This is always nice to see...

Cory Doctorow is releasing his book online for free, the same day it is being 'published'.

On his site he gives the reasons why, as well as a great quote from Woody Guthrie:

"This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do."

I'm About to Commit a Crime...

An Australian man has beed found guilty of a crime involving free mp3s. He wasn't making them available to others, rather he linked to a page that was making them available to others. I guess you need to be careful what you link to. From the article:

Although Cooper didn't host pirated recordings per se, the court found he breached the law by creating hyperlinks to sites that had infringing sound recordings.

So, here we go... I'm taking the step into the underworld. I'm going to commit a crime.

Kazaa

There you have it. Move along folks, there is nothing more to see here.

Another Merit of Video Games

When I was younger we had to turn off the nintendo when mom told us to because video games were a waste of time. Back then we didn't have research that showed that maybe the opposite was true.

But now there is yet another reason why kids should be playing video games.

So, all you young'ns out there. When your mother or father tells you to turn off the video game, just say, "But Mom/Dad, I'm looking for bad guys."

Post Terror in London

So, after the attacks in London, are the British afraid?

I'm thinking not...

The Timer

So I was watching Broken Arrow on TV the other night and they had the 'ticking bomb'. You know what I'm talking about, the LED screen that is counting down, and when it reaches 0, the bomb explodes. I started to think about what numbers the bombs always stop at. I've got a few thoughts on the matter, and think that somebody should do a research study on the topic.

1 is a popular number. This is taking things right to the edge. You can't get any closer without going 'boom'. However, it's also pretty unrealistic. Come on now, you stopped it right at one? Seriously, what are the chances of that? If the bomb stops at 1, you're probably watching a Disney movie.

2 is too close to 1. Why pick two? If you're going to go right up to 2, you may as well go to one. 2 is a silly number to stop at.

3 is another great number. It's not right at 1 (1 is kind of unbelevable), but it's not the sillyness of 2 either. It's belevable and not so Disneyish.

4 is right out. 4 means nothing. Why go to four? If you're going to 4, you may as well go to the more preferable 3.

5 is too convieniet, it's half of 10, so you can never stop on five.

6 is too close to 5.

7 is a good number. Not too close to any 'bad' numbers. It is a close call, but much more realistic than 1, or even three.

8 is too close to 7

9 is too close to 10

10 is an even number, and a base number. 10 is right out. 10 is just silly.

11, surprisingly is the last 'good' number. It's out of the single digit number, but still makes sense. It's one away from being in the final countdown.

Anything past 11 is just confusing. Why did the bomb stop at 13? There are movies where a good 10 minutes of film transpires while the bomb clicks down 13 seconds. 11 is the last number that makes sense.

So there you have it. 1, 3, 7, and 11. If you're ever making a move with a ticking bomb, those are the ones you should choose.

Is Hollywood Finally Getting It?

So I'm probably the last person on earth to realize it, but Freaks and Geeks is a very fine show.

I just checked out the first disk on DVD and I'm almost tempted to renew my MVP membership, just so I can watch more.

The series debuted in 1999, was met with wide critical acclaim, and was promptly canceled. I hadn't heard of it until it was canceled, so I didn't bother watching it. Now I wish I had. It's very good.

But we're in a new age, now. TV shows are coming out on DVD. I've picked up several new 'favorite' shows, not by tuning in, but by renting.

Battlestar Galactica, which apparently is doing very well, owes much of it's success to the fact that the SciFi channel puts their episodes up on the Internet. So if you missed the first few, not to worry, download them, get hooked, and then come watch the rest.

There was an interesting article I just read that describes a very popular show that was never shown on TV. It was leaked to the Internet and now there is a cult following, demanding DVDs, or episodes, or something.

Hollywood needs to adapt. Movie attendance is down. DVD sales would be down but have been saved by TV DVD sales. New models need to be developed that embrace new technology, not fight it.

July 5th Update: The new models are already here... Fox's new show, Over There will be out on DVD 1 week after its premiere.

Flying Projectiles of Paint, Oh My!

So, I played paintball this morning. It was quite enjoyable. It reminded me of the first time I played, and the experienced players put all of us newbies on one team, then we played shirts and skins. You've never heard so much whining, or seen so many welts in one place.

But paintball is fun. The strategy I've adopted is the flanking strategy. You can read about why flanking is such a crucial aspect of war, but you won't really appreciate it until you've been there. If you're flanked in paintball, about the only strategy is to run like the dickens. And if you've ever flanked somebody else... Well, it's a beautiful thing.

For me, it's fun to move to an extreme flank, and then press forward. I watch for players on the other team, and then move to a spot where I know I will have a good shot. I wait for a bit, then jump up and POW, it's all over in about two shots. On a good day, I use less than 50 balls, and have as many people surrender to me as I do actually hit. Surrendering is a mercy action. If you are within 10 feet of somebody, the paint can really sting. So you ask if they want to surrender. If they look thoughtful, or move their gun, you open fire.

Anyway, I spent about 3 bucks on paint. 3 bucks on air, and had a wonderful, wonderful time.