Below lies a pretty amazing (and somewhat obnoxious) video that recently surfaced which uses dozens of clips from Disney films to explain copyright law in many of its manifestations. Eric Faden of Bucknell University is the creator of a work that must have taken an insane amount of time to assemble. And what better way to explain copyright than to use objects from the very same corporation that abuses it the most?!?!
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/documentary-film-program/film/a-fair-y-use-tale
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu.nyud.net:8080/biguploads/Fair(y)_Use_Tale_Stanford_Cut.mp4

I read a quote once, one that was fairly thought-provoking. Now it seems relevant again so I thought I would post it again…..what goes around, comes around right?

“Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against – then you’ll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We’re after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you’d better get wise to it. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens’ What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Rearden, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”

- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to tweak your Microsoft Windows XP thumbnail size and quality.

Although I am aware that this tip is not new, I think it is a good lesson for any digital photographer.

Warning:
If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. I cannot be held responsible for any problem you encounter, if you decide to follow this tutorial it is at your own risk.

Now that the “legal” part is over let’s see how to proceed…..

Method one:
1) Go to Start -> Run and type regedit then press ENTER
2) Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer
3) Create a DWORD value called ThumbnailSize and set its DECIMAL value between 32 – 256 (higher is bigger)
4) Create a DWORD value called ThumbnailQuality and set its DECIMAL value between 50 – 100 (higher is better)
5) Reboot your computer

Method Two:
If you don’t feel comfortable editing the registry by yourself
1) Open the notepad (Start -> Run type Notepad and press ENTER)
2) Copy paste the content of this file
3) Save the file as TweakThumb.reg
4) Double click on TweakThumb.reg
5) Reboot your computer

(TweakThumb.reg will set your Microsoft Windows XP thumbnails to the biggest size and best quality.)

Supported Operating Systems:
This tweak was tested working on
- Microsoft Windows XP
- Microsoft Windows 2003 server

“I’ll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs. I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking. Hey, wait a minute, there’s one guy holding out both puppets!”

– Bill Hicks

If you’re not voting third party, you’re wasting your vote.

If you don’t vote what you believe, you’ll never get what you want.

The people elect the government they deserve.

Two options is only one more than they had in the Soviet Union.

Every November the same party wins: the Politician Party.

A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

It amazes me that for all the talk of reform and eliminating corruption in government, no one ever addresses the fundamental issue: lack of choices, which is caused directly by our (plurality) voting method. Give non-Dem/Rep voices a fair and equal chance to discuss and promote the merits of their platform instead of dismissing them outright. This means changing the voting system to something that doesn’t predetermine the “leading two”. Anything other than this is a charade. “They” don’t care who wins, because it’s still one of “them”. The real danger (in “their” minds) is if an outsider were to get in and shake things up. Yes, the past 6 years have really demonstrated the truth in “not a dime’s worth of difference”. Who would have thought that a member of the “party of Reagan” would preside over the largest budget increase in history? Both parties want bigger government, so they can curtail your rights – whether they grab them from the left or the right makes no difference in the end.

<=====>
*EDIT*

In response to a recent comment…..

Congress is a product of a process controlled by the political parties. The political parties are in turn controlled by monied and powerful interests who let the parties know who they will back, and who they will not. The parties pick from candidates that can get backing, of course, otherwise they will be picking candidates who cannot advertise, campaign and travel freely – in other words, losing candidates. Once acceptable candidates are chosen, then they let the people vote on which one of these hand-picked people is to continue in the (very, very expensive) process. Once elected, carrying out any promises made during the political campaign is strictly optional.

In this way, congress (and the senate, and the presidency) end up being 100% made up of people selected by those same monied and powerful interests. “The people” do not control the type of person, or the obligations of that person. Once in power, the usual currency of politics – being supported to run again by the party, junkets, “fact-finding” trips, dinners, appointments to powerful committees, visits to the white house, campaign contributions, rubbing elbows with the powerful, pork for their district, commitments for speaking engagements, returning as a lobbyist, employment at a think tank, tips on everything from stocks to escorts – these, and more, are the “currency” of “elected” government service. It also doesn’t hurt to remember Orwell’s assertion that “the purpose of power – is power.”

Aside from those people, there is a vast army of unelected, but very powerful individuals who manipulate our daily lives with absolutely no requirement to, or evidence of electing to, pay any attention to public input or subject to public accountability. Not that such input is lacking; they just don’t listen. Examples abound; the FCC with its censorship and pandering to the rich for broadcast (broadcast speech belongs to the rich – period), the FDA with its holding back of therapies even to those who are about to die, the US park service which takes homes from people by force (eminent domain), the Supreme Court with its topsy-turvy interpretation of the commerce clause, disingenuous support for ex post facto laws, craven ducking of religion, and of course, just generally trampling the constitution left and right. And of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So when you talk about the government – any of it – as being “the people” – you’re speaking of a situation that doesn’t exist in the United States of America. Our federal and state governments are operating broadly outside the bounds of its constitutional authority, within a cycle that is entirely controlled by special interests who have money and power. There are absolutely no signs that this situation is going to change.

You may wonder why free speech is allowed with GovCo gone so catastrophically wrong. The answer is simple: It is far better for them to let you vent than it is have you smolder and suddenly show up on some politician’s doorstep with what used to be your second amendment rights in hand. Between that and making sure you achieve a general level of complacency, while being distracted by the current round of boogeymen (Terrorists! Pedophiles! Immigrants! Global Warming!), they can keep the population from getting out of hand, even as they trample constitutional rights, engage in broad repression of personal, victimless choices, and pursue military adventures on sovereign foreign soil for the benefit of industry.

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

I had no idea a number could be copyrighted.

Anyhow, what is it?

It’s the HD-DVD Processing Key for most movies released so far.

I was not aware that a string of numbers and letters was copyrightable.

Perhaps its just my ignorance but it seems that someone is abusing the DMCA again.

This means the (admittedly long) number is precisely the key you need in order to decrypt and watch HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies, stripping out the DRM. And the fact that it’s out there, spreading like wildfire, is killing the types at the movie studios right now.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=123311

http://blog.digg.com/?p=74

I wonder if you’d get busted passing around this one as well (for nerds only):

13,256,278,887,989,457,651,018,865,901,401,704,640

or even better, this one

1001 11111001 00010001 00000010 10011101 01110100 11100011 01011011 11011000 01000001 01010110 11000101 01100011 01010110 10001000 11000000

All your base are belong to us.

Digg fights user revolt over HD-DVD ban – Digg founders took HD-DVD sponsorship.

http://texyt.com/Digg+founders+took+HD-DVD+sponsorship+00071

……..That is .pdf’s of psychedelic books

Take your pick……
http://www.sunrisedancer.com/radicalreader/type.asp?iType=21

These are .pdf editions of:

Storming Heaven
Acid Dreams
Hallucinogens and Culture
The Book of Grass
The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience