Jack’s Old & Busted Blog

Good Cory Doctorow vs. MSFT over at Cortopolis, mostly over this post at Boing Boing. MSFT should go back to just covertly screwing things up, instead of actually trying to engage in meaningful discourse.

Assuming the DRM fascists get their way, it’s only a matter of time until we are trapped in a Total Cultural Gridlock, in which nothing new happens at all. Maybe a more apt analogy would be the Total Cultural Heat Death of the Universe. After all, entropy tends to increase in an isolated system . . . .

On a lighter note, the title alone of this article makes me cringe. Now my pillow is out to get me.

Sad day yesterday. Dwight, the fellow who has done work on our house(s) for several years, died of a heart attack at his home. He had been remodeling a bathroom for us and was about 90-percent done. Dwight was one of those "old school" craftsmen who bid the job and not the time, so it’d always end up taking longer than anticipated, but the results were great. I always enjoyed chatting with Dwight about motorcycles, cars, motors, basically all the standard "guy subjects" plus all the construction stuff I never had the patience to learn. Dwight always got a lot of satisfaction out of doing a good job and knowing that people enjoyed his handiwork. If there is tile work to be done in the afterlife, I’m sure he’ll be right there in the middle of it.

Yamaha has some pretty amazing machines being previewed at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show. I’m astounded at the breadth of technology being demonstrated, from bikes that rev to 17k rpms to little fuel-cell hybrids. Looks like fun.

Lots of good abandoned-site photography at opacity.us.

All about, you know, that other stuff going on in the country.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives.

I recommend the The Economic Reporting Review section, especially this week’s.

I’m becoming a big fan of Amy Crehore. Here is an interview with her.