Chronicling the depravities of the State.
When you purchase a computer do you own it? What about your cell phone? Or your automobile? At one time the answer to these questions was an absolute yes. Today, not so much: Cars, refrigerators, televisions, Barbie dolls. When people buy these everyday objects, they rarely give much thought to whether or not they own … Continue reading “What Do You Own”
Pebble was an interesting company. While the company didn’t invent the smartwatch concept, I have a Fossil smartwatch running Palm OS that came out way before the Pebble, it did popularize the market. But making a product concept popular doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful. Pebble has filed for bankruptcy and effective immediately will … Continue reading “Pebble Goes Bankrupt”
Setting aside my general hatred of intellectual property, I want to discuss an especially heinous abuse of intellectual property laws. A lot of research done in the United States is funded by tax dollars. We’re told this is necessary because the research wouldn’t be done if it was left to the market and that we … Continue reading “A New Hero Arises”
On the one hand we’re told that pure science can only be performed under the “neutrality” of government funding while on the other hand we’re told the research we were forced to fund isn’t ours to access. Having to pay to access research papers that I was forced to fund has been a pet peeve … Continue reading “Freely Accessing Scientific Publications Behind A Paywall”
Update: Smith and Wesson has apologized for being legal cunts. I guess they didn’t have their lawyers on a short enough leash, which is a problem common to most companies. Glad to see they backed off. My original article is below for preservation purposes. For years now I’ve been contemplating buying a Smith and Wesson … Continue reading “Smith And Wesson Don’t Believe You Own Your Gun”
One of my socialist anti-gun friends posted this article on Facebook. It’s a fascinating article not so much because of its content but because of the cognitive dissonance the author, Chauncey Devega, openly displays: When the New York Times editorial board issued its powerful condemnation of America’s gun culture, they went beyond mere outrage in … Continue reading “Laws Are The Problem; Laws Are The Solution”
Several of my friends have been passing around the story of the University of Ottawa cancelling a free yoga class because of concerns of cultural appropriation. I ignored it just as I ignore most culture war stories. Especially when the remedy to the cancellation is as simple as continuing the classes without official recognition from … Continue reading “Cultures Cannot Own Ideas Either”
Are you a libertarian? Are you politically active? If you answered yes to both questions then I have a question for you: why? I came across a good article by Jason Farrell that addresses the contradiction of political libertarianism: There’s a good reason libertarians remain at the ideological fringe: “Libertarian politics” is a contradiction in … Continue reading “You Can’t Vote Your Way To Libertarianism”
Unpatched vulnerabilities are worth a lot of money to malicious hackers. Hoping to outbid more nefarious types many large software companies; including Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla; have begun offering cash payments for disclosed vulnerabilities. Companies that don’t have bounty programs will often publicly credit you for the discovery. But Oracle will do neither. In fact … Continue reading “Oracle. Because You Suck. And We Hate You.”
You have two options when your out of warranty vehicle needs repairs. Option one is to spend a small fortune taking your vehicle to the certified dealer and having their mechanics fix it. The other option is to spend far less money and either repair it yourself or take it to an independent mechanic. Because … Continue reading “Using Copyright Laws to Push Independent Mechanics Out of the Market”