Music Piracy

I don't think its right to steal.
I also don't think it was such a crime to copy a music tape for a friend or vice versa.
So where does that leave online sharing of music?
Tough question and for me, no clear answer.

Anyway, that's old news....what's new is the Sony BMG fiasco. If you haven't heard about it, read about it here. Basically they introduced a new file protection software on some new CDs. The CDs were for artists like Celine Dion and Neil Diamond, so one could say the people who bought those CDs deserve very little sympathy. But I digress....this software installed itself on a user's PC. If you tried to disable it, it would disable your CD-ROM. Apparently this software opened the door for virus writers on any PC that had it. When Sony introduced another piece of software to remove it, the problem got worse. In the end they are out the cost of the software, the cost of distributing a fix, the cost of recalling all those CDs and the public relations cost that this whole mess has caused. Between forcing this kind of software on people's machines to listen to music they paid for and suing hundreds of music downloaders the last several years, they've done little to change their public image. Its hard to find too many people who can feel sorry for an industry that has screwed over many artists and gouged consumers with price fixing on their products. Now they are punishing the people who legally obtain their product. Not good.

Get out of the way!

Okay, here's my first big gripe on this blog.
I love the U.S.A. and I would never leave. But there is one thing about this country that I wish would change to be more like Europe: lane discipline or lack of it. There is no respect on US roads. None. Everyday you see it: some a-hole is determined to stay in the left lane, also known as the PASSING lane, even though he/she isn't passing anyone. I drive relatively quickly, but when someone comes up behind me that is faster than me...I do something that is not common here: I move over and let the person go. Why not? Why do I care how fast he/she wants to go? If anything they'll help snuff out all the cops up ahead, so I have incentive to do so. I don't care for a lot of things that go on in Europe, but they clearly have a lot more respect for each other on the road. I've been there and seen it. They drive fast as hell, but they aren't out to stick it to the next guy like we are here. Mr./Mrs. All Important American Slow Driver will rush to get into the left lane to go slow.

The result of this disrespect is: road rage. Everyone is fed up waiting for these idiots to get the hell out of the way. Inevitably more and more cars catch up and end up waiting behind these fools. Eventually people get irritated and start trying to find ways to get around the offending car. Heck, I'm an aggressive driver, but I've seen this happen and moved to the "slow" lane to avoid what looks like an impending disaster.

So the next time you are in the "passing" lane and see me or someone else closing in on you quickly, get the f*** out of the way. I'll do the same for you.

Can you tell I have a hectic commute everyday? LOL
Drive safely and don't be an a-hole like Kurt Busch when you get pulled over.

Chase Race # 9: Phoenix

What was the best thing about this race? No Kurt Busch!
What was the worst thing about this race? Kyle Busch won.

Best Moment of the Race: The announcement that Kurt Busch wouldn't be driving.

Championship Prediction: Stewart expanded his lead to 52 points. Barring extreme bad luck or a complete meltdown, the championship is his. Interestingly, if the "old" point system were still in place, Stewart would have clinched weeks ago.

Kurt Busch!!!!!!

Just as the championship battle was getting boring (for those of you who haven't heard, Stewart will win the title again), former champion Kurt Busch steps in to add a little spice to the NASCAR coverage. Apparently Kurt was pulled over for reckless driving on Friday night in Arizona (see story here). Details are sketchy but supposedly the deputy thought Kurt smelled of alcohol. Depending on what news story you read, Kurt might have refused a test, a test detected traces of alcohol, and another test was inconclusive because of equipment failure. What really happened? Not sure. But Kurt Busch is a punk. He's been a whiny SOB for a long time now. This couldn't have happened to a better person. The result is that he has been suspended for the rest of the year by his team. His sponsor is Crown Royal, obviously sensitive to any allegations of DUI. The twist is that Kurt is leaving his current team to drive the #2 car in 2006. The sponsor of that car is Miller...another alcoholic beverage company. No word if there will be any issues with him piloting that car next year.

Chase Race # 8: Texas

I can't believe Carl Edwards won again. Not only that, but he is only 77 points out of first place in the championship standings. I do think Mark Martin's team made a tactical error by not making a pit stop with 11 laps to go; something Carl Edwards' team did do.

Best Moment of the Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. avoiding disaster when Greg Biffle got loose and spun in front of him. As the announcers correctly pointed out, lesser drivers would've panicked and slammed on the brakes spinning themselves out in the process.

Championship Prediction: I still think Tony Stewart will win the championship this year. Jimmie Johnson made up some ground along with Carl Edwards, but not enough to hurt Tony's chances and the next two racetracks are traditionally good for him.

The Wiggles!!!

If you have young children, you know who the Wiggles are. I sure found out about them in a hurry after my daughter was born. She's mesmerized by them. I tried to disuade her from watching them at first, but it was a losing battle. So now I'll sacrifice traveling long distances to listen to these rich fools sing their songs. Why? The excitement and joy in my daughter's face, just in the first few minutes when they came out, made it all worthwhile. Here she is with her "Dorothy the Dinosaur" hat. Yes, I'm a proud papa. :-)