I own a few movies. I have spent a few dollars to support the MPAA and its associates. Since I happen to have roughly 8 Tb of hard drive space in my house, I would like to be able to legally backup all of my movies to protect from accidental scratches etc. that may occur. The other day a verdict was announce by some idiot judge illustrating how screwed up the DMCA has made the copyright legal matters. Let me sum this up for you. RealDVD is a software company that tried their best. They attempted to legally sell a product allowing a user to copy a dvd (only once) and honestly attempted to reward to correct copyright representatives. Even though they tried everything they could think of, they were still found to be hawking illegal software due to the fact that it breaks the copyright created to protect dvd’s (even though this was broken and freely distributed in the 90′s). The judge even made a point to announce that it was perfectly legal for an individual to have a digital copy of a dvd … he just didn’t fill in the little detail of how to legally obtain a digital copy yourself. Now I guess I can purchase a copy from ITunes (loaded with DRM) or pay extra for a dvd that comes with a ‘bonus digital copy’ (also loaded with even scarier DRM) … but how do I take what I have already paid for and produce a backup without an additional expense? The answer is apparently simple … break the law by using an ‘illegal’ piece of software, or move outta the US of A. Damn Commies!
For anyone who hasn’t figured it out already … NBC is really pissing me off with all the shows the canceled from last year that I was actually liking. Not to say they are the only station I’m unhappy with, but they are hands down the worst. This is a listing of canned shows. Kings, Life, Sarah Conner Chronicles, Pushing Daisies and The Unit will all be missed. I may even end up missing Knight Rider, but I can at least understand that decision. Here is a listing of this season’s schedule. All should notice the lack of Chuck … I can only think to blame Communists for this tragedy!
After going to the range a few times with Jim and Bryan, I was able to convince Heidi to allow me to get a 
handgun. Specifically I picked up a Glock 23 at the Fort Worth Gun Show. After a few trips to Cabela’s and various other gun shops … I’ve spent a fair bit more money to ‘accessorize’ my glock. Today arrived my new range bag I picked up from Think Geek (and yes I also got the monkey for Heidi).
For anyone who knows what ‘Social Engineering’ is … there’s a good presentation detailing some of it’s history and importance current at the Ethical Hacker Network site. For the best entertainment in Hacking Presentations check out Johnny Long’s presentation.
I’ve been wanting to rant on this topic for a long time. I don’t understand why the Attorney General continues to enable the disservice to our society by encouraging outrageos uses of warning labels on goods and/or services. I personally feel that it has gone too far! We really need to consider the audience these warning are intended to reach, and the inevitable consequences society faces when forced to spell out basic common sense principles that prevent someone from hurting themselves (or others) while using common products. If I had my way … there would no longer be a warning on bottles of bleach advising against drinking the contents of the container. First off, if a baby gets ahold of it, they probably can’t read … so it’s not going to help out much for infants out there (that’s why the caps are a pain to remove). So we have to conclude that the warning is for someone who can read, is strong enough to open the cap, and isn’t actively attempting the kill themselves … just a little thirsty. Is this someone we want breeding?
Obviously our broken legal system is at the root of many warnings out there, just to avoid stupid lawsuits. Does a chainsaw maker really have to warn it’s customer ‘do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals’ … are you kidding me? I’ve had enough! Remove the labels … there’s nothing like introducing a little bit of chlorine to our gene pool. I’m not saying I would have passed the screening test for survival, and I understand the outrage to come when genetic engineering defines our social status … but what if we could start with a suttle step forward? What if we chose a path that encouraged the strong/intelligent to survive? Would the world be a better place for our kids?
Heidi let me order a new Subwoofer today. I can’t wait to make my house shake …
I’ve finally gotten around to updating the blog and starting things over. More posts to come.
