I know someone who knows more about streaming audio copyrights than anyone else on MetaFilter. W
Segway bids now exceed $100,000!! Crazy. W
Dineen and I very much enjoyed meeting Dan and Jill tonight, and seeing the rest of the pool-hall hustlers. W
Krempasky riffs on the school-voucher case, Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris:
1. Almost all inner-city schools complain about overcrowding.
2. Ohio (in this case) spends more than $6,400 per student each year.
3. The Cleveland voucher is only $2,250 per student.
4. Schools that accept the voucher agree to accept $2,500 (including the voucher) as payment in full per child
5. The public school frees up a desk, and keeps the balance of public funding.
Preach, brother, preach... I made a similar argument myself a couple of years ago:
It's a simple idea and it works, which is why its opponents find it so dangerous: allow every child to choose their school by making their education funding portable to any school, public or private
Just like Doc Searls said about weblogs:
Journalism as Usual is threatened by the blogging movement because blogging enlarges the circle that defines journalism and redistributes power outside the old center... But y'know, it's just power to the people. And that's always been scary.
I got some comments on the Supreme Court argument on a mailing list I'm on. Unfortunately, they were not attributed to anyone in particular, so I'll just paraphrase. First, the opponents of choice argued that the vouchers go mainly to religious schools. The Court seemed suspicious of this argument, wondering what percentage of schools would have to be non-religious to make the program constitutional, and whether such an analysis would require annuals surveys of the proram to determine whether it was in fact constitutional. The Court also wondered whether the proper context was larger than the single voucher program itself, but rather the city's educational aid programs altogether, the predominance of which had no religious taint whatsoever. By contrast, the appellate court below considered only the voucher program in isolation.
If one can rely on oral arguments - and in truth, one rarely can - the Supreme Court seems likely to overturn the Sixth Circuit ruling, and allow some form of school vouchers for disadvantaged Cleveland children. W
In light of WOIFM's current design, this is even more appropriate: The Deadly Follies of Stick Figure Warning-Man and Family. Thanks to Dineen for the link! W
If you're in Austin this year, you can see me speak at the Freelance Forum: Legal Proceedings panel on Monday, March 11, 2002 at 3:30 p.m. Ben Brown and Jason Kottke are moderating two other panels at the same time, so instead of choosing between them, just come see me.
W
Matt's most recent installment on his fraternity experience as an alumnus advisor was very timely for me. I spent a recent weekend in faraway Charlotte, NC, at a regional leadership conference for members of my fraternity.
Matt's post made me realize that I haven't seen too many fellow bloggers discuss their own experiences in the Greek system, partly because most bloggers didn't have an experience "in" the Greek system, but from outside it.
Now, I'll admit that in many, if not most places, fraternities have strayed far from the intent of their founders. Some forward-thinking national organizations understand this, and have begun dramatic, fundamental changes - changes which both return to the roots of their founding ideals, but also make the groups relevant to life in the 21st century. I believe that mine is one of those. If it wasn't, I wouldn't waste my time.
I think bloggers, as a whole, are very close to the original ideal of the Greek-letter organizations - intelligent, idealistic, interactive, and just to break my alliteration and parallelism, the bloggers I read value excellence above mediocrity - what some call "elitism."
I'd like to see more bloggers talk about their own experiences in the Greek system, if they had them, and if not, what kind of values an organization would have to hold dear to appeal to them. W
Tired of telemarketers? You're not alone.
The phone calls that pushed Diana Mey too far came four years ago from telemarketers selling Sears house siding. Repeatedly ignoring her requests that they stop calling, they brazenly broke federal laws and even claimed the laws didn't apply to them.... The Erin Brockovich of the do-not-call laws, Mey also has created a Web site (dianamey.com) to guide laymen on how to take telemarketers to court.
For those days when I'm working out of my home office, a good telemarketer call can actually make my day. The more time of theirs I waste, the better I feel, since volume is their life blood. Does that mean I'm wasting my time? Oh, no, because I'm busy getting name, company name, address, and so on, laying my foundation for them to break the federal laws governing telemarketers, which then entitles me to demand $500.00 per violation - and if they don't pay up, take them to court. Right now, I've got one demand pending against a company that committed twelve violations over a course of two months - despite my polite request that they never call me again, the first time they called. Twelve violations, $500 each. Do the math.
At worst, I'm making it very expensive for telemarketers to call me. At best, they pay for my next car. Or maybe just the middle ground - they lose their jobs because they were rude to me. Satisfaction, guaranteed.
Eventually, they'll get the message and stop calling. W
Be the first on your block to buy a Segway! The auction proceeds go to Dean Kamen's charity, FIRST. As I write this, the high bid for has hit $22,600.00 for a Segway. W
After spending five weeks as the lauging stock of the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally signed a head coach. Surprise! If you thought Jon Gruden was off the table, you were wrong. Granted, to get Gruden, the Bucs had to pay through the nose:
ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reports that the contract with Gruden is for five years and $17.5 million. In the compensation package, the Raiders will receive first-and second-round draft choices in 2002, a first-round choice in 2003, and a second-round choice in 2004.
Gruden came with a big-ticket price tag, and a mortgage on the team's short-term prospects for securing fresh new talent, but the team didn't have to give up any of the current roster. With the right coach, the Bucs have the talent to win it all. With Gruden's track record of taking under-achieving players like Rich Gannon and squeezing out every last drop of potential, Jon Gruden is the right choice for a Bucs team that is a non-porous pass protection squad away from the Lombardi trophy.
As an added bonus, Gruden has a long career ahead of him, and he has family roots in Tampa. As long as he keeps performing at his current high level, the financial and psychic compensation of being the Bucs' head coach will keep Gruden around for a very long time. W
Tonight Dineen and I had Chinese take-out for dinner. I thought I was lucky to get two fortunes in one cookie. Then I read what they said.
I guess I should start telling people I'm old. W
