Chill out, moms and dads

I missed Frontline's documentary on the internet and teenagers when it aired, but David Pogue just posted a great assessment of the situation that includes a link to watch the whole thing for free online. I find it very sad (and unfortunately, not surprising) that the editor in Pogue's story asked specifically for a more sensationalized slant. The fear surrounding kids on the internet is pretty much the same as the fear surrounding abductions and "talking to strangers" when I was a child two decades ago. In both cases, it's a matter of teaching kids common sense and helping them develop good judgment skills, not overreacting to a handful of horrifying and possibly overblown stories.

February has been... eventful

Wow, this shortest month of the year (plus one day this time around) is only half over, and already it's been quite the ride. I had jury duty for a day, but I was not selected to serve on a trial. I've had to scrape ice off of my driveway twice (this is recommended only if you want to experience what it's like to be drenched in sweat in the middle of winter). And my house was broken into. Now, don't worry, nothing happened to me. The damage was very minimal - just a broken window in my side door - and nothing was stolen except for some change I had sitting around. Actually, I'm kind of tired of talking about it. I've taken steps to secure my house. Maybe I'll get a dog. Or a gun. Or a dog that knows how to shoot a gun. Or Dog the Bounty Hunter - because I assume he's available.

But such things are probably not necessary, and I'm not going to dwell on it, since plenty of good things have happened so far in February. I'll just distract myself with Star Wars themed hot air balloons. Look, up in the sky - it's the disembodied head of Darth Vader!