We know that US borders are porous, that major targets are largely undefended, and that the multicolor threat alert scheme known affectionately as "the rainbow of doom" is a national joke. Anybody who has been paying attention probably suspects that if we rely on orders from above to protect us, we'll be in terrible shape. But in a networked era, we have increasing opportunities to help ourselves. This is the real source of homeland security: not authoritarian schemes of surveillance and punishment, but multichannel networks of advice, information, and mutual aid. Why it's Smart to Disobey Officials in Emergencies

Every time you make a credit card purchase, they're supposed to match your signature against the one on the back of your card. Nobody seems to check anymore, so I tried to see how far I could push it with wacky signatures like "Mariah Carey" and "Zeus," which you can read in the original Credit Card Prank.

The Credit Card Prank - Part II

No, I haven't taken up mining for copper. :)

In my (seemingly never ending) quest to find fast, efficient online photo management, our Favorite Switcher pointed me to Coppermine Photo Gallery.

It sits on your own web site and allows not only for photo management (basic editing/cropping/rotation, adding, deleting, etc) but also allows your users to add their own photos (if you give them permission), registering so users can see "special albums", rating of photos, comments, etc.

So, check out the photos (they are of Lesa, Sly and I at the Jack Daniels Distillery) and let us know what you think of the Coppermine tool.

YML's Coppermine Photo Gallery

I just got back from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. It was....ah...who cares? Nothing I say is going to change anyone's mind.

But, here's my own "Revenge of the Drones" moment at the snack counter:

Me: I'll have a medium Diet Coke, no ice, a medium buttered popcorn and a bag of plain M&M's."

Drone: "Sorry. We're out of M&M's."

Me: "But I can see them in the display case."

Drone: We can't sell those."

Me: "Why not?"

Drone: "Those are only there to show what we have for sale...."

Me: [Wait for his head to explode.....]

Drone: ......

Me: "You're kidding, right?"

Drone: .....

You know, just because you have a mindless job doesn't mean you need to be mindless yourself.

Whether or not you've seen the movie, check out this "plot summary" by Sean T.

As most of you know, our IRC Babe Sly was in town this past week. We all went down to the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, TN for the fascinating tour they put on down there.

As usual, I took lots of photos but, this time, instead of using the excellent WebPics, I'm testing out "Comic Life".

Comic Life is a lot of fun and easy to use. It has some disadvantages (one being it makes it impossible to do the "Caption Contest" - at least, it's not easy to do) but it does let you have a lot of fun with layouts and "word balloons".

Let me know what you think.

2nd Leg Update #4: SHE's HERE!!!......and too pooped to party.....

2nd Leg Update #3: Sly's flight has left Minneapolis....44 mins late. :( The are traveling at 302mph, 10,400 ft high on their way to a cruising altitude of 35,000ft (assumed). She's expected to arrive in Nashville at 6pm CT!

2nd Leg Update #2: The "mechanical problem" has been fixed...but now - the plane has a flat tire....

SLY! DON'T GET ON THAT PLANE! Make them put you on one that works!

2nd Leg Update #1: Sly hasn't boarded yet but it looks like there is a "maintenance problem" on the plane Sly is supposed to be taking to Nashville. She may arrive late. :(

1st Leg Update #2: Sly has landed safely (we presume) in Minneapolis, MN! She flies out of Minneapolis to Nashville at 3:30pm CT and arrives at 5:10pm CT.

1st Leg Update #1: Sly is 30 mins out of Minneapolis arriving at 1:40pm CT, 9 mins early. She has a 90 minute layover and then it's on to Nashville!

1st Leg: She is traveling at 575 mph, is 35,000 ft in the air and will be arriving at Minneapolis' Terminal L 14 minutes early.

Some widgets are pretty cool. :)

(Update: I take that back. The Flight Tracker widget is only halfway cool. It doesn't seem to update itself and, when you try to update it with Command-R, it "forgets" the flight info and you have to enter it again. The map is also not "featured" - that is, it doesn't show the states or any details the flight is crossing over. A small thing, I know but still.....and there's also no way of having it notify you when the flight has landed.....)

J and his lovely wife Sheila are in Chattanooga this weekend. I told him he had to go see the Chattanooga Choo Choo!

With lines like this, is it any wonder Jobs wanted the book pulled?

"When Jonathan Ive had earlier created the look of Apple's first elegant laptop, the PowerBook...."

Wha....? Ives is a great designer but he was nowhere near the Powerbook when it was designed.

Congratulations to Wired and any other web site who excerpts the book and doesn't bother to fact check the excerpt themselves. You show yourselves to be the hacks you are.

New Jobs Biography to be Released May 16

New version of iTunes.......New Job Openings at Apple.......

Can you say "The iMovie Store"?