Cry for help: I'm ready to register another project-specific domain or two, and I'm wondering if the newer, cheaper domain registrars work OK or if they're more hassle than they're worth. I'd rather not pay $70 a head if I can avoid it. Any recommendations?

Mozilla's latest nearly-an-alpha version, M12, is supposed to come out today or maybe tomorrow.

I generally think of this site (this one, right here) as somewhat under-"designed" but sufficient to handle my needs. Apparently that approach works for Lynette M. -- I got an award for 'Clean and Clear Design' in her subjective-but-fun-to-read 1999 Medley Medals. Every one of the winners is worth a look; check 'em out.

(Also, I now have plenty of possible taglines thanks to Lynette -- "Now This: Home of the Non-Wussy Pastels". "Now This: Overlooked at your peril!". He hee...)

Thanks!

Uh oh. The Turkish man who is famous-because-he's-famous (if you don't know him from that description, count yourself lucky and run away!) will be interviewed on The Daily Show tonight, 10pm Central on Comedy Central.

Last night's Ally McBeal was one of the better ones I've seen. Kurt Vonnegut's rule for what makes literature good (roughly, "it's hard to tell, even in hindsight, what was the good news and what was the bad news") applies fairly well to this one.

By the way, you probably saw it in the checkout line, but the Ally cast got the Hirschfeld treatment on last week's TV Guide cover (they only show half of it; it was a gatefold cover). His Billy and Richard drawings didn't come out that well, I thought, but the others were pretty recognizable. This one has 3 NINAs, if you're counting... 2 would be clearly visible in TV Guide's graphic if monitors and web graphics had the resolution of paper and ink (face Yale, bow to Edward Tufte).

Also known as 'fram' (friend-spam):

• Mom Spam [Salon]
  In an in-box cluttered with messages from editors, co-workers and professional contacts, my mother's name naturally leaps out at me, holding the promise of something truly personal. I'm drawn to it, compelled to open that message first to find out what family gossip or emergency she's got on her mind. And then what happens? I'm rewarded with some generic plea to send copies of this message to 10 friends for good luck.
  
  [One woman] got Bill Gates' money chain letter from a cousin who is a financial advisor. These are grown-ups! Sophisticated professionals, people who should know better!

I have yet to receive any true "Mom Spam" because my folks haven't been online until, well, today (with, I grumble good-naturedly, a much faster connection than mine... hi Mom! hi Dad! Can't wait to visit!).

Still, I do get a little bit of the stuff from well-meaning folks. It's not enough to be a problem for me (I used to get more than I do), but I know some people it's a real pain for, and how do you tell people you like to stop acting on the impulse to share?

I guess one way might be to steer them toward writing an online log so they can share these 'really cool' things with a potentially larger audience, with the bonus side effect that they only need to e-mail a URL.

Ten more days...