I Love the Internet

There’s a walk that I’ve taken in three different places, in three different cities at three different times in my life. In 1997-1998 it was at Bossey, just outside Geneva. In 2002-2003 it was at UGB just outside Saint-Louis. In 2007, it’s been here, in Yoff, on the edge of Dakar. This is a walk that I take alone, completely alone. I don’t talk to anyone. The walk takes me from my comfort zone of being on the Internet, to…

The Washington Post: When the State Department recently asked the CIA for names of Iranians who could be sanctioned for their involvement in a clandestine nuclear weapons program, the agency refused, citing a large workload and a desire to protect its sources and tradecraft. Frustrated, the State Department assigned a junior Foreign Service officer to find the names another way — by using Google. Those with the most hits under search terms such as “Iran and nuclear,” three officials said,…

In the tradition of the Internet mash-up, it’s only fitting that in response to the A’s departure to Fremont, two kids mixed two great Oakland traditions: ghost ridin’ the whip, and the A’s.

I listen to Soma FM pretty much nonstop while at work. These are my three favorite tracks as of late: Klee – Gold Les Sans Culottes – Allo Allo We Are Scientists – The Great Escape That is all.

Paul Boutin just pointed me to the fact that Google Maps has updated its imaging. It’s so good now that I can pick out the building that I used to live in in Senegal (click on the image to make it bigger). The red arrow marks my home from November 2002 – May 2003. The Université Gaston Berger is about 12 km east of the city of Saint-Louis, Senegal.

Yay! Oakland is on its way to getting a citywide network! [via MuniWireless]

With all this talk about search data being leaked, I’ve given a little bit more thought to cyber-security. First, I use my ISP‘s VPN almost all the time now. Second, I’ve switched from Fire to Adium, if for no other reason than it’s more customizable and has really super easy built-in encryption. Then today I came across these tips from the EFF on how to keep your search history private, including a suggestion to get the CustomizeGoogle Firefox extension. All…

I discovered a blog devoted to Condolezza Rice’s hair. Really. Tagline: “I keep track of Condoleezza’s hairdo so you don’t have to.” Brilliant. [via MeFi]

Apparently, I’ve cracked the top 10 of “Cyrus” on Google. I’m after the Cyrus Restaurant but before Cyrus’ Blather. When I last blogged about it, I came in at number 11. That is all for tonight.

Slate: How was Zidane’s head-butting technique? Impeccable. Experts in self-defense and mixed martial arts say Zidane’s head butt was a flawless demonstration of the form. He positioned his feet close to his opponent and stepped into the blow, contracting his abdominal muscles to curve into the attack. He was also careful to keep his chin down as he approached, which helped him land the strike with the top of his head as opposed to his brow or face. Great piece,…