Archive for the ‘news’ Category
Amount that the U.S. wedding industry would gain each year if gays wed at the same rate as straights: $17,000,000,000
Amount that U.S. divorce attorneys would gain if gays also divorced at the same rate: $1,900,000,000
via The Searchable Harper’s Index.
How’s that for something mind boggling?
Somehow, The Onion made one of the finest predictions ever in January 2001.
Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’.
Not as funny as it was when I first read it.
If Senator John McCain has way by defeating the FCC’s move to support Net Neutrality with his “Internet Freedom Act“, this is what your Internet plan options could easily look like:
Say “goodbye” to experiencing the World Wide Web as you know it, and say “hello” to experiencing it as you do your cable TV, with restrictions on what you get unless you want to pay more, and unless the content providers pay more to be listed there.
As usual, the notion that a “government takeover” and a “marxist plot” are being bantered around to generate support for McCain’s bill through fear and ignorance. It goes without saying that McCain was the biggest beneficiary of telco/ISP money in 2008, to the tune of $894,379.
Picture courtesy of some quink at Reddit. Click the pic for the full-size image.
The Buncombe County web site is reporting that scammers have been targeting area restaurants, telling them they need to pay $19.95 each for “hand washing” signs which are required to be posted in restrooms.
An interesting, if not original scam, probably concocted while someone was using the restroom, saw the sign, and got the bright idea. Fascinating.
The LA Times interviewed me last week regarding the YouTube takedown of my Star Wars on a Banjo video (see YouTube Is Out To Get Me). The article is on the web for your perusal here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/01/youtube-warner.html
Following a link at the bottom of that article, I discovered the site of Ben Sheffner, who runs a blog called Copyrights & Campaigns, and who helped clarify the specific aspects of the DMCA laws regarding this situation. Thanks, Ben.
I remain optimistic that YouTube will unblock my video, but it will rely heavily upon what level Warner Music Group decides to micromanage counterclaims.