R. Collins Farquhar IV, Aristocrat and Scientist.

To the directionless American people.

Greeting:

As my most recent endeavor received little appreciation, it is my great delectation to announce my decision to devote my considerable talents to solving the world's problems.

Here's an interesting dilemma: How do you avoid becoming the primary technical support contact for all of your friends and family?

(If this sounds vaguely familiar, yes, this is a revised version of something I wrote a year and a half ago.)

Iraq was about all we talked about at work today, before the grisly incident of today became public. Actually I should say other people talked. I didn't do much but listen.

This is about all I have to say.

Wikipedia has been nominated for two Webby awards this year.

It's up against some heavy hitters (currently losing to Google and LiveJournal in its two categories), but just a nomination is an acomplishment, let alone a second-place finish, which looks like a probability.

Wikipedia, in case you don't know, is an effort to create a free and complete encyclopedia.

Dan Rutter always makes me laugh. And his current front page is no exception: While he normally talks computers or R/C toys, he's made no secret of his love for cats. And last week he made an impassioned plea for Australians to adopt cats. And he noted that his shelter of choice also has "dogs and camels and stuff."

Which of course gave me an idea.

I saw a great e-mail signature line today. Like all great lines, it summed up something that everyone has thought a million times in a single brilliant sentence.

I don't do this very often, but just for today I'm going to be a true weblog, posting little more than links and my own comments about them. It's mostly so I can find this stuff again, but hopefully someone else finds it useful too.

In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me -
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

R. Collins Farquhar IV, aristocrat and scientist.

I'm still not recovered, but I expect to be on my way. The doc put me on some prescription meds. Which reminds me: The mafia My health insurance company seems to have changed prescription providers YET AGAIN, and I missed my card in the mail. What is this, flavor-of-the-week?