Who needs a wimpy support group?

I actually laughed out loud at this picture (and hopefully you will too).

Keep being awesome meat-eaters!

Around campus we have a glut of bulletin boards and posting; just once I want to see something this clever!

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/passiveaggressive/3642661392/sizes/o/

Get notifications when concerts come?

Does anyone know of a website or method to be notified when your favorite artist is coming to town?

For example, I’d love to see Mike Doughty, Ben Folds, and They Might Be Giants in concert, but I always miss the ticket sales. I’ve tried to check their websites periodically, but I forget for a few months then miss the show. I’ve listened for announcements on the radio, but I do not listen to the radio consistently enough. Most recently, I’ve subscribed to RSS feeds from my favorite artists and this method is working, although I feel it is suboptimal.

My brother just mentioned a similar experience where he missed seeing the guitar-thumping virtuoso Andy McKee. (If you don’t know what I mean when I say “guitar-thumping virtuoso,” check Andy out below.)

While not the pressing issue in the world, not receiving relevant and timely updates for artists seems to be a common issue. Is there a solution? Show your 1337ness and help me out. Any tips would be appreciated!

What do Obama and pigs have in common?

Years ago, people said there’d be a black president when pigs flew. Well, 100 days into a black presidency, swine flu.

Complements of my very clever wife, Andrea Mire Holloway.

Richard Stallman’s Mistaken Thinking on Copyright

Last Friday I had the honor of seeing Richard Stallman, or rms as he’s known in the computer underground, delivering a lecture about copyright in the digital age at UT.

First, a note on his appearance: I was near the back of a 300-person auditorium, but he looked fairly presentable. He has long hair and a ratty beard, but he was dressed in a clean, bright red shirt and slacks. He wore black Velcro shoes which he quickly slid out of. Another interesting visual was his perfectly spherical basketball-sized belly that stretched his shirt tight against his torso. It was truly amazing given his thin arms and legs!

And now onto the intellectual bits…

Stallman is a big believer in freedom, and he believes that software should be free (as in speech, not as in beer). Rather than referring to price, free software means the user is free to do what they please, namely modify and share. Here’s the definition from the horse’s mouth:

Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

His ideas are very extreme–likely galvanized by having to defend his position for 20+ years. I did not appreciate his call to “argue the moral high ground” which generally means “use emotion instead of logic.” To be sure, people make decisions based on emotion rather than logic, but his call-to-arms felt flimsy without proper reasoning to back the argument.

Along the emotional lines, he lividly proclaimed that ‘people who attack sharing are attacking society because sharing forms the bonds of society!’ “Sharing is good” he said in a moment that made me conjure kindergarten memories. He also evokes the positive nostalgia of browsing your friend’s library and borrowing a book. He mocked the idea of borrowing an e-book and, with the e-book, the entire e-reader that it is bound to. These ideas form the basis of his argument that sharing should continue with digital works.

After ruminating on the subject and discussing it with a few peers, I believe that Stallman had the right information but came to the wrong conclusion. The fundamental issue is sharing. Traditionally, sharing involves physical objects that cannot conform to his four freedoms; with physical objects there is only one copy of an item that cannot be easily replicated. He claims that a physical object is its own source code and the user is free to alter it and share the object. This is the first mistake: digital objects have recipes, blueprints, and materials that are the source code. Software today is a standalone product that you pay for–as with physical objects, the source will cost you.

Stallman’s second mistake comes when he equates the digital analog of sharing physical objects into modifying and distributing new copies. Physical objects can be modified and distributed, but the owner gives up the object (for some period of time) whenever they share. As time passes the item changes hands and wears (nicks, folds, scratches, pen marks, etc). If a user wants access to the physical object again, they have to get it back from the borrower or buy a new version. Stallman is not the only person to make this mistake. Currently, there are only two possibilities with digital work:

1. DRM style: one user per purchase — no possibility of sharing
2. Napster style: many users per purchase — sharing is common

We need a third method that truly mirrors traditional sharing. This digital system would allow you to share with your friends without retaining a copy for yourself.

Years ago, the music and motion pictures industries (digital media publishers) that are “losing sales” to piracy should have created a system that allows users to purchase one copy to do with as they please. A simple solution is to create a central web server that contains all available material. Access is then controlled based on holding the license to the material. If a person wants to share or sell media, the user should give up their license and pass it on. We could make the access control very user-friendly, virtually transparent, while providing ubiquitous access and promoting sales.

Sharing is good. We should foster the bonds of sharing. We should not proliferate copying.

Gamers are bilingual

Thanks to Jason for this ridiculous video. Sure, I know all the terms and even caught a typo (nex should be naxx), so it made me feel good. Without further ado, here’s the awesomeness:

But seriously, can I get some college credit for 1337 speak? I blame you Californians for a piece of reporting like this

Setting up the PS3 as a media server

I bought a PS3 as a media server: a central hub that would manage my entertainment. I struggled for days with Windows Media Player 11. Orb solved my problems; however, I ran into issues with it. Broadly, Orb allows users to watch their media from anywhere. Orb is an amazing product! Just not what I needed.

The easiest method to setup the PS3 as a media server is TVersity! You can find two good tutorials here and here. The most recent guide I’ve followed, here, helps set up subtitles as well.

No matter what product you use, you’ll likely have to adjust your OS firewall and your router’s open ports. Luckily, the Google serves up the information quickly and easily. If you run into problems, let me know and I’ll try to help. Good luck and enjoy!

What is up with network TV?

What is up with network TV? Jay Leno is getting an hour during prime time and reality shows are everywhere. NBC.com receives less visitors than Hulu.com and neither can compete with the amount of downloaded shows. The previous business models for televsion are gone.

When you boil it down, TV exists to sell advertisements. Without ads, shows receive no funding and cannot be produced. More to the point, shows will not be produced for large networks that require hefty sums of money to support themselves. There are popular shows on the Internet that are written, produced, and directed by aspiring actors and/or everyday people. One route to making money off these shows is to sell show-themed merchandise (for example, see Red Vs Blue and their store). The world is still exploring other ideas, but we’re likely to see entertainers (I’m thinking musicians, but comedians and athletes come to mind too) exploring new avenues for making money. I predict larger overall audiences who are split between countless niches.

So what got me thinking about all this? One night Andrea and I were watching TV; we flipped through the channels and found two amazing (amazing – adjective: So remarkable as to elicit disbelief) shows on network TV: Hole in the Wall and Wipeout. Because they were playing at the same time, we only saw bits of each.

With Hole in the Wall you get sweet foam cut-outs meandering down a track at goofy, leotard-wearing, wannabe-reality-show stars; when the contestants cannot contort their bodies to the silly shape, they are swept into a pool and rescued by a beefy guy and a voluptuous woman while the other team heckles them. Think American Gladiators without any physical strength requirement or possible danger. Here’s a clip of the original, Japanese (of course) version of the show:

Changing the channel we find Wipeout where a fake torrential rain is supposedly pounding contestants who run an obstacle course that is straight out of MXC. MXC has hilarious commentary and does not take itself seriously. Wipeout, on the other hand, has no positives.

I’m left wondering what is up with network TV? I guess these two shows are cheap to produce and garner enough audience attention to turn a profit. Goodonya! but I’ll take my attention elsewhere.

Gamers are not so nerdy after all

We’re mentally and physically fit, as well as social–and not evil! Let’s reexamine what it means to be a nerd, shall we? Even more important, who cares how people spend their free time as long as it does not hurt others? It’s all useless in the end…

Ouch and wow all in one!

Here’s another hilarious internet video that makes you feel bad for laughing. A poor chap blocks a fierce throw-in with his face while the crowd simultaneously winces. Moral of the story: do not put your face in front of a fast-moving soccer ball.

Since videos from Today’s Big Thing aren’t embedding into Reader, here’s a similar clip from YouTube.

I did not recognize the move (which isn’t saying much) so I googled some and discovered the flip throw-in. Here’s a how-to if you’re interested.

Has anyone ever seen this done in real life? It just seems over-the-top like a rainbow kick…

World of Warcraft customer service sucks

I play World of Warcraft (WoW). I have played off and on since the game was released four years ago. Now the folks at Blizzard have released a second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK). Prior to WotLK’s release, Blizzard started a promotion called Recruit a Friend (RaF). RaF allows a veter to recruit a friend and play together with a number of benefits. The key benefit, in my opinion, was the ability for the friend to grant levels to the veteran essentially keeping both characters at the same level so they can continue to adventure together.

The deal hit after I had quit, so a friend of mine referred me and we played. You can see that I created the account on August 5th.

The official site shows the account was created August 5

On November 3, the last night of our account link (which ran through 11-4-08 as seen below), I had several levels to grant to Jason.

The official site shows accounts are linked until Nov 4

We met up and found that we were no longer linked. We both opened a help request in game. After four hours a game master (GM) showed up to Jason and was pretty professional. I got a sassy son of a bitch who closed the help ticket while I was talking to him. Eventually Jason was told to contact billing because there was nothing more the GM could do for him.

The next day Jason called billing and found out that our accounts were linked for exactly 90 days and the time displayed on the website was only an estimate.

To add insult to injury, the ultimate resolution was three free days of play-time. No level grants, no honoring the contract, just three days play-time and a lot of disingenuous apologetic hogwash. Bah!