Registration is now open for PodcasterCon 2006, which will take place Saturday, Jan. 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Murphey Hall on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. The conference, billed as a "users conference about podcasting," is free. Learn more at podcastercon.org.

On Oct. 24, 2005, the Chapel Hill Town Council passed two resolutions calling for the end to the war in Iraq. The Pirate's Cove and GreeneSpace have both posted their responses to this in their blogs.

Now here's something interesting in today's world of high gas prices - a hydrogen-powered car that can produce its own fuel! Dr. Bill, the Computer Curdmudgeon, links to an article that describes the car, which was developed by Israeli engineers.

A recent post on Orange Politics.org announces the upcoming UNC Campus Sustainability Day:

What: Campus Sustainability Day
When: Wednesday, Oct. 26th
Where: Rams Head Plaza
Why: exhibits, information booths, and free local and organic food; the chance to meet and talk with those involved w/ campus sustainability efforts.

Find out more about the event.

Betsy, a history and civics teacher in Raleigh, has this to say in response to a news story about the behavior of some Duke students:

"Some kids are disgusting and giving a fine university a bad name. It just goes to show how all that looking for character in the application process can't do much to screen out some truly obnoxious people. The school is full of fine kids who are volunteering in the Durham community and really trying to build healthy town-gown relationships and then these jerks have to spoil it all with their sense of entitlement for drunken parties. Gosh, who would want to buy a house in this neighborhood."

Read the rest of the response at Betsy's blog.

Hungry? Hop on over to the Milky Way Diner, a recipie blog run by Kevin Bauer of Raleigh:

"I love to cook and have wanted a place to store the recipes. Every time I make something at home that comes out great I will post it on this blog. I will also place a picture of how it turned out. Over time I will build up quite an online library to share."

A recent entry in Jeff Pomerantz's blog PomeRantz quotes an article reporting that archaelologists have uncovered a bowl of noodles in Northwestern China that dates back to the Late Neolithic Period.

Marshall Brain from Robotic Nation Evidence quotes an article in the latest entry of his blog that describes how four robotic vehicles successfully completed a Pentagon-sponsored, obstacle-laden race in the Mojhave Desert without any human commands. Marshall's reflection on the results:

"The implications of this achievement are profound. Imagine progress continuing at this rate for the next five years. This means that:

* Self-driving cars will be a reality much sooner than people would have thought.
* Nearly every truck will be able to drive itself as well. This means 24x7 long-distance trucking and the elimination of up to 1 million truck driving jobs.
* Automatic taxis that drive themselves at much lower cost than current taxis. This will also eliminate several hundred thousand jobs.
* Improved autopilots in airplanes, meaning that the process of eliminating pilots will speed up. Another half million jobs are on the line.
* New types of vehicles and businesses that may not be possible today. For example, automatic delivery vehicles may be possible.
* And lets not forget DARPA's goal of automated warfare, where robots are doing everything on the battlefield.

The process should be very interesting to watch."

Apple recently announced its upgraded line of iPods that now, among other things, have the ability to play videos--yes, even your own home videos! Audio Activism links to an Apple tutorial on creating a video for your iPod using Quicktime Pro.

Dave from Dave Sez gives his opinion on the NCSU basketball player Gavin Grant's possible deportation (see news story):

"It's hard to see how he will be able to play for State this year. Odds are he won't be able to finish the fall semester at school. I guess it's possible he could complete coursework remotely, but I don't know what State's regulations are concerning illegal alien students. If he does withdraw this semester, but can somehow get his visa worked out, will he be academically eligible in the spring?

For the Wolfpack, this is a pretty serious blow. Grant looked and played a lot like the departed Julius Hodge and much was expected of him this next year. Without him, they will be a much slower and unathletic team.

You know what would solve all of this? A wife. Anyone have Andie MacDowell's number?"

The First Year Teacher from Chapel Hill (who is now a second year teacher), writes in the latest entry of her blog:

Yesterday a student almost punched a teacher in the face...and we were all rooting for the student.

"I think there should be some sort of psychological test that people have to take before they are allowed to be around children in a stressful situation."

Read the rest of the entry >>

Jeffrey Phillips of North Carolina, a "process-oriented marketing guy interested in innovation", keeps a blog, Thinking Faster, in which he writes about "ideas, tools and processes to improve personal, workgroup and enterprise productivity and innovation." While discussing the importance of timing when releasing new products, he writes:

"I don't want to introduce a product too early - then I have to do all the learning along with my customers about the "whole product" and what they need for support. I don't want to introduce something too late, when every cell phone manufacturer and two bit website hosting firm is offering applications for free. No, I want to introduce my product right as the frenzy hits - at that special time when people buy a product or service just because someone they know has it and it seems like there's inevitability to the product success.

I call this riding the wave, because if you can do this effectively, you can be a fast follower, learn from the pioneer's mistakes and be the last one into the elevator right as it starts going up fast."

Read the entire entry >>

Feeling ambitious? Want to try something different for November? A recent entry in the704.com, a group blog devoted to the lifesyles and arts of Charlotte, NC, asks readers:

"What can you accomplish in 30 days? Knit a sweater? Clean out the attic? Attempt to bleach your hair, realize you've become a living troll doll, and dye it back again?

How about write a novel? Don't "yeah, right" me. That's what an estimated 60,000 people, including over 100 Charlotteans, are doing beginning November 1st, and if you're interested, you could make it 60,001. Before you roll your eyes so far back into your head that you lose your contact lenses, know this: a "novel", in this case, is defined as 50,000 words. Bigger than a short story, smaller than an encyclopedia. More of a novella, really, but I digress."

Read the rest of the entry >>.

Tim Ross of Carrboro writes about his upcoming DJ gigs and other music-related news in his blog Tuba City.

Anyone interested in blogging, journalism and how the two are influencing each other should check out ConvergeSouth, which is currently going on at N.C. A&T University in Greensboro. The university's journalism school, along with the Greensboro News & Record, is sponsoring the conference. Yours truly was there for day one, which included sessions on everything from basic blogging to the ethics of blogging and journalism. The N&O's own Ted Vaden was there for a session titled "Blogs -- The future of journalism," which generated lots of debate, but as you might expect, no absolute answers.

Saturday's session will include sessions on such topics as political blogging and video blogging, as well as sessions by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and Scripting News blogger Dave Winer. The conference is free.