bookmarklets
here's a compendium of a number of useful ones. you should also have the amazon relinker on your system, for instant GiveQuick! action.
(Tuesday, April 30, 2002)

stackhouse's shift to win (espn)
"what the Pistons remember most about their preseason cookout at Stack’s house -- besides its being the first time the All-Star shooting guard had opened his home to the team -- is the plain old stainless steel grill out back by the dock. It was here that folks first noticed the change."

I am more and more convinced that most every lesson one needs to learn in life is exemplified in sport. But if you've been reading the sports-related links I've been throwing up here lately, you'd already figured it out.

Man, I have got to start playing something again.
(Tuesday, April 30, 2002)

new pickup line (ted rall)
how to take advantage of the current political climate for personal satisfaction.
(Tuesday, April 30, 2002)

how to fix the knicks (espn)
"People tend to live up to or down to the way they are perceived, so let's tell Spree he's the next level of Clyde, or at least the second coming of Dr. J; let's say to Spree, that's really a fine piece of philosophy Spree's got there, thinking that he'll play the best he's physically able to every single night, 'cause there might be one kid in the stands who is seeing Latrell Sprewell for the first and only time.

"Spree will blink hard and say, 'That's my philosophy?' Then we say, 'Well, sure; that's what you said it was, O Osiris,' and we'll smile sincerely; Spree will begin to believe it. 'I did say it, didn't I?' he'll say, if you are a good enough motivator in the first place."
(Monday, April 29, 2002)

keyboard of light
this is very cool, but i wonder how it feels to type without any kind of tactile feedback at all.
(Monday, April 29, 2002)

a ride in a mig-25
this is the sort of thing that i would do if i won the lottery. well, and some extreme philanthropy.
(Monday, April 29, 2002)

glenn murcutt gets the pritzker (nyt)
"Mr. Murcutt works alone, designing modest environmentally conscious homes inspired by farm sheds and Aboriginal structures he has inspected in the continent's remotest regions.

"He has refused to work outside Australia, insisting that the best architecture comes from an intimate understanding of culture, climate and environment. Although influenced by Mies van der Rohe and by the Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto, Mr. Murcutt is uncompromising in his attachment to the Australian landscape."

Murcutt's buildings are models of form following function, and having immense quantities of beauty inherent in that approach. He's also rather outspoken. If he lectures in your neighborhood you shouldn't miss it.
(Sunday, April 28, 2002)

need a usability review?
henry can tell you what's wrong with your site.
(Friday, April 26, 2002)

bruins turn old-school ugly (espn)
The hit that Kyle McLaren put on Richard Zednik was completely uncalled for, and should result in the harshest of penalties. It was ugly, it was brazen, it was intentional, and it will certainly result in Montreal coming after the Bruins' best players tomorrow at the Fleet Center. And at this point I'm rooting against the home team, based solely on McLaren's hit. Hooray for Montreal's fans who threw beer onto the Bruins' bench, and hooray for the pounding that Dafoe, Guerin, Samsonov & co are sure to take tomorrow.

Though I must say that I'm hoping that Montreal takes it out on Boston's net instead of the players. But if les Habitants are losing, watch out for cross-checks aimed at people's heads.
(Friday, April 26, 2002)

yao ming comes to the nba? (nyt)
once again, sport becomes the battleground for bullshit political fears and reprisals. the chinese government basically wants yao to come to the us to play only if he gives up the vast majority of his paychecks to the chinese basketball association and chinese government.

one imagines that if yao decided that he'd rather defect and keep his cash, the nba would help make that happen very quickly indeed.
(Thursday, April 25, 2002)

two new exploding dog drawings
these are just beautiful. they make me think of new york, which has been on my mind a lot lately, and with this morning's explosion i could feel the tears welling up again. it's such a great place, and i so wish i was there, now. anyway. i feel okay.

city could not stop
underneath it all
(Thursday, April 25, 2002)

kwame brown's first year (washington post)
"One morning before a Wizards game, Brown called [Richard] Lopez [assigned to look after Brown by Brown's management], and said, 'I have nothing to wear. Everything's dirty.'

"Lopez knew Brown had a closet full of new suits – he had helped hang them there. 'Kwame,' he explained, 'you have to take those suits to the dry cleaners.' That was fine, Brown said, but he didn't know how to do that, and he still didn't have anything to wear.

"Lopez drove over to Brown's apartment, and found the suits in a heap by the bed. Each time Brown wore one, he would take it off, wad it up and throw it in a corner."

And that's one of the least distressing episodes of naivete. I feel sorry for these high schoolers who went into the draft, getting the quick tall dollars but having to grow up in public even quicker. A lot of them may not get through their contracts; and then where will they be?
(Wednesday, April 24, 2002)

another modernist masterpiece goes away (nyt)
A Neutra house gets approved for demolition, and the new owner doesn't even bother to remove the drapes, he was in such a hurry. What is wrong with the bureaucrats that they can't recognize important architecture? It's a relatively mild outrage, given what's going on in the world, but it's an outrage nonetheless.
(Monday, April 22, 2002)

earthquake! in boston! (globe)
"Had yesterday's [5.1] quake occurred in downtown Boston, it would have caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, Kafka said."

No kidding. It was centered in upstate New York, so at home it just felt like a 2 or 3, but it was obvious that our home is not built to withstand a decent sized earthquake.
(Monday, April 22, 2002)

mike york goes to edmonton (espn)
"But the cameras don't capture the utter strangeness of the four short hours York had to grab his equipment from the Garden, race to his Greenwich, Conn., town house to pack, and screech off to Newark Airport."

This made me wonder about corporate staffing, and the prospect of being traded to, say, P&G, with four hours notice to get on a plane to Cincy. Such a disruptive business to be in.
(Monday, April 22, 2002)

how to buy a suit (simon says)
What to wear to the office. At least the sort of office where one wears a suit. Also, Mr. Doonan mentions, "If you find yourself in Italy this summer, check out the ecclesiastical vestment shops. They purvey the most divinely dreary Mister Rogers zippered priest sweaters—perfect for popping under that gray suit when the weather turns chilly next fall." So if you're in Italy and find one of these, I'd like a size Medium, please.
(Thursday, April 18, 2002)

silicon valley reboots (onion)
sadly, some of these items are, in fact, true.
(Thursday, April 18, 2002)

segway auction winners
"Segway HT #1 sold to an individual in Texas for $160,100.00. Segway #2 sold to an individual in Illinois for $104,100.00, and Segway #3 sold to an individual in Virginia for $100,600.00."

My guesses: Michael Dell, Michael Jordan, and Ted Leonsis. Jordan is a flier, but I couldn't think of any rich high tech guys in Illinois.
(Tuesday, April 16, 2002)

features icons defined
Okay, the second icon title here seems like a classic example of taking a negative and turning it into a positive. Though honestly I'm not sure which demographic the "down & out" room is targeting.
(Friday, April 12, 2002)

when elephants paint
Komar and Melamid are lecturing tonight at the University Art Museum in Berkeley, followed by an opening and benefit auction of paintings by elephants. Some of them are rather good. I found the book at Pendragon in Oakland for just five bucks when I was there last week.
(Thursday, April 11, 2002)

all donuts, all the time
with my last name i got a lot of donut jokes, owing to a certain west coast donut chain. at least i didn't grow up in the midwest with the name tim horton, i guess.
(Thursday, April 11, 2002)

saku's back!!! (espn)
"Only the most optimistic person in the Molson Centre on that night in October could have envisioned the scene Tuesday night.
Koivu, his cancer in remission since February, standing there waiting for the national anthem, his teammates standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
The crowd shouted its emotion and Koivu raised his stick in acknowledgment.
More cheers. For seven minutes it went on. The Senators stood on their bench, tapping their sticks on the boards in salute.
Public address announcer Michel Lacroix attempted to introduce anthem singer Nadya Blanchette and was shouted down.
Three times he tried.
The crowd continued to spill their passion through the anthem and erupted again when Koivu was introduced as the starting center. Referee Dan Marouelli stepped aside and Koivu once again stood at the bottom of the waterfall of emotion."

This is so touching, and such a great comeback story. Doug Gilmour said it best: "You go home thinking you've got a little problem. You don't have a problem. There's people out there fighting for their lives."
(Wednesday, April 10, 2002)

"referencing" = "copying" (nyt)
interesting bit about how fashion recycles looks, blatantly.
(Tuesday, April 9, 2002)

get yer kozmo.com bag now
the scooters were all out in front of first kick last summer, and now chrome is selling some messenger bags they had laying around.

next: pets.com schwag.
(Monday, April 8, 2002)

the ampersand
some history for you. just in case you were wondering.
(Monday, April 8, 2002)

google
Google also works in Bork Bork Bork, the language the Muppet Show's Swedish Chef speaks.
(Monday, April 8, 2002)

warnings in the eCRM secto (marketwatch)
"The two other software vendors rivaling BroadVision during the heyday, Vignette and Art Technology Group, have also been caught in the downdraft. What went wrong? 'They didn't see a shift coming because demand for their products was so strong. But when demand dries up, you're exposed to your weaknesses.'"

My favorite sentence from this article, though, is this: "BroadVision isn't a company that's come out with a killer application or is well positioned to compete."

Thank you, analyst Stephen Sigmond, for stating what's obvious to anybody who looks at this stuff for a little bit. The earnings warnings across the sector are a little scary, considering that my employer is mentioned above.
(Friday, April 5, 2002)

how google gets its results
pigeon rankings!
(Wednesday, April 3, 2002)

"the osbournes" is a hit (nyt)
"Their eldest daughter, Aimée, 18, who lives on her own, declined to participate. 'Aimée is normal, like the daughter in Absolutely Fabulous,' Mrs. Osbourne sighed, referring to the British sitcom that pits two aging party girls against a disapproving bluestocking daughter. 'She is so embarrassed by us.'"

Not suprising, really. The show is [bleep]ing funny.
(Tuesday, April 2, 2002)

moving towards the suit (nyt)
i actually own seven suits, but i only really wear two of those even remotely regularly, with three more than can be worn for relaxed business. i could probably get rid of four or five of them, and probably should.
(Tuesday, April 2, 2002)

habitat's wish list
it's one way of donating the right thing to the right people. pretty cool.
(Tuesday, April 2, 2002)