Friday, August 08, 2003

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished...?
So Myself is buying tea online from Stash Tea, all set, ready to punch in the credit card number when Myself notices an unfamiliar address in the work address space in the yahoo saved name, wallet or wherever it is the work address is:
PO Box 104
Hon HI 96782
586-2567
which is a state govt phone number of Dawny Dawson, Manager of the Hawaii Film Office but zip code is Pearl City and 586 prefix for phone is downtown honolulu, mine is 586. So in the mail today Myself gets his Macy's&trade credit card PIN in the mail but Myself has not yet got the card. Myself applied for it because my Boyfriend, who works at Macy's&trade, asked me apply for an express credit, to help him out, and Myself did, but now this. a bogus address on my Yahoo work address and a phone number that does not match the are of the address?....

Update: No cause for alarm, much, Myself will be issued a new card, and no charges have been made to my account. Bogus address was just that bogus.

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Jerry, we hardly knew ye
It looks as if Jerry Springer will not run for US Senate for Ohio:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jerry Springer has announced he will not run for the U.S. Senate.
Sringer, the controversial talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor, made the announcement at a press conference at a downtown Columbus hotel Wednesday afternoon.

snip..

And Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, who, like Springer, went from politics to news and back to politics, said party affiliations aside, he was somewhat disappointed by his good friend's announcement.

"We're all going to be less entertained during the campaign season because of his decision," Luken said.
Too bad though, Myself was looking forward to his campaign. Now I know that Springer was formerly Mayor of Cincinnati, but his show is not what Myself would call news. Unless, of course you define the National Enquirer as news.

In an actually related story the California Recall Race has oficially become a carnival with Arnold (I will pump Sacramento up) Schwarzenegger , announcing he will run. Included in this ballot are Larry (The Smut Peddler Who Cares) Flint, Arianna (I hate SUV's) Huffington, maybe even her husband Michael (I tried to buy an election and failed) Huffington, Gary (what you talkin' about Willis) Coleman, Comedians Leo Gallagher (I don't know who he is either) and D.L. Hugley,and even this guy who says, if elected will immediately resign and let the Lt. Gov take his place. Estimates that there will be hundreds of candidates. Grab your popcorn and watch the parade pass.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Music Wars: Scene 11
In which the new breed of Rebels are talking 'bout a Revolution
If you were to listen to Generation Download?, (yes that is what the article says) these teens have little regard for the Empire RIAA:
...Over the coming weeks, Weiss said, the RIAA will file hundreds of lawsuits against file-sharers who offer large numbers of MP3s. They're seeking the maximum possible damages, $150,000 per song.

snip..

So far, though, kids seem utterly unimpressed with the recording industry's "shock and awe" campaign.

"That's stupid," declared Andrew Pira, 16, of Concord.

"They can't sue 4 million people," added his friend, 16-year-old Sado Alhkim of Walnut Creek.

snip..

"The record industry does have a point," Tamaki admits. "I know that all these artists and groups have to make their money ... But I'm just such a fan of sharing MP3s that I can't fully agree with what they say. It's just such a brilliant idea."

snip..

And many young people said they simply can't imagine paying to download songs.

Even a dollar a track, apparently, seems ridiculously high to a generation weaned on free music.

"I still wouldn't pay," said Pira. "Ninety-nine cents a song -- you could buy a soda for that."

To catch their attention, online music prices would have to feel like pocket change, young people said. Many offered the paltry figure of 25 cents a song. Even such dirt-cheap rates, some reasoned, would add up if every downloader chipped in.

Others, like 15-year-old Farhan Khalid of Pittsburg, see no point in even discussing prices.

"Why pay," he asked, "if you can get it for free?"
What is interesting is the total disregard for the "old" system of purchasing music at a record store, and a complete acceptance of downloading music even in the face of it being illegal. Myself thinks what we have here is a mob mentality going on, with everybody doing it, no one person feels that they will get caught. The RIAA's tactics will be to start with those who are most prolific and work their way down, eventually scaring off everyone when they start going after smaller and smaller pirates. This would take more that a few years, as serving, processing and prosecuting tens of thousands of cases every couple of months will tax not only the RIAA's resources but the judicial system as well. Myself predicts thht this time next year P2P software will have some sort of privacy, or at least effectively anonymous. Wether it be IP spoofing, encryption, multiple proxy server bouncing, or something else altogether Myself can only guess, but it will occur. Young people are now used to the idea of free music, maybe even some think they're entitled to get it for free. Unless a viable alternative presents itself, the RIAA is going to lose if they keep going the way they are, and the rebels will be victorious. Unless the Empire can finish rebuilding the death star....