I'm off to a discussion on René Girard right now. Although his writing is lucid most of the time, I'm sometimes reminded of one of my favorite articles from Lingua Franca when reading people like Girard. (Difficult writing is not necessarily bad -- the ideas and materials might demand dense argumentation.  However, is what I read in Girard profundity or obfuscation?)  

New York Public Library Style Guide.   This page might be a helpful tutorial and standard for our community.  [link from the top 40 list from Daypop.com]

Microsoft, IBM locate Web services with new standard. (InfoWorld)  I wonder whether this development will cut out "independent developers" (a constant Dave Winer concern.)

One thing that cheers me up is getting my latest issue of the New York Review (Nov 15, 2001). I've been wondering how the Review would be convering the post Sept-11 world. It's more or less a bi-weekly, not something to consult for the very latest news. However, I've appreciated its (mostly) intelligent analysis of international affairs. At lunch, I quickly read Tony Judt's America and the War. (I hadn't realized that Judt is also a regular contributor to the New Republic. A google search revealed a piece he wrote soon after Sept 11:"In the twentieth century, war was made on civilians. In the twenty-first century, war will be made by civilians.  

I'm sorry to hear that Chris cut his finger badly. 

Groove modifies P2P underpinnings of its products (Computerworld)   I haven't looked at Groove in a while. It looked promising a year ago and since Microsoft put $50 million into the company a while back, it's probably hear to stay. But is it useful for us at the university? (Wes Felter points to a post about how misleading the title of the article is.  Groove remains P2P.)

Chron of Higher Ed article on an academic site devoted to Islamic studies. "Although academics have known about the site for some time, the September 11 attacks spurred much greater general interest. In the wake of the attacks, Mr. Godlas posted a number of responses from Muslim organizations and scholars, including comments made available by the American Academy of Religion's Study of Islam Section, on whose steering committee he serves. The responses-- and the general information he has collected -- attracted attention. "