Events

The President (for no more than 721 days and 13 hours more) signed an executive order that puts a political office in each executive department for the purpose of clearing what the department publishes. In other words, factual reports generated by the government will have to go through a political hack for approval before publication, instead of just being published by the generally apolitical civil service as they are today: In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush...

I apologize for the TDP hiatus, but we had a lot going on over the past week, not least of which was moving. Even though the new place is within 1500 m (0.9 mi) of the old place, Parker has still exhibited a lot of anxiety: whining, pawing, going from peacefully gnawing on a bully stick to running and barking. At least he didn't mark his territory. When moving with a dog, it's important to make sure he has toys and other familiar items around. Parker has a towel, which he has tailored into a flattering...

Via Talking Points Memo, this reminder that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog...but they do know what terminal you're using: In late August, someone with an IP address that originated from the National Institutes of Health drastically edited the Wikipedia entry for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which operates within NIH. Wikipedia determined the edit to be vandalism and automatically changed the definition back to the original. On Sept. 18, the NIH vandal returned, according to a...

Security expert Bruce Schneier finds some cases of appropriate and helpful security theater: Security is both a reality and a feeling. The reality of security is mathematical, based on the probability of different risks and the effectiveness of different countermeasures. We know the infant abduction rates and how well the bracelets reduce those rates. We also know the cost of the bracelets, and can thus calculate whether they're a cost-effective security measure or not. But security is also a feeling...

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reports that an enormous block of airspace around Washington is off-limits to general aviation tonight because of the State of the Union Address: During the president's speech to Congress and the nation, no flights are allowed to or from any of the 21 airports within the Washington, D.C., ADIZ, including pattern work. The special ingress/egress procedures for the "DC-3" airports inside the Flight Restricted Zone are also suspended. Only IFR flights to and from...

From my mom: Yeshiva University decided to field a rowing team. Unfortunately, they lose race after race. Even though they practice and practice for hours every day, they never manage to come in any better than dead last. Finally, the team decides to send Morris Fishbein, its captain, to spy on Harvard, the perennial championship team. So Morris schlepps off to Cambridge and hides in the bushes next to the Charles River, where he carefully watches the Harvard team at its daily practices. After a week...

The Bears going to the Superbowl has caused a ripple effect through Chicago karma. I first noticed it on the train this morning. Ordinarily, an express train picks up almost a full load of people at the stop right before mine, then whisks them to the Loop, allowing the local train that follows three minutes later to pick all of us up without making us sit on each others' laps. Today, the express train apparently followed the local train, so by the time the local got to me, we were sitting on each...

Via Talking Points Memo comes this gem.

When I took this photo, Parker weighed just over 10 kg (22 lbs): He's grown since then, about another 10 kg worth, until last week. Apparently he's leveled off at 21 kg (46 lbs), which makes him a perfectly normal German Rat Beagle: I thought he would get to 22.5 kg (50 lbs), but maybe not. Regardless, he's just the right size.

Good, detailed summary of the economics and business aspects of Microsoft's latest operating system: For years Microsoft's Windows logo often appeared against a blue sky with cottony clouds. But the cloud has become one of the company's biggest threats. The operating system matters less when programs can be provided online. Moreover, online software can be delivered to customers more cheaply, there is immediate feedback from users and applications can continually be improved. Those are big advantages...