In a letter mailed on Friday to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Scalia, calling the organization's concern "well justified," wrote: "You are correct that the action was not taken at my direction. I was as upset as you were."

I like green eggs and ham!
I do, I like them, Sam I Am!

Justice Scalia said in the letter to the Reporters Committee that the controversy had caused him to revise his policy "so as to permit recording for use of the print media" to "promote accurate reporting." He indicated he would continue to ban the recording of his speeches by the broadcast press.

All media are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

Scalia Apologizes for Seizure of Recordings

The AP reporter tried to explain that she had a digital recording device, so there was no tape to give up. Ms. Konz said the deputy seemed baffled by that.

You do not like green eggs and ham /
I do not like them, Sam I Am.

I see a tape recorder and I grab it /
No, you can’t have it back, silly rabbit

A Justice's Sense of Privilege

Lost Highway Records released this Johnny Cash album on April 6. It is also the fourth disc in the unmatched, outstanding "Unearthed" box set released in 2003. If you haven't heard this album, you don't know Johnny Cash.

Here's what the Muze reviewer had to say on Rhapsody: It's not unusual for an artist's most intimate work to be unearthed following his or her passing. Such is the case with Hymn Book, a previously unreleased solo acoustic album of spiritual standards. The late great Man in Black performed all these songs relying only on a spare guitar and his own impassioned vocals.

Here's an excerpt from the All Music Guide review: Featuring Cash alone playing an acoustic guitar, this is a stark, beautiful, and simple album. In the liner notes, Cash calls this his favorite record he's ever made and it's clear that learning these songs as a child is what inspired his love of music. In that sense, despite no original material, these are some of the most personal songs Cash ever recorded.

My Mother's Hymn Book

The preservation and availability of the Sir Henry Clinton collection at the Clements Library provides an amazingly complete look at the everyday intelligence operations of both the British and American armies. Many of the letters highlighted in this digital exhibit were pivotal to the success and failures of sieges, battles, and surprise attacks.

Spy Letters of the American Revolution

Each year, ACM's most prestigious technical award, the Turing Award, is given to an individual selected for lasting and major contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community.

In 1983, Ken Thompson received the ACM Turing Award. This was his lecture.

I am a programmer. On my 1040 form, that is what I put down as my occupation. As a programmer, I write programs. I would like to present to you the cutest program I ever wrote. I will do this in three stages and try to bring it together at the end.

...

The moral is obvious. You can't trust code that you did not totally create yourself.

ACM Classic: Reflections on Trusting Trust

We present new DC-net constructions that simultaneously achieve non-interactivity and high-probability detection and identification of cheating players.

I've always been intrigued by the dining cryptographers problem.

Dining Cryptographers Revisited

The NSA is looking to hire 7,500 workers over the next five years -- 1,500 by September, and another 1,500 in each of the next four years -- "to meet the increasing needs of the ever-changing intelligence community."

Nick: didn't you say you'd become interested in language lately?

Take Simson's advice: Apply, apply, apply.

Can You Hear It Now? Listen Closely for Job Opportunities ...

Simson Garfinkel has the cover article in the April 2004 issue of MIT's Counterpoint Magazine. It's a short (three page) article, and worth the read.

You can download the full issue in PDF; no subscription is required. Here's a brief description, in his words:

"It's a combination of advice to current undergraduates and reflections about all of the money and time that I wasted in my 20's. Key lessons from the article:

- It turns out that grades matter after all.
- On the other hand, your choice of major doesn't matter much.
- Once you graduate, it's really important to stay in school (i.e.: continuing education)/
- Apply for things.
- Invest for your future (ie: save, save, save --- and don’t gamble with your savings).
- Don't make enemies --- the world is a small place.

I can wholeheartedly endorse all of Simson's lessons. You'll also find at least one of them in Anthony Zinni's "20 Principles."

On Leap Day I posted the lyrics to Pink Floyd's "Time" -- I was thinking about many of the same things Simson brings out in this article, particularly the post-college context.

Simson Garfinkel, on College

At the mall's grand opening Wednesday were students who skipped school and workers who took the morning off. "They have stores I've never been in before. We're excited like little kids."

This is oddly fascinating.

Birth of a Mall

Howard Dean urges you not to vote for Nader this November. Average Americans -- you're either with us/them or against us/them.

(I would point out that virtually everyone's list of Rules includes one to the effect of Rumsfeld's, "Don’t divide the world into 'them' and 'us.'")

Many Democrats admire Ralph Nader's achievements, as I do. But if they truly want George Bush out of the White House, they won't vote for Ralph Nader in November.

Ralph Nader once said that your best teacher is your last mistake. This November, we can elect a president who fights for average Americans.

Believe it or not,
I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free eee eee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me.

For Ralph Nader, but Not for President