From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 2 00:50:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 2 00:50:21 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Victory! Message-ID: <20070402005011.B166E41765@volo.yukidoke.org> Last November, I used a Venn diagram to [complain about][1] (and explain) the fact that there while there were several RFID blocking wallets for sale, they were all made of leather. _Many_ people, who like me prefered to eschew leather wallets, left comments, blogged, and emailed me in strong agreement. Mike Aiello, the proprietor of [DFIRWEAR][2], found my blog. He emailed me not longer after my post to tell me that he had started looking into vegan materials to make a wallet that would fit my needs! Today, a vegan RFID-blocking wallet made it onto his site and is now [available to be ordered][3]! It's very exciting to see that what started out as a [mild and humorous expression of dissatisfaction][1] could quickly culminate in the creation of a new product. [Mika][4] and I each just ordered one. If you care about your privacy, you should too! [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20061116-00 [2]: http://www.difrwear.com/ [3]: http://www.difrwear.com/purchase.shtml [4]: http://mika.yukidoke.org/nikki URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20070401-00 From mako at atdot.cc Sun Apr 8 18:50:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Sun Apr 8 18:50:08 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Etch Release Party Message-ID: <20070408185006.4F097419D7@volo.yukidoke.org> Bostonian and Cantabrigian Debianistas should waste no time in celebrating [Etch's release][1]. Join a group of us celebrating the release tonight (April 8) at [Grendel's Den][2] in Harvard Square. Things you should know: * We'll meet up at 21:00. * Directions are [online][3]. * Food is either half-price or $1 with a drink. [Call me][4] if you're lost in the neighborhood or have questions. I hope to see a few of you there. New faces are, of course, welcome. [1]: http://www.debian.org/News/2007/20070408 [2]: http://www.grendelsden.com/ [3]: http://www.grendelsden.com/directions.html [4]: http://mako.cc/contact.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/freesoftware/20070408-00 From mako at atdot.cc Tue Apr 10 18:50:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Tue Apr 10 18:50:10 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Undiscipline Message-ID: <20070410185009.3DC7E4175D@volo.yukidoke.org> I think it's good exercise to write on ruled or graph paper but to attempt to ignore the lines on the paper completely. URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20070410-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Convergence Message-ID: <20070416182006.CB5EB416C4@volo.yukidoke.org> I recently found out that Simon and Schuster (and some other publishers) have been publishing [books][1] under an [MTV imprint][2]. In a way that is slightly reminiscent of [Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game][3], MTV has given their project the obvious name: MTV Books. That is to say, _Music ... Television ... Books_. Of course, MTV Books is hardly constrained to traditional book media and been proactive in releasing MTV Books eBooks (including the intriguingly titled [Oh My Goth!][4] and [Life as a Poser][5]). Additionally, they have published an [MTV Photobooth][6] -- a Music Television photography book. While they've published [Sing Like the Stars!][7] (quite a few of their titles are exclamations), a paperback accompanied by an audio CD, they do not seem to have published an audio book. I am looking forward to the day when they do so and finish the process of coming full circle. [1]: http://shop.mtv.com/MTV-Books_stcVVcatId426592VVviewcat.htm [2]: http://www.simonsays.com/mtvbooks [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20040831-01 [4]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789308002?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0789308002 [5]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416524746?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416524746 [6]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416520317?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416520317 [7]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743484991?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743484991 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061204-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:10 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Dev House Boston Message-ID: <20070416182006.CF77E4169A@volo.yukidoke.org> I am excited to see that a number of local hackers have organized the first [Dev House Boston][1] for this coming Saturday. There are many projects I'm interested in but I might try to take the opportunity to work on my [iRony Rockbox Installer][2] because it's likely that there will be many people there with different types of iPods. If you're going, I look forward to seeing you there, although I might not show up until a little later in the afternoon. [1]: http://devboston.pbwiki.com/ [2]: http://mako.cc/projects/irony/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061205-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:10 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Earning My Keep, Ensuring My Sleep Message-ID: <20070416182006.0C2F74169D@volo.yukidoke.org> I managed to find the futon we sleep on for $20 (USD) in Harlem. When that mattress got a little compressed and hard, I managed to get my friend Shekhar to loan us his futon and frame for the year. I also found and dragged in a decent fold out bed in New York that we keep in our living room for guests. Last night, I managed to procure a very nice mattress pad for free. Some might call me the bed winner of the [Acetarium][1] household. [1]: http://www.acetarium.com URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061215-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Me Too! Message-ID: <20070416182006.1389D416B8@volo.yukidoke.org> Is [Mika's][1] new shirt meaningless [engrish][2] drivel or a statement against the violence of DRM? Or both? [![/copyrighteous/images/sound_share-small.jpg][3]][4] [1]: http://mika.yukidoke.org/nikki [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engrish [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/sound_share-small.jpg [4]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/sound_share-full.jpg URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061227-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Over The Counter, Behind Bars Message-ID: <20070416182006.186A0416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> I went to buy some pseudoephedrine yesterday because we ran out at home. A sign on the shelf prompted me to ask for it at the pharmacy. They would only sell it to me in small blister-packs and in order to buy any, they wanted to transcribe all of the information on my driver's license. A little bit of research reveals that this is roughly connected to the national [Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005][1], signed into law earlier this year as part of the PATRIOT act extension. Apparently, pseudoephedrine is used to created (illegal) methamphetamine and meth chemists qualify as terrorists under PATRIOT. States, however, have gone even further. Oregon has gone so far as to make pseudoephedrine a Schedule III controlled substance that requires a prescription. [Many other states][2], like Massachusetts have made pseudoephedrine a over-the-counter drug that's kept, well, on the other side of the counter. It was, I think, the first I ever had to buy an over-the-counter drug over a counter. Usually, I just pick it off the shelf myself. I find that fact slightly humorous. But it hardly seems worth collecting and recording a pile of personal information on _every_ person who wants to buy a weeks worth of cold medicine -- particularly when the largest producers of U.S. meth remain [outside of the country][3]. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine#United_States_Federal_Law [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine#United_States_State_Law [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine#Production URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061207-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Reflecting on the Definition of Definition Message-ID: <20070416182006.1D449416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> In his [latest talk][1] Lawrence Lessig spends time defending the use of non-commericial use clauses and goes into detail about how the free culture movement does not need and should not have definitions of freedom. In doing so, he was referring to a public discussion the two of us had [most recently in September][2]. While my name was not mentioned until the questions, he implicitly criticized both my [freedom definition][3] and my [call for any definition at all][4]. As usual, his criticism has made me think a lot about what it is that I'm trying to do. I've been thinking about a conversation I had with [Aaron Swartz][5] recently where he was also criticizing me for focusing too much on definitions. He was skeptical about my assertion that social movements and freedom movements needed "definitions." I thought about it and told him then that I thought I'd been making a mistake by saying I want free culture movements to have _definitions_. More accurately, what I want are _goals_, _standards_, or _ideals_. I want to be able to say, "_music when will be free when every producer can do_ **A**, **B**, _and_ **C** _and every listener can do_ **X**, **Y**, _and_ **Z**." I want the possibility of a shared utopianism. I want these kinds of goals because I believe that these images of what _what things might be like if we win_ is what motivates us to win in the first place. I believe that the idea that, "things might be better" is simply never as powerful as a strong, perhaps even unattainable, ideal that challenges people and gives them something to strive for. The leaders of other successful social movements I know can tell you exactly what they are trying to achieve -- although few of them ever will realize it completely. No free culture movement leader can do this with any authority. For [reasons I've talked about in the past][4], I think that fact may ultimately make us less successful. In the free software movement, our most important goal (free software itself) is documented in the [Free Software Definition][6]. Even the most ethically motivated among us aren't perfect -- most of us use some proprietary software -- but we have an ideal to hold our behavior up to and a method by which we can always improve. Inspired by free software, I unimaginatively said that I thought free culture needed a "definition." I probably could have found a better way to describe what I wanted and I'll do so in the future. I suppose I should have thought a little more about the definition of definition. [1]: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7661663613180520595&q=23c3 [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/ip/20060926-00 [3]: http://freedomdefined.org [4]: http://mako.cc/writing/toward_a_standard_of_freedom.html [5]: http://www.aaronsw.com [6]: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070103-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Upcoming Travel Message-ID: <20070416182006.E563E4169C@volo.yukidoke.org> I'm going to be in Seattle between December 16-19 and 26-31 and in Tokyo between December 19-26. I know it's around the holidays but if there are folks in either place that want to meet up for a keysigning or a caffeinated/alcoholic beverage, or even have me give a quick talk at a LUG or something, it might be a lot of fun. Please don't hesitate to [get in contact][1]. [1]: http://mako.cc/contact.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061206-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Who Owns Free Culture? Message-ID: <20070416182007.A0D004169D@volo.yukidoke.org> The previous year saw far too much fighting over who gets to define and control the term _free culture_. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that these fights conflate a very important discussion about the goals of a set of nascent social movements -- or the lack thereof -- with much less important issues of semantics, definitions, and control over terms. The term is being used in a way that describes a whole lot of projects I support and participate in fully -- and a few I don't. And I think that's OK. When Erik M?ller and I launched the [Free Cultural Works Definition][1] (at the time, the _Free Content and Expression Definition_), we struggled to find a good term for the works that we wanted to liberate. We thought about using the terms content, expression, knowledge, information, art, data and communication but each word seemed to exclude an important body of works or producers. Few musicians we knew thought of their productions as "content" while few encyclopedia writers did not. The term we liked most was _culture_: it defines a very broad set of practice and has very positive connotations. Of course, others had already been using the term _free culture_ so we spent some reading up on the term and talking to the people most closely associated with it. Originally, the term seems to have its roots in the book [Free Culture][2] by Lawrence Lessig. I reread the book to get an idea for exactly what Lessig meant when he used the term but, upon reaching the end, I found myself without a good answer. The book's index included a promising entry for "Free culture, defined" which pointed to a short section in the preface: > A free culture is not a culture without property; it is not a culture in which artists don't get paid. A culture without property, or in which creators can't get paid is anarchy, not freedom. Anarchy is not what I advance here. > > Instead, _the free culture that I defend in this book is a balance between anarchy and control_. (emphasis mine) Framed by a negative definition of what _free culture_ is not, Lessig's definition describes the broad space between two unattainable extremes. This resulting ambiguity is fully intended: Lessig has not only spoken out against [my particular suggestion][1] but against _any_ definition and the process of offering _ex cathedra_ definitions or goals altogether [[1]][3]. In personal conversations about [our definition][1], Lessig was initially very supportive. In fact, it was Lessig who introduced Erik and I to each other and suggested that we work together. What Lessig did disagree with us on however, was calling the definition the _Free Culture Definition_. I think that Lessig felt some sense of ownership of the term and felt that he and others had defined it and been using it in a way that was broader and incompatible with the definition we were proposing and with _any_ definition of the type of we were suggesting. [Early on][4], [Lessig blessed][5] a group of students to create a [Free Culture student movement][6]. Most active now in [Harvard Free Culture][7] and [Free Culture NYU][8] and but in a handful of other places as well, these groups have been involved in everything from the promotion of [transgressive approaches to IP][9], to [speech bubbles][10], to [anti-DRM work][11], to [protecting the right of cereal restaurants to operate][12]. When Erik and I suggested to this group that they might benefit from adopting the [Free Cultural Works Definition][13] as a set of explicit ideals or goals for their movement, the larger part of the coalition soundly rejected the idea. Like Lessig, they wanted _free culture_ to refer to wide variety of projects and did not feel good about describing any work by sympathetic parties as "non- ideal." Erik and I were faced with two choices: we could call our definition the _Free Culture Definition_ and in effect engage in a power struggle with Lessig and with some portion of the free culture student movement or we could pick another term. While we don't like the alternatives as much as _free culture_, we didn't have a lot of trouble deciding that going with a term like free cultural work or free content and expression was the better choice. This is why I am a little worried about the recently announced UK-based [Free Culture Foundation][14]. I have nothing but respect for the founders (Matt Lee, Tom Chance, and Rob Myers) and trust them to create the type of free culture organization that I would like to see. I am very much looking forward to working closely with them on this project in the future. They seem likely to choose a set of goals and adopt a set of strategies in line with the ones I've argued for. But in that my goals and strategies have run into opposition among many of the most visible people using the term _free culture_ in the past, that's also why I'm a little worried. [SJ Klein][15] and I were recently saying that its time to start naming organizations and projects in this area using only words in dead languages. That way, we can side-step the (unimportant) semantic arguments over who gets to control existing terms and focus on the real goal of building stronger social movements, setting goals that sound as unthreatening to each other as they actually are, and building better tools. Without semantic arguments in our way, we'll be able stronger to build coalitions and work together in all the ways we should be. [[1]][16] This is an important distinction because it is also possible to disagree with the first fully articulated definition but also feel that offering another set of goals -- for example, a set that allowed for commercial use or anything under current CC licenses -- was productive. After all, I have been arguing for much longer in favor of [any set of goals][17] much longer and more strenuously than I have argued for any particular set of goals and I still feel that a set goals is much more important than any paritcular one. [1]: http://freedomdefined.org [2]: http://free-culture.org/ [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/?flav=rss2#id18 [4]: http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/001730.shtml [5]: http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/002838.shtml [6]: http://freeculture.org/ [7]: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/freeculture [8]: http://www.freeculturenyu.org/ [9]: http://www.piratbyran.org/ [10]: http://www.thebubbleproject.com/ [11]: http://www.defectivebydesign.org/en/node [12]: http://freeculture.org/cereal/ [13]: http://freedomdefined.org/Definition [14]: http://freeculturefoundation.org/ [15]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sj [16]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/?flav=rss2#id3 [17]: http://www.metamute.org/en/Freedoms-Standard-Advanced URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070104-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Remembering Mnemonics Message-ID: <20070416182007.E1F29416C7@volo.yukidoke.org> I noticed recently that often had trouble remembering mnemonics. To help remember them, I've started a [list of mnemonics that I have trouble remembering][1] on my Wikipedia user page. If there are [mnemonics][2] you have trouble remembering, you should leave a comment on my blog or a message on [my Wikipedia talk page][3] because it's possible I have trouble with them as well. If I do, I'll add them to my list. If they are not even in Wikipedia's [List of mnemonics][4] I can add them so others who forget them also might be able to recall them as well. One thing I noticed when making the list was that in some situations (e.g., the lists of planets or the hierarchy of the taxonomy in biology), I have no problem remembering the thing that the mnemonics in question are referring to but can't remember the mnemonic itself. Of course, I can sometimes use the referent as a mnemonic for the mnemonic. Also, since my list is hosted in my user page on Wikipedia, I should also urge you to considering [donating to the Wikimedia Foundation][5] to help support the great work they and to insure that they can purchase the bandwidth and servers necessary to keep Wikipedia going. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Benjamin_Mako_Hill#List_of_Mn emonics_I_Have_Trouble_Remembering [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonics [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Benjamin_Mako_Hill [4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mnemonics [5]: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Fundraising URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070105-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] MIT Mystery Hunt Message-ID: <20070416182007.546094169A@volo.yukidoke.org> I competed in the [MIT Mystery Hunt][1] again this year for _Codex_ (this year, we were _Codex Ixtlilxochitl_). _Codex_ has improved in the rankings every year. This time, we came in second place solving 106 of [108 puzzles][2] in 40 hours -- only 90 minutes behind _Palindrome_ (this year, they were _Dr. Awkward_). I'm very much looking forward to helping _Codex_ improve again next year. Our team has an interesting mix of free software advocates (e.g., myself, [Seth Schoen][3], [Don Armstrong][4], [Dave Turner][5]) and a very large contingent from Microsoft. The effect is pretty impressive. I'm looking forward to the days when we work together on much more than just puzzles. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Mystery_Hunt [2]: http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/07/puzzles/ [3]: http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/ [4]: http://www.donarmstrong.com/ [5]: http://novalis.org/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070115-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Digital Disobedience Videos Message-ID: <20070416182007.8F74D416B8@volo.yukidoke.org> The [Digital Disobedience][1] event that I helped organize on December 1st went (IMHO) very well. If you missed it, you can check out [this video (MP4)][2] that the [Berkman Center][3] has recently posted. I was particularly impressed with Stanford's [Fred Turner][4] whose work I was not familiar with before. I haven't had a chance to check out [From Counterculture to Cyberculture][5] but I am looking forward to doing so soon. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/projects/20061129-00 [2]: http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/VideoBerkman /digital_disobedience_2006-12-01.mp4 [3]: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/ [4]: http://communication.stanford.edu/faculty/turner.html [5]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A %2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2FASIN%2F0226817415&tag=httmakcc- 20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20061228-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Geography Lesson Message-ID: <20070416182007.9C01D416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> I gave a talk at a the [Boston Ruby group][1] last Wednesday. The meeting was generously hosted by the Boston start-up [Back Channel Media][2]. On the way out, BCM offered attendees schwag in the form of branded inflatable globes and [Slinkies][3]. On Thursday, I suggested to [SJ Klein][4] and [Seth Schoen][5] that we might be able to use the globe as a research aid during the [MIT Mystery Hunt][6]. That seemed like a good idea until they pointed out that there were a few inaccuracies on the map. Sure enough, a quick glance revealed that: * Burkino Faso is marked as Upper Volta (it's only been 22 years) with a capital as Duagadougou. * Rwanda seems to be a small horizontal bar across a country marked both as Ucanda and Buhuno. * Zimbabn is labeled clearly while Morocco, clearly divided into two countries, is not marked in either of the resulting (and differently colored) states. * A missing border and a color identical to the ocean (!) renders Egypt completely underwater. Yemen, Iraq, Thailand, Romania, Austria, Croatia, Finland, (whose name is missing), and the eastern quarter of India are better off in that they blend into the ocean but have river colored borders demarcating them from the rest of the sea. * The Arabian peninsula is host to Qatah, the United Arab Emiraies, and the Saudi capital of Rivaiih. * A bit to the north, Jurdan borders Irae and Lebanaw. * The countries Czek and Slovak seem to be located just above Czechoslovakia which, in turn, is just above Huudatn. * A similar situation happens in Yugoslavia which seems to be next to Monienegro and other more familiar Slavic states. * Amstercam is right next to the the German city of Roro. * Swirzerlano sits in the middle of Europe. * England's Lworpool and Rirmingham are clearly, and clearly incorrectly, marked. * Both Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States are clearly marked while China, despite having dozens of its cities labeled, is not. * St. Petersburg seems a full 1000+ kilometers from any body of water and closer to Bellarussian than to a port. * Lapan shows many cities including Tokya, Kyole, and others -- while most seem to be located somewhere off the coast of Lapan in the Pacific ocean. * The Korean peninsula contains N. Korea and S. Aurla. * Myanmar is marked as Burma (although I might forgive that one if I had reason to believe it was intentional). * Malaysia is labeled Malaskia. * The continent at the South Pole is proudly marked Tarctica. Of course, this list is extremely incomplete. I've barely looked at cities, rivers, and even some country names and I've barely looked at the degree to which the cities and labels are correct but incorrectly placed. The full list of errata would, in a manner reminscent of [English As She Is Spoke][7], be very, _very_, long. While the globe does not bear any markings of a producer (I wouldn't want to take credit for it either), a group of us suspected that we might be able to find the country of origin by locating the one country that was represented completely accurately. We couldn't find a single one. [1]: http://boston.rubygroup.org/ [2]: http://www.backchannelmedia.com/ [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slinky [4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Sj [5]: http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/ [6]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Mystery_Hunt [7]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_She_Is_Spoke URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070116-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Geography Lesson (Part II) Message-ID: <20070416182007.AC8E6416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> Yesterday, I received _many_ requests to post pictures of [my rather inaccurate globe][1]. I'm pleased to oblige. Please read [the summary I posted yesterday][1] for a list of some of the errors you should have little trouble picking out. You can click on each cropped thumbnail to see much larger, higher resolution versions of the area and the surrounding continent or region. [![/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-1-thumb.jpg][2]][3] [![/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-2-thumb.jpg][4]][5] [![/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-3-thumb.jpg][6]][7] [![/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-4-thumb.jpg][8]][9] [![/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-5-thumb.jpg][10]][11] [Enrico][12] suggested that if the globe was manufactutered in China, Taiwan would be the same color as China and Taipei would be marked as a provincial, rather than national capital. Sure enough, I now have both a good idea of the globe's origin plus an idea of how to spell Taipei with an _o_. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20070116-00 [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-1-thumb.jpg [3]: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=360162906&size=l [4]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-2-thumb.jpg [5]: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=360144798&size=l [6]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-3-thumb.jpg [7]: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=360144789&size=l [8]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-4-thumb.jpg [9]: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=360144787&size=l [10]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/bad_map-5-thumb.jpg [11]: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=360144784&size=l [12]: http://enricozini.org/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070117-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Accents Message-ID: <20070416182007.6EF50416C1@volo.yukidoke.org> One of my pet peeves is people telling a non-native speaker of a language that they have no accent. Saying that a person has no accent is like saying that they have no temperature. Annoyingly, people frequently say that also. URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070122-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Public Relations Message-ID: <20070416182007.7CACE416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> A number of people in the [Open Access][1] movement are up in arms because a large publishing group [just][2] [hired][3] Eric Dezenhall, a man known as "the pit bull of PR," to tackle the "threat" posed by OA. One might wonder how a nominally talented PR agent would end with such a horrible reputation. Additionally, since Dezenhall hasn't actually _done_ anything for the publishers yet, one might conclude that the act of hiring "the pit bull of PR" might have been a bad PR move in and of itself. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access_publishing [2]: http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070122/full/445347a.html [3]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25 /AR2007012501705.html?nav=rss_nation/science URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070129-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Wikimedia Foundation Advisory Board Message-ID: <20070416182008.8453B416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> A few days ago, the [Wikimedia Foundation][1] [announced][2] the creation of [an advisory board][3] of which I am thrilled to be a member. I'm honored to be on a board among many folks whose work has provided and example and inspiration for me and helped bring me, and my own work and activism, to where it is today. But most of all, I'm thrilled to be able to help Wikimedia Foundation. I've been reasonably convinced that WMF's projects, [Wikipedia][4] being most notable among them, are the single most important and exciting project in the world that I was not already involved in in some official capacity. [1]: http://wikimediafoundation.org/ [2]: http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2007- January/027271.html [3]: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Advisory_Board [4]: http://www.wikipedia.org/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070204-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:16 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Notorious in Libraries Message-ID: <20070416182008.BA976416C4@volo.yukidoke.org> My [Overprice Tags][1] projects from a few days back has been getting a bunch of attention. Perhaps most interesting, the MIT libraries -- whose journals we defaced augmented in the project -- have been unbelievably positive about the project! They've written up [a very positive description of the event][2] on their website and published [an interview with me][3] as well! [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous [2]: http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/archives/373 [3]: http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/archives/374 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070222-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Fit For an Emperor Message-ID: <20070416182008.D4772416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> I found this box outside my apartment labeled, "The Emperor Clothes." Fortunately, the contents were exactly what I was expecting. [![][1] ][2] ?? [ ![][3] ][4] Surely [clothing fit for an emperor][5]. That is of course, if you are fit enough to appreciate them. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/emperor_closed-small.jpg [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/emperor_closed-full.jpg [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/emperor_open-small.jpg [4]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/emperor_open-full.jpg [5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_emperor%27s_new_clothes URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070223-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Undiscipline Message-ID: <20070416182009.20C95416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> I think it's good exercise to write on ruled or graph paper but to attempt to ignore the lines on the paper completely. URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070410-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] What's Wrong With My iPod? Message-ID: <20070416182009.01153416C1@volo.yukidoke.org> Last November I wrote about [an iPod liberation party we held in Cambridge.][1] As I mentioned then, it was a huge success. [Mika][2] just got around to polishing up a short documentary video she made from footage at the event and a few interviews afterward. The documentary is called, What's Wrong With My iPod? and it acts as an introduction to DRM on iPods and what we can do about it. The video introduces the concept of DRM, the dangers it brings, and describes the role it plays on the iPod. The second half is about [iRony][3], our iPod liberation party, and [RockBox][4]. Please pass the video links around to your friends -- especially those who might not be up to speed on DRM. If it inspires you, think about running your own iPod Liberation Party ([instructions here][5]). You can view it [on blip.tv][6] (only MP4 until their converter catches up), [on YouTube][7], or you can just [download][8] the OGG theora file (also in [high quality][9]). [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/projects/20061107-00 [2]: http://mika.yukidoke.org/nikki [3]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/IRony_iPod_Liberation_Party [4]: http://www.rockbox.org/ [5]: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Ipod_liberation_parties [6]: http://tripodfish.blip.tv/file/165055 [7]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bFVOU-zwTo [8]: http://ephemera.media.mit.edu/~mako/whats_wrong_with_my_ipod- lq.ogg [9]: http://ephemera.media.mit.edu/~mako/whats_wrong_with_my_ipod- hq.ogg URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070308-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Title Message-ID: <20070416182008.4F1EB416C9@volo.yukidoke.org> I've been taking the train frequently lately so decided to sign up for the [Amtrak Guest Rewards Program][1] -- kind of like a frequently flyer program but without the flying. When filling out their online join form, I was asked to select a title from what turned out to be a rather extensive list: > Please Select Admiral Airman Brother Captain, USA Captain, USN Chief Master Sgt. Chief Petty Officer Chief Warrant Officer 4 Col. Commander Dr. Father Gen. Hon. Jurist Doctorate Lady Lieutenant Commander Lt. Lt. Col. Lt. Gen. Maj. Gen. Major Master Chief Master Sgt. Miss Mother Mr. Mrs. Ms. Pastor Prince Princess Prof. Rabbi Rev. Father Reverend SIR Senator Senior Chief Sgt. Sgt. Maj. Sister That will be _Princess_ Benjamin Mako Hill to you, Mr. Conductor. [1]: https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070209-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Digital Citadel Message-ID: <20070416182008.2CF30416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> The solution to a crypto puzzle I helped solve during the [MIT Mystery Hunt][1] was "ALMOST PLAGIARIZE DAN BROWN WORK." [Seth Schoen][2] did this beautifully with an extremely humorous parody of Dan Brown's [Digital Fortress][3]. His story, [Digital Citadel][4] is extremely funny if you are marginally familiar with Dan Brown and his writing style -- and probably even if you are not. I have not seen a copy of the prize winning entry in the hunt -- a story called The Ikea Code -- but the excerpt I heard was also hilarious. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Mystery_Hunt [2]: http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/ [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Fortress [4]: http://ephemera.media.mit.edu/codex/wiki/2007_Digital_Citadel URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070118-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Ubucon Message-ID: <20070416182008.530E1416D4@volo.yukidoke.org> I'm coming down to New York this Friday for the second [Ubuncon][1]. Ubucon is a small(ish) user organized and oriented Ubuntu "unconference." Apparently, that means that it's not very organized -- which adds flexibility and is considered a good thing! Both Ubucons to date have been held at Google offices. This one will be held in the Google office in New York City. I'll be giving at least one talk. In all likelihood, I will be giving a talk about participation in the Ubuntu community and another more technical crash introductory course in building Ubuntu packages. Finally, I've had Pearson's ship a dozen or so copies of the [Official Ubuntu Book][2] which I'll be signing and handing out. If you want to go, you should check out the [schedule][3], and the [info pages][1] in the wiki and maybe even [RSVP][4]. You will need a LP/wiki account to do so. See you in New York! Please [contact me][5] if you want to get together while I'm in New York. [1]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TheUbucon [2]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0132435942?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0132435942 [3]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuCon [4]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TheUbuconRSVP [5]: http://mako.cc/contact.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070213-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:17 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] A Definition of Free Cultural Works Message-ID: <20070416182008.87E87416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> Last year, I [announced][1] [a project][2] to bring together artists, content creators, and others who care about freedom to come up with a clear set of goals around which a social movement for essential freedoms around culture might be based. There has been a lot of discussion and a number of important changes to the document over the last year. A few days ago, we finally released "1.0" of our definition with [this announcement][3]: > A diverse group of writers has released the first version of the "Definition of Free Cultural Works." The authors have identified a minimum set of freedoms which they believe should be granted to all users of copyrighted materials. Created on a wiki with the feedback of Wikipedia users, open source hackers, artists, scientists, and lawyers, the definition lists the following core freedoms: > > * The freedom to use and perform the work > * The freedom to study the work and apply the information > * The freedom to redistribute copies > * The freedom to distribute derivative works. > > Inspired by the Free Software Definition and the ideals of the free software and open source movements, these conditions are meant to apply to any conceivable work. In reality, these freedoms must be granted explicitly by authors, through the use of licenses which confer them. On the website of the definition a list of these licenses can be found. Furthermore, authors are encouraged to identify their works as Free Cultural Works using a set of logos and buttons. > > The definition was initiated by Benjamin Mako Hill, a Debian GNU/Linux developer, and Erik M?ller, an author and long-time Wikipedia user. Wikipedia already follows similar principles to those established by the definition. Angela Beesley, Wikimedia Advisory Board Chair and co- founder of Wikia.com; Mia Garlick, general counsel of Creative Commons; and Elizabeth Stark of the Free Culture Student Movement acted as moderators, while Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation and Lawrence Lessig of Creative Commons provided helpful feedback. > > As more and more people recognize that there are alternatives to traditional copyright, phrases like "open source," "open access," "open content," "free content," and "commons" are increasingly used. But many of these phrases are ambiguous when it comes to distinguishing works and licenses which grant all the above freedoms, and those which only confer limited rights. For example, a popular license restricts the commercial use of works, whereas the authors believe that such use must be permitted for a work to be considered Free. Instead of limiting commercial use, they recommend using a clever legal trick called "copyleft:" requiring all users of the work to make their combined and derivative works freely available. > > M?ller and Hill encourage authors to rethink copyright law and use one of the Free Culture Licenses to help build a genuine free and open culture. If you haven't yet, please check out the project at [freedomdefined.org][2]. If you're still curious feel free to read about [my motivation][4] and why I think that [everyone][5] should stand up for what they feel are essential freedoms. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/projects/20060501-00 [2]: http://freedomdefined.org/ [3]: http://freedomdefined.org/Announcements/1.0 [4]: http://mako.cc/writing/toward_a_standard_of_freedom.html [5]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/ip/20060926-00 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070214-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Novartis, Stop It Message-ID: <20070416182008.A4851416C9@volo.yukidoke.org> Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is currently suing the Indian government over its patent law in an effort to further limit production of generic drugs in India. Among other drugs, the company is trying to stop India's production of generic AIDS medicines that supplies more than half of the developing world. M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) has [a great FAQ][1] and bunch of other information on [their access to essential medicines (AEM) site][2] that you should check out if you are unfamiliar with the case. [Mika][3] has been working on a variety of AEM projects for a while with quite a few important successes. From a certain perspective, some of the core calls for access to knowledge share common ground with free software, free culture, and anti software patent advocacy that I've been involved in. Of course, it puts things in perspective to see Mika and others in the AEM community point to millions of people and say that those people will _die_ because of an IP maximilist position. Last week, I went with Mika to a protest of Novartis near MIT. It was just below freezing, slushy, raining, sleeting, and probably the worst weather I've _ever_ experienced in Cambridge. Despite all that, it was wonderful to join a large group of activists in Cambridge/Boston and around the world to send a strong message to Novartis. You can watch [a video of the protest][4] or see [a set of photographs][5]. Both were taken by my friend Jay. [1]: http://www.accessmed- msf.org/prod/publications.asp?scntid=201220061151189&contenttype=PARA& [2]: http://www.accessmed-msf.org/ [3]: http://mika.yukidoke.org/nikki [4]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSpTdO4FBZI [5]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96012440@N00/sets/72157594536526991 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070219-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Ambiguous Headlines Message-ID: <20070416182008.93D20416C1@volo.yukidoke.org> I found this headline ambiguous: > [Negotiators work on Nth Korea deal to close nuclear facilities][1] When they say "Nth Korea deal" do they mean "North Korea deal" or "_N_th Korea Deal" wherein the latter, _N_ is used a variable to emphasize that there have been so many failed deals that enumeration has become difficult. This is particularly problematic because both interpretations seem entirely appropriate headlines for the story in question. [1]: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s1844521.htm URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070210-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Trademark Violation and Greater Evils Message-ID: <20070416182008.DF22E416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> Biella Coleman recently mentioned counterfeit drugs in [a blog post][1]: > A pirated movie carries little consequence, except for that the movie industry may lose some cash flow. A fake Rolex purchased on the bustling streets of NYC saves you a lot of money (and robs you of a warranty). But counterfeit drugs, the [consequences and stakes][2] are at a whole other, more serious, order of things. Biella's intentions in drawing the analogy are harmless -- people really do lose their lives because of fake drugs while rock-off movies and Rolexes are relatively harmless. However, her aside reminds me of the much less harmless, fair, and honest analogies drawn by Pat Choate in [Hot Property][3] who used examples like counterfeit drugs and dishonestly labeled aircraft parts [to support a high protectionist position on IP][4]. Because of the arguments made by people like Choate, I believe that there is a subtle danger in the type of analogy that Biella draws that I think we should try to guard against in the future. The danger lies in the fact that these comparisons tend to conflate at least two very different kinds of illegal activity. Trademark violations are illegal. So it selling drugs without approval from regulatory bodies. So is manslaughter and murder -- both terms used in the Times article Biella links to to describe the actions of drug counterfeiters. Laws in most countries already prohibit all of these things and offer increasingly harsh punishments for each action. In fact, selling unlicensed drugs and killing people is much _more_ illegal than violating trademark and making knockoffs. And it should be. When someone commit IP violations in the process of committing much worse crimes, we should focus on highlighting, condemning, and punishing the much worse crime, not the IP violation which in comparison is almost inconsequential. The punishment for counterfeiting drugs may only be a slap on the wrist and that's probably an appropriate punishment _for the counterfeiting component of the crime_. The other worse crimes that the counterfeiter is also committing should be punished much more harshly. If, as the Dr. Reggi quoted in the Times article complains, "counterfeiting a medicine can be [only] a misdemeanor," we need stronger laws against selling unregulated drugs -- not stronger IP laws. If we confuse and compare bootleg movies and knock-off Rolexes with fake malaria or AIDS drugs, we're likely to come to the opposite conclusion. Our reactions to such situations should be, "People are killing people with fake drugs! We need stronger laws against killing people in these ways." They should not be "People are killing people with fake drugs! Interesting to note that they are also violating trademark laws like other counterfeiters." The former reaction will frame the discussion in a way that lets us treat the bad components of the crime more harshly and will not help IP high protectionists argue for stronger IP through a disingenuous process of guilt by association. [1]: http://healthhacker.org/satoroams/?p=728 [2]: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/science/20coun.html?_r=2&oref =slogin&oref=slogin [3]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375402128?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375402128 [4]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/books/20050513-00 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070221-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Overprice Tags Message-ID: <20070416182008.0FC4D4169D@volo.yukidoke.org> Last Thursday (February 15, 2007) was declared [National Day of Action for Open Access][1]. To help raise awareness of [the movement for open access in scholarly publications][2] at MIT, I got together with a number of other MIT students and placed price tags -- we called them _overprice tags_ -- onto the 100 journals that MIT subscribes to at a cost of more than $5,000 USD per annum. ![/copyrighteous/images/overpricetagged_journal.jpg][3] The project, inspired by a similar project called [Seeing Red][4] carried out by a Brown librarian a few years back, was a huge success. You can find information about the project, motivation and experience, see pictures, and find out how you might run a similar event at your institution on the [Overprice Tags homepage][5]. [1]: http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/media/Release07-0201.html [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access_publishing [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/overpricetagged_journal.jpg [4]: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street_Journal/vol24 /24GSJ19c.html [5]: http://mako.cc/fun/overpricetags URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070220-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] The Revolution Will Be Colorful Message-ID: <20070416182008.14726416BA@volo.yukidoke.org> I forgot to mention the coolest thing about the last [Ubucon][1] in [my summary][2]. I heard that my friend Sean Moss-Pultz (the person who started the [OpenMoko][3] project) would be in New York the week of Ubucon so I managed to contact him and get him to drop by on his way to the airport so we could have lunch. To my surprise, he had one of the early versions of the free-phone for me (I wasn't expecting one for several weeks). I had brought my [OLPC][4] XO so, for the first time ever (as far as we know) we managed to get the two coolest, and most important, technology platform projects in the world together. While the [XO][4] and [OpenMoko][3] share a commitment to freedom, the similarities between the projects are, in fact, _also_ skin deep. If we all work hard, we can look forward to a future that is free. Apparently, it's also white with bright trim. ![/copyrighteous/images/xo_plus_openmoko-03-boot.jpg][5] ![/copyrighteous/images/xo_plus_openmoko-01.jpg][6] Apologies for the pictures taken from my current inferior, both ethically and technically, mobile phone. [1]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/TheUbucon/NYC2007 [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/freesoftware/20070227-00 [3]: http://openmoko.org/ [4]: http://www.laptop.org [5]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/xo_plus_openmoko-03- boot.jpg [6]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/xo_plus_openmoko-01.jpg URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070228-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Free Culture at FSF Members Meeting Message-ID: <20070416182009.196E3416D4@volo.yukidoke.org> While I've been making an effort in the recent past to cut down on talks -- so that I can focus on getting work done that will give me something to talk about in the future -- I'm thrilled to be giving a presentation at the upcoming [Free Software Foundation][1] [Members Meeting][2] in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While normally the members meetings are reserved for talks by the FSF board and staff, I've been invited to give a talk on my work around movement and [definition][3] building for free culture as part of a short members forum at the end of the day. I'll also be running a mini [RockBox][4] install party over lunch. You need to [RSVP][5] for the meeting by this coming Friday (2007/3/17) and, in order to do so, you need to be an FSF member. Fortunately, [joining][6] is easy to do. I won't lie and suggest that my talk could possibly be worth the membership price. Luckily, I don't have to lie to suggest that rest of the things that the FSF does are more than worth supporting with membership dues. [1]: http://www.fsf.org [2]: http://www.fsf.org/associate/meetings/2007 [3]: http://freedomdefined.org [4]: http://www.rockbox.org [5]: mailto:membership@fsf.org [6]: https://www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom/join_fsf URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070312-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:18 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Ubucon NYC Message-ID: <20070416182009.1E530416F3@volo.yukidoke.org> I had a great time at [Ubucon][1] a couple of weeks ago. I ended up running two sessions. After an initial opening, I opened the conference with a talk on how folks can participate in Ubuntu. The talk was roughly based on Andreas Lloyd's absolutely wonderful [Contribute To Ubuntu][2] page in the [Ubuntu wiki][3]. His page was, in turn, based on my own [Participate In Ubuntu][4] page. The talk tried to provide a solution to the common question of, "I love Ubuntu and want to give back! How can I?" -- when I was answering [info@ubuntu.com][5] (for my sins), I would get this question several times each day. The talk was a relatively straight forward walk through the different teams and group working in Ubuntu along with examples of their projects and fun anecdotes from my experience in the community along the way. I worked in a bit of talking about different community governance structures and issues and the membership process. Trying to cram an overview of the community and its different subsections into an hour is a pretty sobering experience. There's _a lot_ going on and I barely had a chance to give a poor description of the most visible things going on. In the afternoon, I reminded folks (and myself) that I know a little of this tech stuff too by walking folks through a quick introduction to building and modifying Debian or Ubuntu packages. It was a quick variant on the "Debian Packaging for Sysadmins" talks that I've given in the past. Of course, the _best_ part was getting to hang out with some folks I know from the community and to meet a bunch of new people. It was a blast and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one. [1]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/TheUbucon/NYC2007 [2]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/ContributeToUbuntu [3]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com [4]: http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate [5]: mailto:info@ubuntu.com URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070227-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] UPS, I Did It Again Message-ID: <20070416182009.232A541705@volo.yukidoke.org> I think it's interesting that we pronounce some acronyms/initialisms but spell out others -- I've ever reflected on this [before][1]. For example, I think it's funny that we choose not to pronounce the initialism for [Uninterruptible Power Supplies][2] the way we pronounce the name of the reason we need them. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20050118-00 [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070313-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Never Too Late! Message-ID: <20070416182009.2AA4A4172B@volo.yukidoke.org> I've always thought it was a little silly that airports use their public announcement systems to give advice on how, and how not, passengers should pack their luggage. Presumably, travelers arrive airports with their bags packed. Last time I was at Boston's [Logan Airport][1], I noticed that they were repeatedly playing these announcements _in the baggage claim_. [1]: http://www.massport.com/logan/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070315-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] PHLanthropy Message-ID: <20070416182009.4EAD5416C1@volo.yukidoke.org> Last week, I had planned to travel from Boston to Tampa with a connection in Philadelphia. I landed in Philadelphia without a problem but an ice storm descended on the airport and, after five hours of our flight's departure time being pushed back, the entire airport was closed and all flights for that day were canceled. When I arrived back at PHL the next day, two hours before the scheduled departure of my flight home -- my trip to Tampa was, by this point, called off entirely -- the airport was in chaos. Flights were still being canceled, airport information displays were inaccurate or switched off entirely and stranded travelers were everywhere. US Airways had deactivated the automatic ticket machines and there were thousands of people in scores of lines hoping for new tickets and assistance. But unlike the day before, we all knew that planes were theoretically going to be leaving and that, stuck outside, we were not going to be on them. People wanted boarding passes and they wanted them desperately. But the lines were not moving and nobody -- or almost nobody -- was going anywhere. Meanwhile, the four teams of TSA workers at the security station were standing idly talking to themselves like attendants at a light night gas station. The only people inside the terminal were those that had slept there or flown in that morning. After finding the end of a line, I asked someone what their line was for. Nobody knew, but each hoped it lead to someone who would assist with their particular problem. Usually they merely wanted to check in. Several people I asked had been waiting in line for five hours that morning only to find out that their line was, in fact, not a line at all but merely a mass of people leading nowhere or simply dissolving into other lines. Nobody knew what else to do so, I, like everyone else, queued up and hoped for the best. An impeccably dressed and obviously wealthy woman asked what I was in line was for. I told her that I didn't know but, like everyone else, hoped it would lead to a boarding pass. She wanted the same thing. She asked if there was a separate queue for first class and I pointed out that it seemed unlikely, in the chaos, that first class was getting special treatment. I pointed out that I also had a first class ticket -- it was the only seat available when the harried agent rebooked me the day before and I had not paid extra for this, but I did not tell her this. She nodded to me in camaraderie. She stood pensively next to me for five minutes and then fumbled for her wallet and ticket. She asked me if I would hold her place in line and I agreed. Five minutes later she reappeared with a boarding pass in her hand. Surprised, I asked her how she had obtained it. She stated, quietly so as not be overhead by the other would-be passengers but matter of factly, that she'd found a baggage handler and flashed a twenty dollar bill and her itinerary. She mentioned that the man she had paid had left but that, "any of them will do it." Sure enough, I was in the terminal less than ten minutes, and twenty dollars, later. Despite growing up partially in the third world, I've only personally bribed a person [once before][1] -- also in the United States. Like my previous experience, I didn't feel good about buying my way out of what seems to have, in fact, devolved into a racket. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the situation and my action in the last several days. Everyone, or nearly everyone, outside the Philadelphia airport terminal had twenty dollars and most of them would have happily paid it to escape their predicament. The reason that most people did not pay off baggage workers is not because they found it prohibitively distasteful, although certainly some of them would have, but because most of us, and I include myself, would have spent the whole day frustrated, desperate, and standing line after line without even _considering_ a bribe as an option. While we know it on some intellectual, reflective level, the vast majority of us do not, in practice, imagine that we can use money as a way to manipulate people into special treatment. As a result, even in situations like that morning in Philadelphia, I simply don't even _think_ of the twenty in my wallet as a way to solve my problem. It's true that wealthy people, like the woman in line behind me, get what they want because they can pay lots of money for products and services. But it is not quite this simple. Some wealthy, powerful people get what they want in part because they think to use money in ways that the rest of us do not. Perhaps this is because this type of spending is frequently not an option for most of us or, we tell ourselves, perhaps even truthfully, because we find it distasteful and immoral. The difference between being inside or outside the terminal last Saturday was not about having or not having money. It was, in fact, about having a particular relationship to money and, through money, to other people. It was not about the value conferred by money but about a set of values that can result from having it in abundance. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20050329-00 URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070320-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Places I Have Almost Been Message-ID: <20070416182009.6902B416C9@volo.yukidoke.org> Yesterday, I passed by an offramp to [Onset][1]. Due to objections of others in the car, I wasn't able to visit. I did, however, snap this picture. [![/copyrighteous/images/offramp_to_onset-small.jpg][2]][3] [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onset%2C_Massachusetts [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/offramp_to_onset-small.jpg [3]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/offramp_to_onset-full.jpg URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070328-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Dollar Books Message-ID: <20070416182009.7FD484169D@volo.yukidoke.org> One of my favorite weekend activities is spending a Saturday afternoon going through the dollar book carts outside many New York and Boston area used book stores. It's not only because the books are cheap -- although I like that. The dollar book section is the great equalizer of bookstores. A neglected Dickens or Shakespeare can rub out against a discarded Mary- Cate and Ashley teeny-bopper quasi-romance novel. In the best cases, random shelving creates perfect (if unintuitive and ironic) pairs like [Run Run Run][1] about [Abbie Hoffman][2] and [Fun Fun Fun][3] about other youngsters -- a pair I found adjacent in a dollar book section last week. ![/copyrighteous/images/run_fun_run.jpg][4] But you also get to meet books you will never meet in the bookstore sections you normally frequent. The dollar book section at the Strand has introduced me to a whole class of books with intriguing non-fiction sounding titles that I had pulled excitedly off the shelf only to find out that they were, in fact, novels. There are also the books with titles so good you suspect the book will be downhill from that point. [The Complete Idiot's Guide To Being a Model][5] (not, as one might expect, _Becoming_ a model) and this [guide][6] to the British pierage are great examples. ![/copyrighteous/images/british_piers.jpg][7] [1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874777607?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0874777607 [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbie_Hoffman [3]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GVGKM0?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000GVGKM0 [4]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/run_fun_run.jpg [5]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0028631900?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0028631900 [6]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JD7KGA?ie=UTF8&tag =httmakcc- 20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000JD7KGA [7]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/images/british_piers.jpg URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070329-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Victory! Message-ID: <20070416182009.CDAE9416D4@volo.yukidoke.org> Last November, I used a Venn diagram to [complain about][1] (and explain) the fact that there while there were several RFID blocking wallets for sale, they were all made of leather. _Many_ people, who like me prefered to eschew leather wallets, left comments, blogged, and emailed me in strong agreement. Mike Aiello, the proprietor of [DFIRWEAR][2], found my blog. He emailed me not longer after my post to tell me that he had started looking into vegan materials to make a wallet that would fit my needs! Today, a vegan RFID-blocking wallet made it onto his site and is now [available to be ordered][3]! It's very exciting to see that what started out as a [mild and humorous expression of dissatisfaction][1] could quickly culminate in the creation of a new product. [Mika][4] and I each just ordered one. If you care about your privacy, you should too! [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/reflections/20061116-00 [2]: http://www.difrwear.com/ [3]: http://www.difrwear.com/purchase.shtml [4]: http://mika.yukidoke.org/nikki URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070401-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Etch Release Party Message-ID: <20070416182009.D62A241740@volo.yukidoke.org> Bostonian and Cantabrigian Debianistas should waste no time in celebrating [Etch's release][1]. Join a group of us celebrating the release tonight (April 8) at [Grendel's Den][2] in Harvard Square. Things you should know: * We'll meet up at 21:00. * Directions are [online][3]. * Food is either half-price or $1 with a drink. [Call me][4] if you're lost in the neighborhood or have questions. I hope to see a few of you there. New faces are, of course, welcome. [1]: http://www.debian.org/News/2007/20070408 [2]: http://www.grendelsden.com/ [3]: http://www.grendelsden.com/directions.html [4]: http://mako.cc/contact.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070408-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:08 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:19 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Spellign Message-ID: <20070416182009.9BCC7416B9@volo.yukidoke.org> While everyone seems to be excited about [OpenMoko][1], there's a smaller, less proficient group of typers who seems excited about the [OpenMako][2] project. Ari Pollack even painted [a picture][3] of what that frightening, [Mako Hellish][4], world might look like. [1]: http://www.openmoko.org [2]: http://www.google.com/search?q=openmako [3]: http://priv.ebnj.net/openmako.jpg [4]: http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.02.20/after-life-by- dvorak/#respond URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070319-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 16 18:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 16 18:20:20 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Progress Message-ID: <20070416182009.D9158416F3@volo.yukidoke.org> There is cool semi-recent news on the [Free Cultural Works Definition][1] front. The board of directors of the [Wikimedia Foundation][2] passed [a resolution][3] stating that all projects (including [Wikipedia][4], [Wikimedia Commons][5], and [Wikibooks][6]): > ...are expected to host only content which is under a Free Content License, or which is otherwise free as recognized by the [Definition of Free Cultural Works][7]. There is still room for several exceptions but this must be minimal and the use of such works, "with limited exception, should be to illustrate historically significant events, to include identifying protected works such as logos, or to complement (within narrow limits) articles about copyrighted contemporary works." For WMF and it's member projects, this was a useful step because it documents and strengthens an important position in favor of explicit goals that I feel is important to successful freedom movements. But it's not a major change for them. The resolution merely codifies what has already become accepted practice within Wikimedia projects. But this _is_ a major change -- and a major victory -- for [freedomdefined.org][1] and the definition. Wikimedia projects, including Wikipedia, are the single most visible and important centers for the production and dissemination of free culture today. They're also the most successful and a model many want to emulate. Explicit buy in from WMF is a major victory indeed. [1]: http://freedomdefined.org [2]: http://wikimediafoundation.org [3]: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Licensing_policy [4]: http://wikipedia.org [5]: http://commons.wikimedia.org [6]: http://wikibooks.org [7]: http://freedomdefined.org/Definition URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070331-00 From mako at atdot.cc Wed Apr 18 22:20:09 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Wed Apr 18 22:20:12 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Feisty Release Fiesta Message-ID: <20070418222009.EEB9741792@volo.yukidoke.org> With the [Debian 4.0 (etch)][1] release parties [out of the way][2], it's time to devote a little energy to celebrating the forthcoming release of [Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)][3]. A few of us from the nascent [Massachusetts Loco Team][4] in the Boston/Cambridge area have planned a release party -- a _Feisty Fiesta_ if you will -- for _Saturday April 21, 2007 19:30_ at the [Cambridge Brewing Company][5]. For more details, answers to your questions, or to RSVP for the party so we can reserve a big enough table, please visit [the party wiki page][6]. [1]: http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEtch [2]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070408-00 [3]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/FeistyFawn [4]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/MassachusettsTeam [5]: http://www.cambrew.com/ [6]: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/MassachusettsTeam/FeistyReleaseParty URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070418-00 From mako at atdot.cc Thu Apr 19 17:20:06 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Thu Apr 19 17:20:10 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] DebConf7: Derivatives Round Table Message-ID: <20070419172006.DAD7041810@volo.yukidoke.org> At [DebConf7][1] in Edinburgh, I'm going to moderate a derivatives round table. At [DebConf5][2] I put on a similar sort of panel. Here's the [description I submitted][3] (please ignore the placeholder list of panelists on the DC7 site): > The Debian-Derivers round-table will bring together representatives of organizations involved in producing Debian derived distributions to discuss the political, organizational, and social barriers to collaboration with Debian and with each other. The idea is to bring together a representative group of folks from our derivative community -- groups like Ubuntu, Linspire, Knoppix, Guadalinex, Maemo, etc. etc. -- and provide a space where they can describe their successful and unsuccessful experiences working with Debian and with each other. On the other side, it will give Debian developers a chance to ask questions of the group, both individually and as a whole. My first step, of course, is to build that panel. If you have worked on or represent a Debian derivative and think you will be at DebConf, you may have a spot on my panel. Give me an email at [mako@debian.org][4] and lets talk! [1]: http://debconf7.debconf.org [2]: http://debconf5.debconf.org/ [3]: https://penta.debconf.org/schedule/dc7/event/99 [4]: mailto:mako@debian.org URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070419-00 From mako at atdot.cc Mon Apr 23 16:20:11 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Mon Apr 23 16:20:15 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Signs of the End Days Message-ID: <20070423162012.0917541798@volo.yukidoke.org> [Today's weather report][1] for Eastern Massachusetts includes _both_ a flood and fire warning. [1]: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/extra/flood_and_fire_warning/index.html URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070423-00 From mako at atdot.cc Sat Apr 28 12:20:07 2007 From: mako at atdot.cc (copyrighteous) Date: Sat Apr 28 12:20:11 2007 Subject: [copyrighteous] Reflections on the War on Share Message-ID: <20070428122007.4841940CDB@volo.yukidoke.org> I'm giving a talk today as part of [Media in Transition 5][1] (MiT5) conference organized by the MIT Comparative Media Studies program. The topic this year year is right up my alley: "creativity, ownership, and collaboration in the digital age. Everyone else is talking about free culture issues so I'm branching out a bit and delivering a paper I wrote with [Harvard Law School][2] and [Harvard Free Culture's][3] [Elizabeth Stark][4] on "the politics of piracy" with a focus on political action around P2P filesharing. We'll have a paper in the proceedings which I'll post with our talk notes and slides. You can find information on our talk on how to attend on the [conference website][1]. [1]: http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/mit5/ [2]: http://www.law.harvard.edu [3]: http://hcs.harvard.edu/freeculture [4]: http://www.reasoner.org/ URL: http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/20070427-00