial — or even access to their lawyer — is a risk. Can’t take risks with American lives. Meanwhile, in that bastion of civil rights that is Indonesia, the Indonesian government somehow managed to give Bali bomber Amrozi bin Nurhasyim a relatively normal trial. This, despite the active network of terrorists inside Indonesia. You’d think that if the United States is at risk when letting suspects talk to lawyers, Indonesia would be more so.
I am currently in possession of 20 discount codes for TypePad, the new weblog hosting service/software from Six Apart. (They wrote Movable Type.) If you’re looking for someplace to host your weblog, TypePad is so much superior to Blogger that it isn’t even funny; it’s the perfect place for the non-techie to go. The discount codes give 20% off the usual prices for life. The prices are pretty reasonable. If you actually know me and you want to start a blog with minimal effort, drop me a line and I’ll shoot you a discount code.
The Pentagon needs blood donors (original). If you have a DoD affiliation (the Armed Services Blood Program only accepts blood from people with a DoD affiliation), it’s a good time to give. If not, the Red Cross always needs blood.
Kevin over at funmurphys.com has more thoughts on media (original), following up on his comments here. He’s got an excellent point, which in my book touches on the true value of the Internet: you can get more information faster. Context is what’s valuable, and information provides context. This is one reason I link to conservative blogs as well as liberal blogs. The other reason is because I’ll link anywhere if I get good writing out of it.