Jessamyn's trip to Alaska spawned an interesting little series of photos and commentary.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that I've recently been ranting about 'Mcluhan-esque patches' not being feasible sources of positive social change (at least not on their own), this passage from Phil Agre's latest notes and recommendations made me feel all giddy:

Large numbers of .com companies are trading for well under $1 a share. It wouldn't cost much to buy them all and shut them down. But it's okay: every important new technology goes through this stock-bubble phase, transferring wealth from the dumb to the quick. The point is to get back to the democratic vision of the Internet that was common sense before the failed experiment with the advertiser-supported Web got started. There's nothing wrong with someone making an honest buck on the Internet, of course. What's wrong is identifying the making of bucks as the essence of the medium.