The Lexicographer's Rules

;My friends in the university next door to mine have been told to stay in after two students were whisked off with suspected SARS; here at my place we were given kits containing some kind of medicine, a thermometer, and a packet of facemasks. We have to take a thermometer reading every morning and contact the foreign affairs office on campus with the results. This is a provincial-level ruling, apparently. We are also not supposed to stray too far from campus, and have been advised not to go to the supermarket (too crowded). And this morning I walked past the bizarre sight of my stairwell being sprayed with disinfectant by a bored looking waiter from the restaurant next door. His mate, clearly misunderstanding the whole process, was walking behind him spitting out sunflower seed shells all over the place. (Source Link)

The New York Times is 20 days late with this story about the Recording Industry Association of America filing suit against four university students for swapping music files. The suit was first announced April 3.

350 of New York City’s 1289 buses run on natural gas.

Bup Kudus is the name of the Iban-language Bible recently banned in Malaysia.

;I’m fascinated by them. What’s at work is an enthusiasm for conspiracy theories that operates in lots of areas in modern life. Sort of, “Wouldn’t it be fun if everybody was wrong about a big issue like this and somebody else had really done this?” (Source Link)