I saw this at a McDonald's in Los Angeles. What kind of moron tosses the trash right right outside the can?

It's one of those "synchronicity" weeks. Robin Bloor wrote a quick bit about a fundamental error with the "cost of copying is zero" argument, and he's right. The cost of copying is not free, but very cheap. Computers, electricity, and the internet cost money - in my case, over $100 a month. So, copying some songs is not "free" - I paid others so i could copy. (FTR, I just signed up to Napster, and used to sub to Emusic, both decent song sellers.)

Computerists are aware of the Open Source, and Free Software engineering and political tendencies. They may also be aware of the resistance to patents on algorithms and software. However, I and others were unaware of the long legacy of historical skepticism toward patents.

This is a shocking entry in Wikipedia, but it shows how far racists will go to ensure that they can continue to segregate.

This is a fascinating set of videos that were take by Converse (the shoe company) of several Oakland area spraycan artists from the early 90s. The commercials were never used.

The "short" commercials are so different from the lengthier interview footage. It's like night and day, or, maybe, "child" and "young adult".

See: the videos

Nice Mullets!

See: http://crayone.com/ for more.

Additionally, this fascinating article about vernacular mathematics, and stylized graffiti as a form of community cryptography: Street Math in Wildstyle Graffiti Art.

Here's some info about writing contracts. Most contracts are boilerplate, tweaked for a purpose. They should be reviewed by a lawyer, but, let's face it. Possesssion is 90% of the law. Invoice frequently, and get paid frequently, and there's less to contest, and less to negotiate.

On the consultant's side, it's critical to be able to make accurate estimates about how long things will take. That behooves us to record our timesheets accurately, and use them to quantify how long tasks take.

http://kagemedia.com/articles.asp?articleID=28

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/bulletproof-web-design-contract/2

LA Times:
Express Adds Little Luster to Gold Line -

Seems like the Gold Line can't get riders. So they made an express train that stops, mainly, at the stops in the wealthiest neighborhoods. It stops in Sierra Madre (at the freeway), then passes by Northwest Pasadena which is a working class community, and stops at Del Mar near Old Pasadena. Not many people lives there; it's warehouses. Then it stops at Mission, which is in the hills in South Pas. Then it stops at Highland Park, which is working class, but also is the Mt. Washington stop. Then it passes Cypress Park, Lincoln Hieghts, and Chinatown, to stop at Union Station.

No wonder they can't get riders. They're flyi

You can't teach a man to fish
When there's none in the river.

The ownership society
Is trying to fence the sky.

Walls climb so high,
And shorten the day
In the man-made,
Grand canyon of commerce.

Some of them know.
They sleep under bridges,
And bathe in the rivers.

Nazi for a day
Eight dollars pay.
See Leonid Kuchma
Of the state media
For your uniform.
Join the crowd,
But no Jews allowed.

The SOA
Teaches torture
For the CIA.
Conscientious objectors
Of the USA
Protest from prison.
The fire was arson,
The activists missing,
The body charred.
Murder?
Torture?
Terrorism?

Says Asian Media Watch,
History, did PBS botch.
When naming the heros,
They left out the yellows,
Except when the Coolies got scotched.

"You have to remember that as an employee, you don't have total free speech anymore," he said.

According to this lawyer, in this article about a flight attendant who got busted for posting a photo of herself in uniform, employees blogging may not have free speech rights.

That is reaching. I think that it was the use of the uniform that was the problem. That uniform, and the image, are more Delta's than the wearer's. Free speech, however, starts when the work clock stops.

In some countries, you have free speech at work too... just not in America.

The BBC is publishing reports from a non-combatant Iraqi who lives in Fallujah.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4004873.stm

Sinclair Watch, a media watchdog group that monitors Sinclair Broadcasting, says that the company has instructed its 28 stations to broadcast a smear documentary against Kerry.

It must be nice to be rich and own a bunch of stations to promote your billionaire pal for Presidents.

I sent this in to the Pasadena Star News. Doug Ireland, in his LA Weekly article, criticized the Pas for not reporting on the congressman who represents a lot of their readers. (In other words, the Pas, a GOP paper, is covering for Dreier.)

David Dreier's recent "outing" as a gay man has only shown that politicians will do anything for a vote, even take votes from people who hate gays. Ultimately, it's the political duty of all oppressed people to demand their rights.

Dreier acts in his own limited self-interest, to the detriment not only to the rights of gays, but of a democratic system based on individual rights.

This is not theoretical. If he were open about his sexuality, and running for office, he'd have to first spend a lot of time and effort educating people, rather than figuring out how to get another campaign contribution from another corporation not located in his district. He may not have had as profitable a career in Congress, but society would have been better for it.