Michael Bates argues that the Tulsa Airport Authority should drop its $9.95-a-day fee for wireless Internet at Tulsa International, and there are good reasons to do so:

Besides, it's something we don't have in Oklahoma City (though the going rate at Will Rogers is two bucks less). Still, I must ruefully concede the point of commenter RJJ, who said:

Probably not. In 1955, the legislature passed a law which said that so long as any bonds were outstanding on any state turnpike, no turnpike could be turned into a free road. And inasmuch as the Turner, the prototype for all such projects, contained a provision that allowed for refinancing those bonds — well, don't hold your breath waiting for the toll plazas to go away. It is true that there ain't no such thing as a free lunch; in this state, though, you might be well advised to bring your own napkins as well.

Sandisk, vendor of fine SD flash-memory cards, has announced "special edition" SD cards for Nintendo's Wii game system, in sizes from 512 MB to 2 GB.

The half-gigger lists for $35, or only slightly less than I paid for a full 1 GB card for my digital camera, before rebate (which, incidentally, has never arrived). On the other hand, the card for my camera doesn't say "Wii" on it.

(Via Engadget.)

Update, 26 November: There are entirely too many people with Wii puns of mass distraction.

There's just this one little nagging detail: you'd think you'd get more than 1 GB storage for twenty thousand dollars.

(Via Screenhead.)

I'm contemplating offering £4.50 — a tad over nine bucks — to download Radiohead's new album In Rainbows, and after all, the price is up to me.

Rationale: I'm not exactly a major fan, but I think I want to show support for this decidedly-unusual marketing technique.

What would you do?

Britain's Trade Unions Council is disturbed to find people are working longer hours these days:

Mr Barber would undoubtedly be appalled at my schedule, which averages right around 48 hours a week. A chap from Wirral, quoted in the BBC piece, says it's not just a job, it's indenture:

Slaves get weekends off? Cool.

If your ZIP code is anywhere between 90001 and 96199, you might consider stocking up on HVAC thermostats right away before Big Brother gets his fat fingers on the controls.

Come to think of it, given the tendency for dumb California ideas to spread elsewhere, we might all be wise to snag a couple of the old Honeywell rounds while we still can.

(Via Darleen Click.)

The Texas Lottery now has a $50 scratch-off card. Who's buying the tickets? People who can afford to throw away fifty bucks? Don't bet on it:

Is anyone actually surprised by this?

Meanwhile, Texas pols are happy:

Which means there's a good chance you'll see this same sort of thing here before too long, since the Oklahoma Lottery is underachieving at the Bart Simpson level.

(Via Hit & Run.)

I once got an award from an employer for not missing any work in five years. How times have changed:

The ruling [link goes to PDF file] is here. Ezra Levant reads the ruling so you don't have to:

And paragraph 712 completes the farce:

Got that, folks? Hurt feelings are actionable. So here's the answer to my chronic datelessness: move to Canada. If she turns me down, I can sue.

The math has already been done for you:

Which is defined thusly:

However, they did advise the patient that they would pay for this:

The survival rate for doctor-assisted suicide is, I would think, something less than 5 percent over 5 years.

And you can take this to the bank: people who want "universal" anything have no idea of the size of the universe.

(From Mark Shea via The Dawn Patrol.)