The Web according to Phil (4/2/2010)

Stuff I read read about today:

Seattle’s first technical book store coming soon to Capitol Hill
The bookstore is named for Ada Lovelace, a 19th Century pioneer in computer programming. She is celebrated today as a symbol of all the great women who add to the advancement of technology. a) Really happy we’re getting a tech book store. b) Really happy to see it named after Ada Lovelace. Women are way under-represented behind the scenes of tech, and a lot of that is because of attitudes that drive them away. Not that this will change a whole lot, but now everyone who goes to Ada’s Technical Books will hopefully have their curiosity piqued and know a bit more about women in tech because of the name.
Where are the Women?
NPR’s Ombudsman looks at gender balance in on-air staff, paid commenters, and interviewees, and finds the balance severely lacking in the latter two categories.
alikewise
Alikewise is a dating site that allows you to find people based on their book tastes. Anything from cooking to politics to yoga — we think we can find others who would like to talk to you. No, not on the market. But I totally would’ve used this a couple years ago. If nothing else, I know that the people using the site are actually readers! Very important to me.