There aren't many things more exciting - or, frankly, dangerous - than writing about content syndication. But intrepid Online contributor Ben Hammersley, the authority on all things syndication-esque, manages to find them. As I type, he's legging it across the baking Moroccan Sahara in the Marathon des Sables. It's bad enough he's running in the desert in 110-degree heat and that, in his own words, "I'll have to take in nine litres of water and four thousand calories each day, which is the same as a kilo of sugar, or forty bananas, or I'll be in trouble." No. Just to add that edge, the marathon isn't a normal 26 miles. It's six marathons in six days, including one double-marathon overnight, and he has to carry his food, water and kit with him.
Ben's been in training round the streets of Florence with his O'Reilly books in a backpack, to try and get used to the weight. He's doing it all for charity - supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Childnet International and the Retired Greyhound Trust - so do pop over to his donations page if you're feeling generous. And, even if you're not, do include Ben in your prayers, beam good karma at north Africa, chant RSS specifications or do whatever you do when trying to ensure alpha geeks make it back in one piece from lunatic expeditions in foreign climes :-)
