eBay offers the option of e-mailing new results of saved searches, but they’re very sporadic and incomplete. Instead, I whipped up a PHP script that queries eBay for a set of keywords and converts it to an RSS feed for syndication, allowing you to subscribe to recent eBay search results ordered by date or high bids. The code is here. (Just rename it to ebayrss.php and drop it somewhere on your own webserver.)

You can test it out for a short time on my server, but this is a very temporary demonstration. Please don’t abuse it.

By the way, I don’t see why developers should have to pay the ridiculous fees for the eBay API, especially when augmenting eBay’s own broken functionality and developing free software that makes them money.

July 8, 2003: eBay removed the Javascript array that I was parsing to gather the auction data… I don’t have the time to modify the script, but please feel free to e-mail me a patch, and I’ll post it here.

December 28, 2003: The script is fixed, but eBay may eventually break it again. It’s broken again.

April 12, 2004: This script is no longer maintained. I recommend FreeBiddingTools.com, which hosts RSS feeds for eBay searches.

August 19, 2004: RSS Auction is a new site that does the same thing, in a much more flexible way. Go use it.

“Beat it, Waxy!” — Homer Simpson, Episode EABF09, aired March 9, 2003

Here’s a strange quote by Wanda Barzee’s son Derrick Thompson, buried in an article profiling the couple who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart.

Mark’s brother, Derrick Thompson, suggested that the couple had started taking LSD about 10 years ago. “They said they weren’t on drugs, but we think that was a lie,” he told a television reporter. “We think that’s how he could communicate with God. That and listen to the Steve Miller Band.”

So, is Derrick saying that listening to Steve Miller lets you communicate with God, or that dropping acid is the only way to tolerate listening to Steve Miller?

While performing in London earlier this week, the Dixie Chicks’ lead singer Natalie Maines said, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” The comments and the followup explanation stirred up some controversy back home, leading to boycotts from country radio stations and the largely-conservative country music audience.

The comments from the online forums show how polarizing politics can be to a community of fans. The unofficial Dixie Chicks news forum thread has 63 posts so far, almost entirely by estranged (and often insulting) former fans. That’s relatively civil compared to Usenet or the always incendiary Yahoo Message Boards. It looks like their official website is offline, and the rest of the fan sites are getting slammed this morning from too much activity.

Crispin “Hellion” Glover will be on Late Show with David Letterman tonight for the first third time since his disastrous appearance in July 1987, when he took the stage in a wig and big platform shoes, offered up a brief and bizarre interview, and delivered a high kick inches from Letterman’s face. The producers cut to commercial and he hasn’t been seen on the show since. Here’s a collage of eight screen captures from that episode. (If you have a video clip, send it to me!)

So it should be an interesting show tonight. Unfortunately, Dave’s out sick; maybe Crispin will try to jump-kick guest host Will Ferrell instead. (Or maybe he’ll sing “Ben.”)

I’ve included a full transcript below of the 1987 appearance below.

July 16, 2003: Consumption Junction has the video clip of the original Letterman appearance (careful at work).

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