PRODUCT REVIEW: So for the last week, the Insta-Daughter and I have been using the Fitbit Flex, a motion-sensing wristband that syncs with a smartphone app to track diet, activity, etc. My sister-in-law, who’s lost 24 pounds in a couple of months using one, was showing hers off at a family get together a while back and it seemed kind of interesting.

Tiny accelerometers in the wristband track all your movements, and it syncs via bluetooth with your smartphone (or a computer or tablet). One of the big things it does is press you to move around: It wants you to get at least 10,000 steps a day, and offers a variety of encouragement. It also tracks your diet and exercise — you can log a weight workout, for example — and allows you extra calories. You can program in a weight-loss goal and it will adjust your food intake, etc. to reflect it.

It’s easy to use, and kind of fun to play with. It also tracks your sleep at night based on how much you move, which is kind of cool. (Unsurprisingly, I found out that I sleep like a baby, but I have a friend who discovered a sleep disorder only when he roomed with a physician on a college-reunion trip, so I suppose it could be useful to many, and it encourages you to get enough sleep.)

My bottom line: If you’re already doing a serious training or exercise regime, a la Rippetoe or Crossfit, it doesn’t have much to offer beyond what (much) cheaper smartphone apps like Livestrong or MyFitnessPal already offer: If you’re doing 5 sets of squats at 250 pounds, you know it already. But if you are a couch potato seeking encouragement to be less couch-potatoey — and, let’s face it, that’s most Americans — then this just might do the trick. Otherwise, it’s just a toy. Though I like toys. . . .

The Insta-Daughter, whose exercise regimen runs more to Ballet Beautiful, Blogilates, and long walks than to Rippetoe, likes it a lot more than I do. (She calls it the equivalent of a “What Would Jesus Do” wristband for diet and fitness). She’s been working to increase her steps/day, going over 15,000. That’s a lot of steps, and if you do that, you’ll be in a lot better shape than if you just sit on the couch. Consider it a tool to help you pluck the how-hanging fitness fruit. And that’s not such a bad thing.

IT’S EVAN SAYET: Comedian Rips Liberals in Awesome Stand-Up Routine.

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INSTAVISION: I TALK WITH K.C. JOHNSON ABOUT THE LOUSY NEW MCCASKILL/RUBIO COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULT BILL.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT CAN’T SEEM TO GET ANYTHING RIGHT: State Department Visa Database Crashed, Down For Weeks. “American visas have become literally unobtainable in all consulates worldwide for nearly two weeks as IT specialists have struggled to fix the country’s malfunctioning consular database.”

Remember when the big selling point for Obama was supposed to be competence?

THEY TOLD ME IF I VOTED FOR MITT ROMNEY . . . OH, HELL, YOU KNOW THE REST. Safety Cops Patrol the Office For High Heels.

WELL, THAT SEEMS LIKE POOR DESIGN: Hackers Can Control Your Phone Using a Tool That’s Already Built Into It. “The tool is used in some form in more than 2 billion phones worldwide, they say, including Android and BlackBerry devices and a small number of Apple iPhones used by Sprint customers. They haven’t looked at Windows Mobile devices yet.”

IT’S COME TO THIS: The Russians Are Openly Mocking Obama On Twitter Now.

RUBIO’S OFFICE RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT BILL AND DUE PROCESS FOR THE ACCUSED: “This bill does not address this issue.”

UPDATE: From the comments: “Rubio just lost my support in the primaries.”

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: Why Do Feminists Demand That Women Stay In The Workforce?

TEN WEAPONS YOU WON’T BELIEVE ARE LEGAL.

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WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: I Drank a Cup of Hot Coffee That Was Overnighted Across the Country. Also, Americans traditionally excel at logistics.

A Q&A WITH Science Fiction Writer Gene Wolfe.

Plus, the relationship between torture and legal education.

ASHE SCHOW: 6 questions for the sponsors of the new campus sexual assault bill. “This bill institutionalizes bias against the accused in a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mentality, but doesn’t provide the accused any recourse to defend themselves.”

A COKE AND A SMILE — AND SOME DUCT TAPE, AND A MERCEDES: DIY Autonomous Car. Kids, don’t try this at home.

KNOW YOUR PLACE, PEASANT! If it’s not OK to spy on senators, is it still OK to spy on citizens?

Well, both are illegal. But, to be fair, spying on Senators adds an additional separation of powers angle that, I should note, I was pointing out months ago.

And it’s also the case that so long as a culture of impunity reigns in the Executive Branch — as it very clearly does now — neither citizens nor Senators are safe from anything.

SPYING: Active attack on Tor network tried to decloak users for five months. I doubt it was from the NSA, which I expect can decloak Tor users whenever it wants.

INSTAVISION: I TALK WITH K.C. JOHNSON ABOUT THE LOUSY NEW MCCASKILL/RUBIO COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULT BILL.

EVERYONE’S DOING IT: Does OkCupid Really Have the Right to Experiment on You?

OUCH: “Rape” is so severe an offense feminists have taken it out of the hands of courts and turned it over to … colleges.

CAPTION CONTEST: In light of a suggestion on Twitter, hit the comments to caption this photo of Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill introducing her new campus sexual assault bill.

SPYING: CIA improperly accessed Senate computers, agency finds.

BECAUSE THEY’RE DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES WITH BYLINES? Why doesn’t the media grill Democratic pols on the ideas pushed by their fringe?