One year on, we finally have the first rumblings (PDF) of what Google has planned for The Dalles, a small town on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. Despite the comments in other blogs, and article synopsis, neither Google nor anyone in the city goes on record saying that the facility will be a "giant server farm", although that certainly seems the most likely.

Michele Bachelet won the Chilean Presidency. Many articles have tried to highlight the conservative nature of Chile and what a shock it is that a woman should win the top electoral post. While true, these articles seem to imply that Chile just happens to be cautious, nothing to do with decades of a dictator who made dissenters disappear. The sense I get from friends in Chile is one of cautious happiness. They have seen someone good get elected before, down there, and Salvador Allende didn't have the happiest ending. Can we assume the CIA will opt not to help the Chilean army assassinate this president? I sure hope so.