Thursday, July 07, 2005

the onion on (my) heroes. Great interview with Negativland's Don Joyce and Mark Hosler. Favorite line: "Copyright law does not distinguish between sampling and counterfeiting. That's just stupid." (Thanks, Fernando!) (No, not that Fernando!). [Lessig Blog] 9:13:59 PM    comment []

Evaluating Teacher Evaluations. Todd Seal has published a three-part series about teacher evaluations. Interesting perspectives here... [Dan Gillmor's blog] 9:13:37 PM    comment []

Novak: Sources say Rehnquist is next. As Judith Miller begins her time in jail, the man who outed Valerie Plame is predicting that the chief justice will retire "before the week is over." [Salon.com] 9:05:02 PM    comment []

When a reporter is jailed. Judith Miller's incarceration could affect how sources use journalists to leak information. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 9:04:58 PM    comment []

Does EverQuest need a union?. According to this story, the emergent practice of paying people (a pittance) to "farm" massively multiplayer online games is on the rise. What do these workers do? Play the intergame currency markets, and Build up characters for resale: Every new player starts at the bottom with little virtual money and few skills. Moving up to the next level of the game involves carrying out dull, repetitive tasks such as killing thousands of virtual monsters. But thanks to companies such as Gamersloot.net, new players now have an alternative. They simply pay someone else to do the dull repetitive work, and buy a ready-made character at a more advanced level. Getting to the highest level in some games takes months and for players working alone is almost impossible to achieve. Gamersloot.net offers to promote your character in a matter of days for a fee of around £250. [Smart Mobs] 9:04:51 PM    comment []

When the Film Outshines the Novel. Many great novels, including "War of the Worlds" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," have been wildly overshadowed by the movies made from them. By CARYN JAMES. [NYT > Books] 9:04:20 PM    comment []

Keeping Up With Google Maps Hacks. Having trouble keeping up with the flood of Google Maps hacks? Me too. A new blog has started keeping track of them, with lots of entries and brief but comprehensive... [ResearchBuzz] http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/ 8:28:21 AM    comment []

Study Says Malpractice Payouts Aren't Rising. The study finds that net claims for medical malpractice paid by 15 leading insurance companies have remained flat. By JENNY ANDERSON. [NYT > Health] 8:27:18 AM    comment []

Miller goes to jail. As the New York Times reporter was led away, many in the courtroom feared that the real victim was a free press. [Salon.com] 8:27:13 AM    comment []

Who's to Blame for Valerie Plame?. Reporters who promise to protect sources' identities do a disservice to their profession and the public by breaking their word. That's why it's disillusioning to see Time cave in to the Plame probe, even while The New York Times stands its ground. By Adam L. Penenberg. [Wired News] 8:27:09 AM    comment []

All eyes on Turd Blossom. Beltway insiders are consumed by one question: Did Karl Rove do it? [Salon.com] 8:27:05 AM    comment []

Opera Embedding BitTorrent Client in New Version. This is sure to get my favorite browser Opera into trouble, and a lot of geek love: the next version of Opera, 8.02, will have an embedded BitTorrent P2P client. BetaNews: Although Opera has not officially announced the beta, which is dubbed a "technology preview," the release is available from the company's FTP server. Something similar to this is also in works for Mozilla... Via PaidContent.org [unmediated] 8:26:56 AM    comment []

Anchorage Daily News. Today's Anchorage Daily News is typical for the summer tourism season.  The top story on the front page is headlined "As things went wrong, hike became a deadly adventure" and recounts the death of 20-year-old Hezekiah Kelley, who lived in the Anchorage exurb of Wasilla.  Mr. Kelley and his cousin Richard went off on a quick hike on Saturday afternoon and got lost.  It was cloudy and rainy enough to induce hypothermia.  Hezekiah died on Monday morning.  Shortly afterwards a ranger in a helicopter spotted Richard. The front page of the Alaska section starts off with "3 bodies are found in Cessna", a story about three very experienced pilots from South Carolina who rented a 1973 Cessna 207 in Anchorage and disappeared after departing the Homer airport on Friday afternoon.  The weather was reasonably good so it is unclear how they ended up crashing into "a steep mountainside of a tiny island near the mouth of the Cook Inlet."  The Alaska section also has continued coverage of "Bear that killed 2 was healthy male", noting that "The Huffmans' campsite was clean, with food in bear-proof containers and an unused firearm in the tent.  The [Anchorage] couple had been on a rafting trip and was in the tent when the attack occurred." [Philip Greenspun Weblog] 8:21:45 AM    comment []

Judith Miller Goes to Jail. One of our reporters has decided to accept a jail sentence rather than testify before a grand jury about one of her confidential sources. We wish she did not have to choose it, but we are certain she did the right thing. [NYT > Opinion] 8:16:17 AM    comment []

N.Y. Times Reporter Jailed [Washington Post: Top News] 8:15:45 AM    comment []

Reporter Jailed After Refusing to Name Source. Judith Miller, a reporter for The Times, was sent to jail after a federal judge declared that she was "defying the law." By ADAM LIPTAK. [NYT > Washington] 8:15:31 AM    comment []