Aside

LA Times: The Gates Foundation has poured $218 million into polio and measles immunization and research worldwide, including in the Niger Delta. At the same time that the foundation is funding inoculations to protect health, The Times found, it has invested $423 million in Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total of France — the companies responsible for most of the flares blanketing the delta with pollution, beyond anything permitted in the United States or Europe.…

So due to the magic of EasyJet, I have a $50 flight from London to Tallinn in exactly a month. One problem though, is that the flight is from Stansted Airport, which is basically not near anything — meaning, it’s about 30 miles northeast of London. That’s basically like living in Oakland and flying out of San Jose: doable, but not ideal. Now, normally this wouldn’t be a problem as there’s a convenient train that leaves every 30 minutes from…

25 years ago today I was born at Santa Monica Hospital. During my quarter-century on this Earth I’m fortunate to have had many opportunities to grow up in a loving family, to have been educated both here and abroad, to have learned to play musical instruments, and to have been trained as a journalist. I’m not really sure what the next 25 years will bring, nor where my exact place in the world will be, but I’m hoping to land…

BBC: Hundreds of protesters in France have rung in the New Year by holding a light-hearted march against it. Parodying the French readiness to say “non”, the demonstrators in the western city of Nantes waved banners reading: “No to 2007” and “Now is better!” The marchers called on governments and the UN to stop time’s “mad race” and declare a moratorium on the future. The protest was held in the rain and organisers joked that even the weather was against…

And thoroughly destroyed the first four opponents, which was an awesome feeling. The entire concept of the Wii is a lot funner than I had thought it would be.

I’m back from the East Coast. Philadelphia airport is surprisingly easy to get to. Also, I had a cheesesteak sandwich before leaving the confines of the City of Brotherly Love. Looking forward to chillaxing at home this week until CES begins and I head out for Africa.

It’s been a long-standing tradition in our family to have my grandfather read “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” on Christmas Eve. This year, I’ve recorded it for posterity and will release it as my Christmas present to everyone! “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas, as read by John Hadsell [MP3 – 20:31 – 9.6MB]

“When the things got for real, I got up in the fold / and put into practice all that I was told.” – “The Inkwell”, Blue Scholars Things are getting pretty freakin’ real right about now, that’s for sure. I just got a book deal. Yeah. Really. A book. Like you know, one of those things that’s printed on dead trees and sits in libraries and stuff. Maybe you’ve heard of ’em? I’m going to have an entry in the…

I’ve been tagged by Glenn Fleishman for the latest blogger meme du jour. I’m supposed to list five things that most people don’t know about me. 1. My only run-in with school authorities came when I was in kindergarten. I was suspended for one day for biting Lee Kramer, a friend of mine (yes, we’re still friends) on the hand. Basically, at recess there was a shopping cart full of balls (for four-square, handball, etc.) and it was always a…

The Washington Post: Moscow is not alone in the unexpected warmth — it stretches across the continent. Preliminary data from the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service, and the University of East Anglia indicate that 2006 has been the warmest year in Britain since record-keeping concerning weather conditions began in central England in 1659. Trees are sprouting leaves in Switzerland. And low-altitude ski resorts across the Alps look more like springtime meadows. “We are currently experiencing the warmest period in…