We're back

Actually, we got back last night around 10:30PM. After thinking it over towards the end of the week we decided that we had a lot of stuff to deal with before work on Tuesday. So, rather than fight traffuck on the 4th, we headed on home on the 3rd (missed said traffuck - yay!) and are slowly dealing with laundry, yard work, unpacking, etc. Oh, and at some point soon I'll post on the holiday at length as well as get some pictures up for people to see. That's on the list of things to do as well.

In the meantime, here's what's amused me this morning:

Umair has an absolutely fascinating article about why DRM as it's currently conceived, will fail. It's a longish post, but a terrific read. To be honest, I'm still pondering it and it's ramifications. Umair argues that the economics of the analog world do not translate to the economics of the digital world and that DRM will fail due to economics regardless of whether the consumer accepts it in the short term.

So the point is that copyright (and DRM) is broken because our notion of analog property rights is totally out of sync with a digital world. In such a world, the strategic question is very different: you have to factor in benefits as well as costs. The question becomes: does your use/exchange/mod of my good cost me more than benefits me?

In a weird schism, those who love kraut rock will certainly be confused this summer as competing line-ups of a re-formed Faust play gigs this summer.

While on holiday, I finished reading Orhan Pamuk's The Black Book. As with his other books, this one is highly recommended. I place it above The White Castle and on par with His Name Is Red. I haven't finished Snow, yet, as I inadvertently left my copy while on holiday in Phoenix during Xmas, but I bought a new copy yesterday (seeing as the other one hasn't made the trip north since it's discovery). The Black Book is an exploration on identity and personality in a post modern world infused with insights into Sufism as well as Turkish culture. As soon as I finished it, I began to re-read sections of it. One day I will read it again and again and again. It is that sort of book, which is exactly why you should pick it up and read it.