From Boing Boing Blog: Kevin Bacon's dad rides skateboard. 92-year-old Ed Bacon stages skateboard protest in Philly's LOVE Park:

Who is Ed Bacon? For starters he is the father of Kevin Bacon. But more importantly, he is the architect who created LOVE Park, Dilworth Plaza (in front of City Hall) and the Municipal Services plaza. Basically he is the accidental genius behind creating the perfect atmosphere for street skateboarding.

So why is he protesting? Ed Bacon thinks it's a shame that the city is turning its back on skateboarders. Link 

7:36:33 PM  #   your two cents []

Interview with Brewster Kahle [Slashdot]
7:33:22 PM  #   your two cents []

"Laptops have always been a hot item but a 50-year-old scientist did not realise to what extent until he burned his penis."
7:27:39 PM  #   your two cents []

CipherTrust wants your spam. The company is calling on surfers of all stripes to help it wage a fight against spam by sending their unsolicited mass mails to its new Web site. [CNET News.com]
10:23:03 AM  #   your two cents []

This is my opinion column today, if you're interested. It's here in the Times (sub only) or here (free): 'Someone please explain to me why, in the name of freedom and liberty and an open democracy, we should have to watch the superpowers whittle away at all these things in the name of President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair's "war against terrorism".'

10:22:07 AM  #   your two cents []

Here's my Irish Times story today on South Korea's incredible broadband growth, here (Irish Times, sub only) or here (free).

10:17:47 AM  #   your two cents []

Bertrand Russell. "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." [Quotes of the Day]
10:13:35 AM  #   your two cents []

Gerstner says Internet saved IBM. Former CEO said IBM was 'a deer caught in headlights' when he took over [InfoWorld: Top News] A nice pat on his own back...
10:13:03 AM  #   your two cents []

The SmartForce class action lawsuit appeal set for May hearing (from Irish Times):

SmartForce will face a $500 million class action suit in the United States for damages from investors who allege the firm operated fraud. The case, due for hearing in May next year, was initiated in 1999 by the San Francisco law firm Gold Bennett Cera & Sidener, but was only recently cleared for a full hearing by an US federal judge.

The complaint alleges SmartForce made untrue statements of material fact to induce the plaintiffs to purchase the firm's shares. It also alleges the scheme enabled defendants to sell shares at artificially inflated prices during 1998.

10:12:22 AM  #   your two cents []

OECD cuts growth forecast for the Republic (Irish Times, subscription)
10:09:12 AM  #   your two cents []

From Boing Boing Blog: European Space Agency seeks science fiction. The European Space Agency's Clarke-Bradbury competition is looking for science fiction stories written by writers between the ages of 15 and 30, which is a bit of a weird spread. It's juried by a bunch of scientists (including physicist/musician/softcore porn star/Italian assemblywoman Dr. Fiorella Terenzi!) and the prize is basically prestige, but still. Neat. Link (via Schism Matrix)
10:06:47 AM  #   your two cents []

Agency Weighed, but Discarded, Plan Reconfiguring the Internet. A Pentagon research agency considered but rejected tagging Internet data with physiological markers to make anonymous use of some parts of the Internet impossible. [New York Times: Technology]
10:05:26 AM  #   your two cents []

Corporate Interests Trump Public Domain for Science Info [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]
10:04:01 AM  #   your two cents []