We cannot help but notice that this week’s Weekend Coffee — the first in a month! — contains fewer silly pictures and more good photographs than usual.

You are therefore particularly encouraged to click on the pretty pictures. As is the norm with pretty pictures, they look better when viewed in larger formats.

	Bruce Schneier has written an excellent essay on terrorism, fear, and why the Washington Monument should be closed.
Something to think about the next time you read that music-industry profits are down: While that may be true for the record labels, the musicians themselves are making more money than ever. In fact, if you buy two songs (in MP3 format) directly from a musician these days, they make more money than they would if you bought an entire album on CD at HMV. In short, new distribution channels are endangering the norms of the industry surrounding the musicians, not the musicians themselves.
	Here is a short story of methane release from melting permafrost.
If you are asked to review your own book, be careful.
	Some of the best bits from the Bloggess come when she interacts with clueless and incompetent marketers. It’s so ridiculous that I think it must be fake. Until I realise that I sometimes get these e-mails too. I just ignore them.
Adding to the list of reasons why my next computer will not be built by Apple: Apple forces a company selling third-party Macbook Air updates to stop producing them. I might not be the sort of person who tends to buy third-party updates for their laptop. But I find it hard to support a company that doesn’t allow it. If I buy something, it’s mine.
	So … Canada has this new copyright legislation, that a lot of people don’t like. So … the guy that wrote it goes on TV to defend it … … and … … he ends up giving a good explanation of why it’s a bad piece of legislation. Why is Canada doing this, again?
If life hands you lemon bars … make lemonade.

Apparently English Heritage has decided that it owns all photos of Stonehenge. This seems a little wacky, but I’ll play along and declare that I own all photos of famous people. I expect the royalties to start pouring in now.

(The Flame Nebula, #1 on ESO’s list of the top 100 astronomy images)

Some people are teaching robots to punch. They claim that this is to help them to obey Asimov’s laws, but clearly robots should be taught NOT to punch.

Other people are teaching computers to argue with climate change denialists on Twitter. Making clear that the Terminators of the future will teach people about global warming while punching them to death.

Look out, Australia! Feral camels are out there, and laying siege to small communities! Will yours be next? Live in fear, dear Australians.

According to this article, there has been approximately one new crime added in the UK every day since 1997. While this might be a completely untrue fact — I certainly hope it is — the fact that I can even wonder about it worries me. What are these new crimes? Why are they criminal acts? Why weren’t they covered by previous laws?

The private e-mails of some scientists who study climate change have been leaked, revealing that their a bunch of human beings. Essentially, scientists are assholes, sometimes. I am still unsure as to why those who claim that climate change is not happening see this as a victory, but then again, I don’t understand those people at all.

A court in the UK has determined that belief in climate change is akin to religion … at least in terms of employment law. While certainly do not think that people should be fired for being environmentalists (or belonging to a particular political party, a given religion, et cetera), the context of the decision is certainly unwelcome as it paints climate change as superstition rather than fact.

(by Li Wei)

In the UK, Halloween is being accused of scaring off Guy Fawkes. I suspect that Guy will simply return with some gunpowder, myself.

Pregnant? Thinking of home birth? If so, please think again.