Last week's article wasn't the first time that the New York Times looked at what it sees as women's retreat from the job market. What caught my eye this time was that the accompanying photo was of a "technology executive" (OK, former) looking anything but cutting edge. You have to wonder. Given that parity in education, at least in the U.S., is a given, or close to it, you can't fault preparedness. But it still is acceptable for a married woman to opt out of the workforce, especially if she's also a parent. It is not acceptable for a man: how many househusbands do you know? Even the word sounds a little strange.

But the grand thing about the Internet is that we all could be staying home—at least those of us not involved in 'grip-and-grin' professions that require 'face time.' Even teaching, which used to require a physical classroom, with a blackboard and chalk, inside a brick building with lockers and waxed floors and metal detectors, now requires a computer and Internet connection, videocam optional. Even Congress agrees, having decided to allow students at virtual colleges to qualify for federal financial aid.

Yes, we all make choices in our lives. But isn't success as much a matter of prioritizing as of skill, determination, and luck? Isn't it better to stop whining about how tough life is and just get on with it? Have well-educated middle-class-and-up women became as spoiled by a sense of entitlement as your average welfare recipient? So what's so tough about doing it all if you put your mind to it? - zander

Anyone hear anything recently from that Nigerian guy (or was it gal), the one who needs to park $20,000 (or a little more, or somewhat less) in an American bank account for just a day (maybe an hour) and give you ten percent (or 50 percent or maybe just $1000) in consideration of your assistance (or assistence)? I haven't. But I have been hearing (two or three times a day) from the good folks at PayPal and St. Francis Bank, who are very concerned because there is unusual activity on my account or because my account has been flagged and from the East-West Australia (or is it Astralia) lotteries, the Staatsloterij.nl/International, and the Loteria Primitiva International because they want to know where to deposit my winnings of one million euros, 500,000 euros, and 550,000 euros, respectively.

With a little luck, AOL and Microsoft are about to take the phun out of phishing once and for all. AOL has filed three law suits (total damages sought: $18 million) against three phishing gangs. Anyone in a betting mood? Actually, these ones have teeth: Virginia, not coincidentally AOL's corporate home, has a new anti-phishing law. Moreover, AOL has won similar suits in the past. And Microsoft has filed its own host of suits.

Kind of makes you nostalgic for the wild West, where at least if someone was trying to rustle your cattle you had the option of shooting his horse out from under him. Not that I'd be anything but against shooting horses. - zander

There. Up on your screen. It's a story. No, it's an editorial. No, wait, it's . . . superblog! Not really. But Dan Mitchell makes some interesting points in the New York Times about the urge to diverge on matters whatever that leads both professional journalists (who traditionally hide, or are supposed to hide, their opinions behind facts, figures, and quotes from industry experts) and just ordinary folk to spew their every thought online.

Why not? It's cheap. It's easy. And somebody, somewhere is apt to read it (thank you out there).

But is there really all that much to say? How many blogs are worth the time it takes to get them up? And are they really just rumor mills? I sat on a media panel last year for a teen group and found that whereas the adults on the panel got their news from the Times, WSJ, National Review, etc., etc., the teens nearly all got theirs from Entertainment Tonight and their friends' blogs. Kinda tilts your world view, yes? Do blogs, far from spreading the word, only encourage state-of-the-art naval gazing? - zander