Copyright

A copyright is "a set of exclusive rights granted by governments to regulate the use of a particular expression of an idea or information." These rights usually serve to restrict the ability of individuals to copy, distribute or republish protected works and to protect the ownership of such works. We're all familiar with copyrights and their importance -- we know that it is illegal to make and sell copies of movies, music or books.

However, in the digital age, copyrights and what they protect has gotten less clear. Access to media is so much easier these days. People trade high-quality copies of songs with an ease and quickness that was not possible 10 years ago. Musicians -- record companies, really -- have been facing loss of revenue due to the wide availability of free copies of their products.

Even more at risk than music and movies are the published, written ideas of individuals and companies. Formerly, these texts were -- at the very least -- published in magazines, newspapers or books and had physical weight and presence which would discourage people from out and out copying. Nowadays, with the prevalence of online newspapers, journals and even blogs, the ease with which one can copy and paste content that is not their own makes it all too tempting. Copyright violations are rampant and there is little one can do.

Some copyrights are very lenient. The content on Wikipedia, for example, is made freely available for republishing and reuse so long as one follows certain rules. Their copyright statement says that as long as one doesn't impede the right of other people to copy the material and one provides credit to the original authors (which I do by way of a direct link to any article I make use of) then reposting and reusing their material is legal.

On the other hand, many sites closely guard their content. The Chicago Tribune's website, chicagotribune.com publishes much of the content of their newspaper. Their copyright statement says that it is legal to read, interact with, download and/or print one copy of any piece of content on their site. However, it is expressly forbidden to repost, copy, publish or otherwise distribute any content on their site. That means that copying a story from chicagotribune.com and pasting it into a blog entry -- even if one quotes the source and mentions the original copyright -- is a violation of that copyright.

Some copyright quotes:

• Lawyer: Principal Skinner, "The Happiest Place on Earth" is a registered Disneyland copyright.
  Principal Skinner: Oh now, gentlemen, it's just a small school carnival.
  Lawyer: And it's heading for a great big lawsuit. You made a big mistake, Skinner.
  Principal Skinner: Well, so did you. You got an ex-Green Beret mad.
  [he finger-thrusts the first goon in the Adam's Apple, then kicks the lawyer in the chest; they both go down groaning; as the second goon runs away, Skinner picks up the lawyer's briefcase and flings it into the air; in the distance, it knocks down the goon]
  Principal Skinner: Copyright expired. (from The Simpsons)
  


• “Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” -- Mark Twain


• “My script was copyrighted in 1999 while I was in college, and theirs was copyrighted in 2001, the same year that I was getting investors and letters of intent. A very famous celebrity gave Ice Cube my script and the story board. I am not saying two people can't have the same idea, but for our concepts to be similar is impossible.” -- James Davis


• “This is a plain and brazen violation of copyright law.” -- Nick Taylor

Spell checkers

Spell checkers are pieces of software that will check the spelling of words against a set dictionary (or "vocabulary") of stored words. Spell checkers can work on the fly within a document or on demand or as a separate application. Spell checkers are handy tools combating against the evils of misspelling.

One very interesting and useful thing about spell checkers is that when they find a misspelled word, they will make guesses about the true intent of the author and offer up a list of words, correctly spelled that can be used to replace the misspelled word. Also useful is the ability to add one's own words to the vocabulary so that words that one uses that may not be widely known (such as one's name, regional slang or abbreviations) do not trigger the spell checker's error routines.

One problem with spell checkers is that they currently do not check the context of the word, meaning that while a word may be spelled correctly, it is not properly used. For example, if one wrote, "Hear again wee keep sending beating victim's and gunshot victim's to Evanston for care," a spell check would not display any errors because even though there are incorrect spellings and improper uses of apostrophes, none of the words are technically misspelled. These types of errors can only be caught and corrected through human proofreading.

Fortunately for us all, spell checkers have popped up in many software applications. Most email clients, instant messengers, and databases now have the ability to check your spelling on the fly, letting you know if you've made an error. The screen on which I make this entry even has a spell checker, ensuring that virtually every blog entry ever written by anybody will be free of spelling errors for all of eternity.

Quotes about spelling:

• Lisa: Come to Homer's BBBQ. The extra B is for BYOBB.
  Bart: Hey, Homer, what's that B for?
  Homer: That's a typo.


• “I respect a man who knows how to spell a word more than one way” -- Mark Twain


• “Beware of the man who denounces women writers; his penis is tiny and he cannot spell.” -- Erica Jong


• “My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.” -- A.A. Milne

Ochlocracy

Ochlocracy or "mob rule" is government by a mob or a group of disorganized people. There's nothing more fun than being in a big group of people who are all dedicated to the same ideal and purpose, no matter how misguided it might be. There's strength in numbers and you can definitely get a lot more done when you go with the flow than when you try to swim upstream.

Besides, when the mob has gathered and when the mob has spoken, you don't want to rock the boat -- you might make waves! Your unpopular ideas might be noticed and then you're going to be in trouble.

Another plus -- you don't have to think for yourself. Gone are those terrible moments of self-doubt! As long as you listen to the mob (and how could you hear anything else when they're so loud?) then you'll be fine. Just fine.

Quotes from The Simpsons about mobs:

Kent Brockman: What started out as a traditional soccer riot has quickly escalated into a city-wide orgy of destruction. Reacting swiftly, Mayor Quimby declared "mob rule", meaning for the next several years, it's every family for themselves...

Principal Skinner: There's no justice like angry-mob justice.

Lisa: Dad, for the last time, please don't lower yourself to the level of the mob.
Homer: Lisa, maybe if I'm part of that mob, I can help steer it in wise directions. Now where's my giant foam cowboy hat and airhorn?

Other mob quotes:

“Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob” -- Oscar Wilde

“There can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob” -- Ayn Rand

“The mob is the mother of tyrants” -- Diogenes

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are those nifty bits of text or graphics (or whatever, really) that let you jump from page to page, document to document at your will. Hypertext and hyperlinks make the web go around.

First, let me say that hypertext is brilliant -- it's having all those "see also" references in your encylopedias and dictionaries actually bring you right to the suggested page. It's what makes "surfing" possible. You can get lost in a series of links that take you eight sites and ten topics away from where you started.

What's great about hypertext is about how people use it. Some folks will link only to documents in their own site, illuminating their importance and expertise in a certain field. Say, for example, that I was discussing pizza here. Why, I might be so bold as to not refer you to Wikipedia's history of pizza or even, for that matter to Pizza Hut.Rather, I might choose to send you to my own discourse on pizza. And why not? Nobody else has anything to say about pizza that's better than my comments, and I have no interest and nothing to gain by referring my readers to a site other than mine. Let's increase our clicks and pageloads and keep everyone bouncing around right here. Besides, if anybody else knew more about pizza than me, I wouldn't have to write about it in the first place.

Hyperlinks often bring you somewhere you wouldn't expect, such as a pornographic web site, or the web-site of an addle-minded, short-sighted misanthrope with a 9th-grade education. You never know where you're going to end up -- and that's the beauty of it all.

Many a dissertation could be written about hypertext and hyperlinks, their impact on the way we learn, how we access information and hundreds of other topics, but this is not the time nor the place, especially when this entry was inspired by somebody who was just trying to say they were sorry.

Hypertext quote:

• “[Even the Chicago Police are impressed with the result.] We think it's great, ... It's very innovative, taking data that we're already publishing on our crime site, which has been up since late 2000. By repackaging that information, presenting it in a highly interactive way with hyperlinks all over the place, it is easy to explore and to drill up and down in the data. It does some creative things with mapping.” -- Jonathan Lewis

Statistics

Statisitics are great. Statistics can be used to prove anything. For example, if I wanted to show how great statistics are, I could say, "90% of people love statistics" and you couldn't argue because there's that percentage sign there and that must mean it's true. Plus, it's on the internet, so it's automatically valid.

On the other hand, if I thought statistics sucked, I could say, "85% of all statistics are incorrect." What could you say to that? You couldn't say, "Well, statistics are still great even if they're all wrong," because that wouldn't make any sense. That's why statistics are so great. You can use them for absolutely anything.

Some statistical quotes:

• Kent Brockman: [after Michael Moore has given Kent a ridiculous statistic] Where did you get that statistic?
  Michael Moore: Your Mother!


• Homer: Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.


• “I've come loaded with statistics, for I've noticed that a man can't prove anything without statistics” -- Mark Twain


• “Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” -- Aaron Levenstein


• “It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics.” -- George Bernard Shaw

Pizza

Pizza -- seems like an easy first one to go with, but what the hell? It was there. And who among us, except for the criminally insane, does not love pizza? Let's look at its many virtues:

• It's a quick and easy meal. Pizza doesn't need side dishes or salads. It can be all four food groups in one hand-held delivery mechanism.
  
• It's a great social food. There's nothing quite like a pizza shared amongst friends.
  
• It's got near universal appeal. Because of the sheer variety of toppings possible, there's bound to be a pizza for everyone.
  
• It's cheap. Split an extra-large pizza between a few friends and your out-of-pocket expense is going to be pretty low for a great meal.
  

I have some friends who don't like a lot of the things I like on pizza though, and that can be a downfall. Some folks just want pepperoni on their pies, but I like to get a little eclectic when choosing toppings. Pizzeria Bubamara will stuff the crust with cherries, and while most people will shy away from such a thing, I find it to be quite tasty. I realize that's pretty out there, but some folks don't even like anything green on their pizza. I ordered a pizza with broccoli on it once and my friend sarcastically commented, "Great moss, Archie!"

Some pizza quotes:

• Marge: Now be good for Grampa while we're at the parent-teacher meeting. We'll bring back dinner.
  Lisa: What are we gonna have?
  Homer: Well, that depends on what your teachers say. If you've been good, pizza. If you've been bad... uh... let's see... poison.
  Lisa: What if one of us has been good and one of us has been bad?
  Bart: Poison pizza.
  Homer: Oh, no. I'm not making two stops.


• “Pizza is a lot like sex. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good.”


• "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six.” -- Yogi Berra


• “Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” -- Dave Berry
  

A Brand New Look

My last blog was created not out of love, as the title implied, but out of disdain. It was disdain for people who would yell loud enough to drown out all others and who are on a quest -- a quest not to improve things in a neighborhood, but just to hear their own shrill, annoying voices.

Well, I'm done with the hatred. I'm finished. It's gotten me nowhere. From now on, I blog out of love. Each entry here will be about something pulled from my mental rolodex -- a person, place, or thing -- and how and why I love it so.