Eldred
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Eldred v. Reno! Free Mickey!
Support Bloggers' Rights!
(we should organize "prior art parties" to brainstorm ideas to prevent patents)(Phil Agre, on RRE)
(@Sigma) so if you deploy fighters in MSL, (@Sigma) they eventually get garbage collected
On Cryptome today:
While substantial domestic and international laws exist, proposals abound to improve the working of our intellectual property system both at home and abroad. At home, we can dedicate more funding to the fight against intellectual property theft, and better coordinate among federal agencies involved in the effort, as well as between federal and state authorities. Moreover, we can do a better job of making it clear to all Americans that the theft of intellectual property is a crime, and that it hurts us all. Abroad, we can bring pressure to bear on countries that are recalcitrant in efforts to rein in piracy and counterfeiting; we can encourage the development of intellectual property laws and enforcement through targeted foreign aid for training and equipment; and we can prevail on all countries (including our own) to eliminate the use of illicit intellectual property within their own governments. Billions of dollars are being stolen, hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. It is worth the effort to do all we can to stem the tide.(Senator Joseph Biden, Theft of American Intellectual Property: Fighting Crime Aborad and at Home)
I can't read the PDF from here to know what other things Biden says in order to shift our language and culture in this direction.
Nathaniel completely solved the problem. I'm still trying to understand his solution, and, when I do, I'll explain it here.
My mom and my sister continued their visit, and my mom's friend Alex took us all over the city on a great tour -- Bernal Hill, South of Market, the Embarcadero, the Marina, and over the Golden Gate Bridge and out to Muir Woods. It was fabulous.
After an hour's walk or more in Muir Woods, under a cloudy sky, we went to The Stinking Rose for dinner. I love garlic.
At City Lights, during our little tour of North Beach, I got three books, on war crimes, the philosophy of mathematics, and the control of nature. (Conveniently enough, the books are titled Crimes of War, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, and The Control of Nature. This should leave fairly little doubt as to what each is about.)
I never really get out into the City or into the Bay Area unless people come to visit. My mom and Rebecca are only going to be here through Friday, but we should get to do a bit more last-minute touring.
On the second day of CodeCon, the guard at the door of the DNA Lounge asked me for ID, and of course (I say of course) I didn't have any. As I've told a few people now, to their surprise and apparent incredulity, I don't smoke, drink, or drive. So I don't carry any government ID with me, at all, ever, unless I am going to an airport (when I use a passport). When I work places which issue employee ID, I'll carry that to be able to identify myself at work. I think not carrying ID is usually a feature, not a bug, from a privacy point of view.
I have large-scale and small-scale comments about the ID request. The large-scale comments are about liquor laws, liability, drinking, cultural norms, identification, and government monitoring and surveillance. I'll skip over those for now.
The small-scale comments are that CodeCon was a conference, not a party; furthermore, it was a conference about privacy and anonymity, and there's some profound irony in having to show government ID in order to attend an anonymity conference. Inside, programmers were talking about virtual circuits, encrypted links, and store-and-forward protocols; some of the programmers were using pseudonyms. Outside, people were being carded.
It's unfortunate to think that people without ID, or people under 21, might have been turned away from CodeCon. Considering the theme and focus of the event, I can't imagine any reason why either of these groups should have been unwelcome. (I remember an earlier incident at LinuxWorld when a 13-year-old programmer was turned away and I was unhappy about that. But CodeCon prided itself on being more inclusive and community-oriented than large corporate-sponsored shows like RSA -- so much so that CodeCon actually used HTML to display the content on its home page, where the RSA Conference used Flash.
I've attended dozens of trade shows, academic conferences, and industry conventions, and never until CodeCon was I asked to show government ID at any of them.
A song.
On the second day of CodeCon,
the guard asked for ID,
to prove my age as
twenty-one or older,
how could CodeCon insist on ID?
Praveen told me the following three jokes last week. (I'd heard the first one before, but not the other two, I think.)
Of course, jokes are always funnier when read out loud with proper timing and other showmanship, but you can take these and read them to somebody else to make up for that.
OK, so
Finally,
My mom and my sister and I visited Michelle and Sumana, and I ended up staying late at Sumana's place and talking about a number of things, not least Sumana's logic homework. I copied down the famous "problem 8" and then solved it on BART. Since Sumana didn't want any spoilers, my solution is in ROT-13.
Qrsvavgvbaf. Vs n Obbyrna shapgvba cuv(c,d,e) unf gur cebcregl gung cuv(c,d,e)=cuv(d,e,c)=cuv(e,c,d), gur shapgvba vf pnyyrq plpyvp. Vs gur beqre bs gur guerr vachgf vf ragveryl veeryrinag (n fgebatre pbaqvgvba), gur shapgvba vf pnyyrq pbzzhgngvir.
(n) Ubj pna jr gryy jurgure n shapgvba vf plpyvp ol ybbxvat ng yvarf gjb guebhtu frira bs vgf gehgu gnoyr?
Gur gehgu gnoyr ybbxf yvxr
c d e 1. 0 0 0 2. 0 0 1 3. 0 1 0 4. 0 1 1 5. 1 0 0 6. 1 0 1 7. 1 1 0 8. 1 1 1
naq jr abgr sebz gur qrsvavgvba bs n plpyvp shapgvba gung yvarf gjb, guerr, naq svir nyy arprffnevyl unir rdhvinyrag inyhrf, naq yvarf sbhe, fvk, naq frira nyy arprffnevyl unir rdhvinyrag inyhrf. Guhf, gur grfg vf fvzcyl gb frr jurgure yvarf gjb, guerr, naq svir unir gur fnzr inyhr sbe cuv, naq jurgure yvarf sbhe, fvk, naq frira nyfb unir gur fnzr inyhr sbe cuv.
(o) Ubj znal qvssrerag plpyvp shapgvbaf cuv rkvfg?
Yvar bar bs gur gehgu gnoyr znl unir nal inyhr (rvgure mreb be bar). Yvarf gjb, guerr, naq svir zhfg or rdhny, ohg pbhyq unir rvgure gur inyhr mreb be gur inyhr bar. Yvarf sbhe, fvk, naq frira zhfg or rdhny, ohg pbhyq unir rvgure gur inyhr mreb be gur inyhr bar. Yvar rvtug znl unir nal inyhr (rvgure mreb be bar). Rnpu bs gurfr sbhe cbffvovyvgvrf vf vaqrcraqrag bs nyy gur bguref. Gurersber, gurer ner gjb gb gur sbhegu cbjre gbgny cbffvovyvgvrf, be fvkgrra qvssrerag fhpu shapgvbaf.
(p) Vf vg cbffvoyr gung n shapgvba vf plpyvp, lrg abg pbzzhgngvir?
Gurer ner fvk cbffvoyr crezhgngvbaf bs gur vachgf gb cuv (fvapr gurer ner guerr vachgf, naq guerr snpgbevny vf guerr gvzrf gjb gvzrf bar, be fvk), naq jr pna nffvta n qvssrerag inevnoyr gb gur inyhr pbzchgrq ol cuv va rnpu pnfr. Guhf, yrg
n=cuv(c,d,e) o=cuv(d,e,c) p=cuv(e,c,d)
naq ntnva
q=cuv(d,c,e) r=cuv(c,e,d) s=cuv(e,d,c)
Hfvat gur qrsvavgvba bs n plpyvp shapgvba, jr xabj gung n=o=p, naq nyfb gung q=r=s. Bayl bar nqqvgvbany vafvtug vf arprffnel: gung, fvapr c, d, naq e rnpu unir inyhrf pubfra sebz gur frg (0, 1), vg vf abg cbffvoyr gung abg(c=d be d=e be c=e) -- ng yrnfg bar cnve bs inyhrf zhfg or rdhny gb bar nabgure. (Vs guvf jrer abg fb, gurer jbhyq or guerr qvfgvapg inyhrf, pubfra sebz n cbby bs gjb cbffvovyvgvrf!) Gung zrnaf gung (c=d be d=e be c=e).
Abj, vs c=d, gura n=q, fvapr gura cuv(c,d,e)=cuv(d,c,e). Fvzvyneyl, vs d=e, gura o=s, fvapr gura cuv(d,e,c)=cuv(e,d,c). Naq vs c=e, gura p=r, fvapr cuv(e,c,d)=cuv(c,e,d).
Fvapr (c=d be d=e be c=e), vg'f arprffnel gung (n=q be o=r be p=s). Ohg guvf zrnaf, fvapr n=o=p naq q=r=s, gung vg'f arprffnel gung n=o=p=q=r=s. Gurersber, gur shapgvba juvpu jr vavgvnyyl nffhzrq jnf plpyvp zhfg nyfb or pbzzhgngvir.
Gur sbyybj-ba dhrfgvba: qbrf guvf erfhyg punatr vs gurer ner guerr gehgu inyhrf vafgrnq bs gjb?
Vg pna. Pbafvqre gur shapgvba beqre(c,d,e); pnyy gur guerr cbffvoyr vachg inyhrf 1, 2, naq 3, naq gur guerr cbffvoyr bhgchg inyhrf "nfpraqvat", "qrfpraqvat", naq "ercrgvgvir". (Jr pna fnl gung nfpraqvat=1, qrfpraqvat=2, naq ercrgvgvir=3, vs lbh yvxr. "nfpraqvat", "qrfpraqvat", naq "ercrgvgvir" ner whfg zrnag gb vzcebir uhzna ernqnovyvgl.)
Abj,
beqre(1,2,3)=nfpraqvat, beqre(2,3,1)=nfpraqvat, beqre(3,1,2)=nfpraqvat, beqre(3,2,1)=qrfpraqvat, beqre(1,3,2)=qrfpraqvat, beqre(2,1,3)=qrfpraqvat, beqre(nalguvat ryfr)=ercrgvgvir r.t. beqre(1,1,1)=ercrgvgvir (orpnhfr fbzrguvat vf ercrngrq) r.t. beqre(3,2,2)=ercrgvgvir (orpnhfr fbzrguvat vf ercrngrq) r.t. beqre(1,2,1)=ercrgvgvir (orpnhfr fbzrguvat vf ercrngrq)
Fb "nfpraqvat" zrnaf "gur vachgf, ernq yrsg gb evtug va n plpyr, pbagnva gur frdhrapr 1,2,3". "qrfpraqvat" zrnaf "gur vachgf, ernq yrsg gb evtug va n plpyr, pbagnva gur frdhrapr 3,2,1". Naq "ercrgvgvir" zrnaf "gur vachgf qb abg pbagnva rvgure gur frdhrapr 1,2,3 be gur frdhrapr 3,2,1, orpnhfr ng yrnfg bar bs gur vachg inyhrf vf ercrngrq".
Vg fubhyq or pyrne gung guvf shapgvba vf plpyvp, orpnhfr n plpyvp crezhgngvba bs gur vachgf bs na nfpraqvat beqre vf fgvyy nfpraqvat. N plpyvp crezhgngvba bs gur vachgf bs n qrfpraqvat beqre vf fgvyy qrfpraqvat. Naq, pyrneyl, ab znggre ubj lbh punatr gur beqre bs n ercrgvgvir vachg, vg jvyy fgvyy or ercrgvgvir.
Ubjrire, guvf shapgvba vf abg pbzzhgngvir, orpnhfr beqre(1,2,3)=nfpraqvat naq lrg beqre(3,2,1)=qrfpraqvat. Fb jura guerr qvfgvapg gehgu inyhrf ner cbffvoyr, fbzr plpyvp shapgvbaf ner ab ybatre pbzzhgngvir. (Ba gur bgure unaq, fbzr plpyvp shapgvbaf ner fgvyy pbzzhgngvir. N fvzcyr rknzcyr jbhyq or gur shapgvba cuv(c,d,e)=1, juvpu vf pyrneyl plpyvp naq pbzzhgngvir.)
Ol jnl bs sbeznyvmvat jung gur beqre shapgvba qbrf, nygubhtu EBG-13 qbrfa'g ernyyl bofpher gur npgvba bs guvf Clguba pbqr fb jryy,
qrs beqre(c,d,e): vs c<d naq d<e: erghea "nfpraqvat" vs d<e naq e<c: erghea "nfpraqvat" vs e<c naq c<d: erghea "nfpraqvat" vs c>d naq d>e: erghea "qrfpraqvat" vs d>e naq e>c: erghea "qrfpraqvat" vs e>c naq c>d: erghea "qrfpraqvat" erghea "ercrgvgvir"
Gung shapgvba vf n guerr-inyhrq shapgvba juvpu vf plpyvp ohg abg pbzzhgngvir.
Contact: Seth David Schoen