Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Happy Birthday Howard.     This is the big day     for Mr. Smart Mobs himself:     Howard Rheingold. [Smart Mobs] Happies! 9:02:27 PM    comment []

So, the power went out Monday night. Big storm. not just thunder and lightning, but LightningLightningLightningLightningLightning LightningLightningLightning LightningLightningLightning LightningLightningLightningLightning LightningLightningLightningLightningLightning LightningLightningLightningLightningLightning LightningLightning LightningLightningLightningLightningLightning Lightning LightningLightningLightningLightning LightningLightning Lightning Lightning Lightning Lightning Lightning LightningLightningLightning. A bolt struck a tall tree across the street. It broke in half falling (luckily for those in the adjacent houses) across the power lines. Out went the lights, off went the computer. And, of course, the sump pump ceased to function. The couple across the street saw it fall out their living room window. They report that he said to her, "Omigod! Duck!" She did, for what it's worth. Oddly, the various cables ultimately held up the huge tree -- the power lines at the top snapped, the next couple phone poles' worth were stretched impressively, but the cable television and phone didn't ultimately break. So, the blog went dark for the first time in several hundred days. And we lived a more Nineteenth-century life for a time. A very different rhythm. But it's good to be back online, illuminated, air conditioned, refrigerated . . . . 8:49:39 PM    comment []

Unlikely source breaks Edwards story Who broke the Edwards pick? Most Americans might not even care to know, but in the world of up-to-the-minute campaign coverage, everyone seems to want the credit. NBC and its army of anchors continue to insist that Andrea Mitchell had it first yesterday morning when she announced it on the Today show. Today's Washington Post confirms that the NBC veteran broke the story, with Fox News and ABC just minutes behind. But politicalwire.com claims that the story first broke the previous night on an aviation message board -- someone had caught an early glimpse of the new decals on the Kerry-Edwards jet and posted the sighting for his pilot buddies. Even better, the post is still online, dated 9:44 p.m. on July 5, 2004. [Salon.com] 8:40:28 PM    comment []

Virtual Camp Trains Soldiers in Arabic, and More. A video game is being developed at the University of Southern California's School of Engineering as a tool for teaching soldiers to speak Arabic. By By MARGARET WERTHEIM. [The New York Times > Science] 8:37:55 PM    comment []

Technology Review: Google Conquers E-Mail. Gmail shows that Web applications with thin clients can have advantages over software running on your desktop. The most obvious is reliability: Gmail runs on Google's servers, not your hard drive, and Google almost certainly does a better job than you do with routine maintenance, backups, and the like. [Tomalak's Realm] 5:48:59 PM    comment []

Michael Moore opens film to copying. In a move contrary to the general direction of the current film industry, Michael Moore encouraged audiences to copy and share his recent Fahrenheit 9-11. (via Betterdays) [Smart Mobs] 5:48:55 PM    comment []

Power may have been restored . . . 4:18:49 PM    comment []