Yeah, "ask"

In case law enforcement ever tells you to delete a photo from your digital camera – or demands that you hand over your film in the name of security – here's what you're allowed to do.

If you are in a publicly accessible place – a sidewalk outside a stadium, for example – you're allowed to photograph anything you can see with reasonable equipment (that said, don't set up a giant telescope in the middle of the street and try it), and use it for informational/reportorial purposes (you may or may not be allowed to sell such a photo to a non-news organization; that's very much up to interpretation).

You will need to understand what is a publicly accessible place. If you're going to the ballpark, you are no longer in a publicly accessible place once you step onto ballpark grounds (including a parking lot).

A street is a public place, unless it is a private way.

Even municipally owned spaces might be subject to private rules if they are being rented out, or if they charge admission.

So be aware of what's going on around you, but don't cave in to people being jackasses for the sake of being jackasses.

What we're reading: Different perspectives on Eliot Spitzer

Since I work in media, I try to steer away from politics on the blog. A little Web search will point you to my true feelings on politics, but it's all about the appearance of neutrality, right?

Anyway, New York made some history last week, with a governor famous for bringing down things like corporations who liked screwing investors and prostitution rings got caught with his pants down and $4,300 invested in a...wait for it...prostitution ring.

OK, here's the deal. Wanna make some cash by selling a little sex? Up to you. I don't want government's stinking filthy hands on my profession, either. Want to put up some cash for a little sex? Up to you. I don't the government's stinking filthy hands on my consumer choices, either.

(Like how I hedged that?)

Anyway, here's some interesting stuff on Former Governor Eliot Spitzer you might not have read:

» Find out how Spitzer got brought down by a technique he pioneered.
» Analee Newitz says Spitzer did nothing wrong, apart from the hypocrisy.
» Matisse offers some advice for folks who want to do what Spitzer did, but without getting caught. (At least I think that's the link – the good people at the cafe at which I'm accessing the Internet have deemed that content inappropriate for their patrons.)
» Sudhir Vankatesh suggests that maybe $1,000 an hour isn't enough to spend – if Spitzer really wanted anonymity, he should have dropped closer to $7,500 an hour to work with someone who is a little more focused on consumers' anonymity.

Wow

Life goes on, but, well, wow. I guess that's why I'm a news junky.

I clearly wasn't meant to be a reporter

I was a pretty good reporter. I was young, I only took one journalism class, and I was never great. But I was pretty good. I was especially thorough in my research, and you could count on me for a very good 5,000-word feature on just about anything.

But there's a reason I choose to be a behind-the-scenes guy. I do enjoy the little bit of writing that blogging here and professionally affords me. But I was not meant to be part of the circus Guardian blogger Paolo Bandini describes:

Just to my left, a short Hispanic man dressed as a genie - complete with shiny black cape and an enormous gold turban - is sharing his prediction for the Super Bowl with New York Giants reserve guard Kevin Boothe. Directly ahead of me seven-time Pro Bowler Michael Strahan has just launched into his best rendition of an Alicia Keys number I don't recognise. To my right, another hack is conducting his interviews entirely through the monkey puppet on his left hand.

I mean, I'm sure I'd love press-area seats for the Super Bowl, especially in a Phoenix winter (I hate Phoenix summer, but it's not a bad town otherwise). But that just sounds like a lower level of purgatory or an upper level of hell to me.

Let the endorsing begin!

Well, it's started. The Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe have made their endorsements for the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, respectively.

The Register endorsed Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side and John McCain on the Republican side. The Globe endorsed McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

I hate when newspapers do this, for a few reasons.

First and foremost, the papers are coming right out and saying, "No, we're not going to be neutral in this race."

Second, not all people do their research. Since they know their local newspaper will endorse a candidate, they just vote for whomever the paper tells them to. I don't feel so much like the papers are cheating those people out of learning about candidates, as much as I feel like the papers are cheating the people who do their research.

Lastly, you give fuel to candidates you didn't endorse. If Mike Huckabee wins the Iowa Republican caucus and goes on to win the Republican nomination (God help us), when the Register comes along looking to do an in-depth profile on Huckabee and sell him some ads, the candidate can just look at them and say, "You endorsed McCain. Go screw." And then the paper's not able to properly serve its readership.

I know endorsing candidates is a time-honored tradition, but it's one that needs to stop.