August 2001

31. August, 2001 permalink

Russian Programmer Indicted - Dmitry Sklyarov has been indicted. And a lot of folks are behaving as if it's a bad thing. The only way to get DMCA struck down is for someone to be a test case and fight it to a point where a court declares it unconstitutional. If Sklyarov had gone free on a plea-bargain, the law (and its chilling effect) would stay in place. This indictment is bad for Dmitry, but it's good news for the rest of us.
Movimiento Libertario is the Libertarian party in Costa Rica. They're having a surprising amount of success.
States Ring In Do Not Call Laws. Shame Minnesota isn't on the list. But the article prompted Matthew McGlynn to put together some Stop telemarketing resources.
May I See Your Papers Please? And what happens when a citizen who's broken no laws says ''No, sir!''
Armed Revolution Not So Difficult.
The Privacy/Untraceability Sweet Spot.
And I did some writing about my new trike. It makes me happy.

27. August, 2001 permalink

In Ethical Treatment of PETA Domain, we actually find out what happened to peta.org.
Bear kebabs in Dave's Recipes. It'll work with any red meat.
There's an Onion Interview with Berkeley Breathed.
Wil Wheaton dot net. Yeah. Wesley's got a website. He builds it himself.
Do you hate it when someone gives away a plot twist of a movie you're planning to see? Go to The Spoilers Game and find some suitable revenge.
Conversational Terrorism. It's designed to help you avoid using such tactics in conversation. Why, that is a brilliant question coming from you!
Riding a tank -- it's a guy thing. You can go to TankRide and sign up. $85/hour per person. And it's just north of the Twin Cities.

24. August, 2001 - Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. permalink

Damascus steel's lost secret found. Cool!
No More AOL CDs are collecting those unwanted coasters and are hoping to deliver a million to AOL headquarters. As of Thursday, August 23, they've got 40. Guess I should put the hundred or so I've got in the mail.
Scientists Isolate 'Tender Steak' Gene. How to grow a tastier beef. Mmmmm. And this Saturday is People Eating Tasty Animals evening whilst tailgating before the Saint Paul Saints game. And if you're wondering why peta.org no longer points you to the meat-eaters, you should read the tasty animals editorial.
Stumbled onto Harumph Penis Envy the other night. It made me laugh out loud as I imagined being the ''neighbor Eric''.
Dan over at Flutterby has A new programming metaphor. I like it.
I'm tempted to build a jet powered beer cooler.

20. August, 2001 - Happy birthday to me. permalink

I'm 37 now. There's something Tunarific about that, I'm sure.
My car had a birthday of sorts, yesterday as I was driving to Mom's for dinner.
The Star-Tribune did a series on the Mississippi. The three stories I've linked are just the start. There are also the links down the right side of the individual stories to follow. Good stuff.
It also clued me in to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, which has some maps and such if you decide to follow the river to the Gulf.
If you're in Minneapolis on August 22, you can ride a working barge from the port of Minneapolis down to below St. Anthony Falls from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. For more information, call (612) 676-9400.

17. August, 2001 permalink

Companies don't care about ID theft. Because if someone steals your identity, the company isn't going to lose any money.
I am an un-consumer - I've had bad banking days, but I don't think I can compete with Ben.
Fight against recording industry just beginning with a presentation on the weaknesses of SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative). Actually, it's a fight against a law that's probably unconstitutional.
Judges Recoil at Surveillance of Computers. When they're the ones being watched, they sure get their robes in a knot pretty quickly.
And on a more musical note: Salon.com's profile of Shane MacGowan.

13. August, 2001 - Minneapolis and such permalink

In Home buyers make tough choices to combat soaring prices and Business needs transportation. The Strib is painting a less than rosy picture of Minneapolis. The big problem is that the economy here is still pretty darned good.
Minnesota wealthier than neighboring states probably is part of the reason for the soaring home prices.
Twin Cities #3 in gays, lesbians. Not really surprising to me, I guess. We're pretty tolerant hereabouts.
In the July 2001 section of turly's completely random links collection, his vacation here in Minneapolis gets a writeup.

10. August, 2001 permalink

I've added Crazy Dave's Computer Crap Emporium which lists some items I have for sale. You never know. You just might need something on the list.
I've also added Home Ground Hamburger to Dave's Recipes.
Bill Tyler and I appeared in print in the August 2001 issue of Inc. Magazine. Huh! And I'm in the Saints ''Year of the Fan'' giveaway calendar twice this year. Gosh! (In case you weren't sure, I'm the one in the Zubaz)
Signwave Auto-Illustrator is yet another graphic tool I don't quite understand. I think I like it.
Check out the Gallery of ''Misused'' Quotation Marks. It hasn't been updated for almost a year, but there's plenty there nonetheless.
Yep. Many movies today are just F/X Porn. And I know way too many people who go to 'em for just the money shot.
Silly me. Last night I tried Netscape 6.1. I had some Netscape 6.1 Feedback. It wasn't very complimentary. And their form wouldn't let me rant as much as I wanted, so they just got the URL. And so did you.

6. August, 2001 permalink

FBI case highlights high-tech spying. PGP Encryption ain't good enough if they can bug your keyboard to capture your passphrase.
Earth to Media: This kid is still in jail. Dmitri Skylyarov is still in pokey, but all you hear in most of the press is how swell Adobe are for having said they don't really want him prosecuted anymore. The one good thing about this is that Dmitri may end up getting screwed hard enough that he can help overturn the DMCA (someone's gotta fight it).
Long-distance companies will now screw users. Erm. Notify them directly of changes in their terms of service. Note that AT&T will now ding you $1.50 for the luxury of having their bill sent to you by your local phone company. Took me about ten minutes to cancel my AT&T long distance because they changed the terms of our agreement.
Content is Not King. At least if you want to make money. Movies make less than $10 billion per year in ticket sales. The telephone industry collects that much every two weeks.

3. August, 2001 - Earlier this week, a friend's wife died of breast cancer. This is one thing I can do to help. permalink

I initially didn't know where to start looking for links. Then I remembered Bryan Adams has been supporting breast cancer research with his book Made In Canada.
That led me to the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations.
BreastCancerInfo.com has a bunch of information, too.
And I should have known about the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, but I don't remember hearing about the ''Pink Ribbon'' products from my mom, who's an Avon Lady.