Big Mook 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Disney Claims It's Copyright Infringement For Dish To Offer Starz To Non-Premium Subscribers

    Big Mook ( profile ), 04 May, 2011 @ 08:58am

    Re: I love irony

    As I reached the end of the article, I noticed the absence of an ad to the right of the screen because I block doubleclick.net (along with about 5 more heavy hitters); web pages load much faster when all that extraneous content never has to load...

  • On the post: Guy Who Didn't Actually Sing Obscene Song To Kids Gets Jail Time & Restraining Order As If He Did

    Big Mook ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2011 @ 01:01pm

    He accepted a plea

    He could have taken this to trial, but because of some bad advice (IMHO) he took a plea to guarantee little jail time and no permanent sex offender status.

    Personally, I believe I would've taken it to trial, so you have to fault him somewhat for being too scared and not letting the justice system work for him.

  • On the post: Apparently Russia's President Gets Angry When You Hit His Blog With A Denial Of Service Attack

    Big Mook ( profile ), 08 Apr, 2011 @ 03:48pm

    Obligatory

    In communist Russia, president's blog hits you!

    Sorry, couldn't resist.

  • On the post: Chris Dodd Memorizing Bogus MPAA Talking Points; Says File Sharing Ruins Community Bonding

    Big Mook ( profile ), 30 Mar, 2011 @ 10:27am

    Movie "theft"

    Since Dodd is a career politician, I already know that any time his lips move he is most likely prevaricating, but just for fun, I was just looking at MPAA.org to see the official stance there, and they freely and often use the term "movie theft" to describe infringement; in fact, they never use infringement at all that I can find in the FAQ.

    And for the AC who said:

    "Theft" is generally used as a lay term for "civil and/or criminal copyright infringement (copying and/or distributing)".

    "Sharing" is generally used as a lay term for "civil and/or criminal copyright infringement (copying and/or distributing)".

    If I take your Spice Girls CD, I've stolen it and you can't listen to it (and fap).

    If I make a copy of your CD, you still have your CD and nothing has been stolen from you, but I do have a copy of some worthless drivel.

  • On the post: Am I Violating The DMCA By Visiting The NYTimes With NoScript Enabled?

    Big Mook ( profile ), 22 Mar, 2011 @ 12:45pm

    Re: Re:

    Hartley, is that you?

  • On the post: Guy Passing Out Pamphlets In Front Of Court Indicted For 'Jury Tampering'

    Big Mook ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2011 @ 09:54am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Yeah, I was just joking; turn up your sarcasm detector a little. I don't care either way when it comes to the Duke or most anyone else for that matter.

    This line of thought brings to mind John Travolta. I mean, the knowledge that he's bi/gay or whatever just renders anything he is in unwatchable for me, because he clings to a "religion" (money-grubbing sci-fi cult) that claims homosexuality is a disease to be cured, all the while getting all the oral and anal action he can in the bath house circuit.

  • On the post: Guy Passing Out Pamphlets In Front Of Court Indicted For 'Jury Tampering'

    Big Mook ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2011 @ 09:37am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Wow! Just, wow! DH, I've been a fan for quite a while, but when you blaspheme the Duke, you're dead to me...

  • On the post: Forget Hot Coffee, Now Disney Is Sued For Severe Burns From Nacho Cheese

    Big Mook ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2011 @ 11:40am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Actually, 120 F is hot enough to cook a steak (or melt cheese). It isn't the temperature alone, but how long it is left at a certain temperature. I'm not saying the steak would be good to eat, but you can most certainly cook it at 120 F, and it would be safe to eat, although probably tougher than shoe leather after cooking for an appropriate amount of time.

  • On the post: Forget Hot Coffee, Now Disney Is Sued For Severe Burns From Nacho Cheese

    Big Mook ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2011 @ 11:12am

    Re:

    Ok, numbskull. 71 celcius is approximately 160 F, which is sufficient to cook steak and is way above the melting point of just about every cheese you can name.

  • On the post: Glenn Beck Not A Fan Of Fair Use; Claims US Gov't Paying Remixers To Create Anti-Beck Propaganda

    Big Mook ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2010 @ 12:55pm

    Re: Re:

    Sorry, but Song of the South was not "against blacks" as you say, and the story itself makes it exceedingly clear that Uncle Remus is wiser than the white plantation owners to which he is in servitude. Yeah, the situation is bad, and the movie accurately illustrates the abject poverty in which most blacks were living at that time in history, but anyone with half a brain could see that Uncle Remus was the real brains around there.

    How about not playing the race card every chance you get.

  • On the post: Illinois Mayor Claims Anonymous Bloggers No Different Than 9/11 Terrorists; Says Anonymity Is A First Amendment Challenge

    Big Mook ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2010 @ 09:55am

    Re: Re:

    Here you go, asshat:

    As the North Tower collapsed on September 11, 2001, heavy debris hit 7 World Trade Center, causing damage to the south face of the building. The bottom portion of the building's south face was damaged by debris, including damage to the southwest corner from the 8th to 18th floors, a large vertical gash on the center-bottom extending at least ten floors, and other damage as high as the 18th floor. The building was equipped with a sprinkler system, but had many single-point vulnerabilities for failure: the sprinkler system required manual initiation of the electrical fire pumps, rather than being a fully automatic system; the floor-level controls had a single connection to the sprinkler water riser; and the sprinkler system required some power for the fire pump to deliver water. Also, water pressure was low, with little or no water to feed sprinklers.

    After the North Tower collapsed, some firefighters entered 7 World Trade Center to search the building. They attempted to extinguish small pockets of fire, but low water pressure hindered their efforts. Fires burned into the afternoon on the 11th and 12th floors of 7 World Trade Center, the flames visible on the east side of the building. During the afternoon, fire was also seen on floors 6–10, 13–14, 19–22, and 29–30. In particular, the fires on floors 7 through 9 and 11 through 13 continued to burn out of control during the afternoon. At approximately 2:00 p.m., firefighters noticed a bulge in the southwest corner of 7 World Trade Center between the 10th and 13th floors, a sign that the building was unstable and might collapse. During the afternoon, firefighters also heard creaking sounds coming from the building. Around 3:30 pm FDNY Chief Daniel Nigro decided to halt rescue operations, surface removal, and searches along the surface of the debris near 7 World Trade Center and evacuate the area due to concerns for the safety of personnel. At 5:20:33 p.m. EDT on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center started to collapse, with the crumble of the east mechanical penthouse, while at 5:21:10 p.m. EDT the entire building collapsed completely. There were no casualties associated with the collapse.

  • On the post: Film Director: File Sharing Only Hurts Bad Or Mediocre Films

    Big Mook ( profile ), 14 Jun, 2010 @ 09:27am

    Reminds me of...

    the most boring movie I ever saw in the theater, "Far and Away". It was so bad, I slept through parts of it that just couldn't hold my attention.

    If file sharing had been around back then, maybe someone would have clued me in before I wasted my money.

    Bet nobody's looking for a torrent of that piece of crap! But I did see it on the $5 shelf at Walmart a few weeks ago.

  • On the post: Class Action Lawsuit Launched Against Google, Because Some Woman Didn't Secure Her Own WiFi

    Big Mook ( profile ), 20 May, 2010 @ 10:23am

    Re: I Gots Class

    My fly was open when they came by my house...

  • On the post: Oh Look, Another Completely Ridiculous Wireless Broadband Bill

    Big Mook ( profile ), 06 May, 2010 @ 02:45pm

    Re: Re: Rain on the parade

    Looks like the a$$hat jerk check failed as well.

  • On the post: Study Says: Lack Of Innovation, Not File Sharing, Real Problem For Record Labels

    Big Mook ( profile ), 04 May, 2010 @ 02:00pm

    Re: Re: Another study for the MAFIAA to ignore

    Obvious industry shill is obvious: Copying is NOT theft, moron! With digital goods, there is an infinite supply available, and by making a copy, there is actually an increase in availability, not a decrease.

    Say it all you want, but infringement is not theft.

    Your statement that "soon enough there is nothing left to steal" is also epic failure, as there is more content, both free and paid, available now than ever before.

    Congrats on being a complete a$$hat!

  • On the post: Study Says: Lack Of Innovation, Not File Sharing, Real Problem For Record Labels

    Big Mook ( profile ), 04 May, 2010 @ 12:35pm

    Another study for the MAFIAA to ignore

    It's become clear to me that no matter how many mountains of evidence to the contrary, the entertainment industry will go on denying the facts and trying to save their already outmoded business model.

    I've been following this subject on TechDirt and elsewhere for many years now, and the story just doesn't seem to change in the least. There is never a shortage of evidence that file sharing can/is helping the industry, and yet at the same time there is never a shortage of alarmists (industry shills) spouting off that the industry is dying and that all they need is another law, better DRM, etc.

    Do I think that pirating content is OK? Not exactly. I believe you're on shaky moral ground, but that's up for debate. But do I think it's criminal activity, like what's described at the start of every DVD I own? The answer is no. If I were to search the file shares of the users at my company at any given time, I would find hundreds, if not thousands, of MP3s that have been shared and recopied dozens of times. I don't believe that any of these people are criminals just because they share their music with each other. I never considered it criminal to make a cassette to give to a friend or girlfriend either. I bet a lot of folks can remember going out and purchasing an album because of a song on a mix tape they got as a gift.

    The main point that the entertainment industry is missing is that by treating everybody as a potential criminal, they're actually hurting the very people who keep them in business.

  • On the post: How Not To Handle A Parody Video: Threatening Legal Action

    Big Mook ( profile ), 29 Apr, 2010 @ 01:26pm

    Re: Well, and...

    The recent eruption in Iceland blew more GHG's into the atmosphere in 1 week than the total output of all cars in North America in a year, but I don't hear anyone getting their knickers in a twist about it, because there is no way to gain money or power from natural phenomena such as a volcano. It just does what it does as thousands of them do every single day on this planet.

    Michael Mann's career is finished for all intents and purposes, and he's pissed. Now if only he could figure out where he left that darn data...

    One more thing: This is precisely where science is broken, in that any scientist who will not toe the line and agree with the "consensus" is blackballed and ridiculed. The "consensus" scientists will do everything possible to deny access to those who don't agree. Most of them are so afraid of this practice that they don't dare speak the truth or adhere to the scientific method 100%. It's much easier to stay quiet and keep collecting the grant money.

  • On the post: Attorneys General Upset That Craigslist Is Profiting From Procedure He Forced Craigslist To Put In Place

    Big Mook ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2010 @ 12:44pm

    Re:

    Well-connected people, however useless they may be, tend to get promoted up rather than let go. The further up in management and/or position, the less real damage they can inflict on real-life, day-to-day operations and activities.

    Granted, this is usually more prevalent within large corporations, but lawyers and governments can be subject to this phenomenon, too. Otherwise, how can you possibly explain Joe Biden?

  • On the post: Avatar Blu-Ray Customers Not Enjoying Their DRM-Crippled Discs

    Big Mook ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2010 @ 11:26am

    Re: Re: Re: Blu-Death-Ray

    If this is the case, why did you waste all that money on HD and BD equipment? BD is an order of magnitude better quality over DVD; I'm guessing that in your case, something ain't set up correctly or you would see it, too. Of course, it also could be that your sitting 20' away from the set, in which case it won't make much difference and kinda defeats the whole purpose.

    Then again, maybe you're one of those people who can't "see" Magic Eye 3D stereograms, either.

    Of course, I have had to "fix" the configuration of several friends' TVs and players because they didn't have them set correctly and were disappointed with HD and/or BD quality. They were each pleasantly blown away once I corrected the settings, though.

  • On the post: Avatar Blu-Ray Customers Not Enjoying Their DRM-Crippled Discs

    Big Mook ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2010 @ 07:54am

    Re: Blu-Death-Ray

    Of course it looks the same on your small TV. Most sets are too small to really take advantage of HD to begin with. Either that, or you are legally blind and should not be participating in this debate at all.

    There is a huge difference on bigger TVs (mine is 65", queue the penis size jokes now), and BluRay is the best picture and sound quality going. DVD isn't awful, but BD is awesome in comparison.

    I'll take BluRay over DVD and especially over crappy quality downloads every time.

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