Anyone know what’s up with Bloglines? It was down in September, then it came up again, then Norma G dropped me a note to let me know it was down again. At this writing I can’t reach it. No activity on the Twitter account for almost a year. If you have any skinny leave a comment.

Minda Zetlin tried Google Inbox but disliked it so much she’s going back to GMail. No e-mail signatures? Seriously?

The Chilling Effects DMCA archive is chilling itself. “The much-praised Chilling Effects DMCA archive has taken an unprecedented step by censoring its own website. Facing criticism from copyright holders, the organization decided to wipe its presence from all popular search engines.”

Microsoft is dropping its patch Tuesday alerts for all except premier support subscribers. “For the first time in a decade, Microsoft today did not give all customers advance warning of next week’s upcoming Patch Tuesday slate. Instead, the company suddenly announced it is dropping the public service and limiting the alerts and information to customers who pay for premium support…. the change also applies to the occasional alerts that Microsoft issued when it gave customers a heads-up about an impending emergency patch.” I have a few words about this but I try to keep this blog rated PG.

The waters off Hong Kong are being surveyed with the intent of creating a database of reef fish. “Researchers from the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation studied 20 sites in Sai Kung and the city’s northeastern waters between June and November last year. They recorded 175 species of reef fish, of which 44 are classified as rare. There were sightings of two fish never before recorded in government or academic studies: the yellowbar sandperch, which has a distinctive yellow stripe across its body, and the goby, a tiny fish that hides from predators in a shrimp’s burrow.”

Business Insider took a look at Twizoo, which uses public Twitter data to power restaurant and bar recommendations.

The American Farm Bureau Foundation is launching an agricultural literacy database. “The new ‘Best of Ag Literacy’ database will include more than 200 publicly submitted tools and resources tailored to multiple grade levels. Users will be able to review and download the resources for free, in addition to interacting with other users to share feedback and implementation strategies.”

Simon & Schuster is going to launch online courses taught by its authors. “The cost of the first batch of online courses ranges from $25 to $85, and includes workbooks and access to live question-and-answer sessions with three authors: Dr. David B. Agus, the best-selling author of ‘The End of Illness’; Zhena Muzyka, who wrote the self-help book ‘Life by the Cup’; and Tosha Silver, the author of the spiritual advice book ‘Outrageous Openness.’ The courses will be available on the authors’ individual websites and on the company’s new site, SimonSays.”

From Lifehacker: the best (online) tools for finding information when Google isn’t enough.

According to PC World (Warning! PC World!) macro-based malware is making a comeback. “Two such threats that primarily target users in the U.S. and U.K. and whose activity peaked in mid-December are called Adnel and Tarbir. Both are distributed through macros embedded in .doc and .xls documents that are delivered via spam emails and typically masquerade as receipts, invoices, wire transfer confirmations, bills and shipping notices.”

Microsoft is calling out Google for releasing information about a Microsoft security bug. Good morning, Internet…

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