Entertaining, Educational, Erudite — and Half Off!

Ok, this is pretty cool. Greg Hittelman, director of Willful Infringement (as well as former valet parker, fruit picker, golf caddy, and private bartender for Frank effing Sinatra, per his IMDB bio — I can't wait to meet this guy) saw my recent post about his company Fiat Lucre and its MCLE program screening in L.A. next Wednesday, December 8: "Fair Use in the Digital Age." He got in touch by email to offer some discounted tickets. This is great, because now I'm bringing a colleague from the firm who wanted to go and originally sent me the promo for the program, but until now had bowed out in light of the cost. Better still, Greg has also offered two half-off tickets to Bag and Baggage readers. If you're a SoCal digital copyright groupie and would like to attend at the half-off price of $75.00, please send me an email or leave a comment. First come, first served. The details for the program next Wednesday are as follows:

12:15 - 1:45pm at Laemmle's Grande Theatre, downtown L.A. (map: 349 S. Figueroa). 1.5 hours of MCLE credit. Regular price = $150.

Spacing Out?

BoingBoing and Scoble on Microsoft's new blogging tool, Spaces. I just don't get how Microsoft goes live without W3C compliance, I don't care how beta it is.

I Say, Old Blawg

Everyone's favorite knowledge management diva Joy London discusses the blawgosphere and KM in the current issue of Legal IT, Blogging with Lawyers:

As it turns out, the research I had been archiving for my convenience was also useful to others far and wide — and as a knowledge management (KM) professional, I would have been remiss indeed, were I not keen to share my work.

We're all the richer because Joy is keen, in both senses of the word.

Telomere Savers

As if you didn't have enough to think about this holiday season, did you happen to catch Dr. Elissa Eppel on the Today Show this morning, explaining how stress is prematurely shrinking our telomeres? Ok, so maybe it's not shrinking your telomeres yet, but it could. Mine? I'm pretty sure they're completely hosed at this point. But thanks to the Web, and mostly thanks to people's weblogs, I have stumbled on some holiday shopping tips that might just help banish some stress and save a telomere or two.

• iPods at Amazon. If you're thinking of buying some lucky soul an iPod any time soon, Amazon seems like a good way to go. Unlike many of the Apple stores, Amazon seems to have everything in stock, including the new 60 gig iPod Photo for $569.00 with an additional $30.00 off if you sign up for an Amazon Visa. That's $60.00 off the $599.00 Apple price right there, and if you're not shipping to Washington state (update: or Kansas, or North Dakota) you'll also save the sales tax — generally considerable on a big ticket item like this.


• Give a Clue. I've already given everyone on my list I thought would be remotely interested/edified copies of The Cluetrain Manifesto and Gonzo Marketing. If you haven't, do. They're milestones. They promote Peace on Earth, and are strong supporters of long, happy telomeres.


• For the new parent in your life. New parents or parents-to-be on your gift list will be eternally grateful for the Hippychick Hipseat (good for parents of six-month olds - toddlers) or the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder (good for parents of newborns). I could make a long list here of things that have been invaluable to us, but those are key. Clue them in to the Dr. Sears Web site as well.


• Let someone else mail your holiday cards. Once you let an outfit like Shutterfly manage your holiday card mailing, you will never go back to licking stamps again. "You can even import addresses from Outlook or your Palm." My telomeres get all a-tingly over this one.


• Book, music picks. Seems like each year I get on a theme as far as The Book and The Music I give during the holidays. This year, it's My California (with many great stories, including one by Derek Powazek), and the Morning Becomes Ecclectic cds (Sounds Ecclectic; Sounds Ecclectic Too) from local NPR station KCRW.

Long may your telomeres wave!

DesignTech CONNECT 2005

Looks interesting — Entretec Calls for Applicants for Second Annual Entrepreneurship Award 2005:

Founded by Entretec, the Art Center College of Design, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Cities of Pasadena and Monrovia, DesignTech CONNECT is a 'one of a kind' festival that will unite the worlds of advanced technology and design to create an extravaganza where talent can meet to share creative ideas and establish business connections. Featuring product demonstrations, hands-on displays, and leading edge technology and design.

(Links added.) Scheduled for May 12-13 in Pasadena. Bonus link: the Art Center College of Design's online gallery.