As I mentioned yesterday, I had, for some time &#151; long before acquiring a hi-fi, in fact &#151; fought the idea of placing my couch against the rear wall of my living space. When I finally did, however, I found that things both looked and sounded different. And not only different, but: <i>better</i>. And I'm not confusing the two. So, what's up with this?

Researchers led by the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology in Italy are developing robots that employ Embedded and Communicating Agents to evolve and develop without human "intervention." Better start making 'em three laws safe.

<i>I tried, so many times, to write a little something about the <i>Stereophile</i> pepper and golf-coins, but could never get the ideas to grow, could never get them to drop in the hole. See here how Kristina handles it, while kindly declining our CD case (and CDs, in general).</i><br>
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Ed Quillen asks a big question that Congress ought to be asking in the rush to protect property rights.

Huckleberry does some aggressive grooming on Bagheera. It looks cute, until you notice her exasperated expression. Usually, this is a prelude for a fight; this time it turned into synchronized napping.

The <I>Archimedes Palimpsest</I> suggests that the canny philosopher understood infinity not just as heuristics and mystics, but refined and defined down to the last line. Nearly two millennia before the Calculus&mdash;eureka indeed.

Scientists in Malta are excited about what they're learning from a mummified duck-billed brachylophosauruses. The pictures are fabulous.