Random

~ I appreciate the sentiment behind wanting to honor those in police and fire service. One of the things that happens on Guam is free food at restaurants (for example) for such people -- especially around 9-11.

However, in most of the US this practice would be considered illegal ingratiation. Consciously or unconsciously the public servants might because of the special treatment they've received at certain establishments be inclined to provide special favor to them at some point. It's not bribery but it's close enough that most communities either outlaw it or have policy against it. At the very least it is unethical and unprofessional -- even in the wake of 9-11.

~ A UK defense firm put an unmanned, solar powered drone into the air, where it flew for 54 hours straight.

~ Isaac Canales' piece on immigration is moving in the right direction.

~ I finally got the Internet back up on campus this morning. It went down Friday evening when the local cable company which supplies our connection added a new server and didn't realize how many of their old modems were incompatible with the new system. We ended up replacing a modem and babying it along so that it would connect. Of course, we were not the only ones with the problem so it took awhile to get tech support.

~ Now, if I can only find a battery on Guam that will fit my Samsung cell phone. HafaTEL, which supplied the phone in the first place -- and which has provided us with very sub-standard service throughout the first year of our 2-year contract -- doesn't support the phones any longer and I can't find a battery otherwise (at least not yet). This particular model was only distributed in Asia and Europe so the normal American online sources don't have them. I can order from Asia but then I have to deal with Customs -- which is suspicious of imported electronic components.

~ Wikipedia -- now with 2 million articles in English

~ 50 enhancements for Skype users

~ Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon has talent -- and these are just the announcements.