Volume One, Number 2 · February 2000

Kenneth T. Jackson's Crabgrass Frontier, or How did America become Suburbanized?
by Kendall Clark
How did American turn into a vast suburban wasteland?
1 February 2000

Report: CIA Stalled Internal Investigation
by Niel Bornstein
Wen Ho Lee wasn't the only guy to ever download secrets to his personal computer; unlike John Deutch, he just happened to be Chinese.
1 February 2000

AOL/Time Warner Cuts Fiber to Research Center
by Niel Bornstein
Ted Turner's construction project adjacent to Georgia Tech's campus makes life interesting.
1 February 2000

Book: The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
by Kendall Clark
A great read for the beginning of African American History Month, which starts today.
1 February 2000

Egalitarian Protest of CEOs at Davos
by Niel Bornstein
POTUS is the egalitarianistest of all!
1 February 2000

Can I come, too, George?
by Mike Billips
The New Republic looks at Orrin Hatch's bizarre ex-candidacy.
1 February 2000

Real Goods Trading Corporation
by Niel Bornstein
Real Goods promotes and inspires an environmentally healthy and sustainable future.
2 February 2000

XML Query Language
by Kendall Clark
XML Query Language: XML meets SQL3?
2 February 2000

Aviation Woes Continue Down Under
by Niel Bornstein
The contaminated Aussie avgas woes continue.
2 February 2000

Linux beta of Lugaru's Epsilon
by Kendall Clark
Epsilon is a legendary Emacs-like editor for DOS and Windows since the early days of DOS 2.0. It's now available for Linux. This should be interesting.
2 February 2000

The Wiki Frontier
by Kendall Clark
Mark Guzdial engages in a bit of subversive, first-strike declaration of prior art in case of more patent madness.
2 February 2000

How to Smack Your British Child
by Niel Bornstein
The British Department of Health have released a document explaining exactly how one should physically discipline one's children.
2 February 2000

Willie B., Zoo Atlanta's Prime Primate, Dead at 41
by Niel Bornstein
Willie B. is dead. Long live Kidogo!
2 February 2000

Python 1.6 alpha Due Soon
by Kendall Clark
New Python alpha release due soon.
2 February 2000

Python Programming on Win 32
by Kendall Clark
Python might make programming on Win 32 bearable.
2 February 2000

Essential late-night dissertation music...
by Kendall Clark
Billy Bragg is the only thing to listen to in the small hours, when there's miles of dissertation to go before you sleep.
3 February 2000

Morphine's Swan Song
by Niel Bornstein
Boston-based bass/bari sax/drums trio releases final album.
3 February 2000

Anyone for Trader Aid?
by Mike Billips
The Wall Street journal notes that since the feds are borrowing less, the boom in bond trading is over.
3 February 2000

TheTrip.com's Flight Tracker
by Niel Bornstein
Track flights in the air.
3 February 2000

Vaporize Your Enemies! Nuclear Blast Mapper
by Kendall Clark
Vaporize your enemies for fun and profit.
3 February 2000

Time can flow backwards
by Kendall Clark
So time can go backwards? Does this mean I'll be getting my rent check back soon?
3 February 2000

SciFi Author A.E. Van Vogt Dead at 87
by Niel Bornstein
Another good one's gone.
4 February 2000

Chimp Rights Now!
by Niel Bornstein
Do animals have rights?
4 February 2000

Non-voting as Civil Disobedience
by Niel Bornstein
Why don't more people vote?
4 February 2000

Editorial integrity? Slashdot?
by Kendall Clark
The concerns about Slashdot's editorial integrity are missing the point.
4 February 2000

Billips Plagiarizes Self
by Niel Bornstein
Seems our own Mike Billips is "seeing other people".
5 February 2000

Hey, Lileks does it. Sort of.
by Mike Billips
Billips attempts lame defense of self-plagiarism. Cites Lileks.
5 February 2000

J.A. Henckels rules
by Kendall Clark
Henckels cutlery rules.
6 February 2000

European-Style Bakeries in America
by Niel Bornstein
"A sweet corner of Italy just over the Ponte del Cancello Dorato."
6 February 2000

Holy Crap, The Queen Mum's Old
by Niel Bornstein
On this day in 1952, King George VI of England died.
7 February 2000

The Prison Industry
by Kendall Clark
Prison labor for corporations is abominable. It puts regular joes out of work and exploits the very people that should be getting rehabilitated all for greater corporate profit.
7 February 2000

SUBTERFUGUE: Using Python to Monitor and Script the Linux Kernel
by Kendall Clark
SUBTERFUGUE is a Python interface on the Linux kernel; kind of like a cross between strace and expect. It's wild, it's dangerous, it can hose your system.
7 February 2000

Waterman Pens
by Niel Bornstein
The Waterman Expert II makes writing a sheer pleasure.
7 February 2000

Could somebody get the Lord out my inbox?
by Mike Billips
Our worldwide, high-tech communication web has allowed dimwitted fundamentalists to disseminate bad religious art. Hallelujah!
7 February 2000

Fascism on the Democratic Stump
by Kendall Clark
What are they so afraid of?
7 February 2000

Is this Easy, or What?
by Mike Billips
Review of "Blue Light" from the master of Afro-noir.
7 February 2000

Gunter Grass: Computers Suck
by Niel Bornstein
He still writes with a pen, standing up.
8 February 2000

Umberto Eco's Chilling Prognostications from Davos
by Niel Bornstein
The novelist makes some predictions in his address at Davos. Appropriately, considering the setting, they aren't pretty.
8 February 2000

The Atlanta Fish Market
by Niel Bornstein
We dined on the wee beasties of the sea last night.
8 February 2000

Doctor Carves Initials in Patient
by Niel Bornstein
Quackery in New York
8 February 2000

Hillary endorses heroin use, frequent masturbation in campaign opener
by Rob Beauchamp
Rudy Giuliani believes the pre-event music at Hillary Clinton's official campaign kick-off provides some clues to her hidden agenda.
8 February 2000

Now, if we could only get them off TV
by Mike Billips
A University (sic) of Georgia study shows that (at least in Georgia), the rate of tort lawsuits is dropping, juries are less likely than judges to side with plaintiffs, and $1 million verdicts are extremely rare.
9 February 2000

Dah-dit-dah-dit....dah-dah-dah...dah-dah-dah...dit-dah-dit-dit
by Mike Billips
There's a Web site to translate Morse code. Well, of course there is.
9 February 2000

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Selects Conductor
by Niel Bornstein
Robert Spano will succeed Yoel Levi as the Atlanta Symphony's 4th conductor.
9 February 2000

Testing again
by
just a test
9 February 2000

BisonGen
by Kendall Clark
Python parser generator from the smart guys at 4Thought.
9 February 2000

Advice on Internet Credit Card Processing?
by Kendall Clark
Who clears CC transactions over the Web in an Apache-Linux-CGI friendly way?
9 February 2000

Haider Protests in Europe
by Kendall Clark
Europeans don't piss and moan; they take their fights to the streets.
9 February 2000

Seven Questions
by Mike Billips
Tom Mangan, SJose copy editor, interviews the obscure and semi-obscure.
9 February 2000

Free speech and corporations
by Kendall Clark
You can't say what you want about corporations? You can't say bad things about corporations?
10 February 2000

Clinton Stinks of Cash
by Kendall Clark
His money grabbing ruined my nice evening drive... Grrr!
10 February 2000

Seattle PD WTO Suspect Snitch Page
by Kendall Clark
These people ought to be given medals.
10 February 2000

Robert Trout Remembers the Birth of McCarthyism
by Niel Bornstein
50 years ago yesterday, the little-known senator from Wisconsin began a campaign of red-baiting.
10 February 2000

Jesus wasn't a white dude!
by Joel Skelton
Some of the less-clued believers believe the paintings of the old masters...
10 February 2000

Now, this is a useful Web site
by Mike Billips
Instructions on constructing an aluminum beanie to thwart government mind-control rays. Camp humor or real risk? You decide!
10 February 2000

10 Years Ago Today: Nelson Mandela Liberated
by Niel Bornstein
The first president of the new South Africa spent 27 years in prison there.
11 February 2000

New Alternative Media Site
by Niel Bornstein
A new site tracks the media in a world of mega-conglomerate media behemoths.
11 February 2000

Two million is too many!
by Kendall Clark
Why with less than 5% of the world's population does the US have 25% of the world's inmates?
11 February 2000

Uncle Larry, OS Super Genius
by Kendall Clark
Larry McVoy is the Mr Wizard of linux-kernel.
13 February 2000

The Saint Valentine's Day Conundrum
by Niel Bornstein
In which the author ponders the origins and present practice of this most bizarre celebration.
13 February 2000

Noam Chomsky, Latin America: From Colonization to Globalization
by Kendall Clark
A new Chomsky book is an event to celebrate.
14 February 2000

Michael Eric Dyson, I May Not Get There With You : The True Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Kendall Clark
Dyson takes on the unjustified and misleading deification of MLK in order to show MLK to be a real moral hero.
14 February 2000

...the enemies he keeps
by Rob Beauchamp
It's hard not to like the McCain when you find out who doesn't.
15 February 2000

The Cyanide Leak that Ate Europe
by Kendall Clark
A new specter is haunting Europe, the specter of cyanide gas.
15 February 2000

Dying for Growth, Jim Yong Kim
by Kendall Clark
Dying for Growth explodes the myths of the WTO, IMF and their ilk: that development loans improve the developing world; that "big government" is the enemy of people; that free markets are a cure-all or reall free at all.
15 February 2000

Ecommerce and A Civil Liberties Crackdown
by Kendall Clark
Now that ecommerce is the raison d'etre of all information technology, particularly the internet, we'll see a new wave of civil liberties crackdowns to "safeguard" the enrichment of a greedy few.
16 February 2000

'Inevitable' Globalization meets Inevitable Disaster
by Niel Bornstein
Donella Meadows explains why "inevitable" economic globalization inevitably leads to ecological disasters.
16 February 2000

Dude, don't say "pig fucker" in front of Oscar.
by Rob Beauchamp
Sometimes, brilliance *is* recognized in its own time.
17 February 2000

MSQ Does "Sir Duke"
by Niel Bornstein
The German string quartet covers the funky wunderkind's tribute to the jazz legend.
17 February 2000

All Songs Considered
by Niel Bornstein
NPR makes a full-length web-only show from those little music snippets between stories.
17 February 2000

The Mysteries of ISBN Revealed
by Kendall Clark
Ever wondered what the hell those numbers are on the back of your new book?
17 February 2000

Recipe for a Successful Linux User Group
by Kendall Clark
Rick Moen gets the whole LUG thing.
17 February 2000

Fast, Free Prototyping in Python
by Kendall Clark
Should have been called "Why Python kicks Visual Basic's ass!"
17 February 2000

Cracking Toast, Gromit!
by Niel Bornstein
New claymation coming from the masters of the genre.
18 February 2000

PerDiS: Persistent Distributed Store
by Kendall Clark
PerDiS is a persistent distributed object store.
18 February 2000

U.S. and E.U. Military Exports to China Since the 1989 Embargo
by Niel Bornstein
Thought the law meant no munitions could be sold to China since the Tiananmen Square massacre? Wrong!
20 February 2000

Go We Go!
by Niel Bornstein
Nader announces his candidacy for the Green Party nomination for POTUS.
21 February 2000

South Carolina poll scandal
by Kendall Clark
Salon.com reporter is naive or just stupid? Perhaps both.
22 February 2000

Slashdot Catches Up
by Niel Bornstein
The source of all geek news finally covers some old news.
22 February 2000

If You Can't Join 'Em, Beat 'Em
by Niel Bornstein
China rattles its sabre at Taiwan.
22 February 2000

OK, I give, the rat wins
by Mike Billips
The AJC profiles people who gave up high-dollar corporate jobs, either for more personally meaningful work, or just less of it.
22 February 2000

What is "Go We Go"?
by Niel Bornstein
Explaining the chant.
22 February 2000

Apple switch MacOS X to Linux? Why?
by Ken MacLeod
Most people can't distinguish between Linux-the Kernel and Linux-the Operating System. Case in point: Suggesting that Apple should drop Darwin and replace it with Linux.
22 February 2000

Eighth International Python Conference: Proceedings Online
by Kendall Clark
I told you Python was the best high-level language available today; here's the proof.
22 February 2000

Don't Racist Yahoo! Clubs Violate the Terms of Service?
by Kendall Clark
There are lots of racist, hate-filled Yahoo! Clubs that violate their Terms of Service. Why doesn't Yahoo shut them down?
22 February 2000

Clinton fatigue, my butt
by Mike Billips
The New Republic's Sean Wilentz puts paid to the conventional foolishness about "Clinton fatigue."
23 February 2000

W's Voice
by Niel Bornstein
When it comes to tweedle-dum and tweedle-dumber, it's obvious which one George Walker Bush is.
23 February 2000

Nader in Texas
by Kendall Clark
Nader will speak at the University of Houston on March 11.
23 February 2000

Squeak Smalltalk: A Quick Reference
by Kendall Clark
Smalltalk is my 3rd favorite language I don't know well yet, behind only Common Lisp and Dylan. If you're trying to learn Squeak too, this is a good reference work.
23 February 2000

Walter Mosley, Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History
by Kendall Clark
Walter Mosely is a genius of popular fiction. That's the easy part. He's also a perceptive social critic with a Marxist bent.
23 February 2000

Primary ignition
by Mike Billips
Lefty pundits claim W is toast
23 February 2000

Cuba Handbook
by Kendall Clark
Planning a trip to Cuba?
24 February 2000

United Students Against Sweatshops
by Kendall Clark
The all-students-are-slackers myth is horseshit; but since the mainstream media ignores campus activism, you'd have to be on a campus regularly to even know about it.
24 February 2000

Oh, so that's where I left that
by Mike Billips
Wonder where dead people are? Wonder no more.
25 February 2000

GM Food Conference
by Niel Bornstein
The conference on genetically modified food may ask some tough questions.
25 February 2000

The next Seattle...
by Kendall Clark
Where is the next Seattle going to be? Stay tuned to Monkeyfist for details.
25 February 2000

Cops Acquitted of Diallo Murder
by Kendall Clark
41 shots, 19 wounds but no one is responsible?
26 February 2000

Diallo family asks for calm
by Mike Billips
Little immediate reaction to Diallo verdict.
26 February 2000

The secret talents of duotones
by Bijan Parsia
Using duotones to achieve full color reproduction.
26 February 2000

JLG: The Internet Appliance Does Not Exist
by Niel Bornstein
The ineffable Frenchman strikes again!
26 February 2000

The dirt on everybody
by Bijan Parsia
All the presidential candidate scandals that're fit to HTTP.
26 February 2000

Vyper, Python on functional steroids
by Kendall Clark
Vyper is a new, functional variant of Python.
26 February 2000

Demonstrations for Diallo
by Kendall Clark
Thousands demonstrate in NYC, demanding justice for Amadou Diallo.
28 February 2000

Too bad Sooners already claimed the best rocks
by Mike Billips
Web site sells "title" to Martian real estate, building a Brooklyn Bridge to the 21st century.
28 February 2000

Screw Amazon, Use Powells
by Kendall Clark
Amazon.com is patent-happy; so use Powells. A boycott is always more effective if it helps the non-icky competitor.
28 February 2000

John Brown's Holy War on PBS Tonight
by Niel Bornstein
John Brown's body lies a-molderin' in the grave, but his righteous cause lives on.
28 February 2000

President Albright?
by Niel Bornstein
The Secretary of State has been mentioned as a candidate for the next presidency of the Czech Republic.
28 February 2000

Salon has my back
by Mike Billips
Expert on police brutality testified for Diallo cops because they were just following the (heinous) rules. It's the NYPD's fault, not the individual cops'.
28 February 2000

Dealth Penalty Abolition Protest at Supreme Court
by Kendall Clark
Protests at Supreme Court in opposition to death penalty.
28 February 2000

Tell Dr. Laura what you think of her hate-mongering
by Kendall Clark
Dr. Laura spews hate over the public airwaves; it's time to tell her to shut up.
28 February 2000

RSI Awareness Day
by Niel Bornstein
My hands hurt.
29 February 2000

Too right, save the kiwi
by Mike Billips
Exotic predators have just about wiped out the New Zealand national symbol. There's a solution, but it's going to take a lot of money and effort.
29 February 2000

Henry David Thoreau Is The Man
by Niel Bornstein
Thoreau pretty much didn't write anything bad.
29 February 2000