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1. Quote of the Week

NULL values can be very useful, especially on indexes, as an indication of "index is not set" or "no index here", or "default inherited index applies".

I use Null values extensively (in huge database systems) with not only no problems whatsoever, but measurably signifcant advantages. People who try to tell you that "Nulls are the work of the devil", or :the sky will fall down if you allow nulls", or some such unsubstantiated childish delusion are exclusively ignorant of the correct ways to handle them. (Or too lazy/ineducable to learn their correct implementation and/or benefits.)

Fact, just plain indisputable fact. --bytes.com

2. To Laugh or Cry?

Time for something that is neither relational nor NoSQL - A Case for Graph Databases

3. Online Debunkings

• Representing NULL Values in XML
• Data Centric IS - a Copernican Revolution

4. Of Interest Elsewhere

• 1nf-or-3nf-pros-and-cons
• Codd's 12 (13) Rules for RDBMS

5. And now for something completely different

"The PostWest" Series (or The future of the West is all behind it)

Sillicon Valley & Medievalization & Dumbing Down of Society (see also video below)

• The Vanishing Homeless of Super Bowl 50
• $6,000 a night Super Bowl 50 inspiring outrageous short term rental rates
• The $1M Super Bowl package to rule them all
• Shame of the City — Homeless in San Francisco
• S.F. school workers get reprieve from evictions under supe’s plan
• Tour San Francisco's 'Bilionaires Row'
• Tax money, people flow out of Bay Area
• These millionaires get Obamacare subsidies
• Sleep tech could set off a biological class war
• 'Social Robots' May One Day Help Your Doctor
• Microsoft supports President Obama's new "Computer Science" for All "education" proposal
• This year’s first batch of anti-science education bills surface in Oklahoma
• Is it possible to have a fulfilling life based entirely online

"The Only Globally Acceptable Racism" Series (or Fuck the Joos)

• Israel's 2015 report on anti-Semitism paints dismal picture
• Israel clamping down on 'illegal' EU building in West Bank
• Former State Dept. Rep. Says Stabbing Jews OK Under Islamic Law
• 6 in 10 French people think Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism
• 45% of French Muslims would 'react negatively' if daughter married a Jew
• UN chief 'alarmed' at Hamas vow to keep building Gaza tunnels, rockets but
• UN chief redoubles criticism of Israel's 'stifling' occupation

"Let's Give Them a State" Series (or Palestine, the Next IS)

• Abbas meets families of terrorists just after deadly Jerusalem attack
• Songs in praise of stabbing are huge hits on Palestinian street, and may be motivators too
• 'Kill 500 Israelis,' mourners demand at funeral of PA gunman
• Fatah official says Hitler was 'daring, not morally corrupt'
• Gaza prepares for war
• Hamas 'heroes' tirelessly digging Gaza tunnels

"Upside Down & Backwards World" Series (or Pinch Me!)

• Arab MK: Cops who killed TA gunman should be prosecuted
• Four sue Israel in US court over Mavi Marmara raid
• Germany's Merkel says refugees must return home once war is over
• Obama compares Syrian refugees to Holocaust survivors

Book of the week (order via the link to support this site)

Brill, S., AMERICA'S BITTER PILL

Video of the week

San Francisco artist is evicted from his rent-controlled apartment after 34 years