Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Dave: I've arrived at Harvard. I'm going to keep my to-do list out in the open at least at first. 10:12:50 PM    comment []

MU student pleads to hoax e-mail. The Miami University senior accused of sending a hoax e-mail to more than 31,000 students and professors pleaded guilty Thursday in Butler County Area One Court to a reduced misdemeanor charge. Miami University Student Pleads Guilty To Sending Hoax E-mail. A Miami University student has pleaded guilty to sending a hoax e-mail to students, faculty and staff that said classes would be cancelled for a day. MU student guilty of misdemeanor in e-mail hoax. A Miami University senior pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge stemming from an e-mail hoax. [Purportal.com Headlines] 10:11:55 PM    comment []

Reuters to stream video of Iraq conflict. The news agency unveils a streaming video service on its Web site that will offer footage of the impending U.S. military campaign, in an effort to reach news-hungry viewers at work. [CNET News.com] 10:06:05 PM    comment []

Lessig: the good that MIT does. I met Berkeley CS Professor Christos Papadimitriou yesterday. He told me an extraordinary story (which he allowed me to share). Papadimitriou is publishing a book this summer with MIT Press. The book is a novel titled Turing. As Papadimitriou describes it, in one chapter he has a single line from about a dozen rock-n-roll songs. The editors at MIT press decided to seek permission for each of the 12 single lines. They sent out 12 letters. They received 10 forms (which had to be completed before the request could be considered) and two replies. One reply, from the representatives of the Kinks, demanded $10,000 for permission to reprint the line "help me, help me, help, me sail away" from the song "Sunny afternoon." The other reply, from representatives of the Kobain estate (which I assume is within Courtney Love's control) forbids him from reprinting the line "polly says her back hurts" from the Nirvana song "Polly." MIT has nonetheless decided that these words are protected by fair use, despite these demands. That is rare in this business. Publishers are among the most conservative "fair users" -- not because they don't believe in free speech, but because they understand the burden of non-free lawyers. If a lawsuit is filed against a publisher for copyright infringement, the cost of answering the complaint can suck up the total profit from the book. Thus, however generous the Supreme Court thinks it is when it defends "fair use," the relevant "fair use" is the freedom publishers permit. It is a great thing that publishers like MIT can help set the standard. The law should make it easier for others to do the same. Right on, MIT Press! 10:03:32 PM    comment []

R.I.P. Robert Leonard, 70, a Creator of Ticketmaster. Robert Anthony Leonard's technical expertise and marketing prowess helped create the worldwide machine that opens doors to over 150,000 events a year. By Wolfgang Saxon. 9:55:01 PM    comment []

Cassandra Speaks, by Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, from Troy. It is quiet here in the rubble at the presumed site of ancient Troy. No tourists gawk at the spot where Achilles pierced Hector's throat, at the high stone walls on which King Priam tore his gray hair, at the gate that shows signs of having been widened as if to admit an unusually big object, like an oversized wooden horse. Then there's a roar, and two fighter jets streak across the sky, creating a collage of one of the world's first battlegrounds and the next one, just southeast of here in Iraq. The instruments of war have changed mightily in 3,200 years, but people have not; that is why Homer's "Iliad," even when it may not be historically true, exudes a profound moral truth as the greatest war story ever told. So on the eve of a new war, the remarkably preserved citadel of Troy is an intriguing spot to seek lessons. The Trojan War was the very first world war, between Europe and Asia, and the legends suggest that it was marked not just by heroism but also by catastrophic mistakes, poor leadership and what the Greeks called atê: the intoxicating pride and overweening arrogance that sometimes clouds the minds of the strong. Troy offers us three lessons about war, each as enduring as the spring that still trickles here — described by Homer as the place where Trojan women washed clothes. (thanks, Joe!) 3:12:25 PM    comment []

Tenet to Sell or Shut Hospitals and Cut Jobs. Tenet Healthcare said it would sell, close or shrink 14 of its 114 hospitals and cut jobs and expenses to cope with an expected decline in payments received from Medicare. By Andrew Pollack. [New York Times: Business] A little more information than in the Retuers piece blinked last night. I see now that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an AP story saying Two of the affected hospitals are in Poplar Bluff, Mo. So, I guess the one here in town isn't on the closure list. 6:01:36 AM    comment []

Not Just Your Average Loser. The person who becomes a virus writer fits a definite profile: Young, male, computer-obsessed, awkward around women. There are plenty of them out there, and plenty of new targets for them to attack. [Wired News] See also Interview With a Virus Writer, from Gray Area, excerpted in Computer underground Digest, as well as Wes Morgan's response (scroll down). 5:55:22 AM    comment []

The Church of Latter-day constraints. A former Mormon says that the sheltered environment of Elizabeth Smart's religion might explain why she didn't run from her captors. [Salon.com] 5:47:59 AM    comment []

How I invaded Iraq, alone. On a moonlit night in March, the author slips out of Syria on a rubber raft and crosses the Tigris, headed toward war. [Salon.com] 5:46:27 AM    comment []

Marking File Traders as Felons. A Texas Congressman thinks the threat of a few years in the clink could deter college students from illegally trading copyrighted materials online. University officials aren't so sure. By Katie Dean. [Wired News] 5:43:54 AM    comment []

Irish Honeynet slammed by attacks, by Andrew McLindon, ENN. 3:09:19 AM    comment []