Well, Trebek, we meet again

An AP writer wins at Jeopardy! and writes about it. Included is a hint as to why the blind girl on yesterday's episode of the teen tourney might not've done as well as she could've....

You're not allowed to ring in until after Alex has finished reading the clue. Out of sight of the cameras, there is a series of lights around the game board. When they illuminate, it's OK to ring in. If you're early, you'll be locked out for a fraction of a second when the lights turn on -- more than enough time for your opponents to swoop in.

However, my favorite question from the teen tourney so far was a Final Jeopardy from last week which asked about something that was photographed for the last time in Ireland in April 1912. One guess was the Loch Ness Monster. Another guess -- from the kid who thought the stamp shown cradling the earth in a pair of hands commemorating something started in the 1970s referred to the Great Wall of China (...?) -- guessed the Berlin Wall. But they've gotten smarter.

Cow-orkers <> friends

It is a regular pastime for co-workers to chat during a coffee break, at a union hall, or over a beer about workplace issues, good grilling recipes, and celebrity gossip. Yet a recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allows employers to ban off-duty fraternizing among co-workers, severely weakening the rights of free association and speech, and violating basic standards of privacy for America's workers.

Ignoring the implications for the organized labor movement, boy, this is just dumb. I think someone just wants to win the library trivia contest.