C.K.L.'S HOTSHEET ^*

01 NUCLEAR INDIA The desert southwest of New Delhi recently hosted the test-detonation of several bombs. And this time they weren't new movies from Bollywood.

02 I.S.S. What will we name the International Space Station? Let's just hope it doesn't go to corporate sponsorship.

03 MICROSOFT vs. THE WORLD From CNNfn: "We've been in serious discussions for 10 days," [Microsoft spokesman Greg] Shaw said. "We've worked hard to make these negotiations succeed because we think a lawsuit would be bad... We are willing to negotiate further, but we cannot agree to the government's unreasonable demand that would undermine our ability to innovate for consumers."

04 POSTAGE HIKE The price of stamps could go from 32 to 33 cents later this summer. Those pennies will add up, won't they, Mr. Postman?

05 WIRETAPS Dutch ISPs may be forced by law to make net traffic easily surveillable. I'm sure those windmills are more than meets the eye, too. Where's Føx Müldër when you need him?

06 HOTEL.ONLINE The past comes back to haunt me. At least it's been getting good press.

07 mini-SQL Version 2.0.3 of this shareware database will soon be installed at AT&T Labs in Silicon Valley. It's a handy little tool, and possibly another reason not to use AFS.

08 THE GENTLEMAN Unexpected Search Result of the Week: This is what Yahoo! gave me for a name query on "John Galt". (The real question is, why should an Objectivist buy this product?)

09 GREEKED TEMPLATES Yet another great idea from the man who brought you "Why Advertising Doesn't Work on the Web"!

10 BEETLE RECALL Problems your new Volkswagen 1998 Beetle might have: stalls, fuel pump failures, and engine fires. That's what you get for manufacturing a German car in Mexico and sneaking it across the border to America.

11 TCI Monopoly breeds tragedy. In this case, some poor souls were unable to see the Very Special Series Finale of Seinfeld. (Give me a minute to stop laughing...) Fortunately for all those shut-in couch vegetables, NBC will rerun the stupid thing. So quit yer whinin'.

12 FRANK SINATRA As Dennis Miller said: "I just hope St. Peter didn't give Frank any shit at the Gate."

13 URBAN EXPLOSION Looking for housing in San Francisco can be pretty brutal.

14 DAYTIME EMMYS C'mon, admit it. You've been dying to know who won the Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing Award. (No, it wasn't Susan Lucci. Again.)