Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Closing In
Wednesday
March 31, 2004
"There's skanks anywhere you go!"
-Luis Santiago, at work yesterday
Time flies by, and now we're one fourth of the way through 2004. My, how time flies.
You know, it's the little touches with stereo sound that can make a big difference... Like tonight I was watching the Detroit/Columbus hockey game on ESPN. My friend Joe stopped by here for a few minutes, and I was demonstrating the difference in sound between my regular TV speakers (which work fine, but nothing special) and the stereo (where the sound was crisp, cleanly separated, and sharp; you could hear the slaps of the sticks against the ice). It's no Dolby Surround 5.1 or anything, but I like it.
Consider this: Music sharing doesn't kill CD sales. And in the same spirit of that article, here's a big thumbs up to the Canadian judicial system for ruling "that both downloading music and putting it in a shared folder available to other people online appeared to be legal in Canada." Meanwhile, the United States' legislative branch (under the influence of the RIAA) is proposing all sorts of hefty fine increases and new laws, including the "Piracy Deterrence and Education Act" -- which in execution as it is now would give the FBI sweeping new powers. And don't get me started on the FCC witch hunt. You know, this isn't the sort of thing I had in mind when I voted for George W. Bush and saw a Republican-controlled House and Senate. I've given serious consideration to switching my official party registration in Florida to Libertarian (even though it means your voting options are severely restricted when it comes to prelim elections). Whatever happened to Republicans wanting smaller government?!?
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