Weekly Linkage: the TSA, Microwaves, and “Dot Dot Dot”

This week’s internet cruising:

• Why You Should Never Search For Free WordPress Themes in Google or Anywhere Else – WordPress, Multisite and BuddyPress plugins, themes, news and help – WPMU.org – I'm not at all surprised by the hackery going on in free WordPress themes.
• YouTube – Brick in a washing machine – I've always wanted to do this!
• Twitter’s Response to WikiLeaks Subpoena Should Be the Industry Standard | Threat Level | Wired.com – "Twitter introduced a new feature last month without telling anyone about it, and the rest of the tech world should take note and come up with its own version of it

  Twitter beta-tested a spine."

• Dot Dot Dot – Animated – This is really damned funny: a dramatic reading of a lousy flash game comment… including bad spelling and grammar. Great voice, great text animation.
• The Saddest Book in the Universe (pic) – Imgur – This is, indeed, rather sad.
• Windy City Times – VIEWS Surviving the ex-gay program – 308 – A man's attempt (and ultimate opting out of) trying to become straight. I knew that there were programs to try to do so, but wasn't aware that they were based in Exodus: "I learned the basic theories of Exodus: that homosexuality wasn't real, that gay people were just confused straight people, that gay sex was a sin similar to idolatry. The theories seemed a bit far-fetched but I did my best to embrace and understand them." A good tale.
• <Insert title here>: TSA encounter at SAN – I'm disappointed that I hadn't heard about this back when it happened (I'm sure I was under some rock). This guy–who had done his due diligence on his local airport and believed it to not have the uber-scanners–opted out of the scanning process and the pat-down.

  I swear, my heart was racing as I read it.

• Privacy Icons: Alpha Release « Aza on Design – An interesting attempt to have “second-tier” sites label themselves in terms of how they store and use your data–“I share your information with advertisers”, etc.

  There’s a great discussion in the comments (albeit not much back and forth) on the flaws and pluses of the idea, but the biggest issue seems to be that companies with crappy practices just wouldn’t display the icons. Asa proposed some Mozilla-initiated measures around that, but it seems like a hefty undertaking.