On Windows and Linux, Pidgin is my IM client of choice. On Mac I use Adium, which is sort of related to it since they share some common libraries under the hood, even though there is a Pidgin client for OS X. I'm optimistic that the latest release might make it easier to use voice and/or video chat online. I don't do that often enough because its usually a headache, even with iChat. iChat used to work fine but with Verizon's FIOS router, I have to put my computer in the DMZ outside the router's firewall to get it to work. Look for it to make it into your linux distro soon, I suspect ArchLinux will have it pretty quick. Voice and Video chat is not yet in Windows.

Pidgin 2.6.1 Adds Voice and Video Support

Pidgin, got a major update last week that includes support for voice and video. Pidgin 2.6.1 also includes more than 200 bugfixes and patches, plus a few additional new features that may not be as sexy as voice and video but are still great to have.

Posted since we were debating this weekend after giving Nicholas a little ice cream after 8 p.m. I figure consumer reports is pretty trustworthy, no? Sugar makes children hyperactive---and other medical myths: Consumer Reports Health Blog

More than a dozen good-quality studies have failed to find any link between sugar in children's diets and hyperactive behavior. So, why do parents associate sugar with hyperactivity? In one study, parents were told that their children had been given sugary drinks, and went on to rate their children as hyperactive. What they didn't know was that their children had really been given a sugar-free drink. The difference was in parents' minds.

Who is Peter Wilt, you might ask? Probably one of the more successful soccer executives in the U.S.A. He managed the Chicago Fire for eight years and is regarded as a very fan friendly and intelligent. Over on Pitch Invasion, he shares his Soccer Management Philosophy. His ideas for how to run the front office for a team, while seemingly obvious once you read them, apply beyond the soccer and sports business world. Most organizations could do to incorporate ideas such as "Build a Good Staff", "Transparency is Generally Good", and "Be Authentic".

6. TRANSPARENCY IS GENERALLY GOOD. If you believe in your organization’s integrity, intelligence and decision making ability, you should not only have no fear of the public seeing into your organization, you should welcome it.