RIAA Shuts Down LimeWire

It has finally happened.

YaHoo! News: Court shuts down LimeWire music-sharing service

I can't say that I am all that surprised that LimeWire was finally shut down. Considering all the viresse that your computer could catch and the fact that the RIAA is batshitcrazy this really isn't a shock.

I do still find it shocking that the RIAA insist's that people exchanging music led to the collapse of the music industry and not the fact they they were charging people $25 for a domestic CD. Of course the greed didn't effect things at all! I'm surprised that they didn't go after the companies that produced blank CDs because with out them people would never have know cheep it actually was to produce CDs.

I know I have not purchased as many CDs as I did in the past. 1998 was when I saw the $25 CD and refused to buy them. I couldn't afford it. Hearing about kids getting their CD collections stolen and having to re-buy them all was painful to listen to. When Sony had their 15 minuets in the news with a bad program on their CDs, that was the final nail in the coffin.

I did buy one new CD this year, sadly it was Lady GaGa. The price was a more reasionable $15. But still too much in my mind. I definatly need to look into buying from iTunes or the like.

If you are wondering what I listened to during this lull of purchasing, I was listing to the radio and what free songs I could find on my iPod.

Lend Me Your Ear!

This is, sadly, less about Mel Brooks and more about the fact that I cornered my dad and got him to listen to me rant about blogging.

Now let me point out that my dad is a saint in situations like this. He will ask all the right questions. It's insane. He has sat through my yakking about EverQuest for several hours on a car trip before. For that alone earned him sainthood in my books.

So, while he was trapped with me at Denny's we got onto the topic of blogs.

He seemed mildly interested in it. I gave him what answers I could on how it works and where I promoted and such. He made some good points about things I was probably doing wrong. I mentioned my fashion-esta sister should start one. Manly so I can snoop but she always has fantastic stories.

I'm hoping my dad starts one. If only to give him something to do after he retires. But all in all I had a wonderful time.

Free Money Blogging What?

 Blogging for money. It's wonderful! It's easy! It's a total P.I.T.A. and a long term commitment not unlike getting a mortgage with bad credit.

Anyone that has tried it & dropped it in short order can tell you that. They will also, more than likely, give you a list of reasons why they believe it's a load of pleasantries. Possibly even that it was just too much work.
Chances are what they haven't said was how long they attempted this. What they decided to write about. How often they posted. How much they spent on advertising. Or how much they invested into their 'free money through blogging' attempt. Because heaven for bid someone has to work for their money right?
While understanding that this whole topic can be seen as taboo, it's actually fairly interesting once you can get past the 'get rich quick' mentality.

Prior to even looking into the how-to you need to think if it would really be worth your time. Writing takes a fair amount of time depending on the person and on the subject. At some point you will find your self revisiting ideas. It could be that you might have wanted to expand upon some but didn't have the chance to. Also at some point you will start to find yourself wondering what to write about next. This is when the time factor comes into play and you hear the phrase 'time is money'.

Assuming you can handle putting out the time to write, you then get to start spending time figuring out how to get started.

If you Google for help you should be weary in what you search for. There are and will always be sites that would like you to pay for their help. If you skip them and keep looking you can and will find free help. Free, keep this in mind because this is also the time when money starts to enter into this whole deal.
An excellent article to help someone get started is How to make money with a blog 'How to make money with a blog' by Bob. Pretty much this advice article that has almost every bit of information that someone starting out could want. After which the more technical articles that can be found about the internet will start to make more sense to people who are just starting out.

If after you read everything you can, and have started investing your time, you might start to think about all the cost's involved with this. Spending money to make money as the saying goes. This is were learning the in&out to networking can and will be your godsend. Because if you already have a presence or persona on the internet and you have no problem with them being connected to you blog then you are good to go. Networking is the fabled goose that lays the golden egg.

It takes time, energy and research for the portion of us not lucky enough to come by the skill naturally. Yet if you can find that one person that can open many doors for you with out actually meaning to? Then your goose has found you.

But if you are someone who want's to keep your blogging separate from the rest of your internet life or normal job then this might not be the thing for you. Everything on the internet is remembered forever and once you post something it's too late to take it back. The stories about jobs looking at Facebook pages are reason enough to be weary of what you share.

Alternatively, if this all rolls off you like water off a ducks back? Then you may have found a niche for your skills. Anything can pay off if you put enough time into it. If you think or treat blogging as a small business then remember that the first year is going to be your hardest. Once you get past that? The sky is the limit.

Asian Carp

 Asian Carp, Flying Carp... Prior generations have labeled the name carp as not being good to eat. Yet a New York Times article 'Invaders, Yes. But Perhaps Quite Tasty' seem to say other wise. Because if it really does taste like cross between scallops and crabmeat? Sign me up.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife is looking into a name change. Silverfin sounds like something that would make great sushi.

Personal I don't see the problem with changing the name of a currently invasive species. Frankly the US needs the income. If it's over fished in the locally invaded areas? Even better. It could even start a new farming option for people. Heck, a koi farm like Blackwater Creek can be successful and they don't eat them.

As for re-naming fish, TreeHugger has an article of the effects of a name change and the American pallet called Slimehead Anyone? I find some of the original names funny and very dated. Whore's egg for Sea Urchin? That's just a tad painful to think about.

Now I'm hungry.

Time Travel!

Yes, Time Travel! Oh's and Aw's abound as this marvel of marvels comes to light! Why, for just Elevinty Billion Dollars you too can experience this wonderful offer!
Rules and restrictions apply. Lost and found items are not subject to re-embustment regardless of what condition, time or era they are re-discovered in.

This is what I thought when I first heard about a Swiss Watch Found In 400-Year-Old Ming Dynasty Tomb. But it would make sense. Because if someone could afford to travel back in time, they damn well could afford a historical reproduction of a ring watch.

Plus the fact that it is already a part of our history would mean that nothing would change when they get back. Because essentially we are already in the area of effect.

It might even be worse for the time travelers. If they bring an old, or extinct, virus back to their time... Who knows if it could become merged with a resistant strain of a weaker virus and cause a pandemic? Fun times.

Not that I'm saying this is the case, but it makes for interesting story ideas.