Friday, February 09, 2007

Regarding Last Post

I have never been so sorry I Googled something, ever.
NSFW (Not safe for work).
Bad The Internet! Bad!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Belly Punching?

So, the search engine elves in Google's servers have started sending more people to links of my descriptions of Brazilian Ju Jitsu techniques .
 
Which is kinda neat.  Except that I've seen more than one who got to the "Knee on Belly" position by searching for "belly punching."
 
I mean, granted, these searches are from places where English isn't the predominant language, but, yechh, what are they looking for?
If it isn't something wholesome like a instructions of how to immobilize someone by putting all you weight on his solar plexus with your knee, they're going to be very disappointed. 
 
Seriously, if you know what "belly punching" searchers are looking for and it's not going to further erode my respect for the Internet, let me know.

Imagine There's No Intellectual Property / It's Easy if You Try

WARNING:  Law-related post
 
So Steve Jobs('s lawyers?) wrote an aw-shucks-folks open letter basically responding to legal attack in Europe that claims Apple's Digital Rights Management (DRM) software locks competitors out of its iTunes service.
 
He says the status quo is great (Apple's DRM won't play with others). 
 
He rules out licensing Apple's DRM software (what the lawsuits presumably seek to compel) because then the secrets of the software would come out and it wouldn't work as copy protection anymore as employees of companies less noble and trustworthy than employees of Apple help crack the software.
 
Or, Jobs says, we could get rid of DRM altogether, and all music would be unprotected, and he says that'd be fine, too.  Fine with him, he means, but he knows the music companies would rather have someone pay for their music.
 
This is the CEO equivalent of a kid who's told to share his Halloween candy with his younger sibling and responds that he earned that scarce candy and splitting up candy is difficult and reduces incentives to gather candy and besides, the real problem is:  Candy isn't free.  His little brother could have as much candy as he wanted if only society didn't insist that we place legal protections on it.  Share the sweetness, man.
 
The interesting question in my mind is whether Apple's agreements with the music publishers would even allow Apple to license the DRM software to manufacturers of other music players.  Not that my vast knowledge of European antitrust law tells me whether that would matter legally.  But it might matter that a decision against Apple could mean it loses the right to distribute all the music governed by agreements with the music publishers...

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Astronauts

Astronaut's Stalker Kidnap Kit:
  • Car
  • "Adult diapers" (so you won't have to stop in public and use a restroom)
  • Disguise:  trenchoat, dark wig, sunglasses (everyone knows you-- you're a famous astronaut!)
  • $600 in cash (don't create a paper trail by buying gas with a credit card)
  • BB Gun ("Get outta the car or I'll shoot you with this real gun!)
  • Pepper Spray ("Take that, rival for other astronaut's affections!")
  • Rubber gloves (don't leave fingerprints)
  • Rubber tubing ("Hold still a minute...")
  • Love letters ("'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'  You stole from the Bard!")
  • Steel mallet (You don't want to know)
  • 4-inch folding knife (ditto)

Monday, February 05, 2007

Gluttony in the BK!

The Amateur Gourmet (a friend of Tenderfoot) reviews some Park Slope restaurants .
His review of Franny's is spot-on.  My shorter review:  That is some damn fine pizza.
I'll have to eat my way through the other places in the 'hood.  Though, technically, I live in Prospect Heights, on the other side of Flatbush.