Legal Research in a Nutshell

University of Virginia School of Law has done the legal community a favor by collecting online legal research links in one place. Very good resource.

Optical Illusion

Yes, this is a static picture. It's just your eyes playing tricks.

The Rings of Tolkien and Plato: Lessons in Power, Choice, and Morality

"Why be moral? What kind of life should I choose? What kind of person should I become? These are the fundamental questions of ethics, or moral philosophy. In Tolkien’s tale of the One Ring of Power we find the answer to the challenge to the moral life first proposed by Plato almost 2,400 years ago. Faced with the ability to satisfy one’s desires without limit and without consequences, can a person choose the path of virtue and renounce immense power? For Plato, the answer was yes, for the moral person can realize that a life of immoral power will corrupt the heart and soul. Power without love, friendship, and personal fulfillment will lead to unhappiness, a fundamental unhappiness that is beyond relief.

In Tolkien’s characters we see vindication of this Platonic vision of the importance and meaning of the moral life.

Interesting essay from a book which delves into the parallels between Plato's work and Tolkien's.

Techies by Necessity, Not by Choice (NY Times account required)

Did you ever think you'd know as much about computers as you do now? Do you fix your own problems or try to find out how? Are people starting to look to you for PC support? You're not alone.

TheMeet the spider who catches fish

I think the Terminator spider is a good name. Australia has some very wierd animal life.

Digital Matte Paintings of Middle Earth

Teaching religion: the final frontier?

Star Trek has always been a good platform to discuss religious and philosophical ideas. It's one of the reasons I've always loved the series. I love watching a story that makes me think or that I can dissect in different ways to uncover the truths it reveals.

Yahoo! News - Texas Puts Gutenberg Bible on Internet

It revolutionized printing and the world. Take a virtual visit here.

Flash Game: Mouse Dexterity

I don't know why I'm on this game kick but here is another. If you think you're steady with your mouse, move the point through the maze with hitting the walls or obstacles. Jeux Classique!

Nelson Bay, Halifax Park Australia

You'll need to download Quicktime here if you don't have it and choose to load the QTVR option to enjoy this site but once you've done it, enjoy the pictures which surround you. Each number at the top is a different panorama. The full site that's cataloged all this on the 'net is here. Enjoy!

Google beefs up news searches | CNET News.com

Alright, news junkies, now there's a way to refine your searches for daily news... Advanced News Search.

On another search note, Amazon is making plans to make the texts of tens of thousands of books searchable. With Google only able to search web content, a deal for Amazon with publishers could give exclusive search capabilities to one the biggest portal powers on the Internet. It would also be a boon for researchers.

SCO Tells Linux Users: Time To Pay Up > July 21, 2003

When you leave your enterprise to run on an open source operating system like Linux, this is what happens. Stealing code isn't a good way to build an OS.

Norbert's Emulator Software: ONE, the Online NES Emulator

Remember playing Nintendo games like Defender, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and Joust? Well, go no further than here for hours of the games of old.

Digging for Googleholes

Google is beginning to have a subtle, but noticeable effect on research. More and more scholarly publications are putting up their issues in PDF format, which Google indexes as though they were traditional Web pages. But almost no one is publishing entire books online in PDF form. So, when you're doing research online, Google is implicitly pushing you toward information stored in articles and away from information stored in books. Assuming this practice continues, and assuming that Google continues to grow in influence, we may find ourselves in a world where, if you want to get an idea into circulation, you're better off publishing a PDF file on the Web than landing a book deal.

This short little article exposes some of the impact of Google's methods on the information we search for. The implications in some of these areas is quite profound. I especially like the prediction that bloggers may on day rank higher in searches than the NY Times.

Paul Thurrott on Fun Fact About Those Linux PCs in Munich

One aspect of this story that most people don't know about is that up to 80 percent of those Linux desktops will be equipped with VMWare, a virtual machine emulator, under which they will run Windows and Windows applications. That's right, folks: The majority of those "Linux desktops" will be used to run … Windows. I'm not a big fan of Gartner, but they've issued a report, correctly titled, "Munich's Choice Doesn't Prove Linux OK for General Desktop Use," that raises some interesting issues.

Linux evangelists championed the decision by Munich to convert 14,000 desktops to the Linux OS. Now we find out the rest of the story. As always, the spin wasn't what supporters wanted us to believe.

Gnomedex 3.0 T-Shirts

I won't make it to make Gnomedex this year, though it'd be fun to go. But even if I can't be there, I can be one with the crowd by getting this T. Very cool!

Linux Tipping Point

Dvorak reminds us of our history and how Linux and Macs will never dominate the market without a killer app. Perhaps there aren't any, especially in an open source model, which can be created making it compelling to move to Linux.

Library - Center on Religion and Democracy

I recently mentioned ebooks and Microsoft's new push to get the word out about reader. Well, if you don't have good sources for thoughtful ebooks to stretch your mind, try visiting the above link. You'll a wealth of basic books which will make you think more deeply about the world, society and yourself. I visited last night to get Ben Franklin's Autobiography after watching PBS's excellent series on his life. I highly recommend you give it a watch when it re-airs.

For an even more complete list of free ebooks online, visit Project Gutenberg. If you're like, your hard drive will fill quickly.

Storing a terabyte in 1970

Sure am glad we've moved on from this method.

PCWorld.com - Commodore 64 Makes a Comeback

"Tulip estimates that there are still 6 million Commodore users, who can choose from a range of 6,000 games which were developed for the system."

This was my first PC back in the early 80's. It was so cool! LodeRunner, Neutral Zone...anyone remember??

Initial trailer for "The Passion", Mel Gibson's movie about Christ

Wired 11.08: User's Guide to Time Travel

Time travel has always been a fascinating concept to any science fiction buff. In this article, Michio Kaku explores the possibilities and impossibilities of visiting your past or your future.

Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster (Alertbox June 2003)

The easier it is to find places with good information, the less time users will spend visiting any individual website. This is one of many conclusions that follow from analyzing how people optimize their behavior in online information systems.

Information is consumed on the Internet as the bread and butter of everyday life. This article by Jakob Nielsen, a usability expert, is helpful in understanding informavores and their snacking habits.

PC users rate Dell tops in desktops

Dell is still the best. That's what our own experience shows as well as 18,000 other users.

Fellowship of the Ring in Flash
or download and watch the whole 12 minute movie here

CNN.com - Review: 'Pirates of the Caribbean' glorious - Jul. 8, 2003

"The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is a rousing action/adventure flick reminiscent of the glory years of pirate films 50 years ago.

One of my favorite rides at Disney comes to the big screen starting today. It's on my list of summer movies to see. Watch the trailer, if ye dare!

PCWorld.com - Bogus Ink Stink

Watch out for fakes!

Wired: Being Invisible

From Space Ghost to My Favorite Martian, invisibility has always been intriguing to me. As an introvert, to disappear at will would be a boon. But alas, as we learn in this article, my wish seems technologically out of reach...for at least a while.

Last.fm: Music to Listeners' Ears

This sounds like a pretty cool concept. Collaborative filtering for radio. The only problem I see is the music industry wanting you to hear what they decide they want you to hear. Just like being "forced" to watch advertising when you want to skip commercials with special technology. Will this concept survive? If the media folks have their way, expect to see it in the courts.

The Two Towers Movie - it's out! Sort of...

Microsoft Reader Promotion

"Sixty Best-Selling eBooks Are Available for Free Download, Showcasing Continuing Growth In eBook Market; More Than 19,000 Commercial Titles Are Now Available for Microsoft Reader "

The free ebook giveaway has begun at Microsoft...three free each week until November. You can begin to check them out here

COLDPLAY-Clocks

I heard the piano rifts from song and fell in love with it. It's called Clocks by Coldplay...for a full hearing of it, try here

New Jonathan Edwards Bio Reviewed
(NY Times subscription required)

''Jonathan Edwards: A Life,'' by George M. Marsden, a religious historian at the University of Notre Dame. Edwards was a nimble logician and a wonderful stylist. His words could thunder or soothe -- scolding savagely, needling wittily or inspiring piously. He kept abreast of secular thought and was a remarkably close observer of nature, especially of optical effects. He seemed so ''modern'' to Perry Miller, the great historian of Puritanism, that Miller's biography of the pastor, which would have astonished its subject, treated him more as a flexible Enlightenment thinker than as a rigid Calvinist. Miller managed somehow to spawn a whole generation of what Marsden calls ''atheists for Edwards.''

Edwards is one my historical heros, a man who was Christian thinker par excellence. This biography, written by very thoughtful present-day Christian scholar, sounds like a wonderful trip through the life of one of my "founding fathers".

Spreading the gospel of blog

"If I were in your business," Winer tells me, "I'd embrace this stuff as quickly as I could, and make the changes that it requires of you. The changes are going to come. Every industry that has ever had to deal with this has learned the lessons.

This is a nice piece built around an interview with Dave Winer, one of the "founding fathers" of blogging. His vision for how this technology can impact our future political process and news media is intriguing. I believe all businesses need to assess the technology and see how it can be of benefit internally and externally to the organization.

Dangerous Phone Calls

I sat down on a JetBlue flight coming back from the CeBIT show in New York and the guy behind me started making calls. At least 11 people sitting around him had to cover their ears to avoid hearing every detail of his exploits. Those details should have been confidential. Worse, he was one of those guys who talks louder than usual when on the cell phone. I estimate that up to 26 people could have easily heard the conversation. Here's what I learned by listening in on his conversation (all names have been changed—an editorial decision). "

I also have noticed this phenomenon. It's interesting to me how people seem to be oblivious to their surroundings and just don't care.

Do you like David Copperfield? On Today...

USATODAY.com - Gates on Linux

"Bill Gates: Well those are our current competitors. I mean, it's no different than in the past people used [IBM's operating system] OS/2."

Linux=OS/2?? We'll see.

Barnes & Noble to kick off Wi-Fi trials | CNET.com

You won't have to just go to Starbucks...which is nice since I love to hang out at B&N.