Really glad to see driftglass getting some linkage, he's one of my favourite US bloggers, next to you that is.

A knife squeaking as it cuts through cardboard slays me.

The bendable smartphone thing seems, to me, like a good but misguided idea and I'm still not sure why; it's an instinctive reaction. I feel like touchscreens are more intuitive than the bendy interface. I can see there being other applications for such an interface besides smartphones, but as a smartphone solution, I'm not buying it -- at least, not yet. I wasn't impressed with the proofs-of-concept that the videos in the article demonstrated.

The piece about Livingstone's recovered diary is fascinating. I found myself wondering about how much longer such research would be applicable, given how few people write on paper at length anymore, and how much original work is lost by use of electronic devices. I've thought about this a great deal, actually, how different hard drive archeology is, and how much more disposable and how anonymously disposable hard drives are. Authors are in much more control of their legacy these days in some respects than historical authors were. Fascinating stuff. The change in original sourcing for this generation's authors, politicians, and other historical figures will almost certainly change the way historical research and preservation is done in coming decades.

Re: Romney's religious tests for office: I am not surprised. As the author points out, the Mormons always want us all to do as they say, not as they do.

The Corporation of the City of London is, indeed, totally undemocratic and a bit of an oddity.

But all the laws passed by parliament apply just as completely in the City as elsewhere. Its police force is just as answerable to the Home Secretary as anyone else. The 'Old Bailey' - the Central Criminal Court - is within its boundaries and the law is applied in the same way there as anywhere else in England and Wales (some Scottish laws are different).

It is thanks to the City of London that the great tract of green land called Epping Forest, which it still owns and administers, is preserved and accessible to all.

Undemocratic, yes. Wealthy, of course. But outside the law? No. And sometimes useful.

For some reason, this sound never bothered me. I wonder if it's akin to the smell of skunks not bothering me either.

If you really want to drive me up the wall with a sound, though, all you have to do is chew your food or gum with your mouth open.

The BBC, in their infinite wisdom, broadcast a piece about the chalkboard thing on Radio 4 yesterday. With sound bites.
Shudder.

And it sounds just like one of my kittens trying to sharpen her claws on the refrigerator, too (no, I don't know why she does that, but she does).