The Aardvark Speaks: How to shut them up.

I, on the other hand, found a way to shut up pesky cell phoners: listen. I mean, act as if you're listening. Not that you wouldn't hear everything they say anyway, given the way they're shouting into their phone.

I ask you: what is private about whatever somebody shouts into their mobile phone at the top of their voice? In fact, by shutting them up, I am helping them to keep their private lives private. Come to think of it, they should actually thank me for being an egoist bastard who just wants his peace and quiet.

[via explodedlibrary.info]

Morgan Wilson points to an interesting article on the ethical tight-rope Google tries to walk. I found the following snippet more interesting:

In September, at the height of the China controversy, Google legal eagle Drummond spotted an article about the prospect of a Google IPO, which, the story said, might be the spark to ignite the dormant public offerings market. Drummond forwarded the story with some sardonic comments. In his office, Brin tries to find the email for me but can't. He notes the irony in that, and goes on to paraphrase the note...

Hmm. Google needs a search engine for their email? The full article is here.