In what might be the largest lawsuit ever, Wal-mart is getting sued by 1.6 million female employees for unequal pay. Here's the link...Wal-Mart battles huge sexism claim. Discovered on BoingBoing.

Here's the rest of Orson Scott Card's essay...MP3s Are Not the Devil - Part 2.

I know what I want for my birthday...Whee!!!

Orson Scott Card of Ender's Game fame has written the essay MP3s Are Not the Devil about the RIAA suing everybody and their grandfather. Part one is out this week.

The big story today out thar in the Internets is about letter scrambling. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, olny taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pcleas. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by ilstef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
If that's not enough, and it never is when a bored programmer gets an idea, here's The Word Scrambler Thing to do the scrambling for you. Wheee!!! That should keep you going for at least the time it takes for the next meme to rise; which should be about fifteen seconds after I post this.

Two of my favorite blogs are signing off today. William Gibson turned in his notice today. "I’ve found blogging to be a low-impact activity, mildly narcotic and mostly quite convivial, but the thing I’ve most enjoyed about it is how it never fails to underline the fact that if I’m doing this I’m definitely not writing a novel – that is, if I’m still blogging, I’m definitely still on vacation." I'm sad that he's stopping, but glad a new book will be coming out of it.

The other blog is Moja Vera; the U.S. soldier that has been blogging about his days and nights in Iraq. Moja gets to come home tomorrow. Again, I'm sad to see the end of his blog, but glad he gets to come home alive.

This whole blogging thing I first thought was really silly. All I kept thinking about was some of the really bad ones I had seen in the beginning... bad poetry and people rambling on for days about nothing. But then I read a few really good ones like those above and became totally intrigued and addicted. I began to see the ramifications of this type of one to many dialogue...everyone having a voice to the masses. This seems most important now. With the world taking sides on everything, these blogs help me remember that this world is not made of just me and "all of them". It helps me see the humans behind the "they". It allows me to see that we are all people struggling from our own point of reference to understand to desire to sense to feel to love to hate to to live -- to be. Even if that means I have to read some bad poetry once in a while.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

Peace. Blog on!

In an almost unbelieveable turn of events, MTV reports that the Pixies will be reuniting in April. I've done a little checking and it appears that this might not be true. Only time will tell. If it does happen, then w00t! lot of places but first read on BoingBoing

Someone posted this on the Gibson board and I thought I might share. It's great fun! Online Coloring Book

Kids gotta learn early that it's political bribes and payoffs that run this country! St. Paul is now requiring all youngsters that wish to operate any sort of refreshment stand to buy a $60 vendor license. "You gotta grease those palms with the cold hard cash before you'll be selling pop around here kiddo! Stop crying and wipe your nose! This is Amahreeka! You gotta pay to play!" In other news, city parks will begin introducing swing tolls next month...

From the immense intellect of these modern times, California governor candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger comments on the controversial issue of gay marriage: "I think gay marriage should be between a man and a woman." From defective yeti

What are you? Are you a liberal pinko commie or a conservative religious zealot? Take the World's Smallest Political Quiz and find out.

A good laugh for Monday; especially if you are looking for a job. The Morning News - The Non-Expert: Defenestrate Your Résumé! "Most companies automatically forward résumés of two-pages or longer to Popeye’s Chicken, so be sure to confine things confided to a single sheet. If you are having trouble getting everything to fit, try narrowing your margins, reducing your font to 7, or getting rid of the ‘deadweight’ by eliminating your education or omitting the nouns."

Drink to your health! Scientists report that a chemical in red wine may contribute to longer life. The chemical mimics an affect caused on the body due to calorie restriction. "The chemicals are designed to mimic the effect of a low-calorie diet, which is known to lengthen the life span of rodents. Scientists involved in the research say human life span could be extended by 30 percent if people respond to the chemicals the way rats and mice do to low calories." They think that this is a biological response to lean times that allowed animals to live long enough to reproduce.

Another story that puts Alabama in a positive light...Chief justice vows to fight monument removal order. I have to side with the other justices who understand their role as Alabama Supreme Court judges. "...the justices said Moore is legally bound to follow a lawful court order even if he disagrees with it." Judge Moore is unable to hold the HIGHEST position in this state's court without letting his own emotions cloud his view of the law. He also does not care about the welfare of his own statesmen by forcing them to carry the burden of daily fines due to his defiance of the very laws he swore to uphold. I think it's time to hold our own recall. This is what happens when we elect officials that should be appointed.

Sometimes you forget the important things and then you get reminded...The Onion | I Have An iPod--In My Mind is a great read. via BoingBoing

Here's a great article about the Google calculator function that will complete most simple equations as well as give answers to some tougher questions. It will also do conversions. Very nice when you're like me and can never remember how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon.

An addendum to the diamond article in Wired, this was found in the William Gibson forums...LifeGem is selling diamonds made of the carbon of your dead loved ones. "That's a beautiful ring! Was it your grandmother's?" You reply, "Why no it IS my grandmother."

When I went to Chichan Itza and the Parthenon I wondered how they became abandoned ruins. DetroitYES - The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit Forum gives us a living diary of that decay in progress. Detroit should be made into an Industrial Landmark; an American ruin. Too bad the city planners think that only through imploding and destroying their past they can create a brighter future. Everyday another beautiful but abandoned building falls to the wreaking ball. Take a look at Detroit before it no longer exists. It is a great lesson for us all.

The cover story of this month's Wired is a well written tale of diamonds, greed, and the future of computing. Wired 11.09: The New Diamond Age reads like a tale of espionage. "During a break in the conference, a man approached Linares and told him to be careful. 'He said that my father's research was a good way to get a bullet in the head,' Linares recalls."

Protect your children by banning all use of Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)in schools!!! DHMO kills thousands of people each year! It has been discovered that all crimes are committed by people that have been exposed to or ingested DHMO! They are even using it in nuclear power plants!!! Protect you and your family's future by exposing the truth about DHMO today!