Virginia Heinlein died Saturday: "Virginia Heinlein, wife of the late Robert A. Heinlein, the first grandmaster of science fiction, died in her sleep early today. Robert's beloved Ginny was his inspiration and partner. Robert had suffered a variety of ailments during his life and her care helped keep him alive during the most productive and creative stage of his science fiction writing career."

Gold surges to new highs after Iraq find: "Gold stormed to its highest in almost six years on Thursday in New York, as jitters about another Gulf War mounted after the United Nations said it found empty chemical warheads in Iraq."

Why Britain needs more guns: "As gun crime leaps by 35% in a year, plans are afoot for a further crack down on firearms. Yet what we need is more guns, not fewer, says a US academic."

The Death of Politics: "Libertarianism is rejected by the modern left - which preaches individualism but practices collectivism. Capitalism is rejected by the modern right-which preaches enterprise but practices protectionism. The libertarian faith in the mind of men is rejected by religionists who have faith only in the sins of man. The libertarian insistence that men be free to spin cables of steel as well as dreams of smoke is rejected by hippies who adore nature but spurn creation. The libertarian insistence that each man is a sovereign land of liberty, with his primary allegiance to himself, is rejected by patriots who sing of freedom but also shout of banners and boundaries. There is no operating movement in the world today that is based upon a libertarian philosophy. If there were, it would be in the anomalous position of using political power to abolish political power."

Bighorn sheep numbers on rise in northern Nevada: "Wildlife officials plan to release up to 20 California bighorn sheep in the Black Rock Desert region this week as part of an ongoing effort to reintroduce the animal to its native habitat."

Steve Case resigns as AOL chairman: "Steve Case, the embattled chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc., surrendered to critics Sunday, announcing he would give up the board's top post at the shareholders' meeting in May." Its all because of Loyd.

Hey Loyd - Emerson, Angie and I were wardriving in front of your house tonite. Didn't get any signal, or I would have sent this to you from outside.

Congratulations to Loyd on breaking his AOL addiction: "Unplugging myself from The Matrix I discovered the real world. A world in which birds fly, tv is in color, and Steve Case isn't leader of the free world. I'm a switcher and I'm happy I did."

Small businesses dodge Web: "Millions of small companies continue to snub the Web - potentially limiting their growth and that of e-commerce and the economy. Nearly 70% of small businesses don't have Web sites, says an annual survey by Verizon Communications. That's on par with 1999 - the first year the telecom company did its survey."

Alleged Wi-Fi Risks Are Nonsense: "The fears are ridiculous, says Cory Doctorow. Doctorow has made a mission of de-bunking Wi-Fi security concerns -- he'd call them myths -- as one of the themes he visits frequently on his Weblog, Boing Boing."