Funk Babblings

More proof that Google is cool (and, since he pointed it out, that Neil Gaiman/officialgaiman is cool)....

Google SMS - You can now ask Google questions (Where can I get a pizza nearby? How do I get there? When is Revenge of the Sith playing nearby?) by sending a text message from a cell phone to 46645 (GOOGL).

At one time I used the tiny web browser on my phone to get information while out and about, but I gave up because it was too cumbersome, used too many minutes, and there weren't enough sites compatible with my 2002 phone's mini-browser. I like the idea of using text-messages to replace some of that functionality.

Dunno how many have been paying attention to this, but tomorrow was supposed to be the big showdown over whether the U.S. Senate would break its own rules in order to prohibit filibusters of judicial nominations. 12 Senators (six from each party) have spent the past week working out a compromise to avoid the showdown, and we now have a compromise signed by 14 Senators (seven from each party), including Ohio's Mike DeWine (where's the more moderate Voinovich?). Basically the Dems won all they wanted except that the worst of the current nominees don't get blocked (but there's no guarantee that they'll be confirmed either); the precedents set all favor the Democrats' positions on the issue. Here's an analysis.

If we're lucky, this could very well be the beginning of the end of the radical right's stranglehold on Congress.