As a long time software engineer and occasional software user I have to admit that I have just about “had it up to here” with [so-called] “security” on the Internet. The occasional real security is annoying enough but smoke and mirrors stuff is just galling beyond reason. Firstly, in reality Read more…
You know those annoying FBI Warnings(1) that show up at the start of every movie on VHS or DVD? (Maybe even on streaming? I wouldn’t know — I don’t “stream”) Besides being insulting with the implied assumption that without this warning I would just steal all of their property(2) [as Read more…
So I was speaking with a friend a night or eight ago and we were talking about how often legislation backfires on the legislators and especially on Society, how such legislation often causes the very problem(s) it was meant to prevent, and I heard my self say: You can’t legislate Read more…
I just had a (retired) Lawyer agree with me on two statements: First, 90% of all Lawyers exist only to protect us from that same 90% of all Lawyers, and Second, the Profession (so-called) of “Lawyer” is almost entirely parasitic(1). He went one step further and agreed with Shakespeare’s opinion Read more…
EULA: end user license agreement. You know: that annoying thing you have to agree to after you have purchased what ever it is? A computer. A piece of software, etc. End User License… But you already purchased it! That’s an implied contract. You already have the right to use what ever Read more…
I see (today) where Elon Musk has filed with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) to terminate the deal for his take over of Twitter, on the basis that Twitter lied. Well… they’re a corporation, of course they lied. But in fairness (sort of) it’s possible they (i.e., Twitter) didn’t see it Read more…
Sometimes on a DVD (you remember those, right? Way back when, like 5 years ago, yes?) you get previews that are rated before the preview starts with the curious statement “this preview has been approved for appropriate ages.” What the heck does that mean? “The preview may be seen by Read more…
No opinion on these is being expressed here. Just suggesting these ought to be thought about… by everybody. Why are spies treated differently during war than is every other participant in that war? All sides have spies. All sides have soldiers. All sides have guns. All sides have Old Men Read more…
There is a logo, flash, picture, etc. that all real estate advertising in America includes. It is detailed in a document published at hud.gov which has much to say about “fair housing.” What is meant in this document by fair housing is that one can not discriminate against people on Read more…
The 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States recently came up for conversation in a group I was with. This is widely held as the anti-slavery amendment, and indeed that was its purpose. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall Read more…
I just noticed the most extraordinary statement on a DVD (which movie is not relevant). “No copying, Subject to applicable laws.” Aside from being an incomplete sentence, and mispunctuated to boot — does that invalidate it as a binding legal statement? — aside from all that, it’s a silly statement. Read more…
Given the Universal negative reaction to telemarketing, why isn’t it Illegal? Someone comes into my home uninvited (over the phone, that’s still My Space, My Time, My Home) and then gets all entitled about doing so. Wow. This really should be illegal. In fact, for a while it was, *if* Read more…
I find it almost infinitely distressing to realize that our culture has no requirements for sanity, mental health, rationality or intelligence, for assuming any of the High Offices in the government. No sanity requirements. Huh? In fact, if you look closer, we don’t really even have a definition for sanity, Read more…
Ok, different topic. I was again watching 1776, the musical from 1972 (more or less) in celebration of America’s Bicentennial. Very well made movie. Historically accurate (*especially* for a movie) though scarcely complete. For instance, Sam Adams’ contributions are completely ignored, and — as it turns out — he was Read more…
I saw a package, frozen something-or-other by some company-or-other, that actually said, “caution: this product may be hot after heating.” There are just so many things wrong with that statement… “May be?” May be hot after heating? Does it have some super high-tech, sci-fi, space-age heat resistant packaging but so badly designed Read more…
The number of times in a week (or even in a day) I have to click on somebody’s legal disclaimer, end user agreement, “we use cookies” announcement [by the way, all websites use cookies, and they are absolutely harmless. Deal with it!], “your mileage may vary,” or wait while some FBI Read more…
I was watching an old movie (not that old, but “old” is truly a relative term) and they happened to include the oath for admission to the Florida State Bar (lawyer stuff). It seems like the kind of thing that surely at least 50% of lawyers (one might say “especially in Read more…
When you make a thing illegal you lose control of it. Let me explain by example. Prohibition in the US was made Law by a constitutional amendment that made alcohol beverages illegal from 1920 through 1933. During this time more alcoholics came into being than the nation had ever known Read more…
In 1966, Season 1 of Mission Impossible, on prime time TV, they said a very interesting thing. Watch the clip, then continue reading … That was Mission Impossible, 1966. The “team” was posing as a group of agents who were to infiltrate America, so were being coached in detail Read more…