m[dot]blog: Couloir Bandit

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The end of Copyright is near

November 30th, 2005

Ernest Adams at Gamasutra offers his views over recent (and not so recent) developments in the field of copyright laws and violations. I thinks he’s got several valid points there but it’s worth a read regardless of what you feel about the issue.

There’s no intrinsic reason why someone should continue to get paid for something long, long after the labor they expended on it is complete. Architects don’t get paid every time someone steps into one of their buildings.

the idea that a band or an author should be paid millions upon millions over the next several decades for something that it cost them at most a few thousand dollars to make, just feels silly to most people.

Me? I’m fine with non-commercial, personal use if proper credit is attributed. I wouldn’t publish anything on the internet if I didn’t.
I do not however approve of modifications unless someone explicitly asks me for permission. I’m not saying I wouldn’t grant it. It’s simply a matter of courtesy and respect for the author.

You can read more about it here:
Creative Commons -> Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5

Riding a bike in LA

November 30th, 2005

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It seems impossible even if you’ve never been there yourself doesn’t it? The message, whatever the source, is always that the only way to get anywhere in LA is in a car and that it takes 3h to drive 3 miles.

Apparently not.

Not only has riding my bike enabled me to glide past all this gridlock (in fact, I’m often not even aware it’s happening), but it has made me realize that it’s an illusion. The city itself is not gridlocked—merely the narrow asphalt ribbons onto which we squeeze all our single-occupant cars. On the back streets I now take, everything is quiet and serene.