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London got a little taste of what the Northeastern US went through a couple weeks ago. The UK incident was not as widespread, but about 60% of the London Underground was effected for over an hour. Mayor Ken Livingstone calls the event a “disgrace”.

via Small Values of Cool

I would like to apologize to both of my readers. I have neglected to post anything for almost two weeks. My excuses are really good though. Want to hear them? Here they go:

1. Blackout. Since I’m all high tech these days with the IP phone from Vonage, I had no communication with the outside world. My mobile phone was worthless as well. I must say it was nice having friends drop by to chat since there was no other way to reach me, but no phone line or cable modem means no blogging.
2. Empire State AIDS Ride. I left for the airport while the power was still out in my apartment, so I couldn’t post the announcement that I wouldn’t be updating my site for a week.

   The ride was wonderful, I will post some pictures here shortly. In the meantime check out Matt’s pictures.

Fox is suing Al Franken and the publisher of his forthcoming book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. According to Fox, they trademarked the term “Fair and Balanced” back in 1998 and object to its use in the book’s title. Fox, oozing Balance and Fairness, refers to Franken as a “C-level commentator” who is “unstable” and “shrill”. Who filed this suit? Bill O’Reilly?

One might ask why Fox would be so concerned about a book written by a gentleman who they have absolutely no respect for? Apparently they are concerned that their viewers might mistake the book for one endorsed by the Fox News Channel, you know, with all that “Fair and Balanced” stuff printed on the front. If Fox isn’t spewing it, it can’t be “Fair and Balanced” right? After all, we wouldn’t want someone to pick up Franken’s book thinking they were going to get 250 pages of “Fair and Balanced” from a Fox sanctioned source only to be surprised by (gasp!) a differing opinion.

This suit probably doesn’t have any legs anyway. If Fox’s viewers can’t tell who wrote the book by looking at its cover (hint: the author’s last name is NOT O’Reilly) how could they ever be expected to read that which is between covers? At worst, Fox is wasting the court’s time. On the upside, Al Franken receives some excellent publicity for his new book. Don’t forget to place your advance order!

Today Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki outlined plans to mark the second anniversary of 9/11. Those plans include the return of the Tribute in Light that was lit for a month starting on March 11, 2002. This year 200 children related to the 2,800 lost on 9/11 will participate in the ceremony.

I posted a message last week about cable boxes with integrated digital video recorders. At the time, the new DVRs were be available in September, but it looks like they are ready now. You can reserve a box on the Time-Warner site and a friend tells me that his will be installed next Friday. The cost is either $6.95 or $9.95 per month depending on your current cable package. There is no fee for the new equipment other than the $25 installation charge.

You can get more information about the new cable boxes on Scientific Atlanta’s site.

mapAmobile offers a tracking service that will disclose the location of a mobile phone. Here’s some information from their site:

Once you have registered for the service, you can log onto your account using your user name and password. From ‘My Account’ ‘Account Home’ click ‘Where is this mobile?’ from the list of mobiles you have chosen to locate.

After a short while, you will receive a reply online giving the location of the mobile phone: e.g. ‘Gemma is in the vicinity of Carnaby Street, London W1′ together with the date, time and accuracy of the location. You will also have the option to see a map showing street names and points of interest.

It sounds like the mobile device needs to be registered before one can track it. So tracking random people around town is probably not an option (thankfully).

London seems to be a hotbed of location based services, last time we were there we tried out Zingo, a service that puts you in touch with the driver of the nearest taxi. I was skeptical at first, but a taxi showed up within 5 minutes of the call.

via Slashdot

The Washington Post reports that a judge awarded a Virginia inventor $29.5 million for patent infringement. What idea did eBay steal from the patent holder? eBay’s “Buy it Now”, otherwise known as “a way for people to purchase items over the Internet for a fixed price”. Does this mean that anyone else selling items on the Internet will need to pay a licensing fee?

via Slashdot

No, I’m not talking about the heat wave that is currently gripping Europe, this news is much more exciting than record temperatures. North Carolina doughnut purveyor Krispy Kreme will open its first London shop at Harrods in October. Krispy Kreme plans to add 25 new outlets across the UK and Ireland to its international chain that already includes shops in Canada and Australia.

How long will it take before they introduce a steak and kidney flavored doughnut for the British market?

The Daily News reports that Galan, one of the hawks in Bryant Park, attacked a chihuahua on Tuesday afternoon. The shaken dog received a puncture wound and some scratches. Galan has been grounded and the safety of the entire hawk program has been called into question. Apparently the hawk mistook the dog for a rat and went on the attack.

While I can’t help but feel bad for the dog, I can see how a chihuahua, or any of the other tiny dog varieties commonly seen on Manhattan streets, could look like a juicy rat from the air. But, ratlike dogs were not on the official list of nuisances to be eradicated from the park by the hawks which apparently only included pigeons and actual rats. Perhaps they should send Galan over to the firehouse on Hillside and 153rd Street in Jamaica to take care of their rat problem.

The MTA says it will close 45 subway part-time token (metrocard) booths on August 17th and an additional 17 by the end of the year. Citing safety concerns, the Transport Workers Union has filed against the MTA to stop the closures. The Straphangers Campaign says it will take similar action against the MTA by the end of the month.

Governor Pataki vetoed a bill last week that would have banned the closing of booths. So, unless the union or straphangers can get an injunction, this looks like a done deal. The initial 62 closures are only the tip of the iceberg. Eventually, all booths will be phased out in favor of roving station agents.

Safety is usually the first issue that comes up when talking about booth closures. Rightfully so, but what about accessibility? Without an agent, who is going to open the service entry gate for passengers that need it? Turnstiles are not designed to let wheelchairs, strollers, large packages or bicycles pass. Anyone who has had to contend with a locked service gate near a closed booth knows first hand what kind of a problem this can be.

Find out which booths are slated for closure on the MTA’s site. Learn how to take action on the Straphangers Campaign site.