Poker great Johnny Chan. "It doesn't matter to me if I'm dealt two aces or a three and a five," he says later. "In fact, I don't need any cards. I just play the person."
Breakable: A few days ago, someone in Bike Forums broke the story, so to speak, of how to unlock a U-Lock using a plastic ballpoint pen. Now the NYTimes has picked up on the story, writing that "Many cyclists erupted in disbelief and anger this week after videos were posted on the Internet showing how a few seconds of work could pick many of the most expensive and common U-shaped locks, including several models made by Kryptonite, the most recognized brand." After having two bikes stolen in college, both secured with U-Locks, I long ago recognized that U-Locks were nothing but an inconvenience for bike thieves, a way to slow them down. It's hard to believe many cyclists would still think a U-Lock is some foolproof security mechanism. The best security for your bike is to keep it next to you indoors or to own a bike so awful you wouldn't feel any sorrow if someone stole it. Here are links to the videos.
Stunning animation from Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, opening this weekend.
The Law of Large Numbers: Events with million-to-one odds happen 295 times a day in America.
The predominant ideology of our age: anti-Americanism?
Nikon announces a new professional digital SLR, the D2X. The specs are sweet, but unfortunately it doesn't hit dealers until winter 2005, so this is all premature elation.
Amazon takes A9 out of beta; new search engine amalgamates results from a variety of sources, including Google and Gurunet. Bookmarks are a handy way to drag in potential winners from a search for future reference.
Google Accounts. Bwahahahahaha (maniacal laugh of Google emperor as his plans for world domination several years down the line continue to gel).