Would this be an example of "Don't be a Dick & Jane?"

On the one hand, I'm glad they chose you - someone who's truly excited about science/tech/geek stuff to be truly excited as the narrator (acting, shmacting, nothing replaces true excitement). On the other hand, there's a part of me that wishes they asked you to read it as Wesley Crusher. It just seems like the kind of thing Wesley would have done if there were a NASA in the future that wanted to tell everyone about a new robot... I'm guessing this would have been of no interest to you at all (and for good reason). But it would have been cool...

I feel like QR codes are something that happened while I was away for the Internet for some reason. One day, it wasn't there, the next day, everyone seemed to know what to do except me. So this is as good a time to ask as any other: what's the "right" QR Code reader to download for iPhone/iPad? Are there features to these things one must consider? Also: it occurs to me that if the iPhone shipped with a QR reader, these things would instantly be 100x more popular/useful.

Wil, While I admire your naive (almost Wesley Crusher-like?) faith in humanity, I agree with most of the posters here that your Kindle is long gone. That said, I hold out hope that a person dumb enough to buy things on a stolen Kindle (thinking the original owner wouldn't notice?) may also be dumb enough to call Amazon customer service and say, "Hey - the Kindle I found on the plane suddenly stopped working. Can you fix it?" Hopefully, Amazon has Wheatley's serial number on a watchlist & can pick this guy/gal up if he/she calls in...

Oh, great - now I feel bad for not getting around to commenting on the previous post. ;-) I, too, am a long-time reader/first-time commenter, having read your stuff on & off for a couple of years now. My iPad now gives me easier access to things like Twitter, Podcasts, etc., so I have more recently become familiar with the "full Wheaton," as it were... Anyway, I've always been impressed with your work. Posts like the Fireworks one read like little novels, with real characters, plot twists, emotional highs & lows, etc.. I also like that you obviously put a lot of time and effort into your work, but never take yourself so seriously as to condescend to your readers. Keep up the great work! We're still here - listening, reading and watching...

Just remember: "Magenta" is probably in her late 40s right now, 30 pounds heavier, has two kids, and just read this post and thought to herself, "Woah...that was Wesley Crusher?!?!?" Time smooths out all the peaks & valleys, huh?

One of the many things that makes the Internet great: 20 years ago, if you don't show up to a con & the organizers cite "personal reasons," you're a jerk, and everyone who was at the con spends the rest of their lives telling everyone they meet about how Wil Wheaton's a jerk because he blew off this con I once went to, etc. Today, you post a personal message to your fan base explaining yourself, and now we all tell our friends about what a good father, husband, etc. you are. What was that Louis Armstrong used to say? Oh yeah - What a Wonderful World...

Is it just me, or does it bother anyone that he called his Star Trek expert a Trekker and not a Trekkie? Doesn't bode well that he's actually listening to said Trekker/ie...

Add me to the "I hope they keep this moving along" crowd. I look forward to the show every week, but I must admit, by the end of yesterday's episode, that same thought occurred to me: man, are we going to go all the way from now through May just working our way up to "bomb day?" It's going to get tedious eventually, even if the episodes themselves are entertaining/intruiging. One last thought: the "slogan of the week" thing is going to get old fast too. I bought into "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." I was mildly ammused by "Who's on the List?" I was slightly disturbed by "Who's her Daddy?" They hinted at another one last night, but I forget what it is now. Please. Don't. Ruin. A. Good. Thing...

Spam and junk mail/solicitation calls are two entirely different things. Spam costs virtually nothing to send, so companies send it even when they have no expectation of it generating any revenue (in fact, sometimes they send it out just to get the Read Confirmation & improve their mailing list hit rate). Junk mail & solicitation calls actually cost some significant money to use, so firms put some thought into who they send it to. And although complaining about them is very popular, a lot of people actually respond to them, and a good campaign can turn a significant profit. So I think junk mail & phone campaigns will be here for the long haul. Spam is a different animal that needs to be solved differently. Here are some thoughts I put together on the subject a few years back (at the time, they actually made it into InternetWeek's newsletter, so at least someone thought they had merit): http://www.familygreenberg.com/ramblings_spam.htm

So basically, this is a study guide for the old Trivial Pursuit game, right? (They should have reserved one of the days for "Roll Again").

What I find funny is that you forgot C = Pi * D, but remembered 186,000,000. Must have been all that time in outer space... ;-)

Apologies for the double post, but the link didn't paste right in the previous comment. I'll try it with HTML: Click here for the article. Or, if you wish, click here for my thoughts on it (from my blog). </shamless plug>

Firstly, I'm impressed by the reasonable discussion on both sides. Too many blogs today have turned into shouting matches in favor of the host's point of view. To that end, I'd like to offer some additional information on PEPFAR & the progress being made to fight AIDS overseas: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/08/20/and_now_for_the_good_news/ "Read the whole thing," as they say, but here are the highlights: -- Bill Clinton considers it the most we've ever done to fight AIDS in the world. -- Bill Gates (world's largest philanthropist) agrees. -- Doctors and other health care workers on the ground agree as well. -- Perhaps most germain to this discussion: in many African countries, the church is more power than the government, and often shares responsibility for health care. We've (rightly) demonized the religious right in this country for a number of reasons, but over there, religion is often the most effective way to get through to people. -- Existing condom distribution programs are being recognized as exceptions to the ABC program, under the theory of why stop something that's already working. -- A group of activists spent over a year trying to find problems with PEPFAR, and eventually disbanded without issuing a report, because they couldn't agree on a cohesive criticism of it. I'll shut up now - go click the link above!

I've never heard of Open Water, but if Tom Hanks can do basically the same thing in Cast Away, then we can at least stipulate that it's possible. Granted, he had an island to work with, but no lady...

You should *absolutely* go over there & post an ad. Just to see the reaction of some trekkie fangirl who goes looking for a guy like Wesley and winds up with...well, you know. (btw: cool blog. I'd heard about it for ages, but finally got around to checking in regularly. Keep up the good work!)