Still another day before city council candidates have to file their campaign spending reports. They’ll be online at the Campaign Spending Commission when they’re filed tomorrow.

I notice a story in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, the newspaper in the town where Meda and I went to college, about public interest in (and controversy over) a proposal to restrict placement of commercial wind turbines. It’s a reminder that wind power is not without downsides.

Actually, the U-B was my introduction to reporting. During my first year at Whitman College, I was recruited as a part-time stringer to report on high school basketball games. I don’t think I wrote many stories, but did several during that season. I failed to follow-up on the opportunity at the time, my contact with the newspaper graduated, and it never occurred to me that journalism might be a career to pursue.

Should I worry that Mike Buck’s promo for his KHVH talk radio program steals bandwith from iLind.net by displaying a photo I took of Ed Case that was posted here several years ago? It appears, without attribution or credit, down in the left sidebar under “newsmaker interviews”. And it is served off of my site, costing me bandwidth, however minimal.

The station never asked permission to use the photo, which I would probably allow although I’m not a Buck fan. But the simple taking makes me defensive.

The Los Angeles Times reported a couple of days ago that “ukuleles have gone viral“.

Thanks to the Internet, the humble ukulele is pushing its recent popularity well beyond anything that old-time performers Don Ho, Arthur Godfrey or even Tiny Tim could imagine.

From YouTube to manufacturers’ websites, from bulletin boards to iPhone and BlackBerry applications that mimic ukes and teach chords, the Internet has been stoking the craze for nearly two years and unveiling fresh talent.

“The number of new players keeps going up,” said Mike DaSilva of Berkeley, who ditched a 20-year software career to make ukuleles.

Guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co. stopped producing ukes in 1994 because they had become so unpopular, but resumed in 2001 and is selling some of the handmade instruments for as much as $10,000 — even in these tough economic times.

No wonder Ukulele Underground did so well in the blog rankings cited here yesterday!

Also spotted in the LA Times–Roller Derby is back!

I recall many a night spent watching roller derby at the old Civic Auditorium in prime seats near the track with my Kahala School friend, Roy Yempuku. I thought it was gone forever, like the Civic.

Toby’s absence from Friday’s Felines brought his fans out of the woodwork.

So I dug around for a short Toby video taken in the driveway when he greeted me at the end of our morning walk. Nothing special, just a few moments of Mr. Toby.

Enjoy.