I was just chatting with someone about the subject of water rights, which is timely given the legal changes in Colorado on the subject. What amazes me is the labyrinthine set of laws and contracts among states that govern how rain water is to be divided. Las Vegas, for instance, purchases water rights from many of the other states in the Colorado River Compact--as far away as Wyoming. Rapid growth, drought, and depleted aquifers are going to make this one of the top issues in the coming decades. Get ready for it.

Demetri Martin takes the palindome prose to a new level. Thanks to Dr. Kahle for the link.

Over the weekend I was pondering how Michael Jackson was a superstar in a way that was singular in its occurence; there was never before and will never be a pop icon like him. His rise was timed perfectly with the emergence of three major transformations in western culture: an explosion of (cable) television content, the rise of megacorporate sponsorship, and the emergence of brand marketing as applied to individuals. He caught this multifaceted tidal wave perfectly, and rode it with absolute confidence--and capturing the imagination of an entire planet along the way.

His passing spawned millions of spontaneous sidewalk tributes and brought reactions from world leaders, great thinkers, and countless everyday people from across the globe. David Segal at the NY Times captures some of the reasons why fame may never be the same again after MJ.

I know those who were vexed by his eccentric and aberrant behaviors, and those on the other hand who saw him purely as a tragic figure. There are strong feelings on both sides.

I don't think it ultimately matters. Love him or hate him, his impact on the world as a musician, dancer, entertainer, and enigmatic superstar was undeniable and without equal.

The King of Pop is dead. Long live the King!

If you're going DSLR, get this.

I'm at the 29th minute. I don't care if the US wins, just making the final is a huge achievement. But seeing them up 2-0 over Brazil in their first FIFA final is surreal...

I'm sure that some view the new rules of engagement in Afghanistan as aimed for PR consumption. But I think it's quite remarkable for a military leader to grasp the difference between tactical victories and strategic defeat. I can only imagine what it will be like to withdraw from an urban firefight--especially if US casualties are involved--but the alternative is clearly not tenable. When your security force kills over 800 civilians each year, you are not winning any hearts or minds.

Michael Jackson is dead. Today, and long after his passing, his songs and performances will stand among the greatest this world has ever witnessed. I still remember sitting crouched next to the radio waiting to tape his songs from the Weekly Top 40. His life and career were as large as they were complicated and troubled. But take that all away and he was ultimately an unparalleled superstar. Godspeed, MJ.

Over 60% of the railway laid in the US has been abandoned.

A group has used Adobe Air to make desktop versions of Google apps that don't require you to launch your browser. It's really amazing to me to see HTML, a markup that was designed for document portability, be used as the defacto interface design tool. Man, Faisal must be pissed.

This wonderful article written by a former chief economist for the IMF does a great job of putting the finger on the problem with our "recovery" plan, and showing just how unbalanced the financial sector has become in its size and influence in our government. One lovely passage was this:

Regulators, legislators, and academics almost all assumed that the managers of these banks knew what they were doing. In retrospect, they didn’t. AIG’s Financial Products division, for instance, made $2.5 billion in pretax profits in 2005, largely by selling underpriced insurance on complex, poorly understood securities. Often described as “picking up nickels in front of a steamroller,” this strategy is profitable in ordinary years, and catastrophic in bad ones. As of last fall, AIG had outstanding insurance on more than $400 billion in securities.

That's right: nearly half a trillion dollars of bad debt written by a single company. Does anyone have any idea what we could accomplish with half a trillion dollars? Cure cancer? Put every high school student through college? The magnitude of this failure is difficult to comprehend, and I have yet to hear a) why it happened and b) how we're going to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Still waiting.

Well, the found at least one of the child stars a new home. Fingers crossed for the second one. Thanks to Todd for the link.

Rush fans will love to hear the story of the origin of "Red Barchetta" and how the author of the inspiring work met up with Neil Peart some 35 years after his original Road & Track article was published. Thanks to Aaron for the link.

Ahh, leet. I love it! Courtesy of Mr. White.

The image below is disturbing. Maybe the price variations are due to tax issues? Because if they aren't, it makes me feel even more enmity towards oil companies than before. It's hard to explain the dramatic changes in price from state to state and county to county other than gouging.

Admitted: I am watching the Gizmodo liveblog for Apple's WWDC. I'm telling myself that I want to learn about iPhone 3.0 to make a buying decision, but let's be honest: I made that decision when iPhone 1.0 came out. I am a product subscriber, a term that I have just coined and for which I will charge royalties from now on.

Don't drive in New Jersey. It sucks.

Glad to see that California was only 14th on the list of lameness. Best states? Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

For those who believe that iPhone app sales are significant, please see this helpful illustration.

The battle rages on between the heads of Porsche and VW, with the latter's CEO gettin' all Machiavelli with his plans. Piech offers his adversary a job at VW with these kind words: “He would have to take several steps down the ladder. The role play would have to change from someone who‘s used to march through to someone with humbleness—I don‘t know.“

You can capture pictures of the galactic disc using an affordable DSLR. Not do be outdone, another photographer imaged the Space Shuttle in silhouette against the Sun. For more normal conditions you can trigger them wirelessly with your iPhone in conjunction with a USB connection from your laptop. You can use this technology to take breathtaking photos of Russian military might and the tragedies of warfare.

It was revealed that the first porn on the Moon arrived in the 1970's on the Apollo 16 mission.

Jay Leno drove the Aptera and likes it.

In watch news, Citizen has a (Japan-only) wristwatch that uses bluetooth to deliver real-time info from your mobile to the watch's display. Phosphor has some new models that use Electronic Ink instead of a backlit liquid crystal display.

And finally, I am totally going to build a desk-based PC for myself. What a great concept!

Chevrolet Volt Chief Engineer Frank Weber, on seeing the light at the end of the development tunnel: "There are no more large elephants in the room, only hundreds of small ones."

I've been watching in disbelief as Porsche inexorably moves towards acquisition of the Volkswagen Auto Group. But behind the scenes there is an even more compelling story of the epic struggle between the CEOs of these two companies: Wendelin Wiedeking and Ferdinand Piech. Wiedeking is credited with the amazing turnaround the led to Porsche becoming the most profitable car company in the world. Piech, part of the Porsche family, has himself led VW to a series of acquisitions and mergers to become a rival to giants such as Toyota and GM.

The Truth About Cars has some great articles on these two men and the epic struggle that rages on between them. Six months ago it appeared that Wiedeking would orchestrate the takeover of VW. But Piech is famously cunning and has been working for a dramatic reversal where VW would in fact buy Porsche.

Intense stuff. These boys are playing for keeps.