The problems that technology creates sometimes have technological solutions. For example, text-mining is starting to become sophisticated enough to help researchers and others deal with information overload.

(New York Times link. Free registration required.)

Insane baseball playoffs are not conducive to large word counts. Still, 7075 words since my last update, 207,670 since January 1.

In the regular season, the Red Sox played the Yankees 19 times. Yankees 10, Red Sox 9, and they arrived in New York for a best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

Sox win. Yankees win. And it was best of five.
Yankees win. Sox win. And it was best of three.

Yankees win, and go back to New York to face the immortal John Burkett with #2 starter Andy Pettite on the mound. Sox win anyway.

And now it's best of one, for a chance to meet the Marlins (The Marlins?! There's another incredible story over there in the National League.) in the World Series.

Now tell me again why baseball is boring?

Interesting introduction to chemical and biological weapons, explaining why manufacture of the pesky things is so difficult to detect or prevent.

SEMI co-founder Bill Hugle has died in Arizona. He was 76.

(Silicon Strategies link. Free registration required.)

It isn't just the loony liberal left that worries about this administration's penchant for secrecy. Even the spooks are worried, pointing out that, for example, classifying a report on dealing with a chemical weapons attack keeps critical information away from firefighters and other first responders who actually need it.

OOPS!

Jim thinks multiple drunk driving arrests will make it hard to get a driver's license. So he steals his neighbor Bob's identity. Bob turns out to be a convicted sex offender. Hilarity ensues.

(Link by way of TechDirt.)

In another setback for 157 nm lithography, TSMC has cancelled its orders for 157 nm exposure tools and says it will use immersion lithography to extend the reach of 193 nm exposures.

(Silicon Strategies link. Free registration required.)

If you're not a baseball fan, you may want to skip this one. I'm too disgusted by this weekend's debacle at Fenway to dig up links. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can find the details at any sports page.

On Pedro Martinez: Pitching inside is part of the game. If a pitcher can't control the inside part of the plate, he can't be effective. When a pitcher pitches inside, batters will sometimes get hit. They know that, and accept the risk.

However, throwing at someone's head in a fit of pique because your curve ball won't break is not part of the game. It would be a childish temper tantrum at best, if it weren't so dangerous. It also may have cost the Red Sox the game, by giving the Yankees an extra opportunity to score what turned out to be the winning run. This year, as so often in the past, the Curse of the Bambino may be self-inflicted.

On Don Zimmer: If you're young enough to charge across the field and attack someone in front of his own dugout, you're young enough to accept the consequences when he defends himself. If you want to be treated like a mature adult, act like one instead of like a drunken college student.

And yes, I know that Zimmer was seriously injured when he was hit in the head back in his playing days. If, 50 years later, he's still prone to fits of uncontrollable rage, then he needs to get help and I feel sorry for him.

Now can we get back to baseball? Please?