capnbuckle

SOPA and PIPA are also a further assault on Fair Use rights.

2012-01-18T18:01:55Z

SOPA and PIPA essentially create a "guilty until proven innocent" reality, by which you can only prove your innocence if you can out-spend your accusers. And it's not just "piracy" that is under attack...it's also any mention of "Anti-DRM" tools. While that may seem OK, that also is an assault on fair use, which include:

- commenting on or criticizing copyrighted works without license,
- "time-shifting" streamed or broadcast performances for more convenient viewing
- reproducing copyrighted works for personal use (media/format conversion for other devices, etc.)
- archival copies for personal use.
- "quoting a line from The Simpsons in an email to a coworker (reproduction)" (from EFF.org page, linked, below.)

(I would have linked Wikipedia...but...you know...)

http://w2.eff.org/IP/DRM/fair_use_and_drm.html

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Let the Congressional Farce Begin!

2011-02-16T05:43:07Z

(Standard disclaimer: I am not an expert. I am not a political scientist. And I couldn't be happier about that.)

And by "farce", I mean the 112th Congress. Republicans and TP-ers aren't happy that the President "failed to take the lead" on proposing entitlement reform.

“With regard to our long-term unfunded liabilities – the entitlements – we are waiting for presidential leadership,” the Senate's top Republican Mitch McConnell said. “We know and we'll say again that entitlement reform will not be done except on a bipartisan basis with presidential leadership.” (link)

Really? Sorry, but I'm not buying it. They didn't need presidential leadership for their health-care repeal. When they want the spotlight, they sure seem to be able to take the lead, themselves. But now they don't want to. They want to play political games to turn the liberal supporters of the Democratic party against each other as much as possible before 2012.

What they really want is for the President to choose between his supporters. They want to divide his camp against him. They have no real interest in cutting the federal deficit, or else they wouldn't be fighting so hard against tax increases for the American aristocracy. (And don't kid yourself: We damn sure do have an American aristocracy. Granted, a handful of serfs per decade manage to carve out new peerages for themselves, but not without the blessings, and venture capital, of the current aristocracy.)

What I fully expect from the 112th Congress is for the GOP to use its control of the House agenda not for the benefit of the American people, but for the benefit of the GOP: To deliberately game the agenda to force Democrats and the President to "take sides" on issues that are controversial among liberal supporters. If there is any real benefit to anyone other than the American aristocracy, it will only be secondary...or accidental.

“The one person who can make a difference is the president and there are plenty of us on both sides of the aisle who are ready to work with him when he steps forward,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, said. (link)

Translation: "The one person who can make a difference toward our goal of making Obama a one-term President, is Obama himself...if he'll just be kind enough to make the no-win choices we offer him so that we can add that to our talking points when we tell all of his supporters how he cheated them. We really want him to take the lead so that we can more easily turn his supporters against each other and against him before 2012."

This is just more of the same crap, just from new faces. And in my opinion, any one of the TP-ers that says different is lying. Not that my opinion has ever mattered.

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Dilemma

2011-01-24T05:22:09Z

"It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion."

After 20 years of wanting to have my teeth straightened, I've finally started the process. I chose to use Invisalign, mainly for hygienic reasons: I can remove them, eat, and then properly brush and floss with no obstruction...then put them back in.

But now I have a problem: My preferred sources of caffeine are coffee (espresso if it's available), and Dr. Pepper. Tea would probably be the closest third option. However, with the aligners, I am not supposed to eat or drink hot or sugary beverages with the aligners in my mouth.

So, expanding on that, I need a new caffeine source that meets the following criteria:

Not hot. (It could be cold, or room temperature, or whatever.)

Not sugary.

Not eaten. (No espresso brownies, caffeinated mints, etc.)

Not acidic. (I'm assuming this one. Seems like it would be a bad thing to potentially have an acid trapped directly against the enamel of one's teeth.)

Not an "energy drink". (Red Bull, Monster Energy, Bawls, Sum Poosie[1], or 5 Hour Energy. It's my own bias, but I simply don't trust them. Besides, a lot of them probably have sugar or are acidic.

I suppose I could...you know...sleep more. If I have to. I guess.

But aside from that, the only options I can really find are time-release caffeine capsules, but those won't allow me to meditate over a cup of steaming brew as I plot the evil exploits of the day; and there is also caffeinated soap, which would be great if I can take 4 to 8 showers at the office, each day. (Yes, my coffee intake might seem excessive, to some.)

I suppose I could try popping out the aligners, chugging a cup of joe (esophageal lining be damned!), brushing my teeth and popping the aligners back in...

...but that just doesn't seem like a sustainable schedule.

[1] I mention this one only to say: Oh my GOD this stuff is horrid! A bit like...I dunno...sweetened antifreeze? (...Or at least what I imagine sweetened antifreeze might taste like.) Imagine if a bubble-gum-flavored cream soda could go stale...or rancid...or both. Yuck.

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