Like a prayer.

• Rowland S. Howard is dead. Dammit.

• Quite possibly the most bloody stupid email in history.

• Firefox DOMINATES the Web in Antarctica.

• Geeks! Remember the spectacular fail of Samizdat by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute? Now you can read it. Oh dear me.

• Wikimedia blog: Dear museums, help me to help you. They still haven't answered. V&A FAIL.

• Rocknerd: So how was your haul?; The occult symbolism of the Video Music Awards.

• NewsTechnica 2010! Polanski thanks supporters of drug rape as extradition wait continues; Britain: 5,394 arrested in Internet song crackdown; Twitter users urged to stay calm during Fry drought; Vendors: Netbooks "dying, honest".

Are there any Boston-based overpaid geeks who have a spare laptop or netbook for the poor? I have a friend in need who couldn't even afford $100, but rather $0. They'll use it lovingly and geekily. Please email me.

Geek question: what's a good self-hostable app for a photo/picture blog? Wordpress is not quite there IME. I want something that really does make it all but automatic.

Thank you to all those noting The Register. I suspect this pissed off Rat-Faced Freddy way more than he let on at the time.

I got a pile of nice stuff for Christmas. Survived the day. The following Monday was arkady's birthday and we went to the V&A. That week I had to work, but did the work-from-home thing on Wednesday ... at which point my poor mugged laptop's screen finally cracked under the strain of the bent case and died horribly. (The Toshiba Portégé R600 is shiny, powerful, expensive and STUPIDLY flimsy and fragile.) I had a replacement by Thursday. Must work out a good place to put the Vista sticker.

Tabs peed copiously on the couch a few days ago. What finally worked to clean the smell out: baking soda and peroxide on the couch itself (make paste, scrub in with brush, leave to dry, vacuum off) and washing the feathery cushions with a sizable whack of baking soda.

Posting NewsTechnica at a fantastic rate. Still aiming for one a day, but doing lots of extras.

Liz has decided she's quite definitely staying in Australia, which is a bit poo all round. We remain on good terms, though.