31 Jul 2003
A good life means a long one

More proof that the "good life" is out here - note the diets mentioned in the article (the doctor was shocked at the high meat content).

North Dakota Town's Payoff for Hard Lives Is Long Life. While the old farming communities of the Great Plains have their share of problems, such as declining populations and extreme temperatures, premature death is not one of them. By Peter T. Kilborn. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

Sinners

The more I think about this bit of political grandstanding by Bush, the madder I get. And my anger has little to do with "gay rights" or even the defination of "marriage". Those subject can be debated on their own merits. No, what pisses me off is this bit of drivel:

"Yes, I am mindful that we're all sinners," the president said Wednesday when asked for his views on homosexuality. "And I caution those who may try to take the speck out of the neighbor's eye when they've got a log in their own."

This notion that "we're all sinners" and the "log in the eye" bit is religious rhetoric - it has no place in political discourse. I, for one, do not consider myself a "sinner", and would respectfully suggest that the President speak for himself on this, and not for the nation.

And we wonder why Islamic nations are convinced that America is a new Crusader bent on religious domination....

00:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

30 Jul 2003
A Real Rancher

Well, I guess we're in the cattle business for real, now. They got out today.

The Gomer (a bull of Kevyn's that was over here to spare Wolfgren the grief while she was giving birth) led our two Highlands out thru a hole in the north floodgate, up thru my father-in-law's yard, back thru my sister-in-law's garden and out onto Indiana 75!

Turning south, they ended up under the new bridge - a neighbor spotted them and managed to get them coralled into his paddock. Kevyn was in South Bend trimming hooves, and as we don't have a stock trailer we were pretty much stuck waiting on him.

Of course, everybody in the western half of the country either called or came by to let us know our cows were out! It was pretty embarassing, but most of the old timers seemed to get quite a kick out it.

On his way thru the gate Gomer had done a number on the electric fence, so while we waited on Kevyn to get here, I repaired the fence, then walked the perimeter of the property with a weed eater getting all of the weeds down off the electric. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted.

Once Kevyn arrived, he and Kris went and fetched Gomer, and returned him to Kevyn's place, bringing back Wolfgren and her new calf. Then they went and got our two heifer calves from the neighbors paddock and brought them home. All this while I was still finishing up the fencing.

Hopefully, it's a slow news night - I don't feel like posting any more, as even the effort of lifting my fingers is pretty tiring! Ha! If I had half a brain I'd stick to writing code - this farming stuff is way too much like real work!

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Micropayments for Poetry

A very interesting concept (and site). Check it out.

Publishing for the Little Folks. The RedPaper is an experimental online information exchange that blends self-publishing with micropayments. An author's success depends on how popular poetry, police files and recipes are. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Terrorist Game Theory

I, for one, thought this was a very innovative and potentially very useful tool. Too bad we let politics and "political correctness" stand in the way of exploring these kinds of ideas.

The Case for Terrorism Futures. The Senate wasted no time in smacking down a proposal to create a futures market that would allow people to wager on the likelihood of terrorist strikes, but supporters of the idea say lawmakers may have missed the point. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Yahoo Caves In

This should be titled "Yahoo! Does the Math" .... let's see, 5 or ten million to settle, or 20 million and ten years to litigate and win ... DOH!

In another age this would be referred to as "extortion".

Yahoo! Settles Patent Dispute [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Peter Pan and the Public Domain

This is really out of the realm of believablity ... following this link from A Copyfighter's Musings I discovered that I wasn't aware of the Somma Case. I should've been. And so should you.

This has to be a prime reason why copyright extensions in general are a bad idea, and also serves as a sterling example of how the public domain is being eroded to the point of destruction.

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Can't BuyMusic

Having some familiarity with digital audio, I'd bet my bottom dollar that most of the problems have to do with the fact that they're using Windows Media format(s) as their prime vehicle.

Technical Glitches Plague BuyMusic.com [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

28 Jul 2003
It's a Boy

It's a boy! The first registered Scots Highland calf born at Hammerstead Farms! I guess this means we're in the cattle business for real now. Kris has been fussing all day, as has Kevyn - he's having nearly as much fun with this as we are.

Wolfgren and Calf

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Romancing The Rosetta Stone

A fascinating approach to translation systems - and a profitable one, I think. With the falling prices of bandwidth and storage, it's simply become more cost effective to deal with the vast amounts of data required for such a system, rather than trying to putz the results with advanced AI "guessing" procedures...

Romancing The Rosetta Stone [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

P2P Meets the Factory

I've often wondered how a "Star Trek" universe, complete with "transporter" technology that allows replication of physical objects would work in a world dominated by lawyers, copyrights and patents. This article addresses that very issue ....

Peer To Peer Meets Manufacturing [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Political Dynamics

Ya know, I try to avoid political commentary here like the plague - I'm no "pundit", and have no intention of trying to imitate one. Nonetheless, I do pay attention to matters political, and feel that there are some trends so startling that I have to say something.

And this piece from Moore's Lore really illustrates it.

Left and Right are both beginning to be driven by a dynamic that we've not seen in the United States for a hundred years: it's a people dynamic, a real grassroots movement. There is a great deal of promise here, but a good deal of danger as well. As the rhetoric generating engine gets more diffused, it becomes more likely to exhibit "loose cannon syndrome" - and consequently more likely to merely inflame passions rather than attempt to solve problems or contribute to rational discourse.

To some extent, obviously, public participation in a republic is vital. But one should, in my no so humble opinion, always bear in mind the wrods of Winston Churchill - "Democracy is a terrible form of government. It's just that the other's are so much worse."

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Unfair Use

A very good summation of some of the legal issues involved in copyright.

Copying is Theft - and other legal myths. Fair and unfair use [The Register]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

27 Jul 2003
Wolfie Has Her Calf

More fencing - truly a never ending job. And tonight Wolfgren, our older (17) Scots Highland cow, had her calf! We had kinda suspected she was close, as we went over there today to take her picture, and she was really testy!

A picture named wolfie_1.jpg

She's over at Kevyn's now, as he had better facilities for her in case she was having trouble. Kris is over there now helping with the after effects. She's an awesome beast, no doubt!

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Where's My Blue Box

Worldcom gets into phreaking!

MCI Accused of Long-Distance Call Accounting Fraud [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link