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The recent buzz on the news wire is that there's a clause in the MySpace agreement that allows the social networking site a royalty-free, worldwide licence to publicly display posted content.

My reaction, along with the most obvious reaction to this, is simply "Duh."

It's not every day that a highly acclaimed author specifically asks for your signature. And no, I wasn't just signing a check for one of his excellent books.

Palahniuk was in Louisville on June 8 during a book tour for his latest book, "Haunted." You may not recognize the name, but you may know him as the author of "Fight Club." Many of his other works are also in the middle of movie deals, including my favorite, "Choke."

It's mildly amusing to me how people -- the media, your next-door neighbor, the waving chicken mascot on the corner of your street -- will make it a point to remind you how right they were about something they predicted. Maybe they picked Florida to win the men's NCAA basketball championship, or maybe they picked Taylor to win "American Idol." But it's interesting to note how hardly anyone reminds you about a wrong prediction.

If you're a fan of "Fight Club" or "Choke," you won't want to miss Chuck Palahnik's appearance at 7 p.m. June 7 in The Clifton Center Reception Hall (2117 Payne Avenue). Carmichael's Bookstore is hosting the event, but due to the expected crowd, the venue has been moved just down the road. Palahniuk will be reading from his new book, "Haunted," and will be signing books as well.

I owe a bit to Palahniuk because after reading "Choke," I realized that maybe I could write "The Developers." Not that my stuff is as good, but it's a similar style ... at least, I'd like to think so.

Stop by any Krispy Kreme and pick up a free doughnut. If you need to figure out where to find a Krispy Kreme location, visit the website for additional details.

Boy it's hot outside. That's why I'm inside now. People keep talking about beating the heat. You've got to be kidding. You couldn't even beat the heat with a large frying pan. To avoid one silly cliché, I've decided to live by another — if you can't beat it, join it. Here's a short list of things to do to join the heat:

Start a fire — You can burn a lot faster, and burn a lot more for that matter. The folks at Woodstock 99 decided to light a few bonfires, loot shops and get really, really angry. Unfortunately, Willie Nelson escaped with few burns.

Today, I'm continuing to help clean out my dad's house. It is interesting to see all of the board games and random items I used to have 15 years ago, but in reality, there are a fair amount of things that I don't need anymore. On top of that, there objects that I'm not even positive I'll ever have a need for again, other than to take up space in my basement. And besides books and dust, I really don't like to collect things at my house.

While it's doubtful Richard Simmons has already finished reading my book, "The Developers," it is worth noting that he already has good things to say about it.

Simmons, who is constantly referenced in the book as a lookalike of one of the characters, Rex Burns, recently responded to the book copy I sent him at his Burbank location.

"Thank you for your kind words and sense of humor," Simmons wrote on an autographed photo. "You are a gifted man!"

Riding in a car during a long trip is a lot like sitting in front of a computer for a day. You know, staring aimlessly at whatever is in front of you thinking of a million different places you'd rather be and yelling to no one in particular because you've just encountered the Leave-on-Your-Left-Turn-Signal entourage.

Let's join Google, Wikipedia and others in telling Congress not to censor the web! Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There's no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.