16 Jul 08 Quick Link Collection

Pledged not bound. The site’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but Obama’s definitely pissed me off with his FISA vote:

Jason Kottke, drawing parallels between a ‘95 Simpsons “Treehouse of Terror” episode and real life:

The “just don’t look” strategy works for more than advertising…it’s effective in any situation where someone or something runs on attention. On the web attention comes in the form of links and pageviews so “just don’t look” translates roughly into “just don’t link or read”. If you don’t like who’s on the cover of Wired, just don’t look. If no one talks about her, she’ll go away. Think media gossip sites are ruining the web? Don’t read them. Leggy blonde conservative got your knickers in a knot? Just don’t look. Commenters ruining the internet? Moderate your comments or close them up. If some Web 2.0 blowhard says something stupid, just don’t look. Hate blonde socialites? Just. Don’t. Look.

Best of Craig’s List: My Life Since Getting Out of Prison. I get the sense it’s fiction, but either way, it’s an amazing story.

ACLU: Terrorist Watch List Hits One Million Names.

“Right now, at this very moment, you have: 1. A roof over your head; 2. Clothes to wear; 3. Food to eat. So right now, today, you are perfectly all right. You are a human being. Your heart, your mind, your soul are your reality. You are not your bank balance, you are not the sum of your debts. Your creditors do not own you. You owe them money, not your life. This isn’t a rehearsal. It’s your life, right now. And the fact that you are in debt does not obligate you to suffer today. Your feelings are not facts. It isn’t Armageddon for you. It never is. You owe some money, that’s all. And only for awhile. Debt is nothing but a temporary situation.” — How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously (via)

io9: “A sturdy helmet does a great job of protecting your head whether you’re clearing aliens from an off-world mining colony or clearing the puck away from a 6′4″ power forward on a hockey rink. They don’t do much for your neck, though, which is why certain head-on impacts can lead to devastating spinal injuries. A new kind of helmet, the Pro-Neck-Tor, uses surprisingly simple technology that could save athletes (not to mention space marines) from life in a wheelchair.” Pretty cool, even if it has nothing to do with scifi.