Technology Review magazine measures lengths in meters and kilometers. And it measures weights in... pounds and tons. Look, if you're going to be weird and use the damn metric system in a mainstream American magazine, at least go all the way. Lame.

• so-so: After searching high and low for a decent Energy Star compliant product, I bought a Kenmore air conditioner last week. It is made in Thailand. The front grille rattles obnoxiously while the compressor runs unless you shim it in a couple of places. Great design, Sears! (At least it works.)
• thumbs up: I got to try my hand at beekeeping on Saturday. Pretty fun. Bees are more amazing than I thought. Pictures coming soon.
• so-so: I'm still scanning my pictures from China in April. At this rate, maybe I'll have them online just before my next trip to China.
• thumbs up: I bought a ham and cheese sandwich from the Iggy's Bread booth at the South Station farmer's market. Hot diggity damn -- this thing is delicious! I didn't think ham and cheese could really be this good. Maybe good locally-sourced ingredients can make a difference.

This story, along with comment #1, are the bee's knees.

Quoth Wikipedia:

When in 1986 Apple bought a Cray X-MP [supercomputer] and announced that they would use it to design the next Apple Macintosh, Seymour Cray replied, "This is very interesting because I am using an Apple Macintosh to design the Cray-2 supercomputer."

At present, the largest source of lead (the metal) is not mining, but recycling. If recycling catches on like this, perhaps someday we'll reach the point where we've mined enough iron or aluminum to meet the world's needs indefinitely.

From the New York Times:

Ms. Hilton was not the only high-profile defendant whose celebrity prompted a raised eyebrow from a judge this week. Also on Friday, the judge who sentenced I. Lewis Libby Jr. to prison this week issued an order dripping with sarcasm after receiving a supporting brief from a dozen prominent legal scholars, including Alan M. Dershowitz of Harvard and Robert H. Bork, the former Supreme Court nominee.

The judge, Reggie B. Walton of Federal District Court in Washington, said he would be pleased to see similar efforts for defendants less famous than Mr. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

"The court trusts," Judge Walton wrote, in a footnote longer than the order itself, that the brief for Mr. Libby "is a reflection of these eminent academics' willingness in the future to step up to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this court and throughout the courts of our nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions."

"The court," he added, "will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries."

My first patent was issued today.

Crushing my exuberant mood, my company's top lawyer suggested that due to a recent Supreme Court decision, this one is "probably unenforceable."

You might also notice that the provisional application was filed nearly 7 years ago. I was a summer intern then. My how time flies.