Link Slop: I haven't done a round-up in while so here we go:

• As it moves from a focus on chefs and food to quasi-reality gimmicky shows, the ongoing decline of The Food Network is described in cruel and profane terms by chef Anthony Bourdain. More recently: his take on the Food Network Awards. Killer stuff.

• I have developed a minor addiction to Ask Metafilter. Metafilter was an ancestor of many of the "Web 2.0" social networking sites that get so much press. It's not the same model really, but the spirit is the same. But the sister site, Ask Metafilter is the real gem. Site members can ask any and all sorts of questions (requests for info or opinions dominate) and the hive mind attempts to reply. I check in every 2 or 3 days to see what's been asked and invariably find some enlightening link to satiate my intellectual curiosity. A cut above other such sites in my view.

• Another addiction I have is Google Reader. It's really just a simple RSS reader, but like webmail, it's a big boon to be able to read it from home/work/road/wherever. Dead simple to set up, I have a ton of news sites of various flavors set up (blissfully free of politics) and it is my main source of information about the world. It's still beta so there is the occasional minor glitch but, like other things Google, it demonstrates how simple is better.