Why DRM Sucks

If you're still not convinced that you should never buy DRM-crippled media, read Kimbro Staken's blog entry: DRM sucks.

You can't even safely buy CDs anymore because the record companies are so foolish that they're crippling those too. The record companies can be proud that they've so thoroughly screwed things up now that there really isn't even any point in paying for music now.

Kimbro also has an entry on the demise of eMusic: No more eMusic.

It's hard to go from being such a huge fan of the service to outright disgust at the whole situation. eMusic did an absolutely horrible job of handling this transition in a way that would maintain the loyalty of their existing customers. From the cowardly act of removing the discussion forums, censoring the lists used for protest and the change of the service from having real humans involved to a faceless entity it's almost like they wanted to drive away their current customers.

Regular readers know that I was also a huge fan of eMusic because they are the only music service that doesn't use DRM. But I cancelled my account a few weeks ago, primarily because they closed their discussion forums at the time they changed their policies. Cowardly indeed.

Knots

The KnotPlot Site:

Here you will find a collection of knots and links, viewed from a (mostly) mathematical perspective. Nearly all of the images here were created with KnotPlot, a fairly elaborate program to visualize and manipulate mathematical knots in three and four dimensions. You can download KnotPlot and try it on your computer, but first you may want to look at some of the images in the picture gallery.

Christian Bedding

If you're too busy to read the bible, try some Christian Bed Linen.

Bernadette Clayborne, founder and CEO of Behold His Glory, Inc., has made it easy for everyone to read the Bible. She has designed unique bedding sets that will literally blanket the home with the Word of God.

The four designs marketed through Behold His Glory, Inc., are filled with scriptures related to the themes of Healing, Prosperity, Protection, and the Blessings of God.

The Art Of War

Everything you need to know about fighting a war: The Art of War, by SunTzu.

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

Keola Beamer DVD

Hawaiian slack key guitarist Keola Beamer has a new DVD.

Critics have called this feature length movie, "An Uplifting Spiritual Journey" and "The Best Slack Key Documentary Ever Made." It includes appearances by Willie Nelson, George Winston, Ozzie Kotani, Ledward Ka'apana, Willie K, Cindy Combs, Moanalani and Nona Beamer.

Only $15. I just ordered a copy.

(via Love and the Happy Cynic)

His Life In Computers

Levi, at the Ironic Sandwich blog (which is a great blog name, by the way), describes all of the computers he has ever owned: My life in computers. It starts with the Commodore Vic 20...

Scary Babies

The Scary Baby Conspiracy, by Dan Gillies.

I've had the Scary Baby Conspiracy online for over 5 years now and the continual flow of traffic that I was at one time unaware of has now influenced me to go online with a full fledged assault.

Now keep in mind that this site is done purely for humor's sake... and if anyone was offended by it, don't bother telling me.

Broken Things

Mark Hurst's blog: This Is Broken.

A new project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it. Have you seen anything that's broken? Send us your submission.

Small World Calendar

Nikon's 2004 Small World Calendar is available.

The 2004 Nikon Small World calendar features the twenty winning digital images and also honorable mentions from the 29th annual competition. This year's contest drew entrants from 46 countries, as well as from a diverse range of academic and professional disciplines. Winners came from such fields as chemistry, biology, materials research, botany, and biotechnology.

The May image, shown here, was submitted by Dr. Heiti Paves at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics in Estonia. It shows dorsal root ganglion neurons of an embryonic rat (100x).

How To Be A Groupie

Lisa Gabriele describes how to be a groupie. Step 1:

Be a girl. Be born sad. Be from a big family, or be an only child. Either way, make sure your parents are distracted and overwhelmed with life. They should hate your moodiness and scoff at any discussion of fresh and freaky ways to wear your hair...

Sinking Technologies

From Computerworld: Submerging Technologies: Five that are sinking fast.

They are:

Wife Wanted

Rod Barnett wants a wife. And he's willing to pay $10,000.

Yes, I am offering a $10,000 reward to anyone that introduces me to the woman that I propose to. She does NOT have to say yes for you to get the reward. No, if you yourself call and we marry, you don't get $10,000, but you do get me... In that case, I'll donate it to a charity that promotes parenthood as being the most important job in the world. I realize that the vast majority of people reading this won't be compatible with me. That's why I'm offering the $10,000.

Ladies? If you'd like to meet Rod, let me know and I'll introduce you.

Cary Sherman Speaks

From PC World: Three Minutes With RIAA Chief Cary Sherman. He says:

"The only people who will not buy CDs because we are taking action against infringers are the people stealing music. That's not a very good customer base."

That is, perhaps, one of the stupidest statements ever made. I haven't bought RIAA CDs for over a year, and I don't steal music. And I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of people just like me. See Boycott-RIAA.com.

Microsoft And Google

From the New York Times: Microsoft and Google: Partners or Rivals? (fake name registration required).

Google, the highflying Silicon Valley Web search company, recently began holding meetings with bankers in preparation for its highly anticipated initial public offering as it was still engaged in meetings of another kind: exploring a partnership or even a merger with Microsoft.

According to company executives and others briefed on the discussions, Microsoft - desperate to capture a slice of the popular and ad-generating search business - approached Google within the last two months to discuss options, including the possibility of a takeover.

Nooooooooooo!! Don't let it happen. Please.

Google is one of the few tech companies that is almost likable. If Microsoft gets involved in any way, they will screw it up.

Jail Babes

If you want to correspond with women in the slammer, check out JailBabe. Each prisoner has a photo and a detailed biography.

Sabrina, shown here, is 23 years old. She's 5'2" tall, and weighs 130 pounds. She's a Catholic, does not smoke or drink, and has earned a GED.

Sabrina is willing to relocate. But she'll have to wait until 2025 when she gets out of her maximum security cell. She's serving time for armed robbery and murder.

This site, by the way, is a member of the Prison Entertainment Network.

Canstruction Winners

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the winning entries in the 2003 Canstruction Competition.

CANSTRUCTION combines the competitive spirit of a design/build competition with a unique way to help feed hungry people. Competing teams, lead by architects and engineers, showcase their talents by designing giant sculptures made entirely out of canned foods. At the close of the exhibitions all of the food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers.

Those chess pieces are made of 5,000 cans.

Obligatory Halloween Links

Today is Halloween, but I'm not much into it this year. Therefore, I've stolen these links from the Driko Land blog.

Thanks Driko

Eating Fire

Those who are preparing for a career in the circus may find this helpful: How to eat fire.

So you wanna know how to eat fire? I won't lie. It's dangerous. It could kill you. A fire-eater takes flames that are more than 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit and puts them in his mouth. He swallows chemicals from containers that clearly state "harmful or fatal if swallowed," chemicals that are "known to the state of California to cause cancer."

Not to mention the fact that one accidental chemical spill in the right circumstances could burn down a fire-eater's house, disfigure his face, hurt or kill his loved ones, bankrupt him, and send him on a permanent path to financial ruin.

Still interested? Good.