links for 2009-06-18

Another problem with url shorteners, what happens when they get hacked.

"Twitter has distanced itself from State Department revelations that it asked the company to delay maintenance so Iranians could continue to communicate." I'm sure it was part of their decision making process.

"A new dinosaur unearthed in western China has shed light on the evolution from dinosaur hands to the wing bones in today's birds. The fossil, from about 160 million years ago, has been named Limusaurus inextricabilis. The find contributes to a debate over how an ancestral hand with five digits evolved to one with three in birds. The work, published in Nature, suggests that the middle three digits, rather than the inside three, remain." I love this sort of science.

"Fox News hosts and guests have criticized a scheduled ABC exclusive broadcast from the White House, but they failed to mention the extraordinary access Fox News had to President Bush and other officials, using those opportunities to lob softball questions and provide a platform for Bush administration talking points." It's only right when Fox News gets exclusive access and lobs easy questions.

"Sysomos, a Toronto-based Web analytics company that researches social media, says there are only about 8,600 Twitter users whose profiles indicate they are from Iran." But how many people are those people in contact with, the point of social media is that it's effects are far greater than you can ever measure in terms of direct contact.

"But critics have described the planes, which cost $200 million each and have not been used in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, as cold war relics that are no longer affordable." Way to go politicians, complain about opening up that pocketbook for everything except the military.

So confused by the arc welding android.

"The Vatican has banned a small group of breakaway traditionalist Catholics from ordaining more priests and deacons. The Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which split from the Vatican in 1970, plans to ordain more than 30 men in June." Oh fund days.

"Eddie Bauer, the outdoor-clothing chain that sold goose-down coats to Mount Everest mountaineers and college students alike, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday and said it planned to sell itself for $202 million to CCMP Capital, a private equity firm." Good business when people can spend money on that sort of high end merchandise that is designed around leisure, bad today.

"Again, I don't think this proves much of anything in and of itself; both explanations I outlined above are entirely plausible. But if you're going to steal votes, it is probably advisable to do so people who are less likely to notice that you're stealing them. In Iran, that means people in rural areas." Interesting data regarding rural voting in Iran.

Good for Bing and good for the web.

"Experts say there is only a tiny chance of it happening and it would be unlikely to happen for billions of years." Oh senastational news.

What's in a period?

What's your ratio?

Will you kneel?

"Less than two weeks after legalizing gay marriage in the state, New Hampshire legislators enacted a new law Tuesday making it mandatory for persons over the age of 60 to attend three same-sex weddings every year for the rest of their lives." Some people would believe this.

"Concentrating on the artist’s musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations, provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays, this film lets you witness intimate moments and hear new music from each artist. The movie revolves around a day when Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge first met and sat down together to share their stories, teach and play." Can you say awesome.