In some states if you have an outstanding judgement against a company, you can hire the local police to do the collection. If they refuse to pay up, the police can just confiscate anything that appears to be the dollar value of the judgement.
A lot of SPL code I've seen is selfmodifying code. This means pushing old (pre-parisc) opcodes onto the compatibility mode stack and executing them.
Don't forget that a lot of SPL code depends on intricate details of the compatibility mode linker, too.
In the end, if you were going to do a gspl you'd basically have to end up writing a compatiblity mode VM as well.
Even HP didn't get the CM VM 100% perfect when they went to PA-RISC. CM code still sometimes mysteriously vomits (or maybe its on purpose, part of evil scheme to get you to port your code to native mode:-)
Don't forget the complexity of writing a VM to fully emulate the intricate block-mode oriented terminal I/O... even commercial terminal emulation software like Reflections don't always get this quite right...
I don't think it would be an easy job at all. You could make a bundle off it though, selling it to corporations desperate to keep their HP3K investments afloat...
In a previous life I did HP3000 development. Ahhhh the memor^H^H^H^H^Hnightmares...;)
Yes, the HP3000 hardware and OS (MPE/iX) are supremely stable. However everything is also supremely expensive, and performance isn't very good.
The last few years MPE has desperately been playing catch-up with the modern Unix world. The development tools on the HP3000 are horribly archaic -- much worse than even ancient Unixes. The default native MPE environment doesnt even have a fullscreen text editor! At least you get 'vi' with Unix. The OS was riddled with anachronisms at least as many levels deep as Dante's hell. You think Unix is archaic? You ain't seen MPE, baby. It makes VMS look brand spanking new.
The (relatively) recent attempts to bring HP3000 up to speed didn't really work out that well. Adding a POSIX subsystem was cute, but not terribly useful. POSIX stuff could see everything on the MPE side (files, etc), but MPE applications couldn't easily access POSIX data. In the end it was like having two mutually exclusive OSes on the same box. They could co-exist but couldnt really usefully share data.
The HP3000 filesystem is both a blessing and a curse -- the record oriented filesystem can be extremely cumbersome at times when you're used to the rest of the world dealing with simple streams of bytes. Trying to ship data between HP3000 and the real world can be a real hair-pulling experience. Even Macs don't usually have it as bad.
I pity those companies that bet the farm on HP3000's. They may have several years before support is cut off -- but porting tens of millions of lines of code, much of it SPL (basically a macro assembler), is going to be a herculean effort. In many cases it's going to be easier to just start from scratch.
You know the FEMTOSECOND someone ports Linux to XBOX, micro$oft is gonna bust out screaming "DMCA VIOLATION" and have the person thrown in prison.
In fact, this is probably what M$ fears most about XBOX -- that someone will crack it and allow open source OS to be installed, thus turning it into a cheap PC.
PS2 doesnt have much memory and its unexpandable anyway, so things like building a kernel take all day while the thing swaps into the stratosphere... if youre going to develop for this thing, you really want to cross compile. You dont want to self-host build at all.
CPU wise, the R5900 @ 294mhz is roughly equivalent to a K6/233. Please, dont argue about what this CPU is "theoretically" capable of. Right now GCC is very unoptimized for this architecture, so a K6/233 IS what this thing is going to perform like, unless you want to hand code MIPS ASM.
Its very cute, but the Mesa HW implementation is rather incomplete and binutils has various bugs preventing lots of stuff from linking properly.
Oh yeah, it's also expensive as hell (compared to what the equivalent $$ would buy you in x86 hardware)
To me, its mainly a curiosity, nothing more. Dreamcast Linux is far more interesting -- and far cheaper.
The main reason everyone I know who has bought PS2 linux is for the VGA adaptor so they can play PS2 games in hires ^_^;
It would be very interesting to hear the opinions of the individuals involved with writing, directing and animating that particular episode. Was it entirely their idea? Did the episode come down as a direct edict from Disney executives? Who wrote it and why? Have these individuals ever used P2P file sharing programs? If so, which ones? Have they even ever used a computer? Do they think there is any legitimate use for P2P sharing of any kind or is P2P inherently criminal activity, guilty by default etc etc.
And if Disney forbids them from public comments, that needs publicizing as well.
Did anyone catch the credit list? Time to do some detective work.
That's the whole point, my friend - any RAND structure based on price would allow free software to use those standards, regardless of who it hit on the bottom line.
Hypothetical:
1) M$ armtwists/rams a patent encumbered standard down W3C, promising royalty-free use etc. etc.
2) M$ waits several years for wide adoption.
3) M$ hits up everyone for royalties, especially free software projects.
Now tell me why M$ wouldn't do this.
Do you really think they give a shit what W3C RAND guidelines would say? AFAICT the W3C guidelines are not legally binding , but patents have the force of federal law behind them.
Ok, so M$ gets kicked out of W3C. Too late, the patent encumbered standard is too entrenched. They have everyones balls in a vise.
Read the halloween document again, then tell me with a straight face they wouldn't do this.
Also keep in mind M$'s flagrant disregard for federal law...
In software terms, the same terms would be "fixed percent of sale price." The astute reader will observe that this allows continued distribution of free (gratis) software w/o royalty encumberance, even if it causes RMS to break out in a rash.
Come on, do you REALLY think the patent holder would EVER allow distribution of free software w/o royalty encumberance?
Seems pretty naive to assume any patent holder would allow royalty-free distribution to happen. Especially if the company was say, Microsoft...
Washington State has some VERY interesting small claims court laws, one of which is that HIRED COUNSEL CANNOT REPRESENT YOU -- YOU MUST REPRESENT YOURSELF. Of course, this doesnt mean you can't hire a lawyer to advise you, but you have to do all the speaking, paperwork, etc. yourself. I also believe that under washington state law, the venue for a small claims litigation cannot be changed to e.g. federal court for any reason.
These facts have been used to really fuck over out-of-state spammers who had evil lawyers. Usually after finding out these "little" details about washington state law, they decided to settle, rather than hassle with it.
You could really put the shits up M$ if you file small claims court in Washington State... their high powered attorneys wouldn't be able to subvert the proceedings...
The pressure difference is not significant enough to cause concern.
Also, the real cause of the bends in divers is that they are breathing a special mixture of gases which is distinctly different from atmospheric gases. These gases dissolve into the blood quite differently, and cause "the bends" on rapid depressurization.
The same thing wouldnt really happen on airline flights. Your main concern (aside from asphyxiation) would be freezing to death. It is deadly cold at altitude.
I wasnt there, but a friend was. His account, with names anonymized... hope he wont be offended by me posting it...
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 11:02 PM
I don't think I've come to terms with what I have witnessed today. The only thing I can do to try to come to some closure on this is to try and document what I saw on the darkest day in recent history.
Today started out quite ordinarily. C**** and I were scheduled for Sun Fire training on the 20th floor of the World Trade Center at 9AM. Certainly not very noteworthy in and of itself.
I got to the office at 7. C**** arrived 15 minutes late. I grumbled to myself about being on time and missing out on 15 minutes of sleep, but I kept to myself. Traffic was horrible, as usual, and we made our way to the Path station in Jersey City.
We got on the Path to the World Trade Center- probably it was about 8:40 or so. Nothing to comment on. I hate the Path. Its dark, dingy, but C**** swears by it so I didn't complain. We exited in the World Trade Center station and I noticed immediately a strange diesel fuel-like smell and a haze in the air. I jokingly thought maybe someone was running a bus in the station. Now, New Yorkers walk fast, but I noticed that people were moving along quite a bit faster than usual. The transit cops down there said there was a fire, and that everyone needed to quickly exit. I wasn't too panicky, but I expeditiously made my way towards the exit.
We escaped into daylight into quite a commotion. We turned around and looked up to see a gaping hole in the tower and flames streaming out. Quite a shocking sight. We were forced a few blocks away where C**** and I were staring at the tower bewildered but not overly concerned. We were cracking jokes about the training being cancelled and missing meetings and stuff. I was thinking that I wish I had my camera to take some pictures. All the fun and games came to a halt when people started jumping to their deaths. I don't quite know how to describe what that looks like. It really looks like someone threw a large rag doll- it doesn't look real at all. After watching a few people jump it was then I realized that this was not at all fun and games. I heard in the crowd that a plane had struck the tower. Not surprising to me at all. I've been on the observation deck, everyone knows that you look down on the planes as they fly near the city on landing approach. Surely, this was a tragic and horrific accident. Too many damn planes in the air I remember thinking, it was bound to happen eventually. Of course, I heard the mumblings 'deliberately' and 'terrorists' but I dismissed those. You know how paranoid New Yorkers are.
It was about that time that tower 2 spontaneously exploded right before our horrified eyes. I?m only 2 or 3 blocks south of the tower and what I saw was like something out of Die Hard or Terminator. Trust me, they got the effect right. As we all stood there staring, it seemed like an eternity as the tower was engulfed in a ball of flame. It wasn't until a few milliseconds later that the massive concussion wave stuck the dumbfounded crowd and I realized in that instant that I was probably going to be killed by falling chunks. Everyone did the worlds fastest 180 degree turn and ran for their lives. I saw C**** slip into the building directly behind us. The door closed and was magnetically locked behind him. I pulled on the handle in a futile attempt to follow, but realized that it wasn't going to budge. Then I really thought that was the end. I ran towards the next building, which I saw had a little cranny behind a 6 or 7 foot tall iron fence. In an instant I saw my shelter from the falling debris. I was over that fence so quickly I don't even know how I did it. I fell to the concrete on the other side, and scrambled into the little masonry
shield with my back towards the Twin Towers. I waited for gravity to do its magic and bring all the deadly missiles safely to earth. I realized in my hiding spot that I cut my hand and my leg was hurting like nobody's business. I also realized that there was no reason that an accidental crash into tower 1 would cause tower 2 to explode. This was serious- if the intention was to bring down the tower, I would not be in a very good spot to survive such an event. Once it was clear that the immediate danger passed, I walked out of my shelter and turned to see tower 2 burning. Time to go. I continued south, limping all the way to the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
I was hurting, but alive and far enough from the Towers to be ok. Next order of business: Get the hell home. How? Terrorists attack buildings, bridges, tunnels? but probably not the ferries. The Water Taxi that docks at the Trade Center was probably blown up, I figured, so I had to head up north to the NY Waterway ferry. I knew it was a hike but the most likely exit from the city to be unaffected. So I licked my wounds and made my way northeast, staying out of collapse radius for the towers. As I crossed the area directly east of the Towers, I saw bits of what was obviously airplane parts and some chunks of building. No doubt about it, it was an airplane. I continued limping my way northeast and then northwest, to catch up with the West Side Highway where the NY Waterway is. I?m not sure how far it was. I couldn't walk very quickly and needed to stop frequently. I tried many times to call home, the office, C****- without success.
I walked north on the walkway, parallel to the West Side Highway. I don't know how many hundred emergency vehicles I saw- they just kept coming. I walked with countless thousands of the living dead. I remember reading accounts of the Hiroshima survivors, as they made their way, bleeding and burned, to the river. I am the living dead, a ghost, walking silently away from the disaster behind me. I recall hearing a strange whooshing noise, and I turned around and watched the first tower vanish in a cloud of dust. I remember saying out loud something to the effect of 'Well, they finally did it, congratulations!' Not very poetic, I must admit.
It turns out that the ferry was the way to go. The NY Waterway was totally overloaded. So much to the point that the floating dock became unstable which caused a minor panic. Fortunately the Circle Line and other tour boats began taking on passengers. I managed to get on the second ferry out and made our way back over to Lincoln Harbor back over in Weehawken. I didn't care where it went, as long as it was in New Jersey.
Half way out in the river, we had to wait as the other ferries unloaded people. We sat dead in the water. The dust of what was the Twin Towers billowing out in the background. The eerie silence of no airplanes in the air. It was as if the world had died and we were in limbo. All I could do was bow my head and think about the countless individuals who were just killed before my eyes. And of course, how grateful I was to be a little beaten up but alive. I was able to eventually get messages to home and the office, I found out that C**** was OK and everyone was worried to death of course.
I've witnessed The Hindenburg, Pearl Harbor, and Hiroshima in one. It's quite a mind numbing experience. I haven't quite figured out what to feel. I'm not at all a religious man, but today, I prayed for those we lost, and I was thankful for my very life. Certainly, I've managed to clear my schedule- and certainly it puts things into a more realistic perspective.
September 11, 2001 is certainly a date which will live in infamy. I don't think neither I nor this nation will ever be the same
again.
Just find a clever way for a politician or huge corporation to be found liable under the DMCA.
Or better yet, find a federal judge who is violating the DMCA in some way. Any miniscule technical violation of the DMCA will do.
The DMCA is fucking twisted and evil, there are enough contradictions and loopholes in the DMCA that something has to be applicable to someone high up.
We need to use DMCA as a weapon against those individuals who brought this abomination into existence.
You can bet the femtosecond a politician, corporate thug, or judge is indicted under the DMCA, the DMCA will be overturned.
If your apathy leads you down the path of least resistance (mp3, microsoft windows, insert-proprietary-patented-method-here), you are doing your part to ensure the dominance of bad companies and bad patents.
Think of it like voting. Your apathy will cost you your freedom.
> The police SHOULD enforce even laws they think
> are stupid*; that is the only way the stupid
> laws can be corrected. Otherwise the public and
> congress never get any feedback that the law
> isn't working right.
Oh come on now. If congress actually LISTENED,
they wouldnt have passed the DMCA in the first
place.
Today's letters are D, M, C, and A. Brought to you by the M P A A and the R I A A.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft will most certainly bust out the DMCA on you and have you arrested.
You have been warned.
M$ shareholders would most certainly demand prosecution under the DMCA. M$ will be forced to act.
In some states if you have an outstanding judgement against a company, you can hire the local police to do the collection. If they refuse to pay up, the police can just confiscate anything that appears to be the dollar value of the judgement.
gspl compiler for what, i386?
:-)
A lot of SPL code I've seen is selfmodifying code. This means pushing old (pre-parisc) opcodes onto the compatibility mode stack and executing them.
Don't forget that a lot of SPL code depends on intricate details of the compatibility mode linker, too.
In the end, if you were going to do a gspl you'd basically have to end up writing a compatiblity mode VM as well.
Even HP didn't get the CM VM 100% perfect when they went to PA-RISC. CM code still sometimes mysteriously vomits (or maybe its on purpose, part of evil scheme to get you to port your code to native mode
Don't forget the complexity of writing a VM to fully emulate the intricate block-mode oriented terminal I/O... even commercial terminal emulation software like Reflections don't always get this quite right...
I don't think it would be an easy job at all. You could make a bundle off it though, selling it to corporations desperate to keep their HP3K investments afloat...
... have been greatly exaggerated.
This is the HP3000 they're talking about. This means the death of MPE/iX (HP3000), not HP-UX (HP9000, enitrely different OS).
"But... I will note... it is said that you could upgrade the kernel on these w/o ever rebooting."
Errr, no. Upgrading MPE was always a convoluted process, requiring rebooting.
I could see this coming a parsec away.
;)
;)
In a previous life I did HP3000 development. Ahhhh the memor^H^H^H^H^Hnightmares...
Yes, the HP3000 hardware and OS (MPE/iX) are supremely stable. However everything is also supremely expensive, and performance isn't very good.
The last few years MPE has desperately been playing catch-up with the modern Unix world. The development tools on the HP3000 are horribly archaic -- much worse than even ancient Unixes. The default native MPE environment doesnt even have a fullscreen text editor! At least you get 'vi' with Unix. The OS was riddled with anachronisms at least as many levels deep as Dante's hell. You think Unix is archaic? You ain't seen MPE, baby. It makes VMS look brand spanking new.
The (relatively) recent attempts to bring HP3000 up to speed didn't really work out that well. Adding a POSIX subsystem was cute, but not terribly useful. POSIX stuff could see everything on the MPE side (files, etc), but MPE applications couldn't easily access POSIX data. In the end it was like having two mutually exclusive OSes on the same box. They could co-exist but couldnt really usefully share data.
The HP3000 filesystem is both a blessing and a curse -- the record oriented filesystem can be extremely cumbersome at times when you're used to the rest of the world dealing with simple streams of bytes. Trying to ship data between HP3000 and the real world can be a real hair-pulling experience. Even Macs don't usually have it as bad.
I pity those companies that bet the farm on HP3000's. They may have several years before support is cut off -- but porting tens of millions of lines of code, much of it SPL (basically a macro assembler), is going to be a herculean effort. In many cases it's going to be easier to just start from scratch.
I guess I'm just glad I got out when I did
Seriously, you should have a policy where you revoke domains which have bouncing contact emails for more than, say, 30 days.
Of course if networksolutions did this, 75% of their domains would get deleted...
For the past several weeks I have been mercilessly carpet bombed by spammers about .biz domains...
.biz domain from those registrars...
As a result, it will be a cold day in hell if I EVER buy a fucking
I don't think i'd take ANY advice from carleton sheets....
s /1 649/1431.html
http://www.johntreed.com/Sheets.html
http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html
http://www.mazu.com/carleton_sheets.html
http://www.papersourceonline.com/discus/message
I thought it was pretty clear I was saying the memory is unexpandable.
Sigh. Didn't you read.
It performs like a slow K6 because GCC sucks on MIPS right now. That comparison came from actual benchmarks I ran.
Sorry to disappoint you.
... the VGA connector doesnt work for PS2 games, only Linux :-( :-(
You know the FEMTOSECOND someone ports Linux to XBOX, micro$oft is gonna bust out screaming "DMCA VIOLATION" and have the person thrown in prison.
In fact, this is probably what M$ fears most about XBOX -- that someone will crack it and allow open source OS to be installed, thus turning it into a cheap PC.
XBOX would make an awesome MAME/divx console...
Ive used it, and its SLOW
PS2 doesnt have much memory and its unexpandable anyway, so things like building a kernel take all day while the thing swaps into the stratosphere... if youre going to develop for this thing, you really want to cross compile. You dont want to self-host build at all.
CPU wise, the R5900 @ 294mhz is roughly equivalent to a K6/233. Please, dont argue about what this CPU is "theoretically" capable of. Right now GCC is very unoptimized for this architecture, so a K6/233 IS what this thing is going to perform like, unless you want to hand code MIPS ASM.
Its very cute, but the Mesa HW implementation is rather incomplete and binutils has various bugs preventing lots of stuff from linking properly.
Oh yeah, it's also expensive as hell (compared to what the equivalent $$ would buy you in x86 hardware)
To me, its mainly a curiosity, nothing more. Dreamcast Linux is far more interesting -- and far cheaper.
The main reason everyone I know who has bought PS2 linux is for the VGA adaptor so they can play PS2 games in hires ^_^;
Still, it's nice that Sony did the port.
... the authors of that particular episode!
It would be very interesting to hear the opinions of the individuals involved with writing, directing and animating that particular episode. Was it entirely their idea? Did the episode come down as a direct edict from Disney executives? Who wrote it and why? Have these individuals ever used P2P file sharing programs? If so, which ones? Have they even ever used a computer? Do they think there is any legitimate use for P2P sharing of any kind or is P2P inherently criminal activity, guilty by default etc etc.
And if Disney forbids them from public comments, that needs publicizing as well.
Did anyone catch the credit list? Time to do some detective work.
Hypothetical:
1) M$ armtwists/rams a patent encumbered standard down W3C, promising royalty-free use etc. etc.
2) M$ waits several years for wide adoption.
3) M$ hits up everyone for royalties, especially free software projects.
Now tell me why M$ wouldn't do this.
Do you really think they give a shit what W3C RAND guidelines would say? AFAICT the W3C guidelines are not legally binding , but patents have the force of federal law behind them.
Ok, so M$ gets kicked out of W3C. Too late, the patent encumbered standard is too entrenched. They have everyones balls in a vise.
Read the halloween document again, then tell me with a straight face they wouldn't do this.
Also keep in mind M$'s flagrant disregard for federal law...
Come on, do you REALLY think the patent holder would EVER allow distribution of free software w/o royalty encumberance?
Seems pretty naive to assume any patent holder would allow royalty-free distribution to happen. Especially if the company was say, Microsoft
Or you can file small claims in Washington State.
Washington State has some VERY interesting small claims court laws, one of which is that HIRED COUNSEL CANNOT REPRESENT YOU -- YOU MUST REPRESENT YOURSELF. Of course, this doesnt mean you can't hire a lawyer to advise you, but you have to do all the speaking, paperwork, etc. yourself. I also believe that under washington state law, the venue for a small claims litigation cannot be changed to e.g. federal court for any reason.
These facts have been used to really fuck over out-of-state spammers who had evil lawyers. Usually after finding out these "little" details about washington state law, they decided to settle, rather than hassle with it.
You could really put the shits up M$ if you file small claims court in Washington State... their high powered attorneys wouldn't be able to subvert the proceedings...
The pressure difference is not significant enough to cause concern.
Also, the real cause of the bends in divers is that they are breathing a special mixture of gases which is distinctly different from atmospheric gases. These gases dissolve into the blood quite differently, and cause "the bends" on rapid depressurization.
The same thing wouldnt really happen on airline flights. Your main concern (aside from asphyxiation) would be freezing to death. It is deadly cold at altitude.
I wasnt there, but a friend was. His account, with names anonymized... hope he wont be offended by me posting it...
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 11:02 PM
I don't think I've come to terms with what I have witnessed today. The only thing I can do to try to come to some closure on this is to try and document what I saw on the darkest day in recent history.
Today started out quite ordinarily. C**** and I were scheduled for Sun Fire training on the 20th floor of the World Trade Center at 9AM. Certainly not very noteworthy in and of itself.
I got to the office at 7. C**** arrived 15 minutes late. I grumbled to myself about being on time and missing out on 15 minutes of sleep, but I kept to myself. Traffic was horrible, as usual, and we made our way to the Path station in Jersey City.
We got on the Path to the World Trade Center- probably it was about 8:40 or so. Nothing to comment on. I hate the Path. Its dark, dingy, but C**** swears by it so I didn't complain. We exited in the World Trade Center station and I noticed immediately a strange diesel fuel-like smell and a haze in the air. I jokingly thought maybe someone was running a bus in the station. Now, New Yorkers walk fast, but I noticed that people were moving along quite a bit faster than usual. The transit cops down there said there was a fire, and that everyone needed to quickly exit. I wasn't too panicky, but I expeditiously made my way towards the exit.
We escaped into daylight into quite a commotion. We turned around and looked up to see a gaping hole in the tower and flames streaming out. Quite a shocking sight. We were forced a few blocks away where C**** and I were staring at the tower bewildered but not overly concerned. We were cracking jokes about the training being cancelled and missing meetings and stuff. I was thinking that I wish I had my camera to take some pictures. All the fun and games came to a halt when people started jumping to their deaths. I don't quite know how to describe what that looks like. It really looks like someone threw a large rag doll- it doesn't look real at all. After watching a few people jump it was then I realized that this was not at all fun and games. I heard in the crowd that a plane had struck the tower. Not surprising to me at all. I've been on the observation deck, everyone knows that you look down on the planes as they fly near the city on landing approach. Surely, this was a tragic and horrific accident. Too many damn planes in the air I remember thinking, it was bound to happen eventually. Of course, I heard the mumblings 'deliberately' and 'terrorists' but I dismissed those. You know how paranoid New Yorkers are.
It was about that time that tower 2 spontaneously exploded right before our horrified eyes. I?m only 2 or 3 blocks south of the tower and what I saw was like something out of Die Hard or Terminator. Trust me, they got the effect right. As we all stood there staring, it seemed like an eternity as the tower was engulfed in a ball of flame. It wasn't until a few milliseconds later that the massive concussion wave stuck the dumbfounded crowd and I realized in that instant that I was probably going to be killed by falling chunks. Everyone did the worlds fastest 180 degree turn and ran for their lives. I saw C**** slip into the building directly behind us. The door closed and was magnetically locked behind him. I pulled on the handle in a futile attempt to follow, but realized that it wasn't going to budge. Then I really thought that was the end. I ran towards the next building, which I saw had a little cranny behind a 6 or 7 foot tall iron fence. In an instant I saw my shelter from the falling debris. I was over that fence so quickly I don't even know how I did it. I fell to the concrete on the other side, and scrambled into the little masonry
shield with my back towards the Twin Towers. I waited for gravity to do its magic and bring all the deadly missiles safely to earth. I realized in my hiding spot that I cut my hand and my leg was hurting like nobody's business. I also realized that there was no reason that an accidental crash into tower 1 would cause tower 2 to explode. This was serious- if the intention was to bring down the tower, I would not be in a very good spot to survive such an event. Once it was clear that the immediate danger passed, I walked out of my shelter and turned to see tower 2 burning. Time to go. I continued south, limping all the way to the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
I was hurting, but alive and far enough from the Towers to be ok. Next order of business: Get the hell home. How? Terrorists attack buildings, bridges, tunnels? but probably not the ferries. The Water Taxi that docks at the Trade Center was probably blown up, I figured, so I had to head up north to the NY Waterway ferry. I knew it was a hike but the most likely exit from the city to be unaffected. So I licked my wounds and made my way northeast, staying out of collapse radius for the towers. As I crossed the area directly east of the Towers, I saw bits of what was obviously airplane parts and some chunks of building. No doubt about it, it was an airplane. I continued limping my way northeast and then northwest, to catch up with the West Side Highway where the NY Waterway is. I?m not sure how far it was. I couldn't walk very quickly and needed to stop frequently. I tried many times to call home, the office, C****- without success.
I walked north on the walkway, parallel to the West Side Highway. I don't know how many hundred emergency vehicles I saw- they just kept coming. I walked with countless thousands of the living dead. I remember reading accounts of the Hiroshima survivors, as they made their way, bleeding and burned, to the river. I am the living dead, a ghost, walking silently away from the disaster behind me. I recall hearing a strange whooshing noise, and I turned around and watched the first tower vanish in a cloud of dust. I remember saying out loud something to the effect of 'Well, they finally did it, congratulations!' Not very poetic, I must admit.
It turns out that the ferry was the way to go. The NY Waterway was totally overloaded. So much to the point that the floating dock became unstable which caused a minor panic. Fortunately the Circle Line and other tour boats began taking on passengers. I managed to get on the second ferry out and made our way back over to Lincoln Harbor back over in Weehawken. I didn't care where it went, as long as it was in New Jersey.
Half way out in the river, we had to wait as the other ferries unloaded people. We sat dead in the water. The dust of what was the Twin Towers billowing out in the background. The eerie silence of no airplanes in the air. It was as if the world had died and we were in limbo. All I could do was bow my head and think about the countless individuals who were just killed before my eyes. And of course, how grateful I was to be a little beaten up but alive. I was able to eventually get messages to home and the office, I found out that C**** was OK and everyone was worried to death of course.
I've witnessed The Hindenburg, Pearl Harbor, and Hiroshima in one. It's quite a mind numbing experience. I haven't quite figured out what to feel. I'm not at all a religious man, but today, I prayed for those we lost, and I was thankful for my very life. Certainly, I've managed to clear my schedule- and certainly it puts things into a more realistic perspective.
September 11, 2001 is certainly a date which will live in infamy. I don't think neither I nor this nation will ever be the same
again.
...and I could care less!
All I care is:
1) Is it cheap.
2) Does it twiddle bits about, preferably as fast as possible.
I dont give a shit about khz or mhz or ghz or thz, I just want a fast 'puter.
The dimensions of a minidisc is 7cm x 6.75cm x 0.5cm and holds ~160mb of data.
Plus, minidiscs have a hard plastic case with locking shutter door so they won't get scratched.
Just find a clever way for a politician or huge corporation to be found liable under the DMCA.
Or better yet, find a federal judge who is violating the DMCA in some way. Any miniscule technical violation of the DMCA will do.
The DMCA is fucking twisted and evil, there are enough contradictions and loopholes in the DMCA that something has to be applicable to someone high up.
We need to use DMCA as a weapon against those individuals who brought this abomination into existence.
You can bet the femtosecond a politician, corporate thug, or judge is indicted under the DMCA, the DMCA will be overturned.
If your apathy leads you down the path of least resistance (mp3, microsoft windows, insert-proprietary-patented-method-here), you are doing your part to ensure the dominance of bad companies and bad patents.
Think of it like voting. Your apathy will cost you your freedom.
> The police SHOULD enforce even laws they think
> are stupid*; that is the only way the stupid
> laws can be corrected. Otherwise the public and
> congress never get any feedback that the law
> isn't working right.
Oh come on now. If congress actually LISTENED,
they wouldnt have passed the DMCA in the first
place.
Today's letters are D, M, C, and A. Brought to you by the M P A A and the R I A A.
america, the best democracy money can buy.