• My chicken-scratched notes for a story I'm working on contain the line "and pig trap high road, tuition condo." Hope that wasn't important! #

• (Dang, forgot #pdf09 tag, so RTing myself) @techpresident got a shout out from Beth Noveck, WH's open gov't director. Smart lady. #
• So, @techpresident just got a shout out from Beth Noveck (White House's open government director). Smart lady. #

• Tip for vegetarians and other food-concerned folks coming to #pdf09 — there's a Whole Foods in the basement of the Time Warner Center. #

• What Clinton's health care reform drive lacked: t-shirts. http://tr.im/pSBE #
• Froomkin's last ("I think of the lies") made me Google our ol' Iraq on the Record. Still up! Relive the bad days: http://tr.im/iraqquotes #

• Seriously Washington DC, I get it. You're humid. You don't have to show off. #

• Oh, the majesty of government. Today's FDA transparency meeting is in the basement of a shopping mall. First escalator past the Dress Barn. #
• Just experienced Mike Bloomberg spiritedly hosting a pride-themed version of Hollywood Squares. Was truly something else. #

• In case you're wondering why I haven't been my usual sparkling self of late, I'm hosting some stupid bug of which one symptom is crankiness. #

• Think I might have peeked the future: Google search meets Data.gov meets Gapminder visualizations. http://tr.im/pkYy #

• Thinking the last few days of Iran coverage warmed up folks' muscles, 'cause this sure didn't take long: http://petehisameme.wordpress.com. #

Over on Worldchanging, I do some quick profiling work on two interesting projects that aim to equip local health works with affordable and potentially sustainable technologies — solar autoclaves in Nicaragua and a cell-phone based reporting system in Malawi, both to close gaps in rural health care coverage.

Hope you might have a look.

• Such curious link practice in this NYT Iran piece: http://tr.im/oPjK. External links, internal links, and named sites with no links at all. #
• No, Obama didn't call Twitter. A short framing post wherein I suggest we might not be ready for people-centric government. http://tr.im/oNkq #

• Really would have taken some doing to have held a *less* substantive confirmation for Genachowski. "Fairness Doctrine?" "No." "We're done!" #
• Well now. Rockefeller just issued a new Commerce Comm rule. Too many senators pontificate and leave. Therefore, no more opening statements. #
• Funnies at FCC hearing. Genachowski corrects Rockefeller's pronunciation of his name. Kerry: "That's your first victory over the chairman." #
• One amazing thing when it comes to Iran is the fuzziness of the line btwn participant and observer (and whether that's perception or fact). #

• Wondering how a citizen-led DOS attack against Iran comports with State Dept.'s vision of "21st century statecraft." http://twurl.nl/bwnwot #

• Journalists for Start-Ups and Freelancers Face Dangers
  Great piece on the risks of doing journalism, especially overseas, without ties to an established and known news organization.

• Of course, to play devil's advocate, persistence is made easier by being able to rather effortlessly win your district by crazy margins. #

• Your random Friday fun fact: until 1997, every U.S. Secretary of State was a white man, 63 in total. Since then, none have been. #
• Participation Camp (June 27-28 in NYC) is emerging in all sorts of interesting ways. Lots of game playing, hands-on creativity. #PCamp09 #
• Those of you following the election in Iran might enjoy this photo peek into Mousavi's "war room": http://tr.im/ohOm #

• The Rumpus Long Interview With Dave Eggers
  Hard not to admire how the dude thinks and then does, thinks and then does.
• Pollster.com: This is Personal
  Not sure how to comment, so offered without one.

• Deal Clears Way for Food-Safety Bill in House - WSJ.com
  A few concessions, and Waxman's food reform bill wends its way from sub-committee to full. Onward ho.

• The under-development of true grassroots politics in New York becomes glaringly obvious in times like this @nysenate mess. #
• I probably shouldn't admit this, but I find writing story pitches to be among the most excruciating of life's tasks. #

• Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight
  Obama was apparently deeply affected by Atul Gawande's piece in the New Yorker about the over use of medical services in McAllen, Texas.
• House Bill Aims to Strengthen Nation's Food Safety System - washingtonpost.com
  More detail on the Waxman food safety bill. It stops short of creating a single federal food agency, but ups industry reporting requirements a great deal.
• SeedMagazine.com: In Seeds We Trust
  Rather awesome photo slideshow of Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
• New England Journal of Medicine: The FDA as a Public Health Agency
  The new FDA commish and deputy commish tell of their vision for the agency. Of particular interest: the mention of new food safety laws coming out of Congress.
• Eater: Why I Hate Food Bloggers
  Mario Batali unloads.
• F.D.A. Chief Lauds Food Safety Bill as the ‘Right Direction'
  Waxman and Barton have a go at reforming food.
• An Ivy-Covered Path to the Supreme Court - NYTimes.com
  In certain circles in the U.S., diversity only goes so far.
• The Putting Lot, Mini Golf Collective - Gothamist
  Damn it, my friends and I have had this idea for *years.* We'll have to turn to our backup idea: stand-alone and by-the-hour racquetball courts.