About he who dares not speak his own name

For the past few days, Dilbert has been in trouble. A while ago, he started his own business, dilbertfiles.com, on company time and using company computers. As a result, when the company learned about Dilbert's venture, their lawyers seized not only the company, but the intellectual property rights to Dilbert's name.



What makes this even more interesting is that there's a true story behind it. John Fogarty, of Creedence Clearwater Revival, got into a nasty struggle with the owner of CCR's record label, one Saul Zaentz. Mr. Zaentz owned the copyright to CCR's catalog, including the rights to some of the most popular songs in the record business - Proud Mary, Who'll Stop the Rain, and Fortunate Son. When the band broke up and John Fogarty started a solo career, Zaentz sued Fogarty, claiming that one of Fogarty's new songs sounded too much like a CCR tune. According to the New York Times:

Essentially, Mr. Zaentz sued Mr. Fogerty for plagiarizing himself - to the tune of $140 million. Of course, Mr. Fogerty had provoked Mr. Zaentz with two thinly disguised attacks on the album: "Mr. Greed" and "Zanz Kant Dance" (eventually changed in the face of still more legal threats to "Vanz Kant Dance"), which Mr. Fogerty coyly described as "a song about a pig." Mr. Fogerty won the plagiarism case, with one aspect of it - whether Mr. Fogerty could sue Mr. Zaentz for reimbursement of his legal fees - eventually reaching the United States Supreme Court.

As a side note, Dilbert's creator, Scott Adams, was clever to use dilbertfiles.com as the name of Dilbert's company. Adams has started a company that helps you send large files online. You can find out about the service at, you guess it, http://www.dilbertfiles.com.

Slashdot | Bugs In Microsoft Technical Documentation Rising

Although the reports of layoffs at Microsoft don't get into the detail of the number of technical writers who are being jettisoned, we can't help but believe that the staff reductions won't help address the increasing number of bugs reported in their documents.

See Slashdot | Bugs In Microsoft Technical Documentation Rising

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Monday, January 12

4:56 p.m. Assist individuals with ride; sidewalks covered with snow and ice impeding travel
6:00 p.m. Resident found business card for special investigation unit on motor vehicle, placed there sometime during the night
7:21 p.m. Dead dog on Bullard St.

Tuesday, January 13

12:51 a.m. Suspicious unlocked motor vehicle in lot on Princeton St.
12:35 p.m. Report of man in blue SUV who ran out of gas and didn't return gas can
12:55 p.m. Report of grenade found in a box of belongings; State Police bomb unit called in, building evacuated; item not found to be live
4:34 p.m. Dorothy Ave. resident potential victim of scam
9:08 p.m. Man reported staggering in the road on Reservoir St.

Wednesday, January 14

1:31 p.m. Solicitors reported on Wilde Willow Dr.
5:04 p.m. Report of past hit and run
5:53 p.m. Auburn reports stolen vehicle from their town, Holden resident refused to return rental
7:40 p.m. Suspicious youths in parking lot at Millbrook estates; okay, clearing ice off roofs of condos

Thursday, January 15

12:31 a.m. Report of dog barking/crying in area of Homestead and Marlen Rd.
3:22 a.m. Vehicle reported stolen from Auburn recovered on Towle Dr.
9:10 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle with elderly male on Nola Dr.
2:24 p.m. Suspicious solicitor in area of Arizona Ave.
4:40 p.m. 911 incoherent caller from River St.
4:47 p.m. Keys found
6:32 p.m. Caller reports suspicious wrong number
6:51 p.m. Keys locked in vehicle on Main St.

Friday, January 16

12:15 a.m. Suspicious male parties on Main St.
1:42 a.m. Suspicious noises coming from lower level of house on Princeton St.; concerned someone may be in house; residence secure
5:38 a.m. Suspicious female walking on Bullard St.; okay, out for morning run
6:18 a.m. No water in house on Brattle St.
8:43 a.m. Suspicious red car on Elmwood Ave.; vehicle has two flat tires
12:10 p.m. Report of two men placing limbs too close to the road; okay, they'll be chipping the brush
3:50 p.m. Red motor vehicle with no tags seen on Ridgewood Rd.
4:22 p.m. Dog found on Ottoson Way
5:42 p.m. Walk-in to lobby needing a ride; mother will pick up
6:32 p.m. Disabled motor vehicle, out of gas, on Pleasant St.
6:52 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle left outside residence on Red Barn Rd.
9:10 p.m. 911 Something hit side of house on Frederickson Ave.

Saturday, January 17

11:30 a.m. Two solicitors reported in area of Damon Rd.
4:39 p.m. Light colored sedan on Wachusett St. parked in snow bank

Sunday, January 18

5:12 a.m. Check on vehicles parked at Trout Brook
6:12 a.m. DPW gas pumps frozen
8:17 a.m. Numerous vehicles in roadway obstructing plows
8:20 a.m. Vehicle unable to get in driveway at Moscow and Diamond Hill
9:07 a.m. Party reports someone taking her New York Times occasionally on Salisbury St.; advised to find different spot to deliver paper
9:45 a.m. Golden retriever found on Fairchild Dr., no tags
1:52 p.m. Tree company from Minnesota passing out flyers on Fox Hill
5:58 p.m. Motorist reports snow banks too high for sight at intersection of Hawthorne Rd. and Main St.

Paxton

Tuesday, Jan. 13

7:36 a.m. Bear cub in Nanigan Rd. area, near pond and heading for houses
10:53 a.m. Caller clipped cable wire with his van, Rte. 122; no damage reported
2:49 p.m. Possible illegal rubbish dumping, Brigham Rd.
3:07 p.m. Central Mass. Disposal requesting someone to help driver at Highway barn with dumpster

Wednesday, Jan. 14

1:40 p.m. Party in station advising neighbor's dog is always loose and going through trash, Knollwood Rd.
2:19 p.m. Woman got senior van stuck in snow, Richards Ave.; needs assistance helping passenger

Saturday, Jan. 17

3:50 p.m. Harwich PD called regarding licensed dog it has in custody; left message for Paxton owner

Sunday, Jan. 18

8:30 a.m. Paxton Sports Center requesting to speak with officer regarding minor damage to building from cars hitting it
11:30 a.m. Brush pile blocking view of traffic, Indian Hill Rd.
5:14 p.m. Caller reporting his neighbor is blowing snow into Camelot Dr.
5:52 p.m. 911 hang-up. Spoke with young child on call back, who hung up. Officer checked out, child playing with phone, Keep Ave.

Princeton

Saturday, Jan. 17

12:13 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Pine Hill Rd.

Sunday, Jan. 18

6:40 a.m. Request for highway department, town-wide
4:48 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Wheeler Rd.
9:50 p.m. Request for highway department, town-wide

Rutland

Tuesday, Jan. 13

9:56 a.m. Person complaining about neighbor who parks vehicle in street, impeding plows, Haven Hill Rd.
7:57 p.m. Person at station reporting that someone is throwing snowballs at cars, Main St.

Wednesday, Jan. 14

12:19 a.m. Report of stolen firewood, Glenwood Pl.
4:40 p.m. Attempt to deliver summons, E. County Rd.
5:25 p.m. Summons delivered, Maple Ave.
5:43 p.m. Summons delivered, Glenwood Rd.
5:53 p.m. Summons delivered, Carly Circle

Thursday, Jan. 15

10:53 a.m. Resident requests welfare check on dog, Cameron Dr.
5:55 p.m. Person reporting a Canadian scam
6:18 p.m. Person reports being rear-ended at school, other driver took off, Main St.
11:03 p.m. Person wants to talk with officer about problems with nephew, Main St.

Friday, Jan. 16

8:50 a.m. Person to speak with officer about possible scam, Main St.
10:16 a.m. Summons served, Maple Ave.
10:44 a.m. Checking out male party, Main St./Edson Ave.
4:16 p.m. Request for assistance with vehicle parked in same place for several weeks, Maple Ave.
8:05 p.m. Person at station to report people throwing snowballs, Main St.

Saturday, Jan. 17

2:35 p.m. Oil on sidewalk, Glenwood Rd.
3:45 p.m. Person wants cruiser to help with traffic while he tries to get his vehicles in his driveway, Main St.

Sunday, Jan. 18

2:57 a.m. Request for highway department, town-wide
8:39 a.m. Request that owners of vehicle be notified to get vehicle off road, Orchard Hill Dr.
9:00 a.m. Notify owner of vehicle to remove vehicle so road can be plowed, Nancy Dr.
12:39 p.m. Notify owner to move vehicle so area can be plowed, Lynnwood Dr.
12:45 p.m. Notify owner to move vehicle so plows can clear road, Winifreds Way
2:20 p.m. Loose dog that neighbors are all afraid of, Bethany Dr.
3:09 p.m. Attempt to deliver summons, Kosta Ave.
3:44 p.m. Summons delivered, Oakridge Dr.

Sterling

Monday, Jan. 12

3:34 p.m. Summons served, Redemption Rock Trl.
9:44 a.m. Loose boxer with invisible fence collar attached, Kendall Hill Rd.

Tuesday, Jan. 13

11:22 a.m. Suspicious males walking in neighborhood, N. Row Rd.
2:20 p.m. Stray dog at home on Chace Hill Rd. Owner contacted, will pick up
5:39 p.m. Lost pit bull, animal control officer notified, Pratts Jct. Rd.

Thursday, Jan. 15

6:31 a.m. Deer struck by motor vehicle, managed to get in woods, Princeton Rd.
7:26 a.m. Disabled motor vehicle, wheel fell off, Redemption Rock Trl.
4:05 p.m. Vehicle parked in same location for long time, Chace Hill/Metropolitan Rds.
5:08 p.m. Verizon truck, parked with flashers on in bad location, Redemption Rock Trl.
7:30 p.m. Caller heard footsteps in backyard, Rowley Hill Rd.; deer tracks found

Friday, Jan. 16

8:00 a.m. Suspicious male walked around house, left card from tree service company, Upper N. Row Rd.
10:26 a.m. Dog running loose in neighborhood, raiding rubbish barrels, Chace Hill Rd.
1:26 p.m. Caller reporting two suspicious males walking on Kendall Hill Rd.

Saturday, Jan. 17

3:55 p.m. Loose horse, Upper N. Row Rd.

Sunday, Jan. 18

5:23 p.m. 911 abandoned call. Police spoke with man who said his five-year-old son called 911 because he didn't like his dinner and didn't want to eat his vegetables

Presidential Do-Over

Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake - CNN.com

The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.

"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.

CNN states that Chief Justice Roberts made the mistake in administering the oath. WND, meanwhile, blames Obama.
Obama ended up transposing the word "faithfully" during his inauguration in Washington. When he should have said he would "faithfully execute the office of president of the United States," he instead said he will "execute the office of president of the United States faithfully."

Worcestershire Journal - What a day of wonder

Worcestershire Journal - What a day of wonder : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

I bet that Jesus is glad that He has voice mail

That cackling sound is the sound of the Wingnuts in prayer: Joseph Farah writes Pray Obama fails

That's why I do not hesitate today in calling on godly Americans to pray that Barack Hussein Obama fail in his efforts to change our country from one anchored on self-governance and constitutional republicanism to one based on the raw and unlimited power of the central state.

It would be folly to pray for his success in such an evil campaign.

Not only that, but, in the middle of the screed, they promise that belly fat can be eliminated in four weeks without diet or exercise.



via Dear God, Make Him Fail

Watching history, backward and forward

As Sandra readied to leave for work this morning, she remarked, "What a day of wonder!"
I'm writing from the north cafeteria at Mount Wachusett Community College. The college has set up a large screen and is broadcasting ABC's coverage of the Inauguration. About half of the chairs are taken. I got here early and found a small table on the side, near an electrical outlet at this writing. There's a lot of electricity in the air, but I still need the old-fashioned plug-type juice to keep my laptop going.
I've returned to school, taking one course, Legal Research and Writing. I'll write more about this homecoming at another time. Many years ago, Sandra and I met in a course here at the Mount, a course on Nobel Prize-Winning American Authors taught by the late Jack Leamy.
11:45 - Barack Obama was introduced to teary applause.

This song is our song. This song's not your song.

The irony that a video clip of a performance of This Land is Your Land at the Lincoln Memorial would be blocked on YouTube by HBO is, well,something Woody surely would have caught.

In the squares of the city -
In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office -
I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Update 7:42PM 19 Jan 2009: It's worse than I thought: HBO owns Obama's inaugural concert. If you took any photos or videos you'd better destroy them now.

Time-saving time-waster

I confess that, while waiting for some computer program to do its thing or just to help clear my head, I play the venerable game of Solitaire. Since moving my laptop to Linux, however, I've had to change games.
One of the nifty features about a soliaire game named KPatience is that it will tell you whether you can win. It, apparently, calculates all of the possible moves, given the particular dealing of cards that you've received, and then watches as you play. If either you've been dealt an impossible-to-win hand or you've played badly, a little message appears at the bottom of the window, telling you that the game's been lost. That way, you can just start over with a new deal without having to play the game out.

Linux is still not ready for prime time

I spent much of Sunday engaged in the creative destruction process - making system tweaks on my Linux laptops and, in the process, wrecking various parts of file system and installation. That's not Linux's problem: I was playing with some sharp knives and either didn't know what I was doing or wasn't paying attention.
As a result, I installed Ubuntu three different times. Each basic installation was as easy or complicated as I chose to make it. The Ubuntu team has put together a good collection of pre-installed software and configurations that just work. (Among the experienced Linux users, there's a fair bit of disdain for expecting that things will 'just work'. You might as well be running Windoze.)

• I don't mind a bit of tinkering and even look forward to it, up to a point. Most Linux applications are built upon other programs or libraries of resources. Some of these dependencies can get to be quite thick and complicated. I draw the line at three additional installations for one product. For example, when I learn about a nifty, fast file search tool, such as Find 'Em All, I check the product's web page and see that there are four additional products that I have to install. The additional installations require a few tweaks, so, I'm a half-hour into the installation and I still don't have a working Find 'Em All. I punt.
• There's a free web-based storage product called Dropbox that gives you 2GB of free storage that's automatically backed up from your system. They have Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.
  After I downloaded and configured Dropbox, I was having trouble getting it started. The reason was that the startup process was both non-obvious and documented in very tiny print:
  
  
  
  
  
• A program that advertises itself as Mobile device syncing in Linux made easy gives us these installation instructions:

Fix it again, Tony, and, while you're at it, buy Chrysler

This is how we're going to resurrect the American auto industry? According to the Wall Street Journal, Fiat is trying to make a deal to buy Chrysler. This would allow the Italian automaker to bring a line of small cars and a renewed Alfa Romeo to the American car scene.
The mileage ratings of the Fiat small cars are diminished slightly because you have to carry a car's worth of spart parts in the trunk.

One more step away from landlines

Although seemingly a bit pricey, Verizon's Wireless Network Extender will make a big difference in the viability of cell phones as the only phones in an household. In brief,  this gadget, called a femtocell, is a mini-cell tower that hooks up to your broadband service, such cable Internet, and routes calls over the Internet. You get the benefit of a very strong cell phone signal in your house. For folks who have broadband but have marginal cell phone coverage in their homes, such as yours truly, this is a big deal. It will cost about $250, but you'd make that back in savings on land line service in a few months. The network extender will be available starting this weekend.


via Boy Genius Report.

And, so, we gotta go overseas to hear Our Song

From the German news channel N24: