Aside

Yesterday afternoon, I reported on the creation of the longest California Roll yesterday for an upcoming edition of The California Report. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley. The new record, set at 330 feet, apparently defeated the old record set in Hawaii in 2001 by 30 feet. I interviewed student Zach Brown, Chef Ming Hwang, Prof. Duncan Williams, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, and Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine, who certified…

After the success of October’s taco truck tour, it’s time for another! Taco Truck Tour Numéro Dos: When: Sunday, November 22, 2009 Meet: 12:30 pm, Lake Merritt BART station (9th and Oak St., Oakland). Start: ~ 12:45 pm End: ~ 3:30 pm ish, Fruitvale BART station Twitter: @catacotrucks / #tacotrucktour Itinerary (follow along at Oakland Taco Truck Map 2007) 1) Tacos Alonzo at Foothill Blvd./27th Ave. 2) Tacos El Mazatlan at Foothill Blvd./Fruitvale Ave. 3) Tamales Mi Lupita at Foothill…

So I just got off a Skype call with Farhad Ardalan to learn more about the early days of the Iranian Internet back in 1989. It wasn’t until 1992 that Iran was connected via EARN to the Internet. Fun fact: According to Ardalan, the man who authorized Iran’s first Internet connection was Mohammad-Javad Larijani (pictured). At the time, Larijani was the director of the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics in Tehran. He is currently an adviser to…

Yesterday, on MetaFilter, readers figured out that Hoder.com was about to expire at the end of this month and they wanted to make sure that it stayed in Hossein Derakhshan’s name. Some had suggested that they wouldn’t allow the domain to be renewed until he did it himself — and he obviously can’t as he’s in prison. However, later in the day, the domain’s whois records showed that someone had renewed it for a year, but it was unclear how…

John and Andy (in order of geographic proximity to me)– As an unfashionable Californian, I’m a little bit ashamed to think that some high-end California hat store is now selling pith helmets. I wish I was joking. As the Los Angeles Times reports: While I didn’t think it was quite the appropriate headgear for that evening’s black-tie wedding, it fits in nicely with the explorer/desert military vibe that labels like Versace and Galliano had embraced for their Spring/Summer 2010 men’s…

I had the honor of being interviewed (again!) by Jesse Brown on his TVO show, “Search Engine“, to provide an update on Hossein Derakhshan. As I mentioned yesterday, and as Jesse blogged, we’ve gotten a little more information since we recorded this podcast last week. Audio is here. Also, thanks for the link love from Bobby, David, Ethan, Farid and Xeni.

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the arrest of Hossein “Hoder” Derakhshan. I’ve been covering this issue on my blog and also for three media outlets: PRI’s The World, in a piece that aired on Wednesday, TVO’s Search Engine (in an episode airing tomorrow), and for PBS’ MediaShift in a piece that will be airing later this week. The CBC also came out with a piece late Thursday night that I’ve just now seen. I have also been in regular…

Regarding: The New York Times, October 31, 2009, “French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets Reality” Dear Editor, As an American who has recently returned from living in France, I definitely agree that France’s Vélib program has been fraught with problems. However, this in not the case in Lyon, where my wife and I lived earlier this year. In fact, France’s second city — which was the first French city to start a bike-sharing program (“Vélo’v“), two years before Paris — has…

Leonard Kleinrock is taking the stage now. I’m covering for CBC Spark and The World’s Tech Podcast. Here’s the schedule for today. Live video feed after the jump.