FC: Corrections, administrative notes, and Burning Man plans

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

A few things:

* First, an apology. I recently sent out a satire "Routers" news article 
written by Tim May and posted to cypherpunks 
(http://www.politechbot.com/p-01332.html). I didn't note it was humor, as I 
usually do (http://www.politechbot.com/p-01274.html). A harried wire 
service reporter here in the states properly chided me for setting off his 
alarm bells unnecessarily. He's right: Even though it was over-the-top 
(visiting death squads?), I should have clearly said it was not a real news 
article. Worse yet, a French reporter wrote me this:

I've heard about 'Childsaver' at Politech.org and tried to know the veracity
of such an incredible system. That's a guy in the EPIC who told me it was a
satire! Shame on me, poor little frenchy guy, who didn't graspe the
subtilities of the Routers agency!
Some French webzines took it seriously, you know and they announced it
without checking anything... Did it happen in the States? Or everybody
understood it was a joke without any problem? That would be funny to find
how much magazines all over the world swallowed hood, line and sinker as I
nearly did.
Do you know who commited the satire, maybe he's really famous in the States?

* Thanks to the dozens of you who wrote in with Burning Man 
(http://www.politechbot.com/p-01315.html) tips and advice. I'm in the Wired 
SF office right now, getting ready to head to the desert this weekend. The 
folks at OCF (9:15 and Head) have graciously invited me to camp with them; 
that's where I'll be pitching my tent. I have a Ford Explorer for the 
occasion (had rented a 15-passenger Econoline van, but it was too big to 
drive around SF, and I didn't need it) and will be arriving Sunday at the 
latest. I should be able to check email while I'm there.

* Many politechnicals emailed me to say that one of my convention articles 
was in error (http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38286,00.html). I 
wrote that a sign saying "2 Poor for Access" must have referred to Internet 
connections; the consensus seems to be that it was talking about political 
access. I think that's correct, and that I was too tech-focused.

* Postfix seems to be working nicely. I haven't timed it precisely, but my 
server now delivers mail to all politech subscribers in under an hour, and 
probably closer to 20 minutes. I haven't had any mail loops, which is what 
I had feared (because I rid myself of that dastardly Delivered-To: header).

-Declan