New Rambler Quips & Snippets

conversation

[Phone rings.]

Me: Hi.

Jim: Hi.

Me: How are you?

Jim: Tipsy.

Me: You’re tipsy? So that’s why you decided to call me?

Jim: No, I’m at a concert. Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, a bunch of other people.

Me: [Fumes silently.]

» fair use FTW

I don’t want to say that the government grants us these rights. Copyright, the property right granted to creators as incentive for them to continue to create, is an artificial creation of society. Information cannot be owned, and the first pirates of the printing press will show. Society is gifting this right to creators, it is not inherent in their act of creation. So to say that the government is giving us fair use rights is incorrect: these are the rights we retain for ourselves. The right to quote for democratic and academic discourse. The right to make secure copies incase our original is destroyed. The right to enter interlibrary loan agreements. And the right to enjoy our purchased product in whatever manner we choose.

Summer Reading

Me: You still found time to read after you had me, right?

Mom: Oh yes. I just neglected you from time to time. Or I neglected the dishes.

» Jasper, Texas: 10 Years After a Racist Murder : NPR

Oddly enough, I was just thinking about this case this morning, kicking myself for not being able to remember the name James Earl Byrd, not having any idea that today was an anniversary.

Sandbag levee (via mgbales)

Many people, of course, would probably not be terribly sad to lose the Laser Center, Gehry or not. The protests when it went up were huge.

Lower City Park 3 (via mgbales), illustrating further descriptions.

I used to live near Upper City Park, well away from the flooded areas, but it’s still weird to see this.

» Book Review - 'While They Slept,' by Kathryn Harrison - Review - NYTimes.com

Why is it that child protective services so often get the wrong children and don’t get the right ones?

Whenever Twitter is down, I have an irresistable urge to tweet a grouchy message about how Twitter is down. But then I remember that Twitter is down, and I can’t.

» Meeteetse, WY, USA - Google Maps, Golf Course detail

My friend Steve says I have Tumble this. I tend to regard the golf course as my personal nature preserve.

You still can’t get an iPhone in my state. Just sayin’.

Can’t get one in yours, either? You can join our Facebook group.