THE RISE OF mutant netbooks.

CREATING BETTER CONCRETE USING nano-geometry.

A POLITICAL-ADMISSIONS SCANDAL AT THE University of Illinois: “The University of Illinois official who oversees undergraduate admissions told a state commission Tuesday that decisions about well-connected applicants were out of his hands. Keith Marshall, the university’s associate provost for enrollment management, described a process in which admissions officers were at times overruled by university Chancellor Richard Herman and other top administrators when it came to politically connected students.”

FROM JOHN ELWOOD, some legal commentary on the Walpin firing.

AMAZON.COM vs. the North Carolina legislature.

CAR LUST: The joys of the Daihatsu Rocky.

FASTER, PLEASE: Treating cardiovascular disease with nanoparticles that attack plaque.

JOHN ARAVOSIS: White House admits Obama “benefits” speech simply political ploy, plan still being created after it was already announced.

Plus, this: “The obsession with not repeating the mistakes of 1993 has resulted in a huge mistake in 2009. Somehow, despite all the progress and the massive shift in public opinion on gay issues since the early 90s, at the White House, the conventional wisdom on gay-related issues has been dialed back to 1993. . . . They only decided it was a problem when the gay ATM started to shut down.” Hope and change!

RAMIN AHMADI: More bloodshed to come in Iran.

GET READY FOR more Priuses at the pump this summer.

TOM MAGUIRE on Iran reactions.

STEVEN CROWDER: Republicans Need to Grow A Sense of Humor.

BUILDING A browser-based darknet.

THEY REPORT THIS LIKE IT’S BAD NEWS: “Hollywood studios are paying up to $765 an hour for attorneys litigating a lawsuit aimed at preventing RealNetworks from marketing software that allows movie fans to copy their DVDs, according to court documents.” What’s the bad news? That it’s not $865! Or, heck, $965!

MOE LANE: Let Us Recap The Gerald Walpin Situation. Funny, he doesn’t sound disoriented . . . .

UPDATE: Heh:

“That’s a total lie,” Walpin said of the latter charge. And he said the accusation that he was dazed and confused at one meeting out of many was not only false, but poor rationale for his ouster.

“It appears to suggest that I was removed because I was disabled — based on one occasion out of hundreds,” he said.

“I would never say President Obama doesn’t have the capacity to continue to serve because of his (statement) that there are 56 states,” Walpin said, adding that the same holds for Vice President Biden and his “many express confusions that have been highlighted by the media.”

Ouch.

JAMES JOYNER: “No Preconditions.”

DRIVE-BY BLACKOUTING: “Smart Grid” security problems.

THIS SOUNDS PROMISING: Myostatin Blockers Protect Against Obesity And Atherosclerosis: Along with Boosting Muscle.

IS THIS GOOD NEWS? Testosterone Cuts Incidence Of Metabolic Syndrome.

BYRON YORK: Fired AmeriCorps IG responds: White House charges are false. “In a detailed conversation Wednesday morning, Walpin said the White House is ‘grasping at nonexistent straws’ to justify his termination as watchdog for one of the Obama White House’s favorite federal programs. Walpin described an atmosphere in which his investigations into fraudulent and inefficient use of federal dollars were often the cause of conflict with the board and top management of the Corporation.”