The real danger from legal action against picayune infringements and the corrosive effect of DMCA on ISPs and the electronic publishing community, is the ever-present threat of action will create a cultural minsdet of self censorship including in the engineering and scientific communities) that will permanently damage our ability to build new ideas. Everything in human culture and human scientific knowledge is built upon a foundation of the pre-existing work of others. Perpetual copyright enforced through physical mechanisms, backed by the threat of overwhelming legal punishment, could turn a society into a feudal, static backwater. That said, pure piracy for profit and uncreative plagiarism are still morally wrong and should be punished. But that doesn't mean legal action should become the primary profit center for IP holders.......
My boss from two jobs ago lived in FL, commuted to VA via plane, and rented a local apartment for what little weekday sleep he could get with his work hours. It worked for a year or so, before he took another job. It was obviously stressful, and I'm not sure that from what I saw that I would recommend that life to anyone. So much time gets absorbed with travel (and that was pre-9/11) that there wasn't time for a quality life wih this family when he was back home.
OTOH, he made a large amount of money and was able to use the experience to get an even better subsequent job that didn't require such a hellish commute.
As for me, I wouldn't do it. I'm quitting a job with a two hour commute in the DC area to become stay-at-home-dad for a while. We'll have to cut expenses, but I think it'll be worth it. Maybe I'll have a different view in a year, tho.
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The real danger from legal action against picayune infringements and the corrosive effect of DMCA on ISPs and the electronic publishing community, is the ever-present threat of action will create a cultural minsdet of self censorship including in the engineering and scientific communities) that will permanently damage our ability to build new ideas. Everything in human culture and human scientific knowledge is built upon a foundation of the pre-existing work of others. Perpetual copyright enforced through physical mechanisms, backed by the threat of overwhelming legal punishment, could turn a society into a feudal, static backwater. That said, pure piracy for profit and uncreative plagiarism are still morally wrong and should be punished. But that doesn't mean legal action should become the primary profit center for IP holders.......
My boss from two jobs ago lived in FL, commuted to VA via plane, and rented a local apartment for what little weekday sleep he could get with his work hours. It worked for a year or so, before he took another job. It was obviously stressful, and I'm not sure that from what I saw that I would recommend that life to anyone. So much time gets absorbed with travel (and that was pre-9/11) that there wasn't time for a quality life wih this family when he was back home. OTOH, he made a large amount of money and was able to use the experience to get an even better subsequent job that didn't require such a hellish commute. As for me, I wouldn't do it. I'm quitting a job with a two hour commute in the DC area to become stay-at-home-dad for a while. We'll have to cut expenses, but I think it'll be worth it. Maybe I'll have a different view in a year, tho.