"what everyone should know about blog depression"

It's a little bit scary how much time some people spend on blogging. You see some blogs where people have more than one post a day, or fancy graphics layout, or custom stuff-- and you wonder, how can they find the time?

Apparently I'm not the only one wondering. Someone posted a pretty funny guide to "what everyone should know about blog depression."

Seems like the main point is that there's a lot of lame blogs out there. The author also makes the point that unless your blog is something you care about, you're better off not bothering. O RLY?

Interview with Richard Stallman

There's an interesting interview with Richard Stallman over at
http://www.pigdog.org/interviews/stallman/interview_with_stallman.html

I think the authors are semi-amused at RMS's free software zealotry. Unlike most free software advocates, RMS does not believe proprietary software should exist, and doesn't himself use any of it. He believes that it takes away people's freedom.

RMS is also well-known for insisting that people call Linux systems "GNU/Linux" because Linux systems are shipped with the GNU glibc and other GNU libraries and tools. I don't think Linus agrees with this naming scheme.

There's also Linus's post explaining what he thinks of slashdot.org. Hilarious.

Textbook cynicism

A textbook editor takes a dim view of the textbook business. He points out how political correctness, and both conservative and liberal zealots, force companies to churn out blander books for kids.

"No textbook can show African Americans playing sports, Asians using computers, or women taking care of children. Anyone who stays in textbook publishing long enough develops radar for what will and won't get past the blanding process of both the conservative and liberal watchdogs," he writes.

A few states apparently have disproportionate power in the textbook approval process, due to the amount of money that they spend, and the "all or nothing" rules that they apply to textbook purchase. Texas, California, and Florida are apparently the big ones.

It's sad that textbooks have to be so bland. But, I guess I'm not that surprised. It's hard to satisfy everyone. I feel bad for people who have never had the experience of reading a real college level history textbook or historical overview. It's much better to get your history and English from a text like that, than from a bland propagandized elementary school text.