Steal This Blog!

No, seriously.  I promise I'm not in league with the RIAA in a subtle plot to get you to commit suicide.  For once and for all, I wish all the companies whose 'Crusade" is the fight against software "piracy" would read what I'm saying here and take it to heart:  GO FUCK YOURSELVES.

I'm not going to waste a lot of time here trying to justify my personal actions, because I just don't need to.  The major coporations in play on the battlefield of fair use have violated the consumers' rights to such an extent, and for so long, that they simply have no moral authority by which to judge our actions.  Of course, if any corporate tools are out there reading this, let me say this:  If your company is without sin, go ahead and throw the first stone.

What are the corporate sins of the software/media world?

*Violating fair use through the prevention of allowing users to create back-ups to both software and media.

*Creating content that punishes the user for ACTUALLY BUYING said content through anti-piracy measures that either function so poorly or are so draconian that they force users to download PIRATED versions of their paid content simply to get them to work.

*Greed, on the scale of which is unrivaled by anything I can think of in the history of humanity.  If these comanies could find a way to charge you little bits of your soul for their products, they would.

*The simple idiocy of the people in charge for failing to realize that punishing piracy doesn't gain them anything...  In my world, being willfully ignorant is simply the biggest sin there is, and these companies seemingly base their business strategy around it...

If these are very pointed complaints, they have reason to be.  If I could make a couple suggestions to the corporations to make their product more palatable, here goes:

Provide an actual quality product.  Make sure that when someone buys your product, they feel appreciated, rather than persecuted.  Let them know that you appreciate their investment, by letting them create a back-up copy for safe-keeping.  Be gracious- if a 15-year old spends his months' allowance on your video game, don't sue him for downloading the soundtrack off a torrent site.  Providing more value for someone's dollar will ALWAYS generate a better bottom line than suing them for it.

Lastly, realize that pirates are very rarely potential customers, but can be future customers- most people I know pirate two types of software:  The kind they plan to buy if it's any good, and the kind whose cash flow is already lined up as squarely to purchases as possible.  Going after either of these is a zero-gain activity- you either negatively affect the people who were thinking about buying your product, or you piss off people who were buying as much media from you as they possibly could.  They don't have to.

There are some companies that get it.  Stardock is one- their software is quality, and it comes without in-built copy protection.  They treat their customers with class.  Some Blu-Ray distributors are offering free digital versions of their products along with the standard disc.  Apple and others allow you to buy just that one Justin Timberlake track you like, and leave the 14 others that sound like hot garbage on the shelf.

It can be done.  And it doesn't have to make people want to kill themselves.

I'm an MC Raider...

....   We ain't got no liiii--iiiife.

What is raiding?  It's a pastime for some, a way to not suck at something for others, and a giant drain around which everyone involved's time swirls before dissappearing forever.  It is a measuring stick used to determine 'leet'-ness, a way to prove your 'e-peen' hangs low, and that your 'e-gina' is what REALLY brings all the boys to the yard.  It is a way to combine twenty-five disparate people into a (sometimes) cohesive group to tackle the biggest 'challenges' in the game.  Of course, Blizzard means the fights with monsters when they say 'challenge', and I mean the fights with retards in the raid when I say it.  

That being said, last night I finished my third four-hour raid in the last 7 days...  What can I say, I'm an MC Raider...

'Welfare' is cake, and the cake is a _____

I like analogies, and not just because they were the part of the SAT I didn't suck at.  They are a powerful tool for bringing about understanding, and also for pointing out the absurdities that often slip by undetected in everday life.  One of those absurdities that annoys the ever-loving bacon out of me is our state and federal welfare system.  I know that a lot of people get the help they need, and that rarely gets the pub.  I also know firsthand that there is an amazing amount of fraud, that many people that need help get none, and that many of the systems in place neither encourage success or demand it.

The analogy I'm thinking of today is between real life, and the World of Warcraft.  WoW has a term- 'Welfare Epics.'  The term describes epic gear that is handed out without the requirement of accomplishing the defeat of a raid boss.  There is one major difference between WoW's system of welfare and the one that government employs:  In the World of Warcraft, you still have to work for your pay.  It might be exciting, or challenging work, but you still have to earn your way.

To me, that's what's missing from our federal, state, and local welfare.  You might have stacks of paperwork, and a lot of hoops to jump through, but you're never asked to do any real, productive work for what you're handed.  The designers of the video game, Blizzard, realize that for the health of the game world, it's best to keep as many people actively engaged as possible.  Why haven't our various branches of government figured that one out?

I realize the difference in the difficulty between coming up with a great idea and putting it into practice.  Another thing I've realized is that the system we have in place isn't working.  It's slowly bleeding our country to death from two different wounds- the money we toss down the welfare pit, and the loss of productivity from the citizens in the system.  

We need a new system.  The system needs to be designed around two pillars:  

*You work for what you get.  There are no free rides.  Help should be available not to anyone that needs it, but to anyone who needs and AND is willing to work for it.

*There needs to be a training program in place to get people into a better position, whether the training offered is job training, life skills training, etc.  

If our people are our greatest asset, it is in all our best interest to develope them as well as possible.  I'm not saying that I have the answers for how to bring such a system to be, but I'd be very interested what the folks at Blizzard would come up with.

I guess MySpace is next...

My girlfriend thinks I should have a blog.

I think, if this is my blog, my first release should let everyone know some things about me, so here goes:

I am 28.  I am over-weight, which is to say, American.  I live with my girlfriend and my 15-year old brother.  We have a bit of a cat habit- 3 wander our apartment, doing whatever they please.  I am currently unemployed.  I hope one day to either be a pharmacist, teacher, game developer, NBA/NFL star, or maybe something else.  I'd ideally like to be Leonardo Da'Vinci, minus the worms and decay.

I'm a gamer to the core- I spend twice the time I should playing World of Warcraft, and I spend a fair amount of time playing console stuff, too.  I could watch hours of Law & Order, CSI, and Family Guy.  I think Heroes and Psych are the two finest shows on television.  My other huge time-killer is reading- from cereal boxes to War and Peace, I am always seeking out the written word.

I love sports.  My first passion is football, and basketball is not far behind.  Baseball is only a sport if your team plays in the National League.  Golf never is, unless it involves strippers or artillery.  I will always love the Dallas Cowboys and San Antonio Spurs; I will always shed a tear for my friends that love the Browns and Indians.

I consider myself an intelligent Republican- some people would call that an oxymoron, but I like to think of it as Libertarian with a small chance to win an election.  I like most all music, especially Rap and Punk, my current browser of choice is Google Chome, and I love most Apple products, except their actual computers.  I think the most serious threat to both America and the World is not terrorism, but rather stupidity.

In the future, this blog will probably focus on politics, gaming, and current events...  if you can call that a focus.