But the standard deduction is supposed to reflect an average taxpayer's actual deductions...
Besides, if we're talking about the mega-wealthy (who would benefit from estate tax cuts/eliminatinos), then they'd presumably (hopefully?) be donating more than the standard deduction to charities each year.
Yes, people set up offshore trusts to avoid taxes. But some (lawyers) believe a repeal of the estate tax would encourage even more aggressive estate planning, to avoid the generation-skipping tax and to tie up assets for even longer than the Rule Against Perpetuities allows.
For example, offshore trusts aren't taxed on their capital gains -- they're only taxed on the distributions they make. For rich scions who want to take care of their grandkids (and great-grandkids, etc.), this makes a huge difference.
But yes, your point is well taken that my original point is a touch confusing. I just repeat what my T&E lawyer friends have told me.
I think the problem is that eliminating the estate tax has a whole lot of implications for T&E lawyers; no one is predicting that T&E lawyers would be out of a job if it happens, though.
(You want more money in liquid assets? Fine: abolish the inheritance tax on stocks, and double the inheritance tax on property. I won't stop you.)
The crazy thing is, those who inherit stocks already get a big tax break!
Say I bought CSCO at the IPO price. My $1000 is now worth gajillions. If I sold that stock, I would owe a pretty big chunk of capital gains. But if I die, and leave that stock to someone else, his basis price is the market price at the time of transfer. Thus, if he sells instantly, he pays no capital gains tax.
Doubling the estate tax on property is nice rhetoric, but easily avoided. What if I have a company that holds real estate, and I own stock in that company (ie, a real estate investment trust (REIT)). Is it property, or stock?
Why not allow greater deductions for charitable contributions now?
Just a clarification -- charitable contributions (ie, to churches, universities, libraries, soup kitchens) are already 100% tax deductible. This is an example of government using the tax code to change behavior. We like charitable contributions, so we encourage it in the tax code.
Are you proposing a charitable gift tax-credit of some sort?
"The president need not know anything of ecconomics to run the country when he has capable assistants who can do the job."
Sure, I'll accept that the president has capable advisors. But, all things being equal, wouldn't you rather have an intelligent president instead of one than needs to be hand-held through the decision making process?
Sure, the money will be in a more liquid form -- and that means "Hello, Cayman Islands". Many estate planners predict that the very rich will set up off-shore trusts if the estate tax is repealed.
With a simple bit of estate planning, a married couple can ALREADY give over ONE MILLION dollars tax-free to their heirs. (This will automatically raise to TWO MILLION dollars when the federal exemption rises in a few years.)
The reason that non-millionaires are supporting the repeal of the estate tax isn't that they want to benefit people who die with over two million dollars (ie, the richest of the rich). It's because people believe that they may someday "hit it rich", and thus be one of Bush's benefactors.
Maybe this is the wrong argument to be making to the stock-option laden crowd (even after the recent downturns in the stock market)!
The article mentioned that some programmers are fine with the emulators being used. But, odds are, they don't actually hold the copyright in the game.
If the game was written as a "work for hire", then the game company owns the copyright, and is really the only entity who can release it into the public domain (or otherwise authorize emulating, etc.)
Even if the company is out of business, this could be dangerous. Even after the corporation "dies", its assets are still held by someone -- maybe a creditor bank, or by the corporation who bought its assets. (Think M$.) The infringement lawsuit would probably follow when the emulated or derivative work becomes "the next big thing".
Actually, it's not a clueless comment. Back in the "old" days, there was a lot of debate as to whether computer programs were copyrightable. So a lot of early software infringement cases dealt with trademarks.
Essentially, by making an emulator, you're causing the trademark of the original manufacturer to pop up. Since there's a likelihood that some idiot consumer might think the original manufacturer is sponsoring the emulator or emulated software, the emulator is infringing the trademark.
Of course, that's not to say that there isn't potential copyright violation as well; the emulator is presumably copying the expression, and might be seen as creating derivative works.
I really should get back to studying for the bar exam...
The Full Faith & Credit Clause doesn't really have that much to do with Federal court jurisdiction. However, the Supremacy Clause says that federal laws are supreme to anything the individual states can pass (with a lot of exceptions these days).
Generally, Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over questions involving federal laws. That's why you'll almost never see a copyright or patent case in a state court -- most IP laws are federal laws.
DHartung, you said, Yesmail is "suing in Federal court because they are seeking injunctive relief under Federal law." This hasn't been established yet. Federal courts, under 28 U.S.C. s1332, have jurisdiction to hear ALL CIVIL ACTIONS in which the amount in controversy is over $75,000 and the parties are citizens of different states.
I've seen nothing in the article or on the MAPS webpage that a federal question is involved. According to the article, yesmail's complaint states that MAPS "would disrupt yesmail's contractual relationships with its advertising business". This type of "tortious interference" isn't covered by any federal law, so we're dealing with diversity jurisdiction.
Yes, it's a federal judge. The article says the order was issued from a judge in the Northern District Court of Illinois (Eastern Division). State trial courts in Illinois are called the Circuit Courts (ie, the "Circuit Court of Cook County").
In federal courts, you can bring suit in the district where the defendant resides OR the district in which a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred. See 28 U.S.C. 1391.
It's generally (although not conclusively) been established that posting stuff on the Internet subjects you to the jurisdiction of courts everywhere, since your communication reaches those jurisdictions. Caveat blacklister...
Get your facts straight. Last week, in Lunney vs. Prodigy Services Co., 99-1430, the Supreme Court DENIED CERT in the case that said that ISP's weren't liable for their users email. The highest court in New York said that, and by denying cert, the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case at all. In the big scheme of things, denials of cert have ZERO precedence, and generally don't mean anything.
The Napster decision we're talking about is from a Federal District Court judge ruling on a motion for summary judgment. The case isn't over by a long shot.
Yes, but scents can definitely be trademarked. For instance, if only one company makes plumeria scented sewing thread, and that scent distinguishes the thread, it's a valid trademark. (In re Clarke, 17 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1238).
Out of touch?! Take a look at the findings on the (lack of) security of ActiveX -- "In particular, Microsoft exposed those using Navigator on Windows 98 to security and privacy risks that are specific to Internet Explorer and to ActiveX controls."
Does this sound out of touch?
Or, from paragraph 174 --
"174. Microsoft has harmed even those consumers who desire to use Internet Explorer, and no other browser, with Windows 98. To the extent that browsing-specific routines have been commingled with operating system routines to a greater degree than is necessary to provide any consumer benefit, Microsoft has unjustifiably jeopardized the stability and security of the operating system. Specifically, it has increased the likelihood that a browser crash will cause the entire system to crash and made it easier for malicious viruses that penetrate the system via Internet Explorer to infect non-browsing parts of the system."
Perhaps this just shows the woeful state of education in the schools, or the blissful ignorance of law and issues. A telling question was:
8. Under current law, do Americans have the legal right to burn the American flag as a means of political protest? Yes or no? 33% Yes, 64% No, 3% DK/Ref
Of course, the "correct" answer is that flag-burning is considered to be protected speech -- that's why there are constitutional amendments being considered.
Almost half of the respondents did not remember taking a class that dealt with the First Amendment. (question 9) Perhaps the respondents dropped out of high school, or were not paying attention that day/week...
Since 28% of the respondents felt that the First Amendment "goes too far in the rights it guarantees" (question 3), perhaps the responses about Internet and other broadcast regulation aren't really that surprising.
I think that Brahms is good for thinking. Certainly, the symphonies are just as good as the Variations on a Theme by Haydn. If you're going to mention Bruckner, I probably should throw out Sibelius -- maybe the first or fifth symphonies.
I'd second the idea that Tchaikovsky isn't good coding music. As I said, I like to listen to music with contrapuntal and harmonic intricacy when coding, and, let's face it -- Tchaikovsky doesn't have that much to offer there, at least compared to some of the other composers mentioned. That's not to say that it's bad music -- I'm quite looking forward to playing the Tchaik 5 in the spring. But it ain't deep-thinking, focus-your-mind music.
Hey, don't forget the John Williams does stuff besides soundtracks. I remember attending the world premiere of his Bassoon Concerto, entitled "The Five Sacred Trees" or something like that. It was quite unlike the soundtracks, although one of the slow movements somewhat resembled the love theme from Indiana Jones.
Then of course there are musicals - assorted girlfriends have pretty much played my quota of Cats and Phantom of the Opera, but I still get into Chess every so often.
Wow, a Chess fan. Whenever I feel in one of my more nihilistic moods (ie, deadline rapidly approaching), that's one of my choices. I mean, sure, the only tune most people recognize is "One Night in Bangkok" (I've heard it on the radio during their retro dance mixes), but the real gems are things like "Nobody's on Nobody's Side" and the track with lines like, "Who needs a dream? Who needs ambition? What would you do... in my position?"
I'm convinced one of the reasons Chess was a flop on broadway was because people could deal with the fact that the ending was such a downer. Heh, sick the focus groups on that one.
Wagnerian opera doesn't work for me when I'm trying to concentrate on something else (like writing) -- the singing is just too distracting. That said, I often pop in a copy of "The Ring Without Words", which is a compilation of orchestral highlights from The Ring.
I sometimes flinch at the parts I've been attempting to play, though. But that's another story.
For coding or heavy analytical writing (law), I think that nothing beats Bach. In particular, I like the Art of the Fugue (Contrapunctus). I have a Canadian Brass CD that really captures the emotional and harmonic impact of the music. The solo 'cello suites are good, too. The reason I think that this music is good for coding is because the music is both intricately complex and stunningly elegant. Kind of like a lot of (good) code (or a good argument) can be.
OT: Hey, is anyone else surprised that an article posted ~4:00 AM EDT should get 90 comments in an hour? Or am I being too US-centric?
the 17th amendment is likely unconstitutional since it varies the representation of the states in spite of the terms of article V
This is absolutely incorrect. The 17th Amendment is part of the Constitution, and hence cannot be unconstitutional. Your argument is like saying that the 12th amendment is unconstitutional because Article II states that the vice-president should be the runner-up in presidential elections.
The 17th Amendemnt amends any terms the Articles and previous amendments that may be inconsistent with the amendment.
Here's the bio of the founder (Dr. Wun C. Chiou) and the other officers of LinuxOne, from the Freedgar filing:
Background of Officers and Directors Dr. Wun C. Chiou, Sr. has been the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Company since inception. He has been active in the computer industry for more than 15 years. He holds a B.S. Degree from National Taiwan University in General Science and Psychology; a Masters Degree from Bowling Green State University in Physics and Mathematics; and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Biophysics. Dr. Chiou has also completed post-doctoral work at Ohio State University on image modeling. Dr. Chiou has held a variety of positions including Research Physicist for the U.S. Army, Areomed (1974-1979); Senior Staff Engineer for Hughes Aircraft Co. (1979-1981); Research Scientist for Teledyne Systems, Co., Northridge (1981-1982); Senior Technologist for the California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1982-1984); Chief of Artificial Intelligent Branch of NASA Ames Research Center (1984-85); Consultant for Peterson & Co., Northridge; Senior Scientist for Lockheed, Palo Alto Research Center where he organized Lockheed's Artificial Intelligence Center (1985-1987); Founder, President and Director of Pacific Microelectronics, Inc. (1987-1996), which became NetUSA, Inc., a public corporation (1996-1999). Dr. Chiou resigned from NetUSA, Inc. and formed the Company in March 1999. Dr. Chiou has also taught at Cal State, Northridge and U.C. Berkeley Extension. He possesses knowledge and research experience regarding expert systems, artificial intelligence, image modeling, optical information processing, and system integration, among others. Prior to founding the Company, he was the Branch Chief of Artificial Intelligence software at NASA, at Ames Research Center in Mountain View. He has published many scientific articles in a variety of periodicals. Dr. Chiou is a member of the Optical Society of America, Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers, and the National Association for Artificial Intelligence. He will devote full time to the business of our Company.
Stan Kawczynski has been the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, and a Director of our Company since April, 1999. Since 1995, he has also been Vice President of Investments, specializing in estate and retirement planning, for Birchtree Financial Services, Inc., a member NASD/SIPC wholly-owned subsidiary of Block Financial Corporation, with offices in Sunnyvale and San Rafael, California and Kansas City, Missouri. From 1993 to 1995, he was Vice President of Government Affairs, as well as the Director and Chairman of the Board of Trilogy Systems, Inc., a new business opportunities incubator company. Throughout his 19-year investment career, Mr. Kawczynski has held positions of Account Executive with Dean Witter Reynolds, Senior Account Executive with PaineWebber and Vice President of Investments with First California Capital Markets Group. He is an active member of many civic organizations, including Council Member, former Mayor of the City of Sunnyvale, California, candidate for the California State Assembly, Chair of the Advisory Counsel for the Digital Clubhouse Network, member of the Steering Committee on Information Technology and Communication for the National League of Cities, past Chair, Policy Committee on Transportation, Communication and Public Works for the League of California Cities, past Zone Chairman, President and Secretary of the Sunnyvale Host Lions Club, and many others. Mr. Kawczynski will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
Robert Philips has been Vice President of Marketing for our Company since April, 1999. Since 1996, he has also been a Communications Engineer for NEC Electronics, Inc. From 1995 to 1996, he was Vice President of Engineering and Marketing for GIK Technology and from 1991 to 1995, he was Vice President of Marketing for Mobile Link Solutions, Inc. He has been a founding executive for numerous Silicon Valley start up firms with responsibilities varying from development of business plans, proposals, collateral materials, advertising and public relations. Mr. Philips has a technical background in hardware, software, and network technology that provides insight to high-technology products. He holds a B.S. Degree in Physics, a B.S. Degree in Philosophy, an MBA Degree in Marketing and an MBA Degree-Extended Edition in High Technology Management. Mr. Philips will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
Paul Kraus has been a Director and Secretary of our Company since April, 1999. He is a licensed California architect and founder of the Design Partnership in San Francisco, California. He was also founder and principal of Investpac Inc., a company which developed real estate during the 1980's. From 1992 to the present, he has been the President/CEO of Goodco Press Inc., a lithographic company located in Silicon Valley. Mr. Kraus will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
It seems to me that large sections (actually, almost all) of Linuxone's S1 are virtually identical to Redhat's. I'd hardly be surprised if the author did a cut-and-paste into Micoosoft Word, replced Redhat with linuxone, and changed a few key paragraphs.
I'd be interested to know exactly which "developments on and improvements to the Linux kernel and other open source products" they've "shared with the Linux community". They also say that their product is freely available for download on their website (which it isn't, at least when I checked), and that they've issued free CD-ROMs through direct mailing. Oops. (All of this is on page 30 of the Edgar filing.)
One of the few original paragraphs I saw concerned "Linuxone Games" : We are presently compiling games and other graphic applications for operation on our Linux software. We intend to build a web site with the operating software available for $19.95. With each copy, the purchaser may elect to join and become a member of a game club for $9.95, which provides an online library of available games that will grow monthly. Parents can request a PIN to ontrol access to violent or sex-content games. Once the fee has been paid, members will have perpetual access. Games will be rated, and all will be certified for operation on the Linux software. The "Games" phase is intended to provide us with early market recognition, build interest and set the stage for follow-up products and services.
I don't have time to run diff on the two S-1's (or, better yet, feed 'em through CompareRite), but I wouldn't be surprised if large portions of the documents are identical.
What might be funny to see is a copyright lawsuit brought by RedHat (or Redhat's lawyers) for plagiarism of the languaged used in the SEC filing. Probably not the best use of legal resources, but I think they'd have a case. They might have a hard time collecting damages, though -- Linuxone doesn't seem to be a deep pocket, at least pre-IPO!
I'm only 15, so if Gates pulls off this world with out AIDS thing I think it'd be really kewl... not that it would matter for me, but....
This is a bit short-sighted. Even if you never know someone who dies of AIDS (or is HIV positive), AIDS will affect you; it already has. AIDS has changed the way people think about sex, and millions of dollars have been spent caring for those with the disease and researching a cure.
I assume you'll pay taxes in a few years (if you haven't started already). Well, part of your taxes goes (or will go) to AIDS research.
Slashdot Mirror
But the standard deduction is supposed to reflect an average taxpayer's actual deductions...
Besides, if we're talking about the mega-wealthy (who would benefit from estate tax cuts/eliminatinos), then they'd presumably (hopefully?) be donating more than the standard deduction to charities each year.
Yes, people set up offshore trusts to avoid taxes. But some (lawyers) believe a repeal of the estate tax would encourage even more aggressive estate planning, to avoid the generation-skipping tax and to tie up assets for even longer than the Rule Against Perpetuities allows.
For example, offshore trusts aren't taxed on their capital gains -- they're only taxed on the distributions they make. For rich scions who want to take care of their grandkids (and great-grandkids, etc.), this makes a huge difference.
But yes, your point is well taken that my original point is a touch confusing. I just repeat what my T&E lawyer friends have told me.
I think the problem is that eliminating the estate tax has a whole lot of implications for T&E lawyers; no one is predicting that T&E lawyers would be out of a job if it happens, though.
Actually, a frightening number of them probably would block out a lot of political discussion.
Talk about abortion, birth control, gay rights -- it's all political, and it's all probably filtered by a lot of programs.
(You want more money in liquid assets? Fine: abolish the inheritance tax on stocks, and double the inheritance tax on property. I won't stop you.)
The crazy thing is, those who inherit stocks already get a big tax break!
Say I bought CSCO at the IPO price. My $1000 is now worth gajillions. If I sold that stock, I would owe a pretty big chunk of capital gains. But if I die, and leave that stock to someone else, his basis price is the market price at the time of transfer. Thus, if he sells instantly, he pays no capital gains tax.
Doubling the estate tax on property is nice rhetoric, but easily avoided. What if I have a company that holds real estate, and I own stock in that company (ie, a real estate investment trust (REIT)). Is it property, or stock?
Why not allow greater deductions for charitable contributions now?
Just a clarification -- charitable contributions (ie, to churches, universities, libraries, soup kitchens) are already 100% tax deductible. This is an example of government using the tax code to change behavior. We like charitable contributions, so we encourage it in the tax code.
Are you proposing a charitable gift tax-credit of some sort?
"The president need not know anything of ecconomics to run the country when he has capable assistants who can do the job."
Sure, I'll accept that the president has capable advisors. But, all things being equal, wouldn't you rather have an intelligent president instead of one than needs to be hand-held through the decision making process?
Sure, the money will be in a more liquid form -- and that means "Hello, Cayman Islands". Many estate planners predict that the very rich will set up off-shore trusts if the estate tax is repealed.
With a simple bit of estate planning, a married couple can ALREADY give over ONE MILLION dollars tax-free to their heirs. (This will automatically raise to TWO MILLION dollars when the federal exemption rises in a few years.)
The reason that non-millionaires are supporting the repeal of the estate tax isn't that they want to benefit people who die with over two million dollars (ie, the richest of the rich). It's because people believe that they may someday "hit it rich", and thus be one of Bush's benefactors.
Maybe this is the wrong argument to be making to the stock-option laden crowd (even after the recent downturns in the stock market)!
Here's an issue I haven't seen raised yet...
The article mentioned that some programmers are fine with the emulators being used. But, odds are, they don't actually hold the copyright in the game.
If the game was written as a "work for hire", then the game company owns the copyright, and is really the only entity who can release it into the public domain (or otherwise authorize emulating, etc.)
Even if the company is out of business, this could be dangerous. Even after the corporation "dies", its assets are still held by someone -- maybe a creditor bank, or by the corporation who bought its assets. (Think M$.) The infringement lawsuit would probably follow when the emulated or derivative work becomes "the next big thing".
Actually, it's not a clueless comment. Back in the "old" days, there was a lot of debate as to whether computer programs were copyrightable. So a lot of early software infringement cases dealt with trademarks.
Essentially, by making an emulator, you're causing the trademark of the original manufacturer to pop up. Since there's a likelihood that some idiot consumer might think the original manufacturer is sponsoring the emulator or emulated software, the emulator is infringing the trademark.
Of course, that's not to say that there isn't potential copyright violation as well; the emulator is presumably copying the expression, and might be seen as creating derivative works.
I really should get back to studying for the bar exam...
The Full Faith & Credit Clause doesn't really have that much to do with Federal court jurisdiction. However, the Supremacy Clause says that federal laws are supreme to anything the individual states can pass (with a lot of exceptions these days).
Generally, Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over questions involving federal laws. That's why you'll almost never see a copyright or patent case in a state court -- most IP laws are federal laws.
DHartung, you said, Yesmail is "suing in Federal court because they are seeking injunctive relief under Federal law." This hasn't been established yet. Federal courts, under 28 U.S.C. s1332, have jurisdiction to hear ALL CIVIL ACTIONS in which the amount in controversy is over $75,000 and the parties are citizens of different states.
I've seen nothing in the article or on the MAPS webpage that a federal question is involved. According to the article, yesmail's complaint states that MAPS "would disrupt yesmail's contractual relationships with its advertising business". This type of "tortious interference" isn't covered by any federal law, so we're dealing with diversity jurisdiction.
Anyone up for more civil procedure discussion?
Yes, it's a federal judge. The article says the order was issued from a judge in the Northern District Court of Illinois (Eastern Division). State trial courts in Illinois are called the Circuit Courts (ie, the "Circuit Court of Cook County").
In federal courts, you can bring suit in the district where the defendant resides OR the district in which a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred. See 28 U.S.C. 1391.
It's generally (although not conclusively) been established that posting stuff on the Internet subjects you to the jurisdiction of courts everywhere, since your communication reaches those jurisdictions. Caveat blacklister...
Get your facts straight. Last week, in Lunney vs. Prodigy Services Co., 99-1430, the Supreme Court DENIED CERT in the case that said that ISP's weren't liable for their users email. The highest court in New York said that, and by denying cert, the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case at all. In the big scheme of things, denials of cert have ZERO precedence, and generally don't mean anything.
The Napster decision we're talking about is from a Federal District Court judge ruling on a motion for summary judgment. The case isn't over by a long shot.
Yes, but scents can definitely be trademarked. For instance, if only one company makes plumeria scented sewing thread, and that scent distinguishes the thread, it's a valid trademark. (In re Clarke, 17 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1238).
Out of touch?! Take a look at the findings on the (lack of) security of ActiveX -- "In particular, Microsoft exposed those using Navigator on Windows 98 to security and privacy risks that are specific to Internet Explorer and to ActiveX controls."
Does this sound out of touch?
Or, from paragraph 174 --
"174. Microsoft has harmed even those consumers who desire to use Internet Explorer, and no other browser, with Windows 98. To the extent that browsing-specific routines have been commingled with operating system routines to a greater degree than is necessary to provide any consumer benefit, Microsoft has unjustifiably jeopardized the stability and security of the operating system. Specifically, it has increased the likelihood that a browser crash will cause the entire system to crash and made it easier for malicious viruses that penetrate the system via Internet Explorer to infect non-browsing parts of the system."
Perhaps this just shows the woeful state of education in the schools, or the blissful ignorance of law and issues. A telling question was:
8. Under current law, do Americans have the legal right to burn the American flag as a means of political protest? Yes or no?
33% Yes, 64% No, 3% DK/Ref
Of course, the "correct" answer is that flag-burning is considered to be protected speech -- that's why there are constitutional amendments being considered.
Almost half of the respondents did not remember taking a class that dealt with the First Amendment. (question 9) Perhaps the respondents dropped out of high school, or were not paying attention that day/week...
Since 28% of the respondents felt that the First Amendment "goes too far in the rights it guarantees" (question 3), perhaps the responses about Internet and other broadcast regulation aren't really that surprising.
I think that Brahms is good for thinking. Certainly, the symphonies are just as good as the Variations on a Theme by Haydn. If you're going to mention Bruckner, I probably should throw out Sibelius -- maybe the first or fifth symphonies.
I'd second the idea that Tchaikovsky isn't good coding music. As I said, I like to listen to music with contrapuntal and harmonic intricacy when coding, and, let's face it -- Tchaikovsky doesn't have that much to offer there, at least compared to some of the other composers mentioned. That's not to say that it's bad music -- I'm quite looking forward to playing the Tchaik 5 in the spring. But it ain't deep-thinking, focus-your-mind music.
Hey, don't forget the John Williams does stuff besides soundtracks. I remember attending the world premiere of his Bassoon Concerto, entitled "The Five Sacred Trees" or something like that. It was quite unlike the soundtracks, although one of the slow movements somewhat resembled the love theme from Indiana Jones.
So be careful what you wish for.
Up for the third night in a row banging out a paper that was due yesterday. No parties for the procrastinator....
Then of course there are musicals - assorted girlfriends have pretty much played my quota of Cats and Phantom of the Opera, but I still get into Chess every so often.
Wow, a Chess fan. Whenever I feel in one of my more nihilistic moods (ie, deadline rapidly approaching), that's one of my choices. I mean, sure, the only tune most people recognize is "One Night in Bangkok" (I've heard it on the radio during their retro dance mixes), but the real gems are things like "Nobody's on Nobody's Side" and the track with lines like, "Who needs a dream? Who needs ambition? What would you do... in my position?"
I'm convinced one of the reasons Chess was a flop on broadway was because people could deal with the fact that the ending was such a downer. Heh, sick the focus groups on that one.
Wagnerian opera doesn't work for me when I'm trying to concentrate on something else (like writing) -- the singing is just too distracting. That said, I often pop in a copy of "The Ring Without Words", which is a compilation of orchestral highlights from The Ring.
I sometimes flinch at the parts I've been attempting to play, though. But that's another story.
For coding or heavy analytical writing (law), I think that nothing beats Bach. In particular, I like the Art of the Fugue (Contrapunctus). I have a Canadian Brass CD that really captures the emotional and harmonic impact of the music. The solo 'cello suites are good, too. The reason I think that this music is good for coding is because the music is both intricately complex and stunningly elegant. Kind of like a lot of (good) code (or a good argument) can be.
OT: Hey, is anyone else surprised that an article posted ~4:00 AM EDT should get 90 comments in an hour? Or am I being too US-centric?
the 17th amendment is likely unconstitutional since it varies the representation of the states in spite of the terms of article V
This is absolutely incorrect. The 17th Amendment is part of the Constitution, and hence cannot be unconstitutional. Your argument is like saying that the 12th amendment is unconstitutional because Article II states that the vice-president should be the runner-up in presidential elections.
The 17th Amendemnt amends any terms the Articles and previous amendments that may be inconsistent with the amendment.
Background of Officers and Directors
Dr. Wun C. Chiou, Sr. has been the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Company since inception. He has been active in the computer industry for more than 15 years. He holds a B.S. Degree from National Taiwan University in General Science and Psychology; a Masters Degree from Bowling Green State University in Physics and Mathematics; and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Biophysics. Dr. Chiou has also completed post-doctoral work at Ohio State University on image modeling. Dr. Chiou has held a variety of positions including Research Physicist for the U.S. Army, Areomed (1974-1979); Senior Staff Engineer for Hughes Aircraft Co. (1979-1981); Research Scientist for Teledyne Systems, Co., Northridge (1981-1982); Senior Technologist for the California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1982-1984); Chief of Artificial Intelligent Branch of NASA Ames Research Center (1984-85); Consultant for Peterson & Co., Northridge; Senior Scientist for Lockheed, Palo Alto Research Center where he organized Lockheed's Artificial Intelligence Center (1985-1987); Founder, President and Director of Pacific Microelectronics, Inc. (1987-1996), which became NetUSA, Inc., a public corporation (1996-1999). Dr. Chiou resigned from NetUSA, Inc. and formed the Company in March 1999. Dr. Chiou has also taught at Cal State, Northridge and U.C. Berkeley Extension. He possesses knowledge and research experience regarding expert systems, artificial intelligence, image modeling, optical information processing, and system integration, among others. Prior to founding the Company, he was the Branch Chief of Artificial Intelligence software at NASA, at Ames Research Center in Mountain View. He has published many scientific articles in a variety of periodicals. Dr. Chiou is a member of the Optical Society of America, Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers, and the National Association for Artificial Intelligence. He will devote full time to the business of our Company.
Stan Kawczynski has been the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, and a Director of our Company since April, 1999. Since 1995, he has also been Vice President of Investments, specializing in estate and retirement planning, for Birchtree Financial Services, Inc., a member NASD/SIPC wholly-owned subsidiary of Block Financial Corporation, with offices in Sunnyvale and San Rafael, California and Kansas City, Missouri. From 1993 to 1995, he was Vice President of Government Affairs, as well as the Director and Chairman of the Board of Trilogy Systems, Inc., a new business opportunities incubator company. Throughout his 19-year investment career, Mr. Kawczynski has held positions of Account Executive with Dean Witter Reynolds, Senior Account Executive with PaineWebber and Vice President of Investments with First California Capital Markets Group. He is an active member of many civic organizations, including Council Member, former Mayor of the City of Sunnyvale, California, candidate for the California State Assembly, Chair of the Advisory Counsel for the Digital Clubhouse Network, member of the Steering Committee on Information Technology and Communication for the National League of Cities, past Chair, Policy Committee on Transportation, Communication and Public Works for the League of California Cities, past Zone Chairman, President and Secretary of the Sunnyvale Host Lions Club, and many others. Mr. Kawczynski will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
Robert Philips has been Vice President of Marketing for our Company since April, 1999. Since 1996, he has also been a Communications Engineer for NEC Electronics, Inc. From 1995 to 1996, he was Vice President of Engineering and Marketing for GIK Technology and from 1991 to 1995, he was Vice President of Marketing for Mobile Link Solutions, Inc. He has been a founding executive for numerous Silicon Valley start up firms with responsibilities varying from development of business plans, proposals, collateral materials, advertising and public relations. Mr. Philips has a technical background in hardware, software, and network technology that provides insight to high-technology products. He holds a B.S. Degree in Physics, a B.S. Degree in Philosophy, an MBA Degree in Marketing and an MBA Degree-Extended Edition in High Technology Management. Mr. Philips will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
Paul Kraus has been a Director and Secretary of our Company since April, 1999. He is a licensed California architect and founder of the Design Partnership in San Francisco, California. He was also founder and principal of Investpac Inc., a company which developed real estate during the 1980's. From 1992 to the present, he has been the President/CEO of Goodco Press Inc., a lithographic company located in Silicon Valley. Mr. Kraus will devote his time as required to the business of our Company.
It seems to me that large sections (actually, almost all) of Linuxone's S1 are virtually identical to Redhat's. I'd hardly be surprised if the author did a cut-and-paste into Micoosoft Word, replced Redhat with linuxone, and changed a few key paragraphs.
I'd be interested to know exactly which "developments on and improvements to the Linux kernel and other open source products" they've "shared with the Linux community". They also say that their product is freely available for download on their website (which it isn't, at least when I checked), and that they've issued free CD-ROMs through direct mailing. Oops. (All of this is on page 30 of the Edgar filing.)
One of the few original paragraphs I saw concerned "Linuxone Games" :
We are presently compiling games and other graphic applications for operation on our Linux software. We intend to build a web site with the operating software available for $19.95. With each copy, the purchaser may elect to join and become a member of a game club for $9.95, which provides an online library of available games that will grow monthly. Parents can request a PIN to ontrol access to violent or sex-content games. Once the fee has been paid, members will have perpetual access. Games will be rated, and all will be certified for operation on the Linux software. The "Games" phase is intended to provide us with early market recognition, build interest and set the stage for follow-up products and services.
I don't have time to run diff on the two S-1's (or, better yet, feed 'em through CompareRite), but I wouldn't be surprised if large portions of the documents are identical.
What might be funny to see is a copyright lawsuit brought by RedHat (or Redhat's lawyers) for plagiarism of the languaged used in the SEC filing. Probably not the best use of legal resources, but I think they'd have a case. They might have a hard time collecting damages, though -- Linuxone doesn't seem to be a deep pocket, at least pre-IPO!
I assume you'll pay taxes in a few years (if you haven't started already). Well, part of your taxes goes (or will go) to AIDS research.