CNET News.com: IBM flushes restroom patent (I thought this might be a joke, especially after noticing all of the bathroom humor in the article, but the patent is for real -- see U.S. patent no. 6,329,919, "System and method for providing reservations for restroom use")

Washington State U. Daily Evergreen, Oct. 3: Filipino-American history recognized ("The month of October is officially observed as Filipino-American History Month. On Oct. 18, 1587, the first Filipinos landed on the shores of Morro Bay, California on a Spanish galleon called the Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza, which translates to 'The Big Ass Spanish Boat.'")
Daily Evergreen, Oct. 4: Apology and retraction ("The story 'Filipino-American history recognized' stated that the 'Nuestra Senora de Buena Esperanza,' the galleon on which the first Filipinos landed at Morro, Bay, Calif., loosely translates to 'The Big Ass Spanish Boat.' It actually translates to 'Our Lady of Good Peace.' Parts of the story, including the translation above, were plagiarized from an inaccurate Web site.") (also see PinoyLife.com, from which the story was copied, and Seattle Times coverage)

Martin Schwimmer's Trademark Blog: 7th Circuit Fair Use Decision re: BARGAINBEANIES.COM (also see Ty v. Perryman [alternate link] (7th Cir. Oct. 4, 2002) [PDF])

Chicago Sun-Times: I-Pass has a new role: I spy

This court decision isn't particularly interesting if you're not a patent type ("In order to prevent the flexible elastic ring from being dislodged from its seating by the intense compression of the parts, the '657 patent discloses the use of an annular extension 33 on the cutting ring 14, and a corresponding annular extension 34 on the shutter mechanism 3, to hold the flexible elastic ring in place.") . . . but you gotta love the name of the case:  Schwing GmbH v. Putzmeister AG, ___ F.3d ___, 2002 WL 31109922, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 20205 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 24, 2002).

Law.com: Court OKs student expulsion over derogatory web site (also see J.S. v. Bethlehem Area School District (Pa. Sept. 25, 2002))

InternetNews.com: PayPal targeted by scam artists

CNET News.com: SparkList confirms e-mail address theft (but why should people have to keep their e-mail addresses secret to avoid spam?)

ESPN: Top 20 sports movies of all-time (also see Worst sports movies ever)

Reuters: Google inaccessible in China