A house on the next

A house on the next block just went on sale. It's the same size and model as ours, with a smaller lot and not as nice an interior floorplan. Based on their flyer, it has nothing that ours doesn't have and it's only 6 months or so newer. The asking price is $125,000 more than we paid for ours when we moved here at the very end of 1999. It stuns me to realize that we may have gained close to $5K/month in equity in the short time we've been here, particularly given the current rough Northern California economy. It'll be interesting to see what that house actually sells for.

It's like something out of

It's like something out of a Gibson or Stephenson novel; a corporation using hacking to win in the marketplace: A $1 billion, corporate-funded hack?

Hoo boy! Matt Deatherage pointed

Hoo boy! Matt Deatherage pointed this one out. Did you know that Apple Computers promote Godless Darwinism and Communism? Read the whole article--if there's a culture war, I'm happy to be on the side against these folks.

Minimally invasive education:An Indian

Minimally invasive education:

An Indian physicist puts a PC with a high speed internet connection in a wall in the slums and watches what happens. Based on the results, he talks about issues of digital divide, computer education and kids, the dynamics of the third world getting online.


New Delhi physicist Sugata Mitra has a radical proposal for bringing his country's next generation into the Info Age.

This is why, as soon as Sean's computer was hooked up to the net, I showed him how to get to search engines and then gave him free rein. Kids have a natural curiousity--all we have to do is encourage kids to enjoy learning, and they'll handle the rest of it themselves.

Via Jerry Kindall, it's a

Via Jerry Kindall, it's a desktop picture of an X-rayed TiBook. Downloaded, installed, and lookin' good.

TV Reminder 1.2.2 (for OS

TV Reminder 1.2.2 (for OS X) alerts you when that great show is about to start so you don't miss a single minute. Dunno about the rest of you, but this is one of the main reasons why I like our ReplayTV--I watch the boob tube around my schedule, not someone else's.

After seven years at Jet.net,

After seven years at Jet.net, courtesy of Mel Beckman (many thanks!) I'm moving the negrino.com domain to our main web host, Pair Networks. The DNS is propagating as you read this, and the Net should be able to find me again by Monday at the latest. Both email and my Web site may have some problems in the meantime. If you need to get to the site in the meantime, click here. There will also be a site redesign sometime before the end of May.

The 2002 Hugo nominees have

The 2002 Hugo nominees have been announced. This year's awards are particularly interesting for us because we're con members and able to vote. The only category that's looking difficult to pick is Best Dramatic Presentation. How do I choose between The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling?

Maybe hell has frozen over?

Maybe hell has frozen over? Mozilla 1.0 Release Candidate 1 - Completed April 18, 2002.

Other weblogs that might be

Other weblogs that might be in Sonoma County:

• diversionmary
  
• Page of Moss
  
• No Simpler Than This
  
• On the Bright Side

We just got a ping

We just got a ping from a reporter asking about Sonoma County weblogs, and at first I drew a complete blank. Then I thought of PB's onfocus.com, and that was it. I don't think of what Tim does as weblogging, and Ben and Mena recently moved to SF.

So, who am I missing? Let me know.

Stupid patent tricks: Method of

Stupid patent tricks:

• Method of swinging on a swing
  
• Method of exercising a cat with a laser pointer
  
• Travel game and method of play--someone now owns the license plate game you've been playing all these years

NYT story: Among the Vatican

NYT story:
Among the Vatican Goals, Guidelines for Priests. Yeah, like how about "Don't have sex with children. It's a bad thing." Or "Keep your friggin' hands off the altar boys, holy dudes."

There's lots of talk on

There's lots of talk on weblogs and email lists about the dustup between Amazon.com and the Author's Guild. My thought: they're all wrong.

• The Author's Guild is wrong, in that if someone purchases a book, they have the right to do whatever they want with it. I strongly disagree with their contention that the availability of used books for sale takes away from the sales of new books.
  
• Amazon is wrong because they're not paying affliates for referrals when the purchaser chooses to buy a used book. If they pay for new books, they should pay for used books--Amazon makes money either way, and they should pay the referral fee accordingly.
  
• Publishers are also in the wrong. Most of the authors I know who are objecting to Amazon's practice are actually objecting to sales of review copies. Many of Amazon's used book sellers are getting books free from publishers and then immediately flipping them for resale. These are copies where the author gets no royalty. If the publisher sends out review copies, they should be marked in some fashion so that they can't be resold. We review lots of software, and much or most of it is clearly marked as "Not for Resale." Book publishers should have a similar policy. If this abuse of review copies was stopped, the author unhappiness would diminish.

I still haven't quite figured out my stance on how online copies of my books are for rent at Safari, or quite figured out how (or even if) this is related. Safari is similar to a library where people can borrow books, but it's different in that royalties aren't ever paid to the authors (or at least not to either of us). The best I can hope for is that, like when used books are sold on Amazon, this will help to motivate people to buy new books or new editions that I write. But I also think that it's like those unread review copies being sold; I wouldn't have the problem with Safari's deal if I'd gotten paid.

Rumor d'jour: eBay buying PayPal.

Rumor d'jour: eBay buying PayPal.

See, I had a plan.

See, I had a plan. Last Monday I was going to whip through the taxes. It wasn't going to be a big deal; I had all the paperwork and the software I needed, and it usually only took me about 3-4 hours the last few years. Ooops -- one small problem -- we got married last year. Heh. End result: the taxes are finally done <gigantic sigh of relief>.

In order to avoid completely tearing my hair out, I took an occasional break and finished up my Burn, Baby, Burn CDs to swap. Tomorrow, everything goes off to the post office.

Closing thoughts:

• Hint to anyone thinking about getting married or engaged: discuss your opinions about the US tax system first. The sanity you save may be your own.
• We just paid in 2001 taxes (state and federal) an amount nearly equal to half of the mortgage on my first house. Ouch.
• My apologies to everyone whose email I've ignored this last week. I kept thinking that I was about to be done, and then I could give you the attention you deserve. Some of it has gotten postponed longer than it should have, given its importance. If it helps any, you weren't the only one, and a response should be coming soon, I promise!

Our favorite translation.

Our favorite translation.