Saturday, August 06, 2005

Somewhat to my surprise, I got a comment from the developer on my earlier post about Ecto. Following his advice I got it to run, but then after going through the setup wizard I got a cryptic error message and it didn't work. At this point, the problem is as likely to be in Radio (UserLand products aren't exactly known for playing well with others) as in Ecto. 8:19:17 PM    comment () I just installed a trial version of a Windows app called ADM, which supposedly has some advanced outlining features. At first glance it looks rather confusing. 7:10:46 PM    comment () I finally got around to updating my directory with a bunch of links to various music-related sites. 5:00:37 PM    comment () # The United Pro Choice Smokers Rights Newsletter - Antis Target Schwarzenegger - it's not legal for Arnold Schwarzenegger to smoke in the California Capitol building or within 20 feet of its walls, so he built a negitioation tent in the middle of the courtyard, where he, and those he's negotiating with, smoke stogies if they want. The anti-smoking nazis are up in arms about it. So much so that the California Assembly passed AB616, which would dismantle the tent. This page contains a number of stories about the fight. Go, Arnie! [slf] "As long as I'm at the Capitol, I will be smoking my stogies down there, and I will be having people down there smoking stogies," Schwarzenegger said. "This is my negotiation tent, and no one is going to take that away. Just remember one thing: They can be passing all the bills they want. There's one person who has to sign it. That's me." [End the War on Freedom] I never thought I'd be proud of my Governor for any reason, but in this particular case I am. 11:10:39 AM    comment () FIGHTING FOR A LIE. Iraq war veteran Army Sgt. John Bruhns: I participated in the invasion, stayed in Iraq for a year afterward, and what I witnessed was the total opposite of what President Bush and his administration stated to the American people. The invasion was very confusing, and so was the period of time I spent in Iraq [...] [The Light Of Reason] 11:03:27 AM    comment () # Richard C. Evey at The Price of Liberty - Privacy - The Census Crisis - Mr. Evey received an "American Community Survey". He doesn't mention the possible penalties for refusing to fill it out, but he makes a good case for why you shouldn't. [price] History lesson: The census that is required by the United States Constitution is to count the population for the purpose of determining the members of the House of Representatives for your state. That is all that is required, population count, nothing more. When I received the survey back in 2000, I told them that there were two people living at the resident, nothing more. When the "enumerator" came to my door and told me that I did not complete the survey and that he was there to complete the form, I told him what the United States Constitution stated and that he was not going to get anything more from me. He look at me like, "How dare you question the needs of the United States Government". He told me that I was required by law to fill out the form. I told him that the United States Constitution was the law of the land and closed the door. I never heard anything after that. [End the War on Freedom] I haven't received this "survey," but if I do I will throw it in the trash without a second glance. The government may only legally ask me one census question every ten years, and the answer to that is "one." Anything else is unconstitutional. 10:58:41 AM    comment () Low-Tech Loitering Countermeasure. Amazingly, this works: To clear out undesirables, opera and classical music have been piped into Canadian parks, Australian railway stations, 7-Eleven parking lots and, most recently, London Underground stops. According to most reports, it works. Figures from the British capital released in January showed robberies in the subway down by 33 percent, assaults on staff by 25 percent and vandalism of trains and stations by 37 percent. Sources in other locales have reported fewer muggings and drug deals. London authorities now plan to expand the playing of Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel and opera (sung by Pavarotti) from three tube stations to an additional 35. It's not new: But as Kahle points out, "It's well known within the industry that classical music discourages teen loitering. It was first used by 7-11 stores across the country over a decade ago." Note that this does not reduce loitering, but moves it around. But if you're the owner of a 7-Eleven, you don't care if kids are loitering at the store down the block. You just don't want them loitering at your store. [Schneier on Security] That's a pretty clever idea. Of course it might increase loitering by me! 10:04:04 AM    comment () I just installed ecto, a Windows weblog editor app, on my PC. On launch, it immediately quit, saying that it was an expired trial version. I then uninstalled ecto. Software developers who release trial versions of their software really ought to take care that the trial version doesn't convince people to look elsewhere before they even get to see the app. 10:00:41 AM    comment ()

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