His name is Linus. He fights for the Users.

Ok, so, admittedly, I don't normally agree with Linus Torvalds. But, this time, he's got it right.

In brief: the issue at hand is whether to disallow non-GPL'd modules to be loaded into the Linux kernel. Apparently, a majority of the kernel developers said that that should be the case (it isn't now), and that it would start Jan 1, 2008. I think that this is a bad idea, because it restricts users' freedom, most specifically the freedom to modify their software to do what they want it to.

Now, don't get me wrong, these guys are also working for users' freedom. Specifically, they want to ensure the freedom of the users to modify modules that are used on their systems. But the method they've chosen is a step in the wrong direction. They are choosing to restrict the freedoms of their own software in order to pressure others to open the freedoms of the others' software (something that the FSF is often accused of doing, and berated for it, even if they don't actually do that). One of the quotes I saw was to the effect of, "in order to protect your freedoms, we have to make some restrictions on them...", which is wrong! This way leads to ever further restrictions. Think "Those who would give up their liberty to protect their liberty, um, will lose it, duh!" (This is why Nozick always slips into the State...)

Anyway, Linus has refused to add the patch to his source tree without broad consensus from major Linux distributions (which will never happen).

Again, I'm all in favor of a completely GPL'd kernel, with all modules that are needed (for anyone!) GPL'd, too. But not when it's forced on me.

Five-suited Bridge

I (finally!) found some rules for bridge with five suits! The rules are summarized in the TIME magazine article Super-Bridge, which appeared on March 7, 1938!

In brief:

Super-Bridge (Five-suited Bridge)

By: Walther Marseille

Players: 4

Deal: 16 cards to each player. One card is left over, and may be swapped with another card by the declarer if desired, but only before play begins.

Bidding: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, Stars (or whatever), No Trump

Play: As normal, but with 16 tricks.

Book: 8 tricks

Points for tricks over book: Clubs & Diamonds, 20; Hearts & Spades, 25; Stars, 30; No Trump, 40.

Game points: 120

Possible Slams: Little slam (14 tricks), Grand Slam (15 tricks), Super-Slam (16 tricks)

I don't know how well the game plays (having not yet played it), but I'm somewhat wary of the point values. It might be better to combine Stars & No Trump. Also, leaving the game points at 100 would, at least, make for a faster game, though whether or not this is desirable is questionable.

The article mentions that this variant eliminates the possibility of a single-suit hand (since there are 16 cards in each hand and only 13 cards in a suit), which could be desirable, although such occurances are rare anyway.

Scott's Googl-oscity (and my reactions thereto)

So, Google has apparently decided to hire Scott, which is, of course, amazing but not all that much of a surprise when you think about it... Scott's exactly the kind of person they want there: creative, intelligent, hard-working, social, unconventional, not to mention his mighty programming skillz. It's an excellent opportunity for him, and I am sure he'll do phenominally there.

Meanwhile (talking about me because it's my blog, darnit!), I am stuck contemplating my life and what I'm going to do with it. I'm sad (as well as excited) that Scott's going away in January. He's been my friend the second longest at CU, but he's certainly my closest (non romantic-type) friend right now, and although we'll still be in touch and working together, I'm going to miss him terribly, which is kinda sad since we often don't even spend much time together.

But that's not all that's going on in my head right now. Scott's going to work for Google, undoubtedly the best job in the industry, and meanwhile I'm here, doing irregular contract work for Not-Quite-Enough per hour (I'm not complaining too loudly about the money, though; it's good, but not what I'd like). I have the potential to follow him to Google -- I need some more experience first, but the potential is there -- but is that something I want to do?

He once said to me that he was sure I could work for Google, even if it was only in the IT dept (don't screw up there!), and, even though I'm sure he meant it as encouragement, it felt like a consolation prize. And I'm sitting here asking myself, not only "What do I want to do?" but, "Where is my potential for Greatness to be realized?" I sometimes wonder if I haven't made poor choices in remaining in the shadow of Scott and others. Yes, it's true, I didn't want the commitment and time that it would take to do some of those things, but maybe I should've taken them on anyway. I couldn't have beaten Scott for President of the chapter, after all (not only is he far more popular than I ever would be, he was the best person for the job. I truly believe that he is the best president the chapter has seen), but I have shirked away from leadership when opportunity has come my way.

And so we come to Scott leaving for Google. I'm confident, given another year or two (including waiting until Steve graduates) that I could get into Google, even if only as IT support staff. But is that something I want to do? If I go there, will I be following Scott, standing in his shadow and basking in his glow (to mix metaphors a bit)?

Ah, well, enough of the whining and complaining. I've got too many errands to run today (our pledges become Brothers tomorrow, yay!) and I need a shower. I shall contemplate.

The Promise of a Post-Copyright World

Head on over to Question Copyright to read Karl Fogel's The Promise of a Post-Copyright World, a thoughtful and thought-provoking treatise on copyright, its history and its place in the future.

A short excerpt:

The Internet did something the Company of Stationers never anticipated: it made their argument a testable hypothesis. Would creators still create, without centralized publishers to distribute their works? Even minimal exposure to the Internet is enough to provide the answer: of course they will.

Art

One of the things that I like best about Irregular Webcomic is that its creator, David Morgan-Mar, is not afraid to be experimental. Take, for instance, today's comic. It's best if you go look at it yourself, and if you read his annotation for the strip, and, of course, it's better if you have read the comic up to this point, so you can understand parts of the annotation, but take a look anyway.

For those of you that don't, it is four panels of black. There's no speech, nothing except the black.

Morgan-Mar justifies this in his annotation by comparing the strip to 4'33", by John Cage, which is a piece, in three movements, of four minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Morgan-Mar explains the piece quite well in the annotation, so go read that for a detailed explaination.

I like the strip, not for the strip itself, but because of the annotation that comes with the strip, which is as much a part of the strip as the pictures themselves. I always read the annotations, because they're often funny or interesting, but this one is thought-provoking. In explaining his motivations for presenting four black panels with no text, he presents us with a dilemma: what is art, and is this it?

My answer: the strip itself is not art. Four black panels could be done by anyone. The strip is art only in the context of the annotation, and the body of work that Morgan-Mar has previously presented to us (he lead up to this strip quite well... there is a preceeding comic wherein there are four black panels, but with dialogue). I think this is part of the point he wanted to get across in his annotation, that art--any art--is only art within its own context, whatever that may be.

Just some thoughts that have spewed forth from my mind and fingertips.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Hey, all.

Today, November 20, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Please take a moment to reflect on the needless violence inflicted on our fellow human beings simply because they wear the wrong clothes or some other equally inane reason for violence.

Thank you.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Mandate Pictures
Director: Marc Foster

Kate Eiffel has writer's block. She doesn't know how to kill her main character, Harold Crick, but she knows he has to die, and soon. Unfortunately for Harold, he's real.

One normal Wednesday, Harold starts hearing Kate's voice in his head, narrating his life. This, of course, sets him down a path that will lead, eventually, to his death. In the meantime, he tries to figure out who the voice in his head is, and how to save himself.

The plot and dialogue in Stranger Than Fiction are good, and captivate throughout the movie. You want to know the same thing that Harold does: how is he going to die, and can he stop it? Harold begins the movie as a one-dimensional character, a compulsive bean counter working as an IRS agent. He is, perhaps, the dullest person you'd ever meet. But throughout the movie, he grows on you, and although you begin the movie from the clinical perspective of the narrator, you gradually come to care about Harold and the other characters in the film, even the two characters who play a pivotal role in Harold's death, although they never speak. Most of which is yanked away near the end when Kate must complete her novel, and you are left contemplating: will he die, or not? and how?

Will Ferrell plays an excellent Harold Crick, growing throughout the movie and yet not going over-the-top, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman turn in good performances as well.

I recommend seeing Stranger Than Fiction. It has its moments of comedy and suspense, but it is a drama, and a compelling one at that, asking us to examine ourselves and our roles in life.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Score by Clark Genser
Based on "Peanuts" characters by Charles M. Schultz
As performed by the Platte Valley Players

Well, musical time has come and gone again 'round these parts. Actually, this year was the first year that the PVP has put on two shows in a year, instead of just one, so the musical was quite a bit later than usual, in November. I played viola in the pit orchestra, and ended up conducting one show due to a schedule conflict with the director.

YaGMCB is, essentially, a musical 'sketch' comedy. It contains a number of scenes, some musical, some not, that are linked thematically by the Peanuts cast, rather than as a simple narrative structure. It feels very much like a compilation of Peanuts strips. The revised score is somewhat lacking in places (among other things, the instrumentation is quite sparse), but there are some nice numbers in the show nevertheless.

The Platte Valley Players have once again impressed me with their talent, dedication and skill: the choreography was good, and well-executed; although there were some rough spots, there wasn't a huge problem with keeping the actors with the orchestra (and vice-versa); the set design was good and fit well with the style of the show. It is remarkable to me how well the troupe can do with the limitations that they have as a community group (low budget, time constraints, etc), which they have shown before in their production of The Mikado.

In particular, though I doubt they will ever read this, kudos to Charlie Brown, who, so far as I noticed, only messed up a line once during the performances; to Lucy, who did a remarkable job singing in the annoying voice of her character (and not the actress's normal singing voice... it's always hard to sing poorly when you've been trained to sing well); and to Sally Brown, who worked so very hard to get the rhythms right, and eventually did.

I never know beforehand whether I'll play for a musical or not, but I think I'm inclined to play again for PVP if they ask.

Terry Hancock on Why Free Software is Important

In a recent blog post at Free Software Magazine, Terry Hancock explains (some reasons) why free software is important, and why we should spend our time promoting it and working on it, even though there are "bigger problems to worry about" in the world.

I would still point out that there are many other things that one could do, including protests (among others), although some are not terribly effective. Nevertheless, long-term planning and creating stable, ethical and expandable communities and methods for the future to build on is certainly worthwhile.

Thud!

Terry Pratchett

Thud!, a Discworld book, tells the story of Sam Vimes, Commander of the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, and the events surrounding Koom Valley Day, which commemorates the Battle of Koom Valley, fought a thousand years ago when a band of Trolls ambushed a band of Dwarves (or maybe the other way around) in the treacherous Koom Valley. Vimes must solve the mysterious murder of a Dwarven agitator, and keep the city from descending into a troll-dwarf gang war in the meantime, not to mention dealing with the bureaucracy and, of course, Lord Vetinari, the city's Patrician.

Like most of Pratchett's novels, Thud! is not merely reflective of our own world, but highly entertaining. Dealing with themes of love, devotion, family, jealousy, prejudice, ancient grudges and more, it allows us (as good science fiction and fantasy do) to examine ourselves from the outside, in order to gain a bit of perspective. It also allows us to laugh out loud at Terry's imaginative and sometimes surprising turn of phrase. The book is easy and fun to read, but hard to put down.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the other Discworld books, to anyone over 13 (parents, use your own judgement for younger).

Edit: That should be Vimes, not Grimes. Dunno what I was thinking!

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Gregory Maguire

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is the story of Cinderella, told from the point of view of the Ugly Stepsister, in usual Maguire fashion. Set in 17th century Holland (about the time of the collapse of the tulip market), the story is not so much revisionist as a simple retelling of the classic story, removing somewhat the fantasic elements of fairy tales and making it seem, if not actually true, then plausible.

Unfortunately, Maguire's storytelling is merely adaquate. The ideas presented in the book are good, from murder and betrayal to sisterly love and devotion, but the entire book is rather bland, as if it were a story told a thousand times.

Although I enjoyed Wicked, Maguire's first novel, it, too, suffered from the fault that reduced the novel from adaquate to poor: near the end of the story, everything suddently twists around, as if he had forgotten that he was writing a retelling, a new telling, of a fairy tale, and suddenly has to make it conform to our memories of the story it is based on. Each of the novels of his that I have read, Wicked, Mirror, Mirror, and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, has felt adaquate until this sudden, jarring, forced inclusion.

My advice, Mr. Maguire, is don't force it. It's a retelling. People have done it for thousands of years. Don't get hung up on the most popular details; make it your own.

My advice to the rest of you: don't read it. Go find a nice collection of Fairy Tales if you want a different version of Cinderella. You'll enjoy it more.