Bad Online Maps: "MapQuest doesn't always take into account highway repairs, new roads or street name changes. The service often tells drivers to turn the wrong way down a one-way road or directs them to exits and "unnamed streets" that don't exist."

Tree climbers vie for international championships: "Palokangas was one of 26 Minnesota arborists at St. John's University on Saturday vying to reach the World Tree Climbing Championship next summer in Montreal. The participants all were commercial and municipal tree-care workers."

Instapundit: "Friday's coverage was the source of a staggering amount of misinformation. Among the inaccurate reports..."

The Making of a Police State: "The next time a soldier in the airport orders you to produce your papers, try to think of a movie where the question, 'Your papers, please?' is asked by the good guys."

Is America the 'good guy'? "A year ago, Americans were stunned by a brutal attack that revealed deep resentment against US power. America from a pinnacle of military, economic, and political might unmatched in history responded with force. In what it has cast as a battle between good and evil, the US toppled the Taliban and is now threatening 'regime change' in Iraq. But Americans see their global role differently from the way others see it. So the Monitor asked people in 16 countries this question: 'Is America the good guy?'"

America vis-à-vis past empires: "But even a modest superpower is not considered a force for good by all. In that sense, historians say, ambivalent attitudes toward the United States today echo the reputations of ancient empires."

One Way Ticket: "Little did I realize (or was informed by the accompanying literature) that Mac system 10.2 does not yet work with any laser printers! Everyone is working hard to figure something out, but as yet - no solution to the vexing problem. The only way to print is to restart in Classic mode (you can't do it from the classic emulation) or to buy one of the little jet-spray printers." This could be a problem.

Hawke's eye view: "Not content with being married to Uma Thurman and being a bona-fide Hollywood superstar, Ethan Hawke has an unfulfilled ambition - to write the Great American Novel." and at Amazon

Plumbing the Depths of Groundhog Day: "The purpose of this short essay is to try to call attention to at least some of the "deeper" aspects of this movie--things it suggests about the human condition, about ourselves, and perhaps about the Infinite, that might be missed in a casual viewing."

In Brazil, Blog Is Beautiful: "Weblogs certainly have a worldwide audience. Still, no one's quite sure what makes them so hot in Brazil."