Galileo swoops by volcanic Io

“Jupiter’s strange moon Io is

literally bursting with volcanoes. Dozens of active

vents pepper the landscape, which also includes

gigantic frosty plains, towering mountains and

volcanic rings the size of California. The volcanoes

themselves are the hottest spots in the solar system

(not counting the sun) with temperatures exceeding

1800 K. The plumes, which rise 300 km into space, are so large that the Hubble

Space Telescope can see them from its low Earth orbit.”

I’m on an arts rip today, it seems. As the Grammies approach, recording companies are raking in the cash.

But record executives say they can’t recall a bleaker time in pop music creativity. “They don’t like the

music, they don’t get it, and they’re horrified that people like

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are becoming stars,” said

Jeff Pollack, a programming consultant for more than 100 U.S.

radio stations. Are they elitists out of touch with mainstream taste? Or is mainstream taste no longer anything but what market forces make it?

Ain’t No Problem: A West Virginia linguistics professor says that heavily dialectical speech is no sign of lack of intelligence. And his detractors want his resignation.

N.Y. arts group refuses regulations ‘The New York Foundation for the Arts has pulled out of administrating a major city-sponsored art project this summer to paint and display 1,000 fiberglass cows. The city had sought to have the foundation impose a rule on artists stating: “Designs that are religious, political or sexual in nature will not be accepted.”‘ [Arts Journal] First of all, after the wonderfully creative, zany and at times magical Chicago cows (which I was pleased to get to see), how derivative is this? I mean, why not thousands of fiberglass cats, or rats, or something? And hasn’t Rudy Giuliani learned anything from the city’s embarrassment in the Brooklyn Museum controversy? Update: Hew Orleans is doing fish.

Portal of entry to the latest upgrade of the Jargon File, the canonical dictionary — and more — of computer/techie related terms. It also includes essays on such topics as “Jargon

Construction”, “Hacker Writing Style”, “Lamer-speak”, and appendices that include hacker

folklore, an extensive bibliography, and a portrait of “J. Random Hacker”. Netmeg.net offers one of the

better Jargon File search interfaces.

I’m on an arts rip today, it seems. As the Grammies approach, recording companies are raking in the cash.

But record executives say they can’t recall a bleaker time in pop music creativity. “They don’t like the

music, they don’t get it, and they’re horrified that people like

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are becoming stars,” said

Jeff Pollack, a programming consultant for more than 100 U.S.

radio stations. Are they elitists out of touch with mainstream taste? Or is mainstream taste no longer anything but what market forces make it?

Ain’t No Problem: A West Virginia linguistics professor says that heavily dialectical speech is no sign of lack of intelligence. And his detractors want his resignation.

N.Y. arts group refuses regulations ‘The New York Foundation for the Arts has pulled out of administrating a major city-sponsored art project this summer to paint and display 1,000 fiberglass cows. The city had sought to have the foundation impose a rule on artists stating: “Designs that are religious, political or sexual in nature will not be accepted.”‘ [Arts Journal] First of all, after the wonderfully creative, zany and at times magical Chicago cows (which I was pleased to get to see), how derivative is this? I mean, why not thousands of fiberglass cats, or rats, or something? And hasn’t Rudy Giuliani learned anything from the city’s embarrassment in the Brooklyn Museum controversy? Update: Hew Orleans is doing fish.

Portal of entry to the latest upgrade of the Jargon File, the canonical dictionary — and more — of computer/techie related terms. It also includes essays on such topics as “Jargon

Construction”, “Hacker Writing Style”, “Lamer-speak”, and appendices that include hacker

folklore, an extensive bibliography, and a portrait of “J. Random Hacker”. Netmeg.net offers one of the

better Jargon File search interfaces.