Jason Still’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Looking At Security Theater Through The Lens Of The Utøya Massacre

Jason Still ( profile ), 25 Jul, 2011 @ 06:50am

Re: Re: Re:

The aggregate numbers provide an inaccurate view, since a great many of the gun-related deaths in the US come from areas where it is either technically or functionally illegal for law-abiding citizens to carry yet the law-breaking citizens still have guns.

On the post: If You Think Writing For Free Undermines Your Profession, Just Don't Do It!

Jason Still ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2011 @ 10:26am

We feel it is unethical to expect trained and qualified professionals to contribute quality content for nothing.

There are a lot of charities that might not be too keen on being called "unethical" simply because they accept donated time, effort, and content in order to help them earn money for their causes.

On the post: Another Attempt To Make TSA Searches Open To Sex Offender Charges

Jason Still ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2011 @ 11:05am

Can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs...

Its kinda sad that apparently the only way to change anything in this country anymore is to ruin some lives.

On the post: Domino's Turns A Loss In A Lawsuit It Wasn't Involved In Into A TV Commercial

Jason Still ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2010 @ 07:51am

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

I drove 5 hours from Louisville to Chicago to try Lou Malnati's. I was disappointed.

I drove back another time to try Giordano's. I was even more disappointed.

I drove back again and this time went to Gino's East...twice.

The taste buds have spoken, we have a winner!

On the post: ESPN Writer Suspended From Twitter

Jason Still ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2009 @ 05:37am

Re:

No wonder you went blogging if you can't understand why companies should have a say about what employees publicly disclose or say that can affect them, even indirectly.

If he had instead sent a letter to someone saying the same thing, would/should they have suspended him from using the postal service for two weeks? What if he was at a bar and and simply spoke it loud enough for all around him to hear, would they then suspend him from speaking for two weeks?

On the post: Yet Another Ridiculous Jury Patent Award Tossed Out

Jason Still ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2009 @ 05:12am

Re: Juries don't need to understand the law.

People are suppose to be dumb about laws.

Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense in court, therefore people are NOT supposed to be ignorant of the law. Another benefit (depending on your point of view) of having a decent understanding of the law is that it will often keep you from getting selected for a jury. Generally one of the two sides in any case will benefit from having less well informed jurors.

On the post: Kentucky Cable Companies Point Out That Connected Nation Isn't All That

Jason Still ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2009 @ 06:17am

Re:

Is there a word for telcos + cablecos? Maybe telcos + cablecos = telcabcos? Cabtelcos?

taco bells?

On the post: A Few Million Homes Still Aren't Ready For Digital TV Transition… But Don't Let That Stop It

Jason Still ( profile ), 11 Jun, 2009 @ 07:38am

Re:

There are always some people not ready for the obvious. This isn't something that snuck up on these people, it has been a long time coming. With set top converter boxes almost being given away, there is no excuse. Sorry Carlo, but once again you are poorly informed and standing on the wrong side of an issue.

I'm curious, did you not read anything he wrote, did you read it and not comprehend any of it, or are you just a really, really bad troll?

On the post: Josh Freese's $250 Option Sells Out In Less Than 48 Hours

Jason Still ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2009 @ 10:57am

Re: Re: Re: Re:

Except that you're not allowed to coin your own law, that's not how these internets work. For what it's worth, I think I was the first person to (jokingly) refer to "Masnick's Law" in the comments to a post a year or so ago (maybe more, I lose track of time easily). I was surprised when it seemed to stick. Mike, feel free to send me truckloads of money and/or gifts for accidentally meme-ifying your name. ;)

On the post: Corrupt Judges Sent Kid Who Made Spoof MySpace Pages To Detention… For Profit

Jason Still ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2009 @ 02:00pm

This is yet another story that makes me desperately wish I could afford law school. There seem to be far too few lawyers and judges who genuinely care about honor, justice, and integrity (not to mention common sense), while far too many care only about their pocketbooks and their political careers.

On the post: My MidemNet Presentation: Trent Reznor And The Formula For Future Music Business Models

Jason Still ( profile ), 05 Feb, 2009 @ 12:08pm

Re: Formula

I see what you're saying, but I'm not sure I totally agree. If you do an incredible job connecting with fans but don't put any effort whatsoever into giving them reasons to buy, some will still buy anyway. Likewise, you can be a complete recluse and never connect with your fans but still find ways to give at least a few of them a reason to buy. As you say, though, doing both together would seem to have more of a multiplicative effect than simply an additive effect, so maybe the formula needs to be something more like:

CwF + RtB + (CwF * RtB)

Then again, maybe I'm over analyzing it :P

Either way, excellent presentation.

On the post: How Dr. Seuss's Lawyers Ruined Christmas

Jason Still ( profile ), 25 Nov, 2008 @ 01:34pm

City != State

As a Louisville resident, I feel compelled to point out that any foolish actions by the state (the gambling domain-name thing) aren't our fault. Louisville isn't even the seat of state government, and as far as I know the local government played no part in Frankfort's silliness with domain names. Don't punish the child for the crimes of the father.

On the post: McCain Campaign Sends Letter To YouTube Defending Fair Use

Jason Still ( profile ), 14 Oct, 2008 @ 10:17am

Re: Quick Question

He voted for it. it was 99 for, 0 against, 1 not voting

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=2&vote=00137

On the post: Video Game Execs Freak Out Over Used Game Sales

Jason Still ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2008 @ 01:03pm

no longer part of MS

it's worth noting that as of Oct 2007 bungie is independent again. They should have never sold out to MS to begin with, imho, but that's an issue for a different day...

On the post: Prisons Upset That Prisoners Don't Get Discounts On Digital TV Converters

Jason Still ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2008 @ 01:26pm

Re: Re:

Indeed, a great many people are in prison for doing things significantly less "bad" than the things done by the people who write the laws that put them there.

On the post: Kentucky Agrees To Stop Selectively Blocking State Employees From Reading Critical Blogs

Jason Still ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2008 @ 05:38am

Re: That kind of person...

While many are being opened back up there are still numerous sites which were/are blocked... why? People weren't doing their work.

I did some contract work for about 8 months at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Trust me, those blocks weren't keeping people from wasting time, they found plenty of other ways to do that.

I did about 8 hours of work in the 8 months I was in that office. The rest of the time I spent surfing the web (was easy to remote out of that network and then I could access whatever I pleased), twiddling my thumbs, and hating the fact that before they took over the project I was actually getting work done and now I was having to sit there and do nothing. There was plenty of thinking about doing stuff, talking about doing stuff, and planning to do stuff, but in 8 months time they never even got me server space to start the project, which was 3/4 done on another system before they decided to take it over and start it on a new system. It was pretty easy for me to decide that I never wanted to work for the government again.

If you're the kind of person who likes to go to meetings and have conference calls while doing as little real work as possible it might be the place for you. As for me, I like to get shit done and move on.

I suppose that's enough quasi-ranting from me for now.

On the post: Now Gene Simmons Is Blaming Radiohead For Killing The Recording Industry

Jason Still ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2008 @ 07:39am

Re:

Find me no-name bands who do this kind of thing and get big, we'll talk. And no, selling T-shirts doesn't count. It's just a matter of time before people start scanning and vectorizing T-shirts, then making it so we can print them on Cafepress for less. Find a way for musicians to be paid for making music, not selling us the services of a graphic designer for a coffee mug.

In the vein of Godwin's Law, I propose we name this sort of thing "Masnick's Law".

Masnick's Law states that in any conversation about musicians doing something different to achieve fame and/or fortune someone will inevitably attempt to make the argument that "it only worked for them because they are big/small and it will never work for someone who is the opposite," no matter how much evidence to the contrary might be readily available.

Although perhaps a more cunning linguist than I could come of with a way to say the same thing a bit more succinctly.

On the post: Does Microsoft's Media Center Let TV Producers Block Shows From Being Recorded?

Jason Still ( profile ), 14 May, 2008 @ 01:21pm

Re: Re: Re: Another wrong

Even if I ignored your lame back-step - It was one of your OWN articles that commented on the original Tivo thing! I guess your research doesn't include your own articles ;)

Even if we ignore your lame attempt at unwarranted Mike-bashing, it was your OWN quotation of Mike's words that clearly shows he didn't say "every other DVR system", "all other DVR systems", or anything similar. I guess your weak attempt at a "gotcha" on Mike doesn't include reading comprehension ;)

On the post: No, Getting Users To Translate Facebook Into Other Languages Isn't Exploitation

Jason Still ( profile ), 23 Apr, 2008 @ 05:40am

Re: Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me...

if you got time to volunteer, there are many other meaningful places like Red Cross and YMCA....

looking at the financial statements for the red cross, it looks like they had something in the neighborhood of 3 billion in revenue last year. Oh noes! I feel so exploited for volunteering and not getting a cut of the billions!

On the post: UK Gov't Report Recognizes That 'Protecting The Children' Can 'Hurt The Children'

Jason Still ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2008 @ 12:33pm

Re: Re: no wars 6000 years ago?

I think its safe to say that there was plenty of violence before the beginning of recorded history. Hunting large animals and fighting off other predators has never been a particularly peaceful affair, and especially not back when it had to be done at club or spear range.

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