links for 2010-03-31

'Thanks to the popular 1988 movie Stand and Deliver, many Americans know of the success that Jaime Escalante and his students enjoyed at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. During the 1980s, that exceptional teacher at a poor public school built a calculus program rivaled by only a handful of exclusive academies.
It is less well-known that Escalante left Garfield after problems with colleagues and administrators, and that his calculus program withered in his absence…'

Interesting take on how copyright protection is worked out in the field of comedy. Jokes can be copyrighted after all, but the legal system is not really simple enough for direct enforcement.

Interesting journey & an even more interesting bicycle that is made for 5.

So is a $250 HDMI cable better than a $10 one? No way.