Recycling cardboard boxes

Do you have an old cardboard box laying around? Why not turn it into a chaise lounge for your cat? Really clever. Really ridiculous.

Don’t have a cat? The pattern could be made to fit a dog or a baby I’m sure

If anyone wants to go into business, I bet we could sell these things at Bark ‘n Purr!

21 is not working

The powers that be at UT have unanimously decided that the Amethyst Initiative is not something UT should take part in. The Amethyst Initiative is calling for new debates about the drinking age because “21 is not working” for the legal drinking age.

I’m not sure why UT is so against the idea. The Amethyst Initiative was started by big-wigs at schools all over the U.S.A and already has a large number of people behind it. Considering UT is consistently ranked highly amongst party schools (1st, 14th, and 8th), I think any method to dampen the damage done by alcohol on campus would be wise.

In general, I think the more we repress a behavior, the worse the consequence whenever it surfaces. Young people are drinking. Most do it in private because they have to. If a high schooler drinks, it is not the end of the world. The problem arises whenever they drive home and attempt to deny their activity. At 18 you’re old enough to buy tobacco, go to war, and be tried as an adult, but you can’t drink. Prohibition failed, but this dangling archaic law persists. I’m all for rules to keep the peace and maintain public safety, but drinking itself is not the issue. It’s time we opened the debate and looked for what was best for our nation’s future.

And I’m not just complaining; here are a few ideas how we could achieve the spirit of the law more effectively:

• create an alcohol awareness course for people who want to drink before 21 (like driver’s education)
• allow military personnel to buy alcohol
• allow college students to buy alcohol
• increase public transportation
• create more drunk-rides
• put breathalyzers on all vehicles
• increase penalties for drunken conduct
• …

Personality Types

Well, it took me 26 years and a number of conversations, but I finally understand that there are different personalities. There are a number of personality classifications, but the Briggs/Meyers/Jung are the ones I’ve started looking into. You can take a short survey/quiz here.

Descriptions (here, here, and here) vary slightly, but ENTP seems to fit me; what are you?

After you find your four-letter description, visit the description sites (here, here, and here) then change “entp” to your four-letter description in the address bar. For example, if you’re INFJ, go tohttp://www.personalitypage.com/ENTP.html then replace ENTP with INFJ (making the address http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html) and hit Enter.

Listen to Mike Doughty

If I were asked for just one music recommendation, my choice would be Mike Doughty. Mike is the enigmatic “Doughty”, the lead singer of now defunct acid-jazz/rock/folk/hip-hop band Soul Coughing. If you’re looking for music done right, check Mike out!

Half Price Books

It’s no doubt that I love Half Price Books as much as the next guy: they have a great selection, (relatively) clean store, friendly employees, and convenient locations. However, this wonderful store does not have an inventory system. When you ask the friendly employee in the clean, convenient location if they have the new Dora the Explorer Harry Potter Arnold Schwarzenegger book, they can only tell you where they think it would be located. There’s no definitive, “Oh, yes! We have that!”

The whole situation is odd since books are easier to track than many other physical goods–they have barcodes and unique identification numbers. As I understand it, all businesses have to take physical inventory periodically. If anyone in the Half Price Books organization knows what they have on hand, why not open the database for use? My guess is that they probably capture a lot of business from people browsing. A couple weeks ago we went in to get one specific book and walked out with five others that we found along the way. It’s unclear whether or not we would have bought the other books without the necessary browsing.

Integrating a search feature into the website would also be handy. I understand that companies should stick to what they’re good at, and Half Price Books has done well so far; however, opening the inventory system to search would be a straightforward task that would easily put Half Price Books ahead the elite booksellers.

For The Bible Tells Me So

This week Andrea and I watched an excellent documentary on homophobia titled “For the Bible Tells Me So“. The film shows how little people know about the Bible verses that they use to justify hatred. You hear the tale of many different people and wraps things nicely in the end. While the story centers around homosexuality, the overriding themes can be applied to any bigoted subject. It is very politically correct and liberal, but I was moved.

A number of recent documentaries are made more watchable by tying the vignettes together to tell a story. Combine our love of reality TV with our desire for a plotline, and viola! instant classic.

Encrypt your Gmail

I’m a big fan of the Google suite of products. I’ve been connecting via https for a while now, but Google has now made it easier. There’s a great article on Wired about encrypting your Gmail. Anyone using the Google services should do this immediately. Here’s a quick how-to:

• Log in to Gmail (https://mail.google.com/mail/)
• In Gmail, click on “Settings” in the top right corner (beside your username).
• Scroll to the “Browser connection” section at the bottom of the page
• Click the radio button for “Always use https”
• Click the “Save changes: button at the bottom of the page
• Profit

Pirated material is worth what?

Yesterday I pointed to a story where a woman paid $756 per song. However, that number is completely arbitrary and steadily decreasing. In a recent prosecution of a man in New Orleans, the MPAA claimed that pirated DVDs were worth $19 each. In another case, the RIAA said that pirated CDs are worth $13.74 a piece. If a CD has 20 songs, a single song definitely isn’t worth $756. Every case states a different value for pirated material, but whenever it comes to scaring legislators (hardly the critical bunch), the rhetoric becomes clear: pirated material is costing America billions of dollars a year.

The RIAA and MPAA have successfully created legislation based on trumped-up numbers. There are so many factors beyond piracy that have led to decreased sales. First of all, consumers have no way to find new music and films. In the 1990s, MTV actually played music; now, the network only plays reality TV. A major avenue for finding music is all but closed. If less people are watching TV and movies, why would a bulk of your advertising be placed in those mediums? Instead, sites like Pandora, Muxtape, YouTube, etc that expose people to a multitude of music are being shut down or having content forced down with nasty DMCA takedown notices.

Add in the fact that kids are getting sued for trying out new music (downloads do not mean that a person does not own own the item nor do they imply that a person will not buy the good later) which inflames people. While I cannot speak for everyone, I have stopped buying CDs (I don’t even download the music–I just don’t listen to anything) after the zealous prosecution of consumers. No successful business model is based on suing your customers; it bites the litigious ones in the butt.

Beyond that, the music has become grossly commercial. At a time when people are rushing to be individuals, music and film have become completely homogenous. TV has become increasingly diverse; cable networks like USA are doing well with unique shows such as Burn Notice and Psych. However, ratings overall are down while total viewership has increased. People are embracing their niche and business should follow suit.

Lastly, the economy has been slowing for years. If people have less money, or feel less secure in their future, discretionary spending will decrease. That means music and movie sales will decrease. That’s just life in a free market. Some businesses fail.

The American public is paying for the RIAA’s and MPAA’s inability to adapt to a changing market. Consumers have less money and fewer options to find new movies and music; we are being sued by content producers; and the product being offered is not to our liking. Fix these issues. Stop creating unnecessary laws and pursuing frivolous lawsuits.

The 2008 Presidential Election

Well, the campaign trail is heating up (meaning talk of the Olympics and Russia’s invasion of Georgia have taken a back burner) as Obama and McCain announce their running mates. I’ll preface my comments by saying that I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal–in other words, libertarian. (I believe that everyone follows that same ideology (whether they realize it or not), but that’s beside the point.) I believe in a multi-party system where with candidates who have solid opinions and personal integrity. As such, I will not vote for either of the two major contenders, but I still have a few comments about each.

McCain

When is the last time he even did his job as a senator? Can we really trust him to do his job as president, or will he spend months on his ranch? Beyond his less than stellar track record, he’s using some old-school negative advertisements. Finally, the guy is old. Considering him as an average white male who is almost 72, he has about 10 years left. Personally, I want someone with a little more vigor.

Obama

He’s young and naive. I’m worried that the candidate campaigning for change is moving more and more to the center–where politics have been for years. An entire generation behind this charismatic rock-star politician. Imagine their dismay when the candidate for change turns out to be the same-old hack. He already abandoned his pastor of 20 years, what’s to say he won’t continue to slough off the very things we believed in him for? Someone should make Obama flip-flops.

Second, as an American who has traveled abroad in the past eight years, I know how much the rest of the world dislikes us. We have to repair our tarnished image. The Clinton war machine would have been a better choice on this front.

In the end, it’s not up to me; it is up to everyone. May the best person win.

RIAA: A fish out of water

The Digital Age is a confusing time for legislators who hardly figured out their own generation of technology. Unfortunately, luddites are making laws written by special interest groups who disagree with the majority of the public. For example, Senator Orrin Hatch suggested that software pirates have their computer automatically destroyed. (I can’t imagine that one being exploited.) Turns out his official website is using code illegally–kaboom! Meanwhile, Judge Kozinski who ruled that making songs available is the same thing as distributing them illegally had mp3s and innappropriate pictures available on his personal machine–”that’ll be $250,000 please” signed the RIAA.

Sadly, two great online services are being shut down because of this archaic legislation. Pandora, an online radio that helps you find new artists is folding under the costs of royalties that benefit only the record companies. And Muxtape, a site that let people create mix tapes is also being brought down.

On a more positive note: A recent courtcase ended with the defendant agreeing to pay about $750 per song she pirated. $750 is significantly lower than the $250,000 possible and lower than what others  than average. The penalty is still unconstitutional. Ignorant offenders are being hit with fines that are over 1000 times more expensive than the item stolen–a song costs $0.99 from iTunes.

For more great information, I recommend the Recording Industry vs. The People blog. It is a great resource for anyone who finds themselves under fire from the RIAA. The collection of materials on the RIAA’s bully tactics is infuriating while the open letter to colleges is a refreshing ray of hope. While I was still an undergrad, UT did an excellent job of covering students who may or may not have been infringing (IP and MAC addresses can be faked, malware can be setup to pirate without your consent, etc). In the past couple years the RIAA has stepped up the enforcement and colleges are a prime target. Most universities are handing over documents and throwing their students under the bus.