Mark Goffman, one of the writers for the TV show the West Wing will be speaking at a PRI event tonight. It will be fun to hear how real world events impact the show. The event is sold out already, but if anyone has any questions they want me to ask him, just [...]

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In yet another example of how quickly the communications industry is changing, SBC announced it will acquire AT&T for $16 billion. Back in 1997, FCC Chair Reed Hundt said that such a deal was unthinkable, but of course at that time, so was VoIP. Things have changed, and now SBC’s biggest competition is [...]

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William Safire bid farewell to his column at the New York Times this week, but not because he’s retiring. Instead, this Pulitzer Prize-winning, former presidential speech writer is moving on to lead an organization concerned with what some call transhumanism.
Transhumanism is the advocacy of using life-enhancing technology to improve the human condition. It [...]

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I almost can’t believe it, but I just watched a newscast that reported San Francisco has just banned smoking in public parks — that’s *outdoors* folks. Wow — critics of the indoor smoking ban were right that it wouldn’t stop there…
Update: here’s a SF Chron piece on it.

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Well, I finally broke down and watched Fahrenheit 9/11. Ever since watching the obnoxious film “Roger and Me,” I’ve been repulsed by Michael Moore, so I really didn’t want to see his latest. I figured it would just be more screaming and over dramatization. F911 actually didn’t have a lot of screaming, [...]

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While American soldiers risk their lives overseas to protect freedom, broadcasters at home are cowering in the shadows of government censors. Here’s my column on the madness.

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I watched the speech and then read it, so here’s my initial reaction. I didn’t think Bush delivered the speech with as much passion as he has at other times. Perhaps he was trying to be more “statesman-like” or something. At least he didn’t stumble over any words.
The words freedom [...]

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Today I read a sad and touching story on homelessness in San Francisco magazine. The writer, Kevin Berger, described how he set out to produce a story on homelessness, but wound up making a friend. The homeless man that Berger befriended is still on the streets, and it was sad to read how [...]

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Soon, two new commissioners will take their posts at the California Public Utilities Commission. Here’s a column giving them a heads-up on some of the issues.

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Will cold fusion ever happen? Not if we don’t try to figure it out. Here’s a column on the problems facing the field.

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