The Pond

Boing Boing: Apple to iPod owners:

First of all…copying music off the iPod was never a features. Yes, it could be done. Yes, it can still be done. They just don’t make it drag and drop simple. Ok. That’s always been the deal with iPods.

Secondly, Apple is at the mercy of the record companies. We’re not customers. We’re licensees. Or something. I buy about 30 to 40 less albums a year since the RIAA regime started waging war against its “customers”.

Dave Winer in a podcast a while back noted that we should cultivate RIAA-free music. Maybe if we all want music we can do what we want with, we have a responsibility to cultivate that music instead of just bitching about how the record lables are killing the music industry.

The Emmys Watch, or Not (washingtonpost.com)

Having accidentally caught part of the Emmy’s, and not really liking award shows anyway, I can attest to the snooze factor. Gary Shandling did a segment with Billy Crystal on “how to host an award show” perhaps he could have used a little more coaching ahead of time.

Of course Angels in America should have mopped up — it was amazing. Yes, the Sopranos should have won best drama — have you *watched* the west wing in the past year — its dull, uninspiring and really had nothing interesting to say. the new writers aren’t quite up to the task, methinks.

Daily Show? Should have taken more. Its a funny show, well done nearly every nite. As far as commedies go — taking Frasier off the air was really dissapointing — I don’t think there is anything this season that takes its place. I haven’t watched Joey. I can’t bring myself to do so. I’m so thrilled Friends is finally off the air, that I don’t want to take even the most remote part in perpetuating its longevity. Nothing against Eric McCormick or anything, but can somebody please cancel Will and Grace? It was fun to watch Karen pop pills for a few seasons — now I think I need to join her just to make it through an episode.

So. As the article points out — the winners just aren’t shows that lots and lots of people watch. What does this mean? Perhaps that to get decent TV you have to pay for channels. That the major networks are too huge, and too beholden to advertisers, the FCC, etc, etc to air anything that really says something, or is innovative. Or maybe the choices are just so huge on cable line-ups that it is impossible to draw the kinds of audiences that were once available. With everyone’s interest having (practically) a channel on cable or satellite, is it any wonder that audiences are becomming fragmented. And we all know fragmentation is bad — too many people making choices means marketing people have to work for their paychecks.

So. I got home last Thursday, and spent Friday checking email and trying to get back on the local timezone. That and getting a haircut. I should have gotten one before I left, but…As I found out like 4 days before I left that I was leaving, I barely had time to get the dry cleaning taken care of in time to catch my flight.

This weekend was good. The Netherlands was beautiful, but…it was certainly great to wake up at home, doing all the normal home-like stuff. I think it will probably take a few days to get back to normal, and back on the day-to-day routine, but…I’m getting there. The nice thing about being on the trip was there there was basically a single goal for our time there (I was there for work), so…it was nice to wake up every morning with one task on your plate, and a clear end to it all. Coming home, with the list of tasks, and the ambigous deadlines — I think it will take me a little bit to get used to it. Actually, I rather enjoyed the atmosphere of the whole trip — lots of pressure to get something done…rather than the do a little on a few things that is the normal routine.

anyway, i’m going to see if I can buckle down, and get back to the “normal” routine, and get a few things done on a long list of things to do

Don’t we all hate these things.

ColorQuiz is pretty darn accurate tho considering how simple it appears. Or maybe my personality just makes me susceptible to suggestion

Read on for what it has to say about yours truly.

Your Existing Situation

Acts in an orderly, methodical, and self-contained manner. Needs the sympathetic understanding of someone who will give him recognition and approval.

Your Stress Sources

Feels unappreciated and finds the existing situation threatening. Wants personal recognition and the esteem of others to compensate for the lack of like-minded people with whom to ally himself and make himself more secure. His sensual self-restraint makes it difficult for him to give himself, but the resulting isolation leads to the urge to surrender and merge with another. This disturbs him as he regards such instincts as weaknesses to be overcome; only by not succumbing to them, he feels, can he withstand the difficulties of the situation. Wants to be valued as a desirable associate and admired for his personal qualities.

Your Restrained Characteristics

Willing to participate and to allow himself to become involved, but tries to fend off conflict and disturbance in order to reduce tension.

Insists that his goals and realistic and sticks obstinately to them, even though circumstances are forcing him to compromise. Very exacting in the standards he applies to his choice of a partner.

Your Desired Objective

Longs for a tender and sympathetic bond and for a situation of idealized harmony. Has an imperative need for tenderness and affection. Susceptible to anything esthetic.

Your Actual Problem

Depleted vitality has created an intolerance for any further stimulation, or demands on his resources. This feeling of powerlessness subjects him to agitation and acute distress. He attempts to escape into a substitute world in which things are more nearly as he desires them to be.

Your Actual Problem #2

Greatly impressed by the unique, by originality, and by individuals of outstanding characteristics. Tries to emulate the characteristics he admires and to display originality in his own personality.

So. After being a tad shell-shocked after actually finishing college, I didn’t really want to rush back into grad school. Someone at work asked me if I were planning to go to grad school this morning. I suppose if I had the time and money, it would be something I would be interested in.

In the interrum, however, I’ve gotten pretty good at learning things on my own. Yeah, there are definitely things that I wish I had a broader knowledge of — like AI algorithms and Data Mining theory, and graphics programming. On the downside, however, most of these classes were sort of snoozers the first time through, and I really didn’t feel like I came away with too much more than I could have determined on my own.

Perhaps grad school is different, but…it seems like it would have a tendency to help someone specialize in a certain area even further. My strongest area of interest is probably OS design and datamining, but…these are pretty much two things I NEVER use in my job (in fact, a lot of the areas I have some knowledge about and am interested in are wasted @ work). Perhaps a grad degree would allow me to pursue some of these areas of interest a bit, and actually get to apply some of the stuff I have learned.

At the moment, however, the most important lesson (and they omitted this one in my software engineering class), is how to keep juggling, and do some decent work at the same time. My dream job would probably involve writing interesting software with some new-er coding methodologies. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

On the other hand, there have been quite a few resume’s in over the past few years from grad student graduates looking for interships, so…I’m not sure that the degree itself carries the same sort of enabling effect that one would hope it does for another $100,000 (give or take).

So. In short. I’m not going to grad school right now. Frankly, I’d rather have my company pay for it, especially if the outcome is “same old job, different paper on wall” (no — i don’t have my diploma on the wall). Anyone had a particularly enriching grad school experience? Get where they wanted to go in their career because of it? Are now happy and satisfied with their life? Has whiter teeth because of it?

Why Rice should testify

The way I see it, Rice has two reasonable choices. Of course, I don’t know how much ‘reasonable’ means to Washington.

She could either testify in front of the commission, or she should not testify. But if she isn’t planning on testifying, under oath, then she has no business whatsoever being on talk shows if she doesn’t want to talk to the 9/11 commitee

Rice has indicated that she would testify, but not under oath. What does this say about her confidence in the truth about the administration’s policies and strategies? And what does it indicate about Rice’s credibility about assertions of administration policy, and how can the public trust her statements when her refusal to testify under oath sets all her statement outside the solid ground of commission’s hearings?

i was away last week. now i’m back. welcome home.

from PensacolaNewsJournal.com

“If you say a marriage should be between two people of the same sex, then you have people saying marriage should be between three people and four people or a person and an animal,” Miller said. “Where does the line stop?”

Who are these people that Representive Miller is talking about? Does he have friends who want to marry their dogs? He has actually talked to these people? Really? And I think the phrase he is searching for at the end there is “Where do we draw the line?”. If I were Mr. Miller’s dog, I would divorce him.

Ok. Even if i were in the market for a ‘virility ex patch’, i don’t know what about this ad is supposed to inspire me to put a product of theirs on the intended spot on my body. i mean, c’mon.

V|rility Ex Patch
The Most Advanced Deraml Patch Technology!
Its The Most Advanced Pe|ns Enlargement Solution!
It’s 100% Guaranteed To EnIarge Y0ur Pe|ns.

Just playing around the other day…: