] In systems where many people are free to choose between
] many options, a small subset of the whole will get a
] disproportionate amount of traffic (or attention, or
] income), even if no members of the system actively work
] towards such an outcome. This has nothing to do with
] moral weakness, selling out, or any other psychological
] explanation. The very act of choosing, spread widely
] enough and freely enough, creates a power law
] distribution.

Very interesting essay on things such as the 80/20 rule, as applied to everything from wealth distribution to the popularity of individual web logs.

Shirky: Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality

Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) is a longtime friend and colleague. Plus he's the only other guy in my industry (that I know of) who's also been to Antarctica. ;) Here's a recent interview with him, where he talks about some of his original games such as Ultima, some of his recent projects, and about his parting of the ways from Electronic Arts, and then joining of forces with the insanely popular Korean game company, NC Soft. For reference, the largest multiplayer games in the U.S., such as EverQuest, have a few hundred thousand subscribers. The NCSoft game "Lineage," in Korea, has four *million* subscribers.

Interview with Richard Garriott

When I'm out there speaking on multiplayer games, or at a school or other function where I'm talking to lots of other people about the game industry, one of the most common questions that I get asked is, "How can I get a job at a computer game company?" Here's a 5-part series by the gamespy.com site, answering that question.

Getting into the Game Industry

Although there are several possible benign explanations for the image -- such as a barely perceptable jiggle of the camera as it took the time exposure -- NASA's zeal to examine the photo demonstrates the lengths at which the agency is going to tap the resources of ordinary Americans in solving the puzzle.

Has anyone seen a link to the actual picture?? I'm very curious to take a look at it, myself. Nothing's on the other news wires yet (I searched on "Shuttle San Francisco Streak" at Google (smirk)), so it's not released to the public yet, but if anyone does see it show up on a webpage somewhere, please Meme it!

S.F. man's astounding photo / Mysterious purple streak is shown hitting Columbia 7 minutes before it disintegrated

Decius wrote:
] ] The drapes were installed last Monday and Wednesday
] ] — the days the council discussed Iraq — and came down
] ] Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, when the subjects included
] ] Afghanistan and peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and
] ] Western Sahara.
]
] Elonka deserves credit for finding this link, a complete
] coverage of the Picasso issue. The absurdity of this is so
] thick you could cut it with a knife.

Thanks Tom. :)

I wish there were a way to include multiple links in the same meme sometimes! Here's another link to the actual Picasso being discussed:

   http://www.aestheticrealism.org/GUERNICA_dk.htm

RE: The picasso cover-up

What is surely a page-in-progress, and well worth monitoring for information relating to the Columbia Accident Investigation as it progresses. Currently contains links to "Risk Management for the Tiles of the Space Shuttle - 1994" and "STS-87 Post-Flight Inspection - 1997" in PDF format.

STS-107 Investigation Reference Page

Decius wrote:
] NEW YORK.- The "Guernica" work by Pablo Picasso at the
] entrance of the Security Council of the United Nations has
] been covered with a curtain. The reason for covering this work
] is that this is the place where diplomats make statements to
] the press and have this work as the background. The Picasso
] work features the horrors of war. On January 27 a large blue
] curtain was placed to cover the work.
]
] A diplomat stated that it would not be an appropriate
] background if the ambassador of the United States at the U.N.
] John Negroponte, or Powell, talk about war surrounded with
] women, children and animals shouting with horror and showing
] the suffering of the bombings.

I'm not certain, but I believe that this is a link to the image in question:

  http://www.aestheticrealism.org/GUERNICA_dk.htm

A closeup of one section is here:

  http://www.impressionism.ru/images/Picasso/guernica.jpg

And a lengthier article with more background, in the Washington Times here:

  http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030203-13680812.htm

RE: Guernica Reproduction Covered at UN

] When the suit was filed last month, the United States
] argued that granting Mexico's request for a stay of all
] executions would be an unwarranted intrusion on the U.S.
] criminal justice system and U.S. sovereignty.

I smell hypocrisy here. On the one hand, we've got U.S. diplomats saying that Iraq has to submit to the will of the United Nations, but when the U.N.'s World Court rules about something in the U.S., the cry goes up that it's an intrusion on U.S. sovereignty???

World Court: U.S. Must Stay 3 Executions

"I screened job applicants over the phone for a company I didn't work for. My favorite part: Arrogant middle managers who suddenly began to grovel when they realized I wasn't the receptionist."

Fascinating and entertaining essay about the interviewing skills of job applicants, from blue collar work through middle management.

Outsourcing rejection

] French Foreign Minister Dominque de Villepin said his
] country would not rule out the use of force as a last
] resort -- but the U.N. must be at the centre of whatever
] action is taken.

These are the initial reactions of several nations, including permanent and current members of the Security Council: France, Britain, China, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, and Russia.

International Reactions to Powell's U.N. Presentation