Still alive! Too much working and reading, not enough writing.
– All the cool stuff happens after I leave. Chicago now has a Festival of Maps. That’s a small version of a 17th century Map of the Nile on the site. Big version here.
– Detailed satellite surveys show that Angkor was probably as big as modern-day LA, adding credence to theories that people eventually deserted the city because its surrounding environment couldn’t sustain it.
– If you’re too lazy to search for clips of the Helvetica documentary on YouTube (like me), World of Kane kindly provides a selection.
– Radar finds out how desperate some folks in Second Life are for virtual sex (Funny, but NSFW photos):
Radarette: Very good! Ready for something a little … HARDER?
Student: Yep.
Radarette: Haretown and Tortoiseville are 50 miles apart. A hare travels at nine miles per hour from Haretown to Tortoiseville, while a tortoise travels at one mile per hour from Tortoiseville to Haretown. If both set out at the same time, how many miles will the hare have to travel before meeting the tortoise en route?
– Speaking of sex, The 50 Greatest Sex Scenes in Cinema
– The 12 Sins of Chopstick Use (in Mandarin script)
writing without rhythm 
OMG, yes, Second Life is all about sex and porn; the whole place is annoying. They really should start marketing quests and stuff instead of just using it as a virtual playground to waste time in. I’m two tics away from uninstalling the entire thing; it’s such a bore.