“If we were going to redesign the Net, law enforcement would show up with their requests. Copyright owners would want consideration. ISPs would want some concessions, and broadcasters. The FCC would show up with an anti-indecency strategy. We’d see an endless parade of lawyers and lobbyists. The original design of the Internet escaped this fate because nobody thought it mattered. The engineers were left alone while everyone else argued about things that seemed more important. That’s a lucky break that won’t be repeated.

“The progress of Jayawardene’s innings was not unlike the shaping of a diamond. It was raw to begin with - carefully negotiated dot-balls, as he reached 17 off 47 balls, and, as the right environment was created slowly but surely, 23 runs came off as many balls; then, as the carbon crystal was almost worth its weight in carats, Jayawardene applied immense heat and pressure, carting 60 off 30 balls; finally, when the stone was done he cut and polished his gem, taking 15 off 5 balls, and left it out there for the world to admire.

“coprolite –noun: a stony mass consisting of fossilized fecal matter of animals.

“Last year, 91 Texas parolees were returned to prison after being charged with a new crime, even though the charges against them were later dropped or they were acquitted in court.

“The real problem with our Asia policy is not the Bush administration but the U.S. political system. Congress is in a narrow-minded and protectionist mood, unlikely to see the need for trade agreements, foreign aid and far greater engagement with a crucial country like Vietnam. Minor issues, ideological obsessions and small but tenacious domestic lobbies hold back sustained strategic movement in foreign policy.

“[To circumvent pdf DRM] send the pdf as an attachment to your Gmail account, and click the ‘view as html’ option within gmail.

“..menopause and post-menopausal life do not confer evolutionary benefits in themselves, but rather evolved by antagonistic pleiotropy because of selection operating.. to maintain regular ovarian cycles at young adult ages.

“..encryption does not prevent you from copying a file. Copying a file is just a matter of moving a series of ones and zeroes from one digital device to another, and you can copy an encrypted file
just as easily as you can copy an unencrypted one. ..instead, encryption prevents access to the content of a file

“The 9/11 Commission Report is created by the federal government and therefore has no copyright; it is in the public domain. Nevertheless, when I selected some text and try to copy it, I get this lovely message: “You do not have permission to copy portions of this document.