Posts (page 2)
A couple minutes ago I got my MPRE test scores. For those of you who don't know, the MPRE is the Multistate Professional Responsibilities Exam. It's a test for aspiring lawyers to demonstrate their knowledge of basic ethical rules of conduct. Texas requires a minimum scaled score of 85 to practice in this state.
I got a 111. I didn't realize until I got the results back how much I was worrying about it. But it's nice to have a victory for once. Thank goodness!
And right now there's a band in my head playing The Happy Happy Joy Joy Song. Let's all join in, shall we?
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy!
Listening to a recent audio interview Laura Ingraham had with Geraldo (!), two thoughts came to mind.
#1. Throwing a swipe at other news casters... Geraldo doesn't really come from a spotless background, and hearing him attacking other people for sensational coverage is Hi-Lar-I-Ous.
#2. I'd love to hear him get interviewed by Hugh Hewitt - one of the best interviewers working in the press today. Of course, Geraldo would never do it.
The audio is here.
I just took a look at my last post, and it appears that the links are all kinda hard to read in this particular theme. Thoughts?
Mod-chipping your console shouldn't be a crime. But wait, once again I am getting ahead of myself.
What the heck is a mod-chip, anyway? According to Wikipedia (ultimate source of all knowledge? Nah. Not so much. But sufficient for this purpose), a modchip is "a device used to circumvent the digital rights management and/or region coding of many popular game consoles, including those made by Microsoft (Xbox series), Sony (PlayStation series), and Nintendo (GameCube, Wii) for the purposes of playing backup, imported, pirated, or homebrew games and/or applications." - Wikipedia - "modchip"
Essentially, you are circumventing DRM. Now, technically, this is a violation of one of the worst pieces of legislation in living memory - The Digital Millenium Copyright Act, or DMCA. First, let me say that I have never used a modchip, am not currently in the market for modchips, and would not use a modchip in any of my consoles. Let me also state for the record that pirated games do violate copyright, and appropriate steps should be taken to prevent copyright infringement. But the mere fact that I am installing a chip to allow myself several substantial non-infringing uses should not be grounds for the FBI and Homeland Security raiding the house. Imagine if you could be prosecuted for putting an after market part on a car - something that allowed the car better gas mileage, or allowed it to use diesel fuel, ethanol, and regular gas. That's your modchip. Homebrew apps and games are non-infringing uses of this technology, are a grounds for innovation, and should be encouraged, not criminalized. And am I the only one that wonders what the heck Homeland Security is doing getting involved in this? The FBI I can see. All those anti-piracy warnings on DVDs and videotapes make it pretty clear that the Feds will come after you for that pirated copy of Tron sitting in your parents' basement. But Homeland Security? Don't they have better things to do? Like, say, fence-building, as a suggestion?
And that's what I keep coming back around to. I admit that I think terror is a threat. I think we do need a functioning Homeland Security department. But the way this is being implemented is confusing the hell out of me. If there is a credible, tangible connection between modchipping and other alleged copyright violations and terrorism (as I seem to recall Alberto Gonzales claiming), let's see the evidence. Make the case before the American public. But unless and until that's done, I've got no choice but to consider this an area that Homeland Security should keep its grubby little mitts off of, and get back to more credible threats. Unless they just don't have a lot to do (ahem, there's a fence that needs building, did I mention that?), in which case maybe it's time for a little downsizing.
Having admitted to a love of sweet, sweet thrashin' guitar, I thought I'd mention the three cds I admitted to buying over the past few months. It's such a rare occurrence, it's probably noteworthy.
I'd like to say I didn't know about this because of the fact that I don't listen to the radio much if at all any more. The truth is, though, Rush rarely gets air play. They're a little prog, sure, but I really love their music. And it's always interesting to hear their lyrics, because there's a lot of social commentary going on under the surface.
Their last album, Vapor Trails, seemed to have themes about technology and its uses. This album is more about religion and its impact on society. Rush, as a band, doesn't seem to be a big fan of religion (and this goes back - have a listen to "Freewill" on the Permanent Waves cd some time, or Faithless on this one). Also, I believe one of the band members lost a child in the time between Vapor Trails and Snakes and Arrows. As a result, there's a lot of emotion coming through this time.
And it rocks, of course.
Yes, of course I like Linkin Park.
Found myself on the way to work driving by the Wal-Mart, and since it was the release day and all, I stopped in. Why Wal-Mart? Clean lyrics. I'm a big fan of hard-rockin' music, but not such a big fan of naughty naughty words. So, I can head-bang to Given Up guilt-free!
Linkin Park is not the most... optimistic... of bands. And at least one song could be interpreted as endorsing communism. But I don't listen to Linkin Park for political commentary - I listen to Linkin Park because they freakin' rock, and if their attempt at commentary is occasionally grounds for some ironic amusement, so much the better.
The third and final album I bought recently is Velvet Revolver's second album "Libertad". (Cover not depicted). I mean, it's the lead singer from Stone Temple Pilots, and Slash from Guns 'N Roses. What more do you need to know? Oh, and they were featured in the Transformers Movie - She Builds Quick Machines was playing during the closing credits. No commentary at all - and that's probably for the best. It's pure driving guitar, classic hard rock. Mmmmm.
Now, I bought these because a) I'm a fan of these three bands, and b) I want to be able to encode their music at the bitrate I think they deserve, c)without nasty DRM keeping me from listening to them on the portable music device of my choice.
So says me, anyway.
So, for the past few months, I've been experimenting with a couple of different flavors of portable browser. Basically, I want to be able to access my bookmarks, e-mail, history, passwords, etc., with my browser both at home and at work, so I have a couple of portable browsers installed on my iPod. Set the iPod to disk mode, and have a cable with you, and I can listen to my music via iTunes (manually manage the music) and browse on my portable browser all at the same time.
So, I've been using Portable Firefox (available at portableapps), and OperaUSB (available at Opera-USB).
Firefox has typically been my browser of choice. Extensions allow me to seamlessly integrate with del.icio.us, blog to my typepad and blogger blogs from a pop-up window, get weather forecasts at a glance, and all kinds of other things. It's responsive, clean, and quick.
But... I don't like any of the integrated RSS feed reader options. And it doesn't have an integrated e-mail client. Also, lately when I've been using it at work, I keep having errors with my extensions, so they don't come up. As a result, PortableFirefox loses a lot of its functionality at inopportune times and for somewhat inexplicable reasons.
Opera is a great browser - it's free now, and it has an integrated RSS feed reader and e-mail app. I can check all of my e-mail accounts (currently I've got... what... four, not including my work e-mail?) It's got a nice, clean interface, and the speed dial function is cool. Lots of keyboard shortcuts, and what seems like a lot of great functionality once you get into it a bit.
But... it doesn't have the integration with extensions that Firefox does. Instead, Opera uses "widgets", little stand-alone applications that aren't integrated into the browser window. Also, for some odd reason, Opera has a hard time dealing with wrapping text in the window I'm typing this entry into. I don't know why it does, but that's probably the main reason I dropped Opera in the first place.
Now, if I could get clean RSS/E-mail integrated into Firefox, or if I could get Opera to work right with my blogs, I'd probably feel good about cutting the other one loose. Until then, I'm a man without a browser. Or maybe I've got dual browser citizenship. Double agent? Meh.
If you know why Opera doesn't play well with text-entering, let me know!
I mean, it's not like the music is really all that great, from what I've been hearing my daughter singing lately.
Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I saw this article today from the Guardian. It raises a couple of questions. First things first - I don't think this is painting a whole picture. I'd like to know who's being downloaded. I'd like to know if digital downloads from legitimate stores is going up. I'd like to know if the overall music industry is growing or shrinking. And I'd like to know if there are any historical analogues. Maybe that information is in the original study the article is referencing. But I thought this paragraph was interesting...
Although social networking sites are boosting interest in music that translates into sales, a growing band of consumers are unconcerned about being prosecuted for illegal downloads, according to Entertainment Media Research.
Okay... so the Internet is boosting interest, and sales.
That's good, right? But it's still not enough. Granted, illegal
downloading is wrong, but it seems like a waste of time and resources
to go after these people hell bent for leather. And as I expressed
above, the music being released today by and large is pablum. Of
course, maybe I’m not the best critic of this trend – most of the
music I liked as a kid was movie soundtracks.
Where do I find good music today? May I humbly suggest it’s not on the radio? Personally, I like listening to podcasts, and if I like the music they play, then I’ll go looking for it. It’s how I discovered Celldweller (7th Son) and Black Lab (Podcast Music Countdown).
And granted, I've bought three cds over the last few months,
which is like saying water ran uphill - it just usually doesn't
happen. It just so happened that some of my favorite bands had
releases this summer.
I remember in high school giving a girl a ride home from play rehearsal, and she was struck by my love for Van Halen. I don’t recall her exact words, but I seem to recall it was along the lines of “I thought you were a decent, upstanding, moral person.”
Sigh. I hereby admit a love of sweet, sweet thrashin’ guitar. I'm going to stop here, and maybe post more on this later, because I don't want this to be a book. Maybe a podcast.
The beach.
Okay, so my talent isn't anywhere NEAR as good as his. But while my computer diligently writes zeros onto a portable hard drive, I'm catching up on Lileks. Man, that guy is good. He needs a nationally syndicated column. And money. Lots of money. Of course, he's writing on the web, now, so it's like he's not only nationally syndicated - he's GLOBAL, baby! Of course, he's been doing that for years, but every now and then he writes something so hilarious, so pitch-perfect, so absolutely mind-bendingly awesome, that I just have to link to it.
And drool in envy, of course.
