For those of you who still have extensive CD collections, you can probably piss off the music industry by ripping all your CDs in a high quality format (e.g., FLAC) and then giving them to your local public library as a tax-deductible donation. Yesterday I read that ASCAP and BMI want to be paid for 30 second song samples, and it occurred to me that the public library has some pretty well established rights to let patrons borrow books, music, and videos for free (zomg!). Any attorneys want to chime in on this?
All posts by glyphic
Dianne Feinstein is stupid
This was the form letter I received in response to my email about legalizing online poker.
Thank you for writing to me regarding Internet gambling. I appreciate you taking the time to contact me on this important topic, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
There is no doubt that the Internet and related technologies have had a remarkable effect on the U.S. economy in recent years. The flow of commerce on the Internet has enhanced American industry’s ability to distribute goods economically and efficiently. The continuing development of this technology in California has provided hundreds of thousands of new, well-paying jobs, and I am committed to strengthening online commerce and preserving and expanding this vital job base.
While the advent of the Internet has its benefits, I believe the same cannot be said for Internet-based gambling. Internet gambling has become too easily accessible to minors, subject to fraud and criminal misuse, and too easily used as a tool to evade state gambling laws.
I understand your thoughts on internet gambling, and as you may be aware, I have supported legislation aimed at curbing Internet gambling during my tenure in the Senate. For example, I supported the SAFE Port Act, passed into law as Public Law 109-347, which included the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
Please know that I have read your letter with interest and value your thoughts. While we do not necessarily agree on this particular topic, be assured that I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind should this issue come before me during the 111th Congress.
Again, thank you for your letter. I hope you will continue to keep me informed on issues of importance to you. If you should have any additional comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
I’m pretty sure I’ve never actually voted for her. Instead I’d skip the Senate race and fill out the rest of the ballot. Unfortunately, her position on this issue isn’t likely to lose her enough votes among the indifferent majority in this State.
Five iPhone games, one-hundred forty characters or less
These are five iPhone games that I really like and/or spent hours playing.
Words with Friends. Variant of Scrabble. Play 1 on 1 against friends or random opponents. Paying not to see ads is totally worth it.
Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor. Move spider with your finger. Spin webs. Eat bugs. Worth buying for the fantastic intuitive controls alone.
Electric Box. Make 50 Rube Goldberg Machines to get electricity from A to B. Play for free on the web, or take it with you on the iPhone.
Azkend. Match 3 puzzle game with fun power-ups, great artwork, sound effects, and interface. Get it for your desktop or iPhone.
Drop7. Simple falling number puzzle game. Match the numbers on the circles to the number of circles in the row or column to clear.
There. 5 games at 140 characters or less.
Access all your IM accounts via the web with meebo
I’ve been using meebo as my IM client for a few months now. Like Trillian, Pidgin, and Digsby, meebo allows you to access all of your IM accounts through a single interface. They’re integrated with AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, Facebook, and MySpace.
It’s pretty amazing what they’ve managed to do in a web app. You can move, resize, and minimize your chat windows as fluidly as with a desktop app. Hitting the esc key even closes your active chat window, which is a really nice touch. The only thing it can’t really do is tab between active chat windows using the keyboard. Use the tab key to switch between active chat windows and your contact list.
The primary reason I use meebo, however, is that I never lose a message. Since you’re signing on to your different accounts using a web app, your IM accounts don’t log you out if you access it from another interface. That means you can stay logged on at work and at home and receive all your incoming messages. If you use the meebo notifier, you don’t even have to be signed in via a browser. The notifier also gives you one-click access to meebo, notifies you of events, and tells you when you’ve got new mail.
Pay as you go
Pretty soon you’ll be able to pay a toll and drive in the carpool lanes by yourself.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) Board of Directors today approved toll rates to be used on portions of the I-10/I-110 ExpressLanes following a series of public hearings that gathered public input on the tolling pricing proposal to be implemented as part of the agency’s Congestion Reduction Demonstration Project (ExpressLanes) that will debut late next year.
The new adopted toll rates will range from 25 cents to $1.40 a mile for solo drivers using the ExpressLanes. Tolls will go into effect with the opening of the ExpressLanes in December 2010. Staff estimates that the average trip on the I-10 ExpressLanes will be nine miles with an average toll of $6 depending on demand and the average trip on the I-110 ExpressLanes is five miles for an average toll of $5.
The big question is… how is this supposed to reduce congestion?
Freeways are congested because they are free. No individual has any incentive to change their behavior, their location, or their job when you can theoretically zip along a 4-5 lane interstate at 60mph. Of course, the reality is that when enough people try to do this, the system comes to a congested halt.
If the goal is to reduce congestion, charge tolls for every lane, not just the carpool lanes. Base the charges on time of day (free between 9pm and 5am, $.50/mile between 7am-10am, $.70/mile between 4pm-7pm, etc.) and build in rate increases to adjust to inflation and changes in congestion patterns.
Charging drivers money instead of time for using the freeway will immediately change their behavior. They’ll combine/postpone/eliminate trips, move the location of their jobs or homes, or change their mode of transportation to foot/bicycle/transit/carpool. As long as the tolls adjust in response to average speeds on the tollway, we can ensure that it works efficiently and at optimal capacity.
With all the revenue generated from the new tolls, we can invest in both maintaining the highways and building high capacity transit alternatives. Soon enough, we’ll have a multi-modal system that offers equally compelling choices.