I hope to have a regular blog post today, but for now, here’s some other news and links:

1. I have some sort of virus, which has slowed me down a lot. I am slated to go to the Science Online conference this week, and moderate a session on Saturday, but at this rate I’m not sure I’ll be able to attend.
2. Nevertheless, I have not been idle: please check out my articles over at Ars Technica. (One more should be appearing today.)
3. I chose not to black out my blog today, though many others have decided to do so. Nevertheless, I fully support the protests against SOPA and PIPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act in the US House of Representatives and the Protect Intellectual Property Act in the Senate, respectively). Please click on the banner at the upper right of the page, and I hope all US citizens will join me in calling and writing to your Representative and Senators today. Here’s more from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and from Ars Technica about how and why you should speak out against these acts.

Now for some other links:

• Scientists are human, too, writes Rhett Allain. It’s an obvious statement, but until the stereotypes die that show scientists as white males with crazy hair, lab coats, and a blatant disregard for human life, we need to keep reminding ourselves. (I admit I’m a white male scientist with (somewhat) crazy hair, but I haven’t worn a lab coat since the fall of 1995.)
• Apropos of the Science Online conference (and also my new gig at Ars Technica), Brian Switek calls for changes in science reporting. Also, Ed Yong encapsulates the entire “journalists-vs.-bloggers” foofaraw in a single graphic.
• On a similar note, io9  writer Annalee Newitz points out what readers should be complaining about when they read science articles.
• Joanne Manaster and her daughter Amanda review the book Pink Boots and a Machete, by Mireya Mayor, who is the keynote speaker at Science Online. They emphasize Mayor’s personal example as an inspiration for young women interested in science: she was an NFL cheerleader who now is a professional primatologist and National Geographic Explorer. Although it’s not the main point of the video, I’m thrilled to learn that Amanda will be majoring in physics!

OK, time for some tea and rest and hoping I can get better!