OK, here's what I wanted to write about last night:

I've never seen such a black-white contrast in the way we business reporters are treated by big tech companies than I have in the last two days. On Tuesday, I went to Nvidia's launch event for its new GeForce 4 processors, where we press got the royal treatment. We got a big show at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, were well fed and liquored up, and even got a goodie bag that included a pretty nice sport jacket.

The next day, I went to PalmSource, where I and other journalists were told that we could have only Expo passes because "there are limited press resources." When I explained that I didn't need access to the press room, only the keynote talks, the registration officials wouldn't budge. And judging from the nonexistent lines, there was no way those keynotes were anywhere close to full. Needless to say, the event didn't get any coverage from the Business Journal. Actually, neither the the Nvidia event. So I suppose it doesn't matter.

Anyway, here's my first impression of the GeForce 4 graphics chips: they're good, but I wouldn't recommend buying them just yet. They're not completely DirectX 8 compliant, most games won't even begin to use their most advance features for a year, and there should be some pretty nice bargains on the GeForce 3 cards now. Also, the low-end GF4s don't perform much better than the bargain-basement GF2s).

So very, very tired. I have much to write, but I'll have to save it for later...

Alright, Fox News, what have you done with the real Greta Van Susteren?

CNN.com - Man convicted in wife's killing wants state to pay for sex change

"He claims in a lawsuit that the corrections department is violating his civil rights and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide treatment for his gender identity disorder. He said he suffers continuous depression, anxiety and a high level of stress as a result of being denied treatment."

Are those symptoms consistent with simply being in prison?

‘Sesame Street’ gets a makeover

They're dumbing down Sesame Street! Please help me organize a consumer boycott to urge the letters P and L and the number 5 to withdraw their sponsorship of the show.

Salon.com Comics | This Modern World

Another good one.

Here's my very first Friday Five:

1. Have you ever had braces? Any other teeth trauma?
I only wish my family could have afforded braces. Sometimes I mull over whether to get them now, but adults always -- and I mean always -- look silly in them. Maybe I can get those invisible kind.

2. Ever broken any bones?
No.

3. Ever had stitches?
Nope, no stitches, either. I'm unbreakable. Well, I once had to go to the emergency room for kidney stones. That's pain, my friends.

4. What are the stories behind some of your [physical] scars?
I have a weird mystery scar on my chin. No one from my family can explain it, though I do wonder if it had anything to do with an accident I barely remember from early childhood -- some kid riding a bicycle ran into me as I was walking down the sidewalk. Dismissed as...coincidence!

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
Friday night: Barnes & Noble woo-hoo! I'm a wild man!
Saturday: Don't know for sure, but it will probably involve Fry's Electronics.
Sunday: Church, Evita (the musical), and maybe some Super Bowl action.
That's right, folks. Having a girlfriend has not changed my weekends in the least.

Well, here I am at the fourth Web services conference I've attended in the last three weeks. As big as this concept is going to be, I'm getting a little sick of listening to all of this...

Taliban Prisoners Plead To Go to Cuba

Amnesty International: what is it you were saying about our treatment of the captured terrorists?

Freshette ®

Who says girls can't aim?

CNN.com - GAO to sue White House over energy notes - January 30, 2002

Anticipating a court battle, Bush said Tuesday, "Bring it on."

Hey, Mr. President: this ain't Texas. So leave your six-shooter at home.

Anyway, nice to see Bush isn't letting his ego or covert partisanship cloud his judgement.

Enron memo lobbied Cheney on price caps

The plot thickens.

Another out-of-control Bush kid:

President Bush's Niece Arrested on Drug Charge

Another Enron cartoon.

New Republic's Longtime Owner Sells Control to 2 Financiers

This is probably the worst news I've heard all day, with the possible exception of my girlfriend getting hit by a truck at lunch (she's fine -- more on the incident later). The moderate-left publication is being sold to a partnership that includes at least one arch-conservative. Quoting from the Times article:

"Diehard liberals often complain, of course, that The New Republic has gradually shifted to the right over the years. But the transaction nonetheless marks a break with the venerable magazine's history. At least one new owner, Mr. Hertog, is a prominent patron of conservative organizations, as chairman of the Manhattan Institute and a trustee of the American Enterprise Institute. And the new partners have stirred questions among readers and contributors about both The New Republic's future and about Mr. Peretz's reasons for selling two-thirds of the magazine."

KPCC - KPCC Reveals President Bush Has A Heart Arrhythmia

Pretzels, huh?

In case you're wondering, the post below is for a story I'm working on. We needed a screenshot to show how it works, so I had to type some filler text.

I'm using the new Blogger Pro, which allows me to make quick updates to my Web site. Thank goodness I don't have to format text, edit HTML, or perform cumbersome FTP uploads.

Best of all, I can create a running commentary on my Web site from any Web broswer -- or even my Internet-connected phone.

With the Pro version, I can check my spelling, use formatting shortcuts, add links, upload photos and more.

Here's a link to my favorite site. Should I post now? Or sometime later today. I should probably make a draft of this and send it later. Or maybe I can finish it and have the site updated later. So many choices, so many features, so little time...

Yahoo! News - Cheney: Won't Turn Over Energy List

Hmmmm, I wonder why he won't turn over this list. Could it be related to the largest corporate implosion in U.S. history and its hand-in-hand relationship to Republican energy policy?

I've upgraded to the new BloggerPro, so expect more pictures with posts soon!