Thursday, November 29, 2007

3.92 - The One with Canada's DMCA

I came across this on Boing Boing...if this law gets passed...I'm not sure that Canada would be such a great place to live anymore. I understand that there needs to be copyright laws for digital stuff...but this is ridiculous:

Canada's coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet

The Canadian government is about to bring down Canada's version of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and it promises to be the worst copyright law in the developed world. It will contain an "anti-circumvention" clause that prohibits breaking the locks off your music and movies in order to move them to new devices or watch them after the company that made them goes out of business -- and it will follow the US's disastrous lead with the DMCA in that there will be no exceptions to the ban on circumvention, not even for parody, fair dealing, time shifting, or other legal uses.

This will be even worse than the last Canadian copyright proposal, the defeated Bill C-60.

But there's hope. The last two Ministers who tried to push through a US-style copyright bill in Canada lost their jobs, thanks in large part to Canada's coalition of artists, educators, archivists, and public-interest activists. Selling Canada's digital future out to a handful of US companies is a bad career move for Canadian politicians.

Gear up for a fight in the New Year. The American record labels, in particular, are said to be well organised and ready to push this through on a fast track (even though they've abandoned DRM in the rest of the world, they view Canada as a weak sister they can push around).

If this law passes, it will mean that as soon as a device has any anti-copying stuff in it (say, a Vista PC, a set-top cable box, a console, an iPod, a Kindle, etc), it will be illegal for Canadians to modify it, improve it, or make products that interact with it unless they have permission from the (almost always US-based) manufacturer. This puts the whole Canadian tech industry at the mercy of the US industry, unable to innovate or start new businesses that interact with the existing pool of devices and media without getting a license from the States.

If this law passes, it will render all of the made-in-Canada exceptions to copyright for education, archiving, free speech and personal use will be irrelevant: if a technology has a lock that prohibits a use, your right to make that use falls by the wayside. Nevermind that you've got the right to record a show to watch later -- or to record a politician's speech so you can hold him to account later -- the policeman in the device can take that right away with no appeal.

If this law passes, it will make Canada into a backwards nation, lagging behind the UK, Israel and other countries that are passing new copyright laws that dismantle the idea of maximum copyright forever and in all things. Link



The people that will be hurt by this won't be the hackers and the pirates...it will be the legitimate companies trying to make money and the consumers that do all of this legally. This will actually determine who I vote for in the upcoming election...even if a party promises a tax cut.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

3.91 - The One with #4

According to the UN's Human Development Index...Canada is the 4th best place to live in the world. Not bad huh? We are preceded by Iceland, Norway and Australia. I checked previous reports and we held the #1 spot from 1994-2000. Last year we were 6th...I guess we're moving back up in the world.

Friday, November 23, 2007

3.90 - The One with Rider Pride

Ever since I moved away from Saskatchewan, my interest in the Canadian Football League dropped dramatically. Back in the good ole days Rider Pride was something that was just a common everyday thing. We had Grey Cup parties...not Super Bowl parties. I remember vividly in 1989 when the Riders won the Grey Cup on a long field goal with no time left on the clock. Our province was in shear bliss. Now that the Riders are back in the championship game since 1997 (which they lost)...the province of Saskatchewan is on an all time high. All the city rivalries have been put aside (Saskatoon is so much better than Regina) and a province is united under one front...to crush the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I can't say that I'll follow the CFL much, but I'll climb the Rider bandwagon anytime it counts. Once you bleed green, you'll ALWAYS bleed green. Go Riders!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

3.89 - The One where we can't give up on Vista

This ad was on many major tech websites today such as cnet, engadget, PCMag, etc. I think it's brilliant. I saw it on Cnet's Window's Vista page...



Apple must have shelled out some serious coin for the perfect placement of the ads.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

3.88 - The One with the tiredness

Man am I ever tired...I think I'm getting enough sleep. Probably 6-7 hours a night, but I'm just tired all day. I need a day just to sleep in...zzzzzzz

Friday, November 16, 2007

3.87 - The One with 300


"This is SPARTA!!"

well not really...BUT this is my 300th post...that's a lot of posts. I was reading back on some of the stuff I wrote on not too long ago...and I blog about the most random things. Sometimes its relevant...other times it just...wow...what was I thinking? Although it is nice to go back and remember what the heck was important enough to blog. (btw...Where's Heck? It's the place where people go that don't believe in Gosh")

This writer's strike has claimed it's first victim. My beloved The Office has aired it's last episode this season. Hopefully not...but that remains to be seen when they resolve this strike. I understand why the writers are going on strike...they want a cut in DVD and internet download sales, and the studios don't want to give them anything. I'm glad the actors are supporting their writers...but it's the public that will suffer most. There's only so much reality TV I can take. I will miss The Office and hope that the strike ends sooner than later. I'll just play Assassin's Creed to fill my time...

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

3.86 - The One with the open letter

Dear old man in the late model champagne colored Chevy Malibu,

Thank you for being so inconsiderate to the other drivers around you while you ran a red light. Not only was it in one of the busiest intersections in town, but it was also during one of the busiest times of the day. I can't say it was rush hour, because, that would never happen here.

I was patiently waiting to turn left when the your light turned red. You were still behind the line when my advance green arrow came up for me to turn. The car in front of me started to turn left while you proceeded to enter the intersection almost hitting her. Not only did you fail to stop, you looked at everyone around you like we were crazy. Little did you know that you were the crazy one. Thank goodness the person in the opposite direction of me noticed your blunder and did not turn left into his lane.

No one was hurt due to your lack of concentration, but please next time look at your traffic light so we can avoid this situation in the future.

sincerely,

T

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

3.85 - The One with the registry

This past weekend, Naomi and I started our wedding registry. It was a little overwhelming...so much stuff to get...so little time. It's a good thing we're going to register at more than one place because some of the stuff that we found wasn't that nice. Hopefully we'll find better stuff elsewhere...the scanning with the gun was pretty fun I must admit...

I finally got my Wiimote covers in the mail...they were easy to "install", but since I have a charger for them, I'll have to take them off after each use...they have a funky smell to them. It's not rubber, I'm not sure what it is...funny thing is, everyone that's seen them, the first thing they do is smell them. What's the fascination? It's like we're drawn to weird smells.

OH, Vince Carter is out indefinitely with another sprained ankle...suckers

Thursday, November 08, 2007

3.84 - The One with the Anniversary

Do video game ratings mean anything to parents? They wouldn't let a kid see a rated 'R' movie, but they'll buy a rated 'M' for Mature game for their kid? I got carded when I bought Halo3 as a "policy"...so you'd think that would be a deterrent for the parent in allowing their kid to play Halo3. Not so much...little kids playing Halo3 on XBox Live has got to be one of the most annoying things ever. They whine and complain and won't shut up. It wouldn't be so bad if you could mute them...but Bungie didn't give us that option so we are graced with the high squeeky voices of minors playing a game that they shouldn't be playing in the first place. Worst thing is? They are a lot better than me. Whatever...check out my Halo3 armour on the left...love the helmet.

On Tuesday, Naomi and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Hard to believe how fast time goes by...now we are engaged and in the middle of wedding planning. Which by the way is becoming more of a headache than anything else...apparently it's all worth it in the end. I though I saw the light, but this caterer thing is rearing it's ugly head once again. So I'll ask again...anyone want to donate to the "Naomi & Titus wedding fund"? It's for a good cause...

Monday, November 05, 2007

3.83 - The One with the kicking Monkey

Well our wedding date has been set and all the planning is now in full tilt. Anyone want to donate to the "Naomi & Titus' Wedding Fund?" Weddings are such a ridiculous expensive thing to do and to have...

But I'm sure it's going to be one great party! We had Chris and Sophie come down last weekend to do our Engagement Photos and we've started to plan and design our invitations. I can't tell you how it's going to look but I'll tell you I've never seen a wedding invitation like it.

If you want to see the engagement photos, they are up on Facebook or click here. I think they turned out really well.

I've been trying to post this game into my blog but it won't embed it right so here's a link...I'm totally addicted to it




Games at Miniclip.com - Monkey Kick Off
Monkey Kick Off

Kick the ball as far as you can!

Play this free game now!!