<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080817/ts_nm/olympics_dc"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20080816/capt.cps.nhp21.160808092237.photo02.photo.default-512x360.jpg?x=130&y=91&q=85&sig=BZ6K4ddVqHvMit71U1XXnQ--" align="left" height="91" width="130" alt="US swimmer Michael Phelps (centre), silver medalist Milorad Cavic of Serbia (left) and bronze medalist Andrew Lauterstein of Australia stand on the podium for the men's 100m butterfly swimming final during the medal ceremony at the National Aquatics Center during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, on August 16. Phelps won in an Olympic record time of 50.58 seconds.(AFP/Timothy Clary)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Michael Phelps won an Olympic record-breaking eighth gold at one Games on Sunday in Beijing to beat fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven from Munich 1972.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_swm_swimming"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080817/capt.e09e76cd82a44290bba0dbe1997cab94.beijing_olympics_swimming_mens_relays_olysw183.jpg?x=89&y=130&q=85&sig=QrHDFmDvnoCd8br7lT7n5g--" align="left" height="130" width="89" alt="United States' Michael Phelps celebrates winning his 8th gold medal after the men's 4x100-meter medley relay final during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)" border="0" /></a>AP - Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.</p><br clear="all"/>
MrKaos writes "Western digital seems to be preparing for the onslaught of SSD drives set to impact its market by developing a 20,000 rpm hard drive. Similar to the VelociRaptor line of drives, the new drives are speculated to be offering lower capacity as a tradeoff for faster seek and write times." This report out of Taipei is the only word on the rumored WD 20K drive. It's said to be a 2.5" drive in a 3.5" enclosure, for efficiency of cooling — the arrangement the Register enjoyed poking fun at when the 10K drive was upgraded last month.<p><a href="http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/17/014220&from=rss"><img src="http://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?from=rss&op=image&style=h0&sid=08/08/17/014220"></a></p><p><a href="http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/17/014220&from=rss">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=VqQpbp"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=VqQpbp" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/366988874" height="1" width="1"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_religion"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080817/capt.8a9b7514895f45d09adbb78d718332fe.aptopix_candidates_religion_obama_mccain_2008_cama107.jpg?x=130&y=86&q=85&sig=FBeajOAacxTeukke3C6dmQ--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., reach out to shake hands during the Compassion Forum at the Saddleback Church, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 in Lake Forest, Calif. Host Rick Warren is seen at center. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)" border="0" /></a>AP - Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed sharply on abortion Saturday, with McCain saying a baby's human rights begin "at conception," while Obama restated his support for legalized abortion.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080817/ts_afp/oly2008swimusaphelps"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20080817/capt.cps.nht81.170808053321.photo00.photo.default-512x338.jpg?x=130&y=85&q=85&sig=TIUaeQuuAhdCZszxZXq_XA--" align="left" height="85" width="130" alt="US swimmer Michael Phelps reacts after the men's 4 x 100m medley relay swimming final at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Phelps became the first competitor in the history of the Olympics to win eight gold medals at a single Games as the United States won the 4x100m medley(AFP/Timothy Clary)" border="0" /></a>AFP - Michael Phelps became the first competitor in the history of the Olympics to win eight gold medals at a single Games as the United States won the men's 4x100m medley relay on Sunday.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather_florida"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.1c7625a4680d474da290c68ba52f3fda.tropical_weather_flwl101.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=_j6.fVK1IiRtDYF6_dPdqg--" align="left" height="89" width="130" alt="Andrew Cardwell of Pirate Scooter Rentals fills up gasoline cans Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 in Key West, Fla. in preparation for Tropical Storm Fay. Forecasters warned that Fay could bring hurricane-force winds to the Florida Keys as soon as Monday. Fay could hit as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane, with winds perhaps reaching more than 100 mph, forecasters said Saturday, stressing that it was too early to tell how intense the storm would become. In anticipation, Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for the state. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)" border="0" /></a>AP - Residents and tourists in the Florida Keys prepared Saturday for Tropical Storm Fay, which forecasters said could strengthen to a hurricane and begin battering the island chain as soon as Monday.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080817/ts_nm/storm_fay_dc"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080817/2008_08_15t174730_450x338_us_storm_fay.jpg?x=130&y=97&q=85&sig=UQ8E_6yxGjSNhSqUQZEwMQ--" align="left" height="97" width="130" alt="A satellite image showing weather patterns over the Caribbean, taken on August 15, 2008. (NOAA/Handout/Reuters)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Gusty winds and blowing rain buffeted eastern Cuba on Saturday as Tropical Storm Fay neared the island after killing at least five people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.</p><br clear="all"/>
Reuters - U.S. prosecutors have sent letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards, possibly as a prelude to indictments for a shooting incident that killed 17 Iraqi civilians in September, The Washington Post reported in its Sunday editions.
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_russia"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.ed7e51b7ca8f45da81682fdd9aac1ce6.georgia_russia_xdb116.jpg?x=130&y=93&q=85&sig=IqZtCdHhO.8Gyhydrjs4pQ--" align="left" height="93" width="130" alt="Russian armored vehicles move in Orjosani, between the capital Tbilisi and strategic town of Gori, Georgia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a truce with Georgia on Saturday, a definitive step toward ending the fighting there despite the uncertainty on the ground reflected by Russian soldiers digging in just 30 miles from the Georgian capital. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)" border="0" /></a>AP - Russian forces built ramparts around tanks and posted sentries on a hill in central Georgia on Saturday, digging in despite Western pressure for Moscow to withdraw its forces under a cease-fire deal signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080817/pl_nm/usa_politics_faith_dc"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080817/2008_08_16t221931_450x284_us_usa_politics_faith.jpg?x=130&y=82&q=85&sig=79_TNJI.C8HV.pB9g_jP7Q--" align="left" height="82" width="130" alt="US Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) smiles during the Civil Forum on the Presidency at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, August 16, 2008. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Barack Obama cited his youthful experimentation with drugs and John McCain noted his failed first marriage as their greatest moral failings on Saturday at a forum on faith that both U.S. presidential candidates used to appeal to religious voters.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_ath_track_and_field"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.842b3bcd7ceb47da9bdaf5c7b2e0f363.beijing_olympics_athletics_mens_100m_olyat484.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=tpIk813AqAujCKadmHWqVg--" align="left" height="89" width="130" alt="Usain Bolt of Jamaica looks to the crowd after winning the 100m men's final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)" border="0" /></a>AP - Pure speed. It emanated from those loping, waist-high strides 6-foot-5 Usain Bolt churned with his golden spikes — untied lace and all — to win the 100-meter Olympic gold medal and break his own world record Saturday night.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080817/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_jets_favre"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080817/capt.a91ae4a3482547bf9c936837c9924c85.aptopix_redskins_jets_football_eru107.jpg?x=130&y=106&q=85&sig=xPgfI3ByxLrX5e0MVgT6Iw--" align="left" height="106" width="130" alt="New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre throws a pass against the Washington Redskins during the first quarter of a NFL pre-season football game Saturday night, Aug. 16, 2008 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)" border="0" /></a>AP - Brett Favre threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller to cap his second series in his New York Jets debut against the Washington Redskins on Saturday night.</p><br clear="all"/>
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Ever wonder about all those groups claiming Google had a 'search monopoly' (as if there are no other search engines), or worse, coming out against Net Neutrality? CNet has a story about a shady DC lobbying group called LawMedia Group, being paid by Microsoft and Comcast, that is behind many of these attacks. That said, it's a mystery why they weren't able to pay more authoritative groups than the American Corn Growers Association or the League of Rural Voters to weigh in on technical matters. As a computer geek from corn country, I wouldn't solicit their opinion on tractor repair, let alone Internet policy."<p><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/16/237253&from=rss"><img src="http://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?from=rss&op=image&style=h0&sid=08/08/16/237253"></a></p><p><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/16/237253&from=rss">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=wlqaoN"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=wlqaoN" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/366928882" height="1" width="1"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080817/ts_afp/georgiarussiaconflict"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20080816/capt.cps.nho23.160808051045.photo02.photo.default-512x373.jpg?x=130&y=94&q=85&sig=0JfuI5XYeG_Cza9GMfxxiA--" align="left" height="94" width="130" alt="A convoy of Russian army APC escorted by Georgian police move on the road from the flashpoint city of Gori to Tbilisi near the village of Savsvebi. Georgia signed a ceasefire agreement seeking to end its conflict with Russia, as the United States lashed out at Moscow for "bullying" and failing to withdraw its troops from the country.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)" border="0" /></a>AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a peace deal with Georgia but his troops again underlined their grip by keeping hold of positions close to the capital Tbilisi.</p><br clear="all"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080817/ts_nm/georgia_ossetia_dc"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080817/2008_08_16t080026_450x354_us_georgia_ossetia_signed.jpg?x=130&y=102&q=85&sig=rEXwOEZPrhbg4_6bhf80RA--" align="left" height="102" width="130" alt="Russian servicemen travel on top of an armoured vehicle on a road in the Georgian village of Igoeti, about 50 km (31 miles) from Tbilisi, August 16, 2008. (David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Russia and Georgia have signed a ceasefire agreement to end their war, but Russian troops remained in many parts of the Black Sea state on Sunday and tensions ran high between the two leaderships.</p><br clear="all"/>
MySkippy writes "I've been a software engineer for just over 10 years, and I've seen a lot of different styles of logging in the applications I've worked on. Some were extremely verbose — about 1 logging line for every 2 lines of code. Others were very lacking, with maybe 1 line in 200 devoted to logging. I personally find that writing debug and informational messages about every 2 to 5 lines works well for debugging an issue, but can become cumbersome when reading through a log for analysis. I like to write warning messages when thresholds or limits are being approached — these tend to be infrequent. I log errors whenever I catch one (but I've never put a "fatal" message in my code, because if it's truly a fatal error I probably didn't catch it). Recently I came across log4j and log4net and have begun using them both. That brings me to my question: how do the coders on Slashdot handle logging in their code?"<p><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/16/1851243&from=rss"><img src="http://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?from=rss&op=image&style=h0&sid=08/08/16/1851243"></a></p><p><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/16/1851243&from=rss">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p> <p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=vT650C"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=vT650C" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/366879918" height="1" width="1"/>
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/ap_on_en_mo/people_bernie_mac"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.b23ffb9d235845b7a790f9c65f99169f.people_bernie_mac_ilmg107.jpg?x=130&y=102&q=85&sig=M2b1nMYnKlQPgWzXj42t9Q--" align="left" height="102" width="130" alt="Actor Samuel L. Jackson arrives at a memorial service celebrating the life of comedian Bernie Mac on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)" border="0" /></a>AP - As Cedric the Entertainer scanned the crowd of more than 6,000 gathered on Chicago's South Side to remember Bernie Mac on Saturday, he cracked that the comedy king was "still the hottest ticket in town."</p><br clear="all"/>
AP - Back in the days of "Commies" and "pinkos," of Red scares, black lists, suspicion and smear, Kim Soo-im stood out as a one-woman axis of evil, a villainess without peer.
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_georgia"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080816/capt.fbc34254792e4bff8b6172104e0272ea.bush_txsa110.jpg?x=130&y=101&q=85&sig=MTBo1l4hHxgCyBkFxDX3vw--" align="left" height="101" width="130" alt="Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, joins President Bush as they speak to reporters at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008. Bush sent a stern warning to Russia that it cannot lay claim to two breakaway provinces in neighboring Georgia, a U.S. ally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)" border="0" /></a>AP - President Bush warned Russia on Saturday against trying to pry loose two separatist regions in Georgia and said Moscow must end military operations in the West-leaning democracy that once was part of the Soviet empire.</p><br clear="all"/>