Solipsism Gradient

Britt Blaser’s Escapable Logic. Again, thanks to Doc Searls for the link.

Gordon Meyer’s Usable Help. Thanks to Cory Doctorow for the link.

David Weinberger’s JOHO the Blog. I can’t resist quoting A Blogger Code of UnProfessional Ethics:

My readers:

…know me. They will judge me according to context.

…are smart. They will not be misled by some stray comment I may happen to make.

…are kind. They make allowances and forgive me ahead of time.

In return:

I will speak my mind about what I care about.

I will not revise too much or too carefully: Blogging about opera is still jazz.

I will not anticipate and reply to every objection: Punctilliousness in pursuit of the appearance of propriety kills voice.

If I apologize, it will be because I have actually betrayed my readers’ trust, not because I may have, might have, or could be misread as having done so.

I pledge to keep the reading of my weblog purely optional.

O horário de verão no Brasil foi alterado na última hora, como sempre acontece. Pegue o pacote de atualização aqui! Se você prefere fazer pelo Terminal, use esse arquivo fonte (instruções inclusas).

Confira com o site do Governo, por via das dúvidas…

Everybody even faintly interested in Copyright and intellectual property issues – which nowadays should include every Internet user – should watch Lawrence Lessig’s Blog. He’s arguing the Eldred v. Ashcroft case before the US Supreme Court.

Eldred v. Ashcroft is important even if you don’t live in the US, as most countries these days seem inclined to copycat the US stance on many issues without questioning that stance in depth. If this goes on, many everyday activities such as listening to music, writing e-mail, linking to someone’s website or watching TV may cause you to violate some law or other in some place or way you’d never think about.

As a software author I’m definitely in favor of some sort of Copyright and of a way to live for a reasonable time on the proceeds of my work. On the other hand, I think that the recent tendency to patent and protect anything and everything for an indefinite time is deplorable and should be nipped in the bud.

In this connection, I’d like to recommend Janis Ian’s website. Not only does she write great songs – she also writes great articles! Internet Debacle and its follow-up is a must for anyone who ever bought a music CD. Read the other articles too – there isn’t a dull one in the bunch.

And, of course, you must also read Courtney Love Does The Math…

For the record, I Am Not A Lawyer But My Wife Is . I’m also doing some occasional court work as an expert in intellectual property cases. It’s surprisingly interesting work.

Dori Smith’s and Tom Negrino’s Backup Brain. Dori and Tom were on the MacMania Geek Cruise, by the way.

Bill Bumgarner’s bbum’s rants, code & references.

Chris Pirillo.

More to follow… there’s lots of good stuff out there.

From Doc Searls’ weblog, a link to the Illegal Art Exhibit Contract.

NOTICE TO USER: BY METABOLIZING YOU ACCEPT ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, USE OF YOUR HOME AND CAR BY THE AUTHORS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

If you like warning labels, don’t miss the Rinkworks Warning Labels Page.

“Warning: has been found to cause cancer in laboratory mice.” — On a box of rat poison.

Rinkworks, which can’t be praised enough IMHO, also contains the Absolutely Funniest Thing I’ve Ever Seen On The Internet. You have been warned. Do not click on this link while eating or drinking.

Let’s see… there’s Happy Fun Ball…

Happy Fun Ball Contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.

And, of course, they continue to disclaim everything.

…An explanation of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle may be found at the bottom of this page. Then again, it may not.

They also pointed out to me Dave Barry’s Original sci.electronics FAQ, a classic in this genre.

PLUGGING IN THE DEVICE: The plug on this device represents the latest thinking of the electrical industry’s Plug Mutation Group, which, in a continuing effort to prevent consumers from causing hazardous electrical current to flow through their appliances, developed the Three-Pronged Plug, then the Plug Where One Prong is Bigger Than the Other. Your device is equiped with the revolutionary new Plug Whose Prongs Consist of Six Small Religious Figurines Made of Chocolate. DO NOT TRY TO PLUG IT IN! Lay it gently on the floor near an outlet, but out of direct sunlight, and clean it weekly with a damp handkerchief.

DISCLAIMER: This post, as well as the rest of this website, is covered by The World’s Most Powerful Meta-Disclaimer.

I’m back home… down below I said:

…they’re throwing a party next Thursday. Even though it supposedly will be one of those badly-lit-with-loud-music affairs, it’ll be a chance to meet most of the gang in the flesh – and, of course, some of the cover models will be there…

Well, it was all I feared. Extremely badly lit and the music was extremely loud.

Even though I succeeded in meeting several people, none of the models came within sight… anyway, next time, (or so they promised me) the party will have a “seniors section”.

Some days ago, as I noted below, Sanford Selznick published an excellent article for would-be shareware authors.

Well, the second part is now out. Enough said.

I’m at the Macmania office in São Paulo, here for a 3-day visit. The #100 issue of the magazine is just coming out, and they’re throwing a party next Thursday. Even though it supposedly will be one of those badly-lit-with-loud-music affairs, it’ll be a chance to meet most of the gang in the flesh – and, of course, some of the cover models will be there… 😛

Speaking of covers, #100 has two covers for the price of one! See them here and here.

I’m also here to finish my chapters of a book about Mac OS X. I wrote most of those months ago, but now, with Jaguar out, everything must be revised.

However, before diving into that I found a must-read link to Richard Thieme’s article Real Hacking Rules!. Simply marvelous. Here are some quotes:

…hacking [is] practice for transplanetary life in the 21st century.

In essence, hacking is a way of thinking about complex systems.

Hacking is knowing how to discern or retrieve information beyond that which is designed for official consumption.