Random shots around the web: John Ruberry writes about Chicago's food deserts. According to a University of New Hampshire study, everything the media tell you about Internet predators is wrong. Federal Judge Jeffrey S. White issued an apalling (and dangerous if not overturned) order to shut down an entire web site because someone complained about a few articles. As a … [Read more...] about Deserts, Predators, Domain Names, Musical Theater, Web Design, and Big Cats
Choosing an SUV
After my trusty old Camry gave up the ghost, my wife and I decided to buy an SUV. It was a big deal for me, so I'm going to be blogging about it a bit, in case anyone is interested. Buying an SUV is insanely complicated because the category covers a lot of vehicles designed for a lot of different purposes, and we had to make some choices. We settled on a few basic criteria. … [Read more...] about Choosing an SUV
An Especially Tricky Case to Prosecute
A few months ago, I was a juror on a criminal case where a guy was accused of attacking a cop. The cop was the only witness to the attack, and the defendant said he didn't do it. We the jury thought the defendant's story had too many problems, so we disregarded it and then convicted him based on the cop's more-credible testimony. I bring this up again because Scott at Simple … [Read more...] about An Especially Tricky Case to Prosecute
Welcome to the Club, Steven
According to an AP wire story, China isn't happy with Steven Spielberg: Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit the Beijing Olympics over the Darfur crisis is drawing condemnation by China's state-controlled media and a groundswell of criticism from the Chinese public. ... In newspaper commentaries and lively Internet forums, they have expressed outrage, scorn … [Read more...] about Welcome to the Club, Steven
Time For a New Car
Ever since we bought our last car in 1998, my wife and I have been thinking that our next car should be an SUV of some kind. Our 1997 Camry feels roomy inside, but that's because of good ergonomics. If you try to fit in something not shaped like a human, like a bunch of Banker's Boxes or a set of shelves from the Container Store, you quickly realize that the back seat has an … [Read more...] about Time For a New Car