Whew, a tough couple of days...  I continue to feel surrounded by bad news, and the walls are closing in.  I'm trying to stay positive but it has been tough.  What seems to work best is reaching out to friends (you know who you are :)  And of course riding.  And listening to music.  And reading.  And hugging my kids, and sharing a glass of wine with Shirley.  And ... and blogging!

So it wasn't just me?  Dave Winer asks Why was yesterday a Blue Thursday?  His answer: "For most of us it's no longer Yes We Can, it's Yes We Did.  It's not Change You Can Believe In, any more - instead The Change Happened Now Get Back To Your Life."  That might be the answer for many, but I don't think it explains me.  Still, it might explain the people around me, and their ripples might have spread... 

Bad news, cont.: GE profit down 46%.  Although they are making a profit, and paying a dividend.  So maybe that would count as good news in these times. 

One [potential] way to deal with bad news: Scott Adams asks where's my rewind button?  I've had this thought myself.  A pause button would be handy, too... 

VC David Hornik ponders whether VCs will continue to suspend disbelief.  His answer is yes, because they have to.  Interesting! 

Instapundit channels Margaret Thatcher: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."  As he would say, heh.  Seems like we're on course to do just that, soon. 

Wow, check this out, from Slate: Human Nature: The Temptation of Totalitarian Birth Control.  "In a modern society, no government could really enforce a cap on family size, could it?  Sure it could."  Well, China can anyway, but could you consider that a "modern society"?  There is no democracy anywhere which could do this.  Yet. 

USA Today: Landis, free to compete, prepares for California comeback.  Woo hoo, I can't wait.  Lance says "Floyd is a friend of mine, he's a former teammate and he has a lot of fans.  I've heard that he's riding well.  From a sporting perspective he'll be strong there (California)."  The TOC stage up Mount Palomar will have some fireworks for sure. 

Check this out: Man kills wife for changing facebook status to single.  I just checked and mine wasn't set.  It is now.  To "married" :) 

Classic: Hymenomics.  [ via Althouse ] 

I missed this; yesterday was January 22, 2009, which means it was the 25th anniversary of the Mac 1984 superbowl ad.  Wow.  I remember seeing that ad broadcast live!  Who even knew what it was about, it was so weird, so different. 

South Carolina Senator wants to ban profanity.  I'd say he's fucked, but that would be illegal. 

I've started a collection I call "beyond useless".  It contains things that not only have no value, but waste your time and hence have negative value.  Into this collection I place blog posts consisting of Tweets, and most especially blog posts about Tweets.  (Not sure about blog posts about blog posts about Tweets, because that would include this one, and I am hesitant to create a self-referential loop.  If there is a black pit on your screen instead of these words, you know what happened :)  A shining example would be any analysis of re-tweeting.  No links, and before you Google for it, remember, beyond useless.