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What to do for breakfast on a holiday morning (or any morning, for that matter)? Here's a thought:

(I had to do something with the new Flip video camera!)

Finally, a judge acts with common sense! Convictions 'tentatively' tossed in MySpace cyber-bullying case:

...judge says that if she is to be found guilty of illegally accessing computers, anyone who has ever violated the social networking site's terms of service would be guilty of a misdemeanor.

While what happened to the teenage girl was horrific and tragic, and while the woman may well have played a pivotal role in the events leading up to this tragedy, the fact is that there were no laws on the books under which she could be prosecuted. If the convictions had been upheld, we would have had a very bad precedent set, where (as the judge noted) a civil contract (the Terms of Service for MySpace, in this instance) would be elevated to the level of, and therefore be enforceable as, Federal criminal law. And not by an Act of Congress, or an Executive Order, or even by decree of an activist Federal Judge: rather, via a decision rendered by twelve people chosen at random, in a criminal case which should never have been brought. Personally, I would much prefer my ISP or social networking site's lawyers not be the ones writing criminal law.

And, should the teenage girl's parents still wish to seek justice, there are other venues (such as the civil court system) which are far better suited for that purpose in this case.

E D Truitt

"Check out these creatures!" "What are those wierd appendages attached to their heads?" "I dunno, but they seem to be removable!"

Photograph copyright © 2009 E D Truitt.

Houston area weather forecast: High 99° F, with a 30% chance of rain. Some are reporting it will get up to 101° F.

In other words, more of the same from this past weekend. Thinking you might want a break from the heat, all I can offer is 7 seconds of cool, refreshing water:

Enjoy.

It looks like we have a Heat Advisory lasting well into the weekend. So, what can you do to beat the heat, while avoiding going totally nuts in the confines of your own home?

How about a visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science?

E D Truitt

See a part of ancient China, without the 36-hour plane ride...

And while you're at it, why not stop by and visit with some old fossils?

E D Truitt

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Exhibition made possible by the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and the Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, Peoples Republic of China with the Houston Museum of Natural Science in cooperation with The Bowers Museum and National Geographic Museum.

Photographs copyright © 2009 E D Truitt.