This is like the sixth of these that I've 'signed'. Presumably, some part of the Obama administration is collecting statistics on which districts have clicked 'yes' on these things and using that information when they talk to members of congress. I'm thinking something like that West Wing episode, "Down Five Votes".

Of course, it seems like the real reason they do these is because you're always redirected to the "thanks, but if you really want to help, donate!" page after you submit your name. Even if they don't have a very high conversion rate on that page, they're still making money. That's the cynical view anyways.

ICANN has voted to approve .xxx TLD. I've always been a big supporter of this. I'm not of the opinion that pornography is something minors need "protecting from" in the first place. Not that I think minors should have wide and unfettered access to porn. The upside is that presumably this will make it so that public libraries don't have to resort to blocking web sites that explain how to do a breast self-exam.

Interestingly enough, the New York Times is reporting that the online pornography industry was joining with 'conservative groups' to lobby against this decision. Clearly the existence of http://www.tits.xxx diminishes the value of the tits.com domain. Ostensibly, they're opposed to the idea that porn could be easily filtered, which brings up an interesting issue regarding Net Neutrality: what do you do when your DSL provider, Christian Family Communications decides to drop .xxx from your DNS servers? On the other hand, concerned parents could call up CFC and get .xxx blocked with the same ease of a phone call to the front desk to block adult movies in hotel rooms.

The New York Times and Time.com have more.

And remember, the hottest .tv, .mobi and .info domains are available now! LOL.

I think that sometimes when I stay up really late — absurdly late — what I'm really trying to do is put off tomorrow. I don't really have anything in particular I'm doing. I'm browsing the internet, I'm drinking lots of caffeine for no reason. I'm not watching a movie and feeling compelled to watch in its entirety; nor am I reading a particularly good book and staying up ridiculously late to finish off those last three great chapters.

This is not a good sign, not a good thing in general. This is a bad omen. Contrast with the Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman book which I absolutely loved. Incidentally, Terry Pratchett in particular should be much more popular in the US. The man is absolutely prolific and astoundingly entertaining in a geeky, quirky tongue-in-cheek sort of way not unlike possibly the most popular comic on the net right now(?) [whose letters add up to a certain awesome value when added together].

Digression. Recession.

I asked a question on the Globe "Ask Amalie" section today. For your reading enjoyment, here it is below. Post your answers in the comments!

Great column this week. I'm interested in hearing more about the spirit of the team and the mood in the clubhouse. So my question is: When it comes to getting a team 'fired up' and getting good chemistry between players, who do you think holds the majority of the responsibility? Can the manager and coaching staff help? The owner/GM? The fans? Do our local baseball writers and broadcasters (NESN/WEEI/WRKO) have a role to play? Is it up to the veterans to show patience and give guidance? Should the rookies be wacky, wild, and hungry to succeed?

On a related note: Do you think that keeping the sellout streak alive at Fenway is a testament to the effort that the fans are putting in, or can we do more?

Thanks!

This is an application on Android, and it's the reason I love my phone. While others are play sudoku or browsing the web, I'm on this thing creating sick beats and weird synth lines. It's amazingly fun, but the only problem is that they render the sounds on the server so you need a phone/internet connection in order to effectively use the software.

But it's amazing how using a sequencer every day has gotten me into the habit of being able to....auralize the sounds I want to make before I even start programming them.

So enjoy my songs and check out the fun at uloops.net.

In other news, would anyone like some http://lambsandwich.es?