Ah, the life we lead...  had a wonderful dinner tonight with good friends at Bricco, in the North End of Boston...  beef carpaccio w parmesan cheese, zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta and infused with truffle oil, tortelli w pumpkin amaretti, accompanied by a bottle of the reliably amazing Tignanello...  pretty much doesn't get much better.  Thanks Greg!

How nice to just take a break; slept in and read for a bit (finished We might as well win, which ended as great as it started, highly recommended), walked around, shopped a little, and spent time in vacation mode before flipping the switch back into work mode.  I am on negative time delivering some code and did make some progress... some.  I'm here attending the USCAP Conference, and tomorrow it kicks off in earnest.

The weather in Boston is delightful - walked around in the sun, enjoyed the day, had a nice lunch on an outside patio - and everyone here is surprised; apparently this is a major departure from a crummy winter.  Good timing I guess, what can I say, it has been delightful...

And so the Ole filter makes a right coast pass...

Philip Greenspun wonders Will turning the U.S. into Europe save our economy?  This is one of those questions where if you have to ask, you already know the answer.  The good news is that I doubt Americans will really stand for this; we'll tolerate a little now, because we're going through some pain, but as soon as it is obvious federalization makes things worse, the pendulum will start swinging back.  I hope I'm wrong, but Obama already looks like a one term President.

Apropos: Meltdown.  [ via Instapundit ]

PS John McCain thinks GM should be allowed to go bankrupt.  Me, too.  They've worked hard for it, they've earned it, and now they deserve it.  Honestly, what bad thing will happen?

Maybe you don't have room in your house for a wine cellar, or wine room, and then maybe this is your solution!  This spiral wine cellar will go anywhere, and they move the dirt straight out your front door.  I love it!

Another object of desire: The Audi Shark Hovercraft.  To the bat cave, Robin!

Excellent news: Richard Morgan has a new book out: Steel Remains.  I am going to read it - via Kindle, of course - and you should too...

This totally misses the point: Why iPhone users won't flock to the Palm Pre come June.  The Pre is not a better iPhone, it is a better Palm.  There are a lot of us who want a real keyboard and who like Sprint better than AT&T, and we are the ones who will flock to the Palm Pre come June.  I have my Pre-order in already, do you?

And so Italy are building the world's longest suspension bridge, two miles, across the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the mainland.  Wow, you can believe this is pretty controversial.