This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Isolation.” It was tempting to use an image in the Himalayas or an empty snowscape in Norway, but I figured being alone and isolated in a crowd was worse. Okay, so this chap isn’t in a crowd but he is in the biggest city in Portugal and he is isolated, alone in his thoughts.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “City Life.” My entry is number 209.

• Ryanair’s New Emergency Instructions Could Be Real One Day – Funny. Though we probably shouldn’t give them ideas.
• Liberal Democrats – Freedom Bill 2009 – I didn’t hear about this first time around, but it sounds like a good idea. As one of the commenters noted, even if it doesn’t go anywhere it might make the Government justify why these laws are needed when there are perfectly good, less draconian one already in place.
• Among the Inept, Researchers Discover, Ignorance Is Bliss – “People who do things badly … are usually supremely confident of their abilities — more confident, in fact, than people who do things well.” I can’t actually remember how I stumbled across this link any more, but it makes fascinating reading. Does kind of make you a little paranoid, though.
• 10 Geeky Tricks for Getting Out of Bed in the Morning – I should probably read this more closely when I’m properly awake. I’m getting worse and worse at getting up in the morning…

I always consider one of the constants of “City Life” — this weeks PhotoFriday — are rows of taxis. In London they’re usually black. In New York they’re yellow. And there are a lot of them!

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Morning Routine.” I’m entry number 173.

• ID Card Database *Already* Breached – “Yes, that will be a good excuse, won’t it: honest guv, I just inadvertently clicked on Gordon Brown’s ID card information….” Does anyone still think they’re a good idea? I especially like the argument that because it’s been broken it’s more secure. Nice.
• Who profits from the App Store? – A rather more balanced piece about the iTunes App Store than we typically see. Certainly I’m nearer the one copy a day end of the spectrum than the quarter of a million dollar in a couple of weeks you normally see in articles like this… (via @neilinglis)
• Straw slaps ban on Iraq debate docs – How, in a democracy, does one person get to decide this? Surely taking a country to war is in the public interest?!

• Does University Challenge really test intelligence? – No. Knowing a bunch of obscure facts isn’t intelligence. If that’s the measure, then Wikipedia is way smarter than Einstein or Newton or Gauss or Darwin.
• Review: Canon EOS 5D Mark II – If anyone wants to buy 5000 copies of Yummy so that I can afford one of these I’d very much appreciate it.
• Creationists are still denying Darwin. Stephen Moss asks why – “What worries me about many of her fellow creationists is that they begin with the Bible and then start looking for scientific evidence to back up what their faith tells them is true.” That and the fact that they keep coming up with the same arguments.

This image represents my “Morning Routine” on a weekend. Croissants and tea are the way to go for a relaxing start to the day.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Pet.” I don’t want to guilt-trip you into voting for entry number 138, but it might give Cornelius’ short life meaning if you do. (No pressure.)

• Scientists Agree: It’s in His Kiss – “Over 90 percent of human society engages in what, if you get right down to it, seems like a very strange thing to do: putting faces together and trading spit.” Seems like a very appropriate thing to discuss on Valentine’s Day…
• Anti-Bootlegging Measures and the iPhone App Store – There’s a lot of talk about cracked iPhone apps at the moment and the measures that developers are taking. The interesting and surprising thing here is how effective a polite message is, at least in the case of a Mac app.
• 1234567890 Day – Finally, an event worth celebrating…

My entry for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Pet,” really had to be an image of our dear, departed goldfish Cornelius Maximus Willmington IV. It may not be the best photograph in the world, but how could you not love a fish who couldn’t float properly?

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “The Team.” I am entry number 189.

• Ravenous Clock Runs Backward, Scares Children – Neat.
• Darwinism Must Die So That Evolution May Live – “The point is that making a master teacher into a sacred fetish misses the essence of his teaching. So let us now kill Darwin.”
• Zappos CEO Talks Culture Fit and the Importance of Creating a ‘Wow’ Experience – Interesting article about how Zappos have thrived.

• The League of Moveable Type – Most free or open source fonts I’ve seen have been pretty poor but these guys seem to have the right idea.
• Government plans travel database – “When your travel plans, who you are travelling with, where you are going to and when are being recorded you have to ask yourself just how free is this country?”
• Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace – Fascinating ten minute video on what Pixar look for in candidates, summarised as Depth, Breadth, Communication and Collaboration. Given those criteria I’m guessing they’re very selective!