Random notes for September 26, 2009.

Terrorism isn’t funny. But I do wonder how much of a sense of humor the FBI Counter Terrorism Task Force has.

Sitting in a car a safe distance from the skyscraper, Smadi, 19, allegedly dialed the cell phone number he thought would trigger the explosion. It was instead a law enforcement number. He was then arrested on terrorism charges, officials say.

“Hello, you’ve reached the Sprint PCS voice mail of The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Please place both hands above your head and refrain from any sudden movements.”

By way of Jimbo, David Brancaccio in the Santa Fe Reporter:

The bigger TV you have, the dumber you are. Smart people have TVs, often—but not very big ones.

Oh, yeah, Mister Smarty Smart Guy? What if I have a 56″ TV, but I only use it to watch my collection of classic films on DVD and Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection? Who’s the dummy now, eh?

(For the record, especially since I’m expecting an influx of folks from Glen’s site; my TV is a 36″ tube TV that my great and good friend Andrew gave me for free. I haven’t even connected the converter box to it yet. I don’t, and won’t, have cable; if I had cable, I’d spend all my time watching it, especially the Things That Go Fast And Explode Channel. And that would interfere with other more worthwhile activities, like school, hacking, drinking seasonal microbrews, and arguing about Proust. I don’t watch Fox News, or any TV news except under very rare circumstances. Most of my TV watching these days is with an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid on the MacBook, or DVDs. I do confess to being a sucker for Cops, watching America’s Most Wanted, and anything on PBS that catches my attention; mostly Nova, and the occassional FrontlineSecrets of the Dead, or American Experience. And I keep football games on as background noise during the season while I work on other projects.)

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