There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as messing about in boats...

... and so it was that I found myself today, messing about in small boats with kids.  It was HOT and the breeze was sketchy, we got a bit burnt, and yet it was excellent...  hope your day was as nice.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

So, is everything seemingly spinning out of control?  Everything?  Boy, I don't think so; this is the best time to be alive, ever.  This headline writer needs some historical context! 

I have a theory, founded on observation, see if you agree.  The most strident, angry, over-the-top bloggers are liberal, while the more measured bloggers are conservative.  I think this holds even for bloggers who don't blog about politics.  For example John Gruber, who's Daring Fireball is an awesome blog about Apple, Macs, and technology, lapsed into politics every so often; so enough so his liberal-ness pokes through.  And he is definitely strident.  Dave Winer would be another example of a strident liberal.  Or Mark Pilgrim...  On the calm conservative side we have Eric Sink, or Tim Oren.  What do you think, does this hold up?  (Am I a counter-example? :) 

Chris Maresca: when electric cars were the future.  "The media are making all kinds of noise lately to the effect that electric cars are coming, that they’re going to help us kick our imported-oil habit, and that you’ll be able to drive them for pennies a day."  That was from Car and Driver, June 1981.  It goes on "It’s a tall order, but GM is already well on the way to pulling it off. Whether the buyers will be there, however, is a question GM is still struggling to answer."  Helps you realize that the big car companies are all about appearance, they actually have no intention of shipping electric vehicles until the market forces them to do so.  Innovation is going to come from small companies...  the situation is ripe for a classic attack from below... 

TTAC has a well-reasoned analysis why GM is going bankrupt.  They're going there slowly - dinosaurs take a while to die - but you can only run cash negative for so long, no matter how big you are.  And I don't think the public will stand for a bailout. 

Awesome space pictures!  [ from NASA, via Ann Althouse ]  These look like scenes from a movie, don't they?  (Reminds me of that classic observation, it would cost less to send men to Mars than to make a movie about sending men to Mars :) 

Did you know - old iPhones (pre-3G) are actually more valuable than new ones to many people, because they could be bought without an AT&T contract, hacked, and subsequently used anywhere in the world with any SIM.  While the new ones can only be bought with a two-year contract.  I love it, the market at work... 

Speaking of Apple, they've announced that the next version of OS X aka Snow Leopard will include support for ZFS.  That is potentially great news for server aficionados, and really ups the ante for Microsoft.  ZFS makes NTFS look twenty years old, which it is. 

Oh man, this sucks.  George Carlin has died.  That really hurts, he feels like a contemporary even though he was 71.  On top of being really really funny, he was smart and a wonderful observer.  Let's hope he continues to entertain wherever he goes :) 

• If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
• Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.
• The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other going in opposite directions.
• What if there were no hypothetical questions?

[ Update: BTW check out how many bloggers are reporting his death.  Wow.  He will be remembered... ]