Saturday, February 22, 2003
Pecking Order
So I guess this makes Rosie and Rocky the Special Forces. [via Ernie] (Probably flying over with this guy.) [via Rick]
Truth From A Friend, Part II
On blogging and its permutations: "So where we used to have the Sage on the Stage, we now have the Clod on the Blog?"
(See also Guide on the Side; Alison King, "From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side." College Teaching 41.1 (1993): 30-35.)
We have guests for the weekend -- can you tell?
Friday, February 21, 2003
Truth From A Friend
"We're now a little closer to the Gene Hackman character than the Tom Cruise..."
Twist My Arm -- Please!
It should go without saying that some diligent attendee should blog the heck out of D:ALL THINGS DIGITAL, May 27-29, 2003 in Carlsbad, CA. I mean, check out the speakers. I mean, check out the price.
Here's a promise: if someone feels compelled to, y'know, underwrite my presence at this thing, I'll certainly, uh, see what I can do. (It's axiomatic, after all, that "denise howell is a master of realtime capture of conference proceedings..." --gracias a Frank.) Whaddya say: want to
...note that new PayPal donors must verify their account before they can make a payment over $2,000...
By the way, not speaking of the enforceability of contractual arbitration clauses [via Howard], it seems PayPal's new user agreement provides for arbitration of all disputes involving less than $10,000 USD. This is a step back from the comparable clause in the old agreement which called for arbitration of all disputes. (So what are we waiting for again, exactly???)
...note also that while the WSJ knows how to Find A Blog (reg. req.), it's not clear whether D will have WiFi -- jipes, the irony -- or whether its producers would take kindly to live blogging...
Courting Greatness In WV
Rory Perry: "A little bit of typing and scanning on my part saves work, phone calls, paper, AND gets public info out to the public faster."
"How a Windows guy makes amends"
That would be iBert, an essential OS X application from Steve Saxon that is not, repeat not, included in the Perversion Tracker (your resource for "the very worst of Mac software"). [both via Macworld Audible News]
And because undoubtedly you've been consumed by the need to know, these should help determine just how L337 you are, and whether you care. (Another public service from B4g 4n|) B4gg4g3!)
Happy Blirthday, Tom!
Insiteview will be 52,5600 minutes old this afternoon. 180 cheers!
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Cross Exam Heaven
This (scroll down to American Airlines Suit Alleges Web Site Pilferage) could not have happened to a nicer guy. ("During a temporary injunction hearing Thursday, AA.com's managing director, Scott Hayden, testified that his company would never use another Web site's content without its permission and would stop immediately if it learned that American did not have permission. Hayden also said that American would not display another site's content with an American frame around it. [...]")
I bet you can guess what happened next, but go read the whole thing anyway. You can make this stuff up (television tries), but experiencing it in person is rare. I'm looking forward to the first-hand account. Even in the absense of courtroom drama this is a fascinating case, with issues like those I wrote about awhile ago here. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has more in this article.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Topical Reading
Andrea Guerrero graduated from Boalt Hall in 1999, and published her book Silence at Boalt: The Dismantling of Affirmative Action last fall. Ms. Guerrero's timing is providential in light of two matters pending before the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the propriety of race as a consideration in the University of Michigan's admissions practices. Ms. Guerrero writes that race-blind admissions standards at law schools such as Boalt Hall (my alma mater) have led to precipitous drops in the enrollment of minority candidates. Some of her other thoughts on this subject are available here and here.
On the Reed Smith front, these issues also are at the heart of one of our first notable cross-country collaborations since the merger, in the form of an amicus brief authored on behalf of Carnegie Mellon University and thirty-seven other private colleges and universities. You can access the brief here (PDF), and read Carnegie Mellon's perspective here.
How Appealing and the SCOTUSBlog continue to provide excellent coverage of the ongoing news, commentary, court filings and online resources related to the University of Michigan cases as they unfold.
Goodbye, Dolly
Though Dolly the Sheep no longer is with us, her big fleecy self lives on in video with her "dad," Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute, at Tech TV's Big Thinkers. Dr. Wilmut describes current cloning techniques as "horribly inefficient," and thinks it's "really quite appalling" anyone would consider applying them to humans.
Common Talk
Movable Type now has full support for Creative Commons licenses. Scientific American includes an overview about CC licenses in its March, 2003 edition, and Dave Sifry has added a CC license to the Technorati indices and feeds. [all via the Creative Commons Weblog]
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Gonzo Indeed
So, you think I'm kicking myself for not driving up Saturday for this? Though I wasn't there, I have a small story that says perhaps big things.
Before the event, I emailed Doc, in essence: "Wish I could go, long drive, weekend night and I do that commute all week [insert lame, old-beyond-my-years excuse of your choice here]. My FTP password for Blog*spot has gone missing, think you could mention it to Ev?" What happened in the next several hours is now the stuff of legend. Yet, in the middle of all the chaos and confabulation, before the next business day even had dawned, Ev and colleagues were personally in touch to help me solve my niggling FTP issue. ("Class Act, you know your old pals, Loyalty, Trust and Genuine Affection? Come on in and have a cheese puff.")
Thanks to their kind -- and in light of current events, mindblowingly unexpected -- responsiveness, Bag and Baggage should be getting a facelift soon (not to mention a few other nips and tucks; if you have an elastic garment to spare, do let me know). You won't have to do a thing to your bookmarks or blogrolls.
Monday, February 17, 2003
Blawgsoming
Eyes Right
Interesting Times
Sunday, February 16, 2003
Nouns Of Multitude Or Signifying Many
News
Another Reason Why It Frequently Must Suck To Be A Judge
Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material of whatever nature created by Denise M. Howell and included in the Bag and Baggage weblog and any related pages, including the weblog's archives, is licensed under a Creative Commons License.