Now that the election cycle is all but over I feel I can comfortably break away and talk about something else again.

Now, I’m sure you all know my position on DRM.  If you don’t know, let me reiterate:  DRM is a waste of money.  It does absolutely nothing to prevent piracy and the money spent on developing new types of DRM could be invested in the products themselves or better technologies for product delivery.  Imagine if we set up a fund for technology development that took what would normally be spent on developing DRM for PC video games.  Imagine the technology we could develop with all those millions of dollars!  It would be amazing.

Now why am I talking about DRM?  I have to tell you that DRM does not deter piracy.  Not in music, not in movies, not in games.  How do we know this?  The Pirate Bay is attempting to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds largest torrent tracker as they have seen an 8 million user increase since last year, putting them up to 22 million users.  Clearly nothing is being done that honestly deters piracy when one torrent tracker has seen that sort of boost in its traffic.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 11/07 at 01:33 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

The election has come to a close and I am very pleased with its outcome.  As I took the MAX home from an election night get-together people all around us outside where shouting and waving signs.  People boarded the train, headed home after an exciting night, and were greeted with great cheer.  As we pulled up to Pioneer Courthouse Square there was a long sustained cheering, and we can only imagine how long it had been going given that the election had been called more than an hour ago and Obama had already given his acceptance speech.  People around the country, even around the globe, are celebrating what transpired in America last night.  But while the election is over, the hard times ahead have just begun.

Obama’s presidency will be met with resistance.  On that same train, we heard a conversation.  “Why aren’t you happy Obama’s president?” a girl asked.  The boy responds “I just can’t trust the nigs.” I’m sure this is a sentiment that is being echoed, as we’ve already seen two foiled assassination plots on our President-Elect.  And this isn’t the only hardship that we face moving forward.  We have an economic crisis, war being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe is becoming destabilized.  Barack Obama has a lot on his plate, a lot of messes to clean up, and a lot of systems to fix.  We have a real opportunity for change, and as great as Obama seems, he still has to show us that he’s not The Smiler.  He has to follow through on his promises and enact his policies.  He has to be that change he asked us so often to believe in.

He has to be Hope.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 11/05 at 01:59 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

Well, folks, there we have it.  Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America, and with a landslide victory.  Huzzah!

Posted by Wes Mueller on 11/04 at 10:31 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

Well, we’re there.  Tomorrow is election day, polls are looking good, and early voters are favoring Obama heavily.  Both of the candidates have made their closing arguments, and it is time to get out there and vote if you haven’t already.  Me, I’m lucky enough to live in a state that has a vote by mail system, so I got my voting out of the way already.  For those of you who have not been to the polls yet, make sure you get counted.  Know the local laws on campaign gear near the voting booth.  If you have problems voting, report it and get a provisional ballot.  Make sure to vote in your local elections, because your vote actually counts there.  Don’t make excuses and avoid the ballot box, make excuses to make it there.  Can’t get out of work in time to vote?  Call in sick.  Have to pick your kid up from school?  Have the people around you reserve your place in line if you have to leave.  Do whatever you need to, because almost nothing is more important than being heard.  Here are some resources to help if you have issues voting:

Wired’s How-To for Casting a Provisional Ballot
Wired’s Problem Reporting Map
Our Vote Live Problem Reporting

Posted by Wes Mueller on 11/03 at 12:18 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink

I’d like to take a moment to talk about a local candidate here in Oregon.  I’d like to talk about Pavel Goberman.

Pavel Goberman is without a doubt the craziest candidate I have had the chance to see run for an office.  This 71 year old fitness instructor has apparently run for office here more than once, and has failed to ever be elected.  This year he is running for Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries.  Apparently, in the past he has run for have been US Senator twice, US Representative once, and Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries once before.  He plans to use this election, which he says is our last chance to elect him, to launch him into an eventual campaign against Ron Wyden, who he calls a moron, political prostitute, and parasite.

If there is one reason alone to not vote for this man, it is his grammer.  Here’s an excerpt from his webpage:

“So, as we see, I was not elected as US Senator. Well, it is NOT my problem now, people of Oregon punished not themselves only, but all nation: I offered my help to state and nation, but I can’t give my brain to who has no own one, to who didn’t think, didn’t read Voters’ Pamphlet and brainwashed by the corrupted media junta, unions and Democratic Party. “

A little frightening, right?  I beg you, anyone who has the opportunity to vote for this man, don’t do it.  This man is a psychopath and makes even me think there’s something wrong with letting anyone run for office.

Posted by Wes Mueller on 10/29 at 12:48 PM  •  (0) Comments •  permalink