Aside

Wow, apparently a UCSD political science professor, James H. Fowler, has just published a bona fide research paper on the effects of the “Colbert Bump.” From the press release: His analysis finds that Democrats who appear on The Colbert Report enjoy a significant increase in the number and total amount of donations they receive over the next 30?? days when compared to similar candidates who do not appear on the show. Specifically, Democrats who come on the program raise $8,247…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the cyberattacks against Georgian websites will be on Morning Edition tomorrow (August 12). It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 5 am to 9 am Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 5 am to 10 am Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 2 am to 9 am Pacific – KPCC –…

These are the headlines that I’ve been reading this afternoon: The New York Times: On Slog to Safety, Seething at West One soldier, his face a mask of exhaustion, cradled a Kalashnikov. “We killed as many of them as we could,” he said. “But where are our friends?” It was the question of the day. As Russian forces massed Sunday on two fronts, Georgians were heading south with whatever they could carry. When they met Western journalists, they all said…

Becky and I are moving to Lyon next month. I leave Oakland in exactly six weeks (OMG! SIX WEEKS!) for a weekend trip to DC to visit my cousins and will go to France from there on September 21. So, who’s got leads on apartments in Lyon? We want something in the 3è (near Part-Dieu), have 500 euros max to spend and ideally would like the place to be furnished. We’d need it from October 1 2008 to May 1…

The subject of traffic tickets is on my mind lately, as a few months ago I got busted for doing a California roll right turn here in North Oakland. I’m in the midst of online traffic school right now, and when all is said and done, I’ll have had to throw down $400 for the pleasure. Compare that to Alex’s experience in Estonia: Then came (compared the the States) a lot of paperwork. A document showing my rights under Estonian…

Tim Wu’s Op-Ed in The New York Times: Wired connections to the home — cable and telephone lines — are the major way that Americans move information. In the United States and in most of the world, a monopoly or duopoly controls the pipes that supply homes with information. These companies, primarily phone and cable companies, have a natural interest in controlling supply to maintain price levels and extract maximum profit from their investments — similar to how OPEC sets…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on Apple’s woes with the iPhone and MobileMe will be on All Things Considered today (July 30)! It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 4 pm to 6:30 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 4 pm to 6 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm Pacific…

I spent all day Friday watching the 13th day of the Sumo Grand Tournament in Nagoya. It was pretty sweet. More to come soon, but for now, here’s a little taste:

There was a 6.9 quake late tonight, 300 miles away in northeastern Honshu. We felt some very light shaking just before going to bed, but we’re fine.

Crazy conservatives getting their panties in a twist about the State Department’s “Mosques of America” calendar. Also, this writer Jeff Johnson seems to be jealous over the fact that he didn’t come with Stuff White People Like. Get over it, dude. There’s a patron saint for the Internet? Meet Saint Isidore of Seville. The Star Pheonix: ‘Couch surfing’ site reveals cultural side of the Internet