I finally got the SirCam virus, via a mailing list. I was feeling so left out. Fortunately, since I read my email using mutt, I deleted it with impunity.

Next time you consider complaining about Perl’s obfuscated syntax, take a gander at some TECO source code.

When bad vacation scripts strike …

The public policy section of the ACM is taking the Association of American Publishers to task for its positive statement about the arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov. The letter, from Gene Spafford and Barbara Simmons reminds the AAP that the ACM is a member and presents the argument against the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. As far as I’m concerned, circumvention of copy protection should not be a crime, even if that circumvention is used to steal copyrighted material. The theft should be the crime, not the circumvention of the protection against theft.

JDS Uniphase reported a $50.6 billion loss for last year. I have only one question: how much was their CEO paid for that performance? (And I found the answer. For fiscal 2000, he made $640,000 in salary and exercised $25 million in options.)

Hey, it’s a new candidate for stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. How much will it cost me to have the parents change their names to “Moron” and “Greedy Idiot”?

I hadn’t seen this before: J2EE Blueprints.

Theodore Postol, an MIT professor who publishes a paper criticizing the missile defense testing program says he’s being shaken down by the Pentagon. The Pentagon is pressuring his bosses to force him to stop disseminating a report that was once public, but has since been declared secret. A Pentagon flack says of the paper, “Just because it is made public doesn’t mean it’s declassified.” You can find more details on the spat between Postol and the Pentagon here. You can find Postol’s letter, which was declared secret, here (PDF).

Every once in awhile, I delude myself into thinking that corporations are still establishing new lows when it comes to malfeasance. Last night, while reading Fast Food Nation, I learned that in order to hasten the adoption of the automobile, General Motors led a group of automotive-related companies in secretly taking over trolley systems around the United States and dismantling them (replacing them with buses). Of course, even this is minor league stuff compared to how monopolies around the turn of the century acted, but it’s a good example of the hostility of corporations toward their customers.

The Economist is banging the drum for drug legalization again. I admire the magazine for its persistence in arguing for sane drug policy.