France hails 'fall of Saddam'.  What a bunch of disgusting front-runners.  The subtext is "we really want TotalElfFina to continue their lucrative oil contracts".  I hope they get what they deserve: nothing.

Cloudsoup quotes Shelley: "... And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. ..."

Timbu has a great post: Parachuting Cats - Unintended Consequences.  This is blogging at its finest.

Nick Denton has a wonderful conversation with a sceptic.  Notice how much more effective sarcasm is when done with a light touch?

NRO has rerun "Freedom", an article on Iraqi Regime Change written by Abd al-Majid al-Khoei, the Shiite leader who was assassinated in Najaf.

A withering look at the Bizarro Broadcasting Company (BBC), courtesy of DuckSeason.  You knew there was a problem when the H.M.S.Ark Royal switched them off...  (Actually if you read BBC stories at all you knew there was a problem!)

Well, the Concorde is grounded for good.  I suppose this is the right thing to do, economically, but it is too bad.  The Concorde is a mechanical marvel, a beautiful example of form following function.  All the more amazing in that it is over 30 years old.

I found a great new blog - Arguing with signposts - added to the roulette blogroll but check it out.  I love the comparison between Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Said Sahhaf and Groucho Marx.

With all the news from Iraq this has been under-reported: Scientists identify virus behind deadly SARS:

"SARS, which was spread around the world by travelers, has killed an estimated 110 people and infected more than 3,000. But authorities in the United States and other countries believe they have the infection under control."  [italics are mine]

This feels to me like pre-celebrating; I'm betting right now that SARS kills more people than the war in Iraq.  And the problems will be with us much longer.  Remember, AIDS is a venereal disease, it only spreads through sexual contact.  SARS spreads through the air.  Not good.

This is fascinating: the Miniature Earth.  Really thought provoking.  I think this type of analogy will be great for illustrating concepts in Unnatural Selection.  People can relate to 100 objects much more easily than 10 billion.  [via Solonor's Groovy Groove]

Have you noticed that the use of "www" seems to be declining?  More and more sites have URLs without a leading "www".  And many more make it optional (it is on my site, w-uh.com works just as well as www.w-uh.com).  Saves typing, but even more important it makes them easier to say; "double-you double-you double-you dot" just wasn't efficient.  And "triple-dub" never caught on.  Just wondering.

Apple in talks to buy Universal Music Group.  I am not making this up.  And - I don't get it.  Universal is the largest music label - 25% of worldwide sales, and they are struggling, like all of "big music".  This would make Apple "more like Sony", but in a bad way; I don't think Sony's acquisition of CBS (aka Columbia/Epic) is regarded as a success.  { For what its worth - Universal is presently owned by Vivendi, a French media conglomerate. }

Do you think the Martha Burk -led protest of the Masters golf tournament is as stupid as I do?  I see where they are comparing themselves to Martin Luther King.  Excuse me, but I think the civil rights movement of the 1960s was a teeny bit more substantial.