another mike 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (205) comment rss

  • On the post: Boy Scout Magazine Says Don't Listen To Legally Burned CDs, As They're Too Similar To Piracy

    another mike ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2010 @ 07:56pm

    not calm

    Shit like this pisses me off. Yes, the RIAA paid for this entire "article". Look I know it takes a lot of money to run the Scouting program in this country but there are sources that should be turned down. I am a troop leader and I used this "article" as a lesson on critical thinking and asking questions when it sounds like you're being fed outdated propaganda. It doesn't matter if it's media, religion, politics, or Scouting itself.

    For further reading, click the links in the "free curriculum" section of the article. Both organizations are fronts for RIAA and benefit from extortionate copyright.

  • On the post: Boy Scout Magazine Says Don't Listen To Legally Burned CDs, As They're Too Similar To Piracy

    another mike ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2010 @ 03:43pm

    Re: Antiquated much?

    Such as?
    What other organization out there is as widely recognized for instilling respect, responsibility and life skills in the youth of this country?
    Would you suggest 4H? They're a recognizable name. But is an organization dedicated to homemaking and animal husbandry any more relevant in this day and age?
    The military, maybe? Sorry; they won't take you until you're old enough to have so thoroughly screwed up your life that they won't want you.
    You can walk into any job interview, say "I'm an Eagle Scout" and walk out with your first promotion. What other membership, what other achievement, gets you that?
    There isn't one.

    Michael Rainey
    Assistant Scoutmaster
    Troop 444, Catalina Council, BSA

    /hardcore 444
    /be prepared

  • On the post: Boy Scout Magazine Says Don't Listen To Legally Burned CDs, As They're Too Similar To Piracy

    another mike ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2010 @ 03:23pm

    Re:

    Who still buys CDs? Not any of my Scouts. Everyone has mp3 players or phones. The boys aren't allowed to play with their electronics during the meetings or on campouts, but they are encouraged to bring mp3 players to plug in while traveling.

  • On the post: Movie Producers Want Sole Ownership Of Facebook Fans

    another mike ( profile ), 21 Sep, 2010 @ 03:47pm

    fan-based marketing

    if your fans make more of a community on their own site than your marketing team can create on your official page, fire the "market gurus" and invest in your fans.

  • On the post: Political Campaign Against Craigslist Ratchets Up

    another mike ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2010 @ 02:57pm

    to catch a predator on craigslist

    Ever watch the show "To Catch a Predator?" I'm sure by now Chris Hanson has used Craigslist ads to, er, bring guests onto the show lol. It's just so hilarious to watch the combination of horny and stupid. And it's not like the police even have to go looking for the pedos they catch. These criminals will just dutifully line up at the designated collection point.
    "OK, another one just finished up his interview. Hey, stop hogging all the doughnuts."

  • On the post: Vampire Weekend Sued Because Photographer Might Have Falsified Model Release

    another mike ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2010 @ 12:12pm

    the band should have checked into it?!

    The band did check into it. And everything checked out OK. The model release and license deal and everything were in order just like they always are. It's not the band's fault they can't spot a forgery.

    This "photographer" has probably been doing the lying thief routine for a while. I wonder how many counts of fraud he might be looking at.

  • On the post: Record Labels Suing Porn Websites For Using Their Songs

    another mike ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2010 @ 12:34pm

    Re:

    One more time, the music industry is doing fine. It's the recording industry that's failing.
    For that matter, the porn industry is doing great, too. They're taking full advantage of technology to reduce production and distribution costs and lower the barriers to entry. One could argue that the porn industry is the driving force behind a lot of the technology that the music and movie industries use. From home viewing and recording through to internet communities, porn was always an early adopter.

  • On the post: Hulu CEO So Careful Not To Upset Cable Companies, He Might Just Destroy His Own Business

    another mike ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2010 @ 01:07pm

    Re: Re: Hm...

    OFF the top of my head. off.

  • On the post: Hulu CEO So Careful Not To Upset Cable Companies, He Might Just Destroy His Own Business

    another mike ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2010 @ 01:05pm

    Re: Hm...

    You aren't watching YouTube series like The Guild or even Is It a Good Idea to Microwave This? The Machinima channel has dozens of good series like Arby and the Chief and Dude, Where's My Mount. Those are just some of the top of my head. If you went looking I'm sure you could find something you like.

  • On the post: Canadian Heritage Minister Denies Calling His Critics On Copyright Bill 'Extreme Radicals'; Video Proves He Said It

    another mike ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2010 @ 05:12pm

    no subject given, no quarter taken

    a wise man once said, "I reject your reality and substitute my own." And it occurred under similar circumstances of "No, I didn't say that," and the show editor cutting to the clip of him saying just that.

  • On the post: Court Says Border Patrol Can Take Your Laptop For Off-Site Search If They Have Reasonable Suspicion

    another mike ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2010 @ 04:28pm

    Re:

    You'd let employees out the door with critically sensitive "we're so boned if this leaks" data on their laptops? I'd keep all the data locked up on the server and have the laptop running just a hypervisor for a read-only virtual machine set up as a thin client.
    And now we're back to the question of how far off the laptop can the border patrol look.

  • On the post: Florida Uses Bogus Reason To Implement Red Light Cameras

    another mike ( profile ), 20 May, 2010 @ 02:11pm

    red light air-horns

    If it were really about safety, they'd replace the red light cameras with red light air-horns. No distracting flash of light up on the telephone pole behind you. No ticket mailed to you two weeks later. No poring over bad colorless photos trying to determine if the registered owner was behind the wheel. Just a simple clear 140dB message from the tops of the light poles surrounding the intersection letting everyone know you goofed.

  • On the post: Tipping Point? Quarter Of All Homes Have Totally Abandoned Landlines

    another mike ( profile ), 13 May, 2010 @ 05:30pm

    they cut the hard line, neo!

    Never even bothered to connect the phone line to the inside wiring. When I moved into this apartment, I had already dropped landline for cell-only. Since it's a new building with structured wiring, I replaced the phone wall plates with ethernet wall plates and a gigabit switch. That connects to the firewall router which connects to the cable modem. I have cable internet without TV service. If FiOS were available here I'd probably have that instead.
    Between Google Voice, Skype, Twitter, World of Warcraft, etc., I don't use any of my 400 monthly cell phone minutes. And with Netflix, Hulu, and BitTorrent, I watch more TV now than when I actually owned a TV.
    This is the future of communications right here. We're stuck trying to muddle through while being saddled with extraneous services like TV channel lineups and cell phone minutes. The sooner these old monoliths get knocked over the better.

  • On the post: If It's May It's Time For The Press To Parrot Bogus Stats Announcement From The BSA

    another mike ( profile ), 12 May, 2010 @ 11:13am

    the real BSA is at scouting.org

    google-bomb the Bogus Stats Alliance and send your support to the real BSA, who should sue for trademark infringement.

  • On the post: Italian Officials Charged For Corruption In Red Light Camera Deal

    another mike ( profile ), 07 May, 2010 @ 01:42pm

    solution for safety

    If it was really about safety they'd replace the cameras with airhorns. A 140 dB blast to warn everyone around that you are fail on wheels. I honk my car horn at vehicles still in the intersection when my light turns green. An automated system which can do that at more noticeable volume would be a better solution.
    No one even pays attention to the camera anymore because there's no consequence. "Ooh, I'm late going through the intersection and I saw the flash in my mirrors. I'll just mail in the fine and keep driving."
    But with airhorns going off all around them it becomes, "Oh carp I'm late going through the intersection and now I'm going to be squashed by a tractor-trailer."
    We need a feasibility study! Pay me what you would've spent on a camera as a research grant and I'll put in an airhorn instead.

  • On the post: Judge Rules: Drunk Moron In A Hurry Wouldn't Know Tequila From Maker's Mark

    another mike ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2010 @ 04:02pm

    Re: Not even in the same aisle

    That's not the case in our grocery store. The bourbon and whisky are right across the aisle from the tequila, vodka, and gin. It's even worse at the liquor store; they're all just a few feet apart along the same wall.

  • On the post: Judge Rules: Drunk Moron In A Hurry Wouldn't Know Tequila From Maker's Mark

    another mike ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2010 @ 03:51pm

    Re: Re: Re: Drunken rage.

    Wild Turkey? Really?
    I think I've found the problem. Maker's Mark isn't overpriced, you're underfunded!

  • On the post: McDonald's Laughs Off Criticism Embedded In April Fool's Joke

    another mike ( profile ), 21 Apr, 2010 @ 03:40pm

    what are McDonald's options here?

    They could launch a massive advertising blitz focused on their USDA Nutritional Facts. That would be a wasted effort because no one cares. We don't eat McDonalds' food because it's healthy; we eat it because it's the most popular fast food burgers on the planet. Eventually 'Delicious and Nutritious' would be included in a list of the most worthless ad campaigns in history.
    Unleash the lawyers? Both bloggers would be sued for defamation, there'd be DMCA takedown notices, the lawyers would get stinking rich, and we'd be reading this as a Streisand Effect article.
    MickeyD's could have just completely ignored the original article. It might make an Aprils' Fools prank round-up in a couple months and be utterly forgotten. That would give Ronald McDonald a net neutral effect and a resounding 'meh'.
    Instead, McDonalds decided to play like they were in on the joke. Now they're seen as having a sense of humor and not being just a faceless corporate monstrosity. And then when the best pranks article is written, people will actually remember this one. This was the only correct choice.

  • On the post: How Pfizer And The US Gov't Set Up A Fake Subsidiary To Take The Brunt Of Lawsuit Over Falsely Marketed Drugs

    another mike ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2010 @ 09:56am

    the real question

    The real question which needs to be addressed here, "Was this investigative journalism conducted by a mainstream media source or just a blogger?"

  • On the post: Universal Music Funds Yet Another 'Educational' Propaganda Campaign Against File Sharing

    another mike ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2010 @ 05:05pm

    Drunk driving and prejudice have draining effects on society. Innovative new business models which grow an audience, increase revenue, and reduce costs? Not the same.

Next >>