I'm baaack!  It was great to be gone, and now it's great to be back.  A ten day whirlwind trip to foreign countries is like a dream; while you're in it, the "real world" seems remote (hard to believe it keeps moving without you), and then when you're back, it is like you've closed the book, it's gone except for the memories.  Of which it must be said, I have many good ones..

So meanwhile the world did keep moving, let's take a look...

Today's big news was Google Health.  This appears to be a personal health record application, similar to Microsoft's recently announced HealthVault.  Lots of reviews: TechCrunch, ScienceRoll, Blogoscoped.  I'm sure I'll have more to say soon.  Of course for Aperio the key would be, can pathology information be managed, particularly digital slides.  The pathology data for a typical case are the most important because in most instances pathologists make the definitive diagnosis.  Anyway the management of personal health information is an interesting trend, kind of like when Quicken first made it possible for people to manage their own money. 

Dave Winer: sites that trust their users.  "If you love someone, set them free."  This seems especially apropos in the context of applications like Google Health.  Nobody would put all their health information in a service like that unless they could be sure it remained theirs, and they could get it back out and move it somewhere else. 

The story of the erased de Kooning drawing.  "Robert Rauschenberg asked the middle-aged de Kooning to give him a drawing that he could erase."  Fans of de Kooning or Rauschenberg will disagree, but I'm prepared to say that an erased de Kooning is probably his finest work, while erasing a de Kooning is probably Rauschenberg's... 

It is interesting how much press and attention the American Presidential election gets in Europe.  This year's extended contest between Obama and Clinton for the Democratic nomination has been especially good theatre.  Both of them are getting wrapped around the axle a bit; for example, as Powerline notes Obama gets whiplash on Iran: Obama on 5/18, "they don't pose a serious threat to us", Obama on 5/19, "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave".  He is being exposed as a buffoon, unfortunately; at first I really liked him, despite his politics, but I can't say that anymore... 

This is too bad: Ars Technica acquired by Condé Nast.  As a frequent reader I must say there have been zero cases where such an acquisition has improved the content or user experience of a site.  I guess we'll see...