Stop the DRM

When will companies learn that their draconian efforts to prevent piracy only serves to hurt their paying customers which directly affects their bottom line!!

Companies, you must stop counting pirated copies of your software as “lost revenue” — it’s not! Someone who is willing to pirate software isn’t willing to pay for it.. EVER! So you never had their money in the first place..

You’re trying so hard to capture that imagined lost revenue that it’s blinding you to how badly you’re screwing yourselves and your real customers..

Equating the number of pirated copies of your software directly to dollars is retarded.. More over, implementing these harsh DRM models only serves to prevent the honest players from playing your games, which effectively assures that you’re going to lose real money in the form of people who actually DO buy your games going else where..

Let take the new Silent Hunter 5 game as an example.. SH5 (a game with a lot of bugs and other issues that already pisses paying customers off) comes with the new DRM which forces you to be connected to the internet 100% of the time. The new system which the Ubisoft exec’s spin as being a positive thing for the customer is constantly phoning home to make sure you’re still allowed to play the game.. The game you purchased.

If at any time during your play period the connection to the mother ship fails, you stop playing the game. You can’t save your game.. You can’t do anything.. Effectively the game you purchased goes into cripple ware mode.. This is bullshit.

The hacker community took one good look at that and said “F’to you Ubi” and hacked it within the first 24 hours of release.. These people had no intention of buying the game in the first place so who does it actually hurt?

ME! If I’m playing the game that I purchased and I go on a road trip with my laptop, I can’t play it.. The hacker can.. he can play just fine..

If I am playing the game that I purchased at home and for whatever reason my internet goes out (it happens), I’m screwed.. Not the hacker.. He can keep playing..

So.. whats my recourse? Nothing.. I’m just shit out of luck.. I have to either accept their crappy DRM because apparently they think I’m the problem, or not buy the game in the first place.. The hacker doesn’t care, he isn’t troubled by these problems at all and in no way has the DRM affected him at all..

DRM only punishes the paying customer! Ubisoft is trying like hell to spin their new DRM in a positive light, but it’s not.. they claim that it’s “A platform of online services for PC titles offering gamers a more in-depth gaming experience as well as providing an innovative solution for reducing PC game piracy.” HUH?!

How did you do either of those things? It does absolutely NOTHING to offer me a more in-depth gaming experience and in fact does the opposite in that suddenly I have this invasive piece of software on my system that prevents me from playing at all from time to time.. I paid for the game, yet I’m punished.

And it doesn’t prevent or even reduce software piracy considering it was hacked out in the first 24 hours. The hackers never even notice the games DRM, it doesn’t bother them in the slightest..

At this point you’re actually encouraging people like me to hack the game because your own DRM is preventing the honest player from playing the game he paid for.. That’s right.. your DRM which is there to prevent piracy is actually encouraging piracy because otherwise we can’t play the game.. Good job genius..

You’re so busy counting the imaginary lost dollars you’re missing the fact that your real dollars are heading out the door.. The proof is in the pudding.. Your current sales for this year are down by over 20% and I have to think you only have yourselves to blame..

I realize fully that the “higher ups” are the ones making these decisions, but someone MUST stand up and tell them why DRM is not the right solution.. If you guys don’t stop the DRM shenanigans you guys are going to hemorrhage not money, but customers..

Apple Fanboy

I understand brand loyalty, but Apple fanatics take it to extremes..  Buying something just because it has an Apple logo on the side is ludicrous..  Recently I had (via a forum) a conversation with someone who was in the market for a new monitor and they had their heart set on either the 24″ or 30″ Apple Cinema Display..   I pointed out the 28″ monitor that I use and offered it as a possible alternative simply because the ACD’s are stupidly expensive..

I told him that my monitor was much less than the 30″ ACD he was leaning towards, and in fact you could likely get 6 of mine for one of those.. Plus I pointed out that the majority of the stats for my monitor was actually better than the ACD.  To which he said that the monitor I used was cheap and ugly.   And compared the Apple Cinema Display to a fine bottle of wine, where as my monitor was a cheap sixpack.

What a pretentious douche..  He completely discounts my suggestion not on merit.. not on facts like specs or technical reasons.. No.. but because the Apple product is a fine bottle of wine, where as mine is a single out of a cheap six pack..  Wow..  The level of snobbery amazes me..  Hey buddy, you’re douchebag is showing..

Fine.. its his money, if he wants to blow almost two thousand dollars on something that he could get for three hundred.. go for it..  My mistake for trying to be helpful..  I gotta say though blind loyalty like that is retarded..  Buying something just because its the most expensive doesn’t guarantee its the best.. And buying something just so you can say you have one is equally dumb..  Fools and their money..  Most likely all you’re buying is that Apple logo..

Having said all this, I love my Mac Mini and the Apple products I use.. I have several.. I just would never purchase one of their monitors due to them being outlandishly expensive..  And for me the biggest thing that keeps me from buying more Apple products are the fanboys like this who are so snobby and stuck up it’s painful to deal with them.  And to think I actually tried to help this “genius”..

Apple needs to reinvent their image cause frankly that shit puts people off..

As of this writing the price of gold is at $1120 an ounce which is an all time high.  That alone should be your first indication that;  Now is not the time to buy gold!

The price of Gold is where it’s at right now because of the economy and because gold sellers are driving the cost up through fear.  They want you to go buy their gold so that they make money.  Period.  They don’t give a crap about the economy, your we being or future or any of the other BS they try to sling on the commercials.  Stated simply, they are in the business of making money and they are trying to do so at your expense.

The only “winner” when you buy gold at these prices are the companies selling the gold as they will make out like bandits having sold gold to you at over a thousand dollars an ounce. You wont be saving money, instead you’ll be giving your money to these unscrupulous companies who are doing their best through fear to drive the price as high as it can go before it crashes.  And it will crash.  Let me explain why;

See.. Gold is a commodity and a standard.  As such, it’s value never really changes.  What changes is the dollars value in relation to the gold.. So when you see golds value go up, what you’re actually seeing is the dollar go down.  When you have say 10 ounces of gold worth $3000, and suddenly that prices shoots to $10000 what you’re actually seeing is the value of the dollar shoot down.  10 ounces of gold is still just 10 ounces of gold.

When the dollar strengthens again (as it always does) you’ll see the price of gold go back down to something more reasonable.  This is why I say gold WILL crash..  that means that the folks who purchased gold at $1120 an ounce will take it on the chin..

I’m not saying that you should never buy gold.. Actually I think gold can be a good thing to buy, but only when the dollar is very strong (and thus the price of gold is lower).

Razer Mamba

Update (Nov 1, 2009) :: After all is said and done, I have the mouse back from Razer and it is working as I think it should.   It doesn’t do the sleep-death thing it was doing previously which implies to me that the old firmware was horribly buggy and the newer firmware is required for sure..  That was the number one issue previously and it appears to be resolved..   The Razer management team that I dealt with were nothing but professional and courteous though I am still concerned about the “standard” support they are providing as those folks didn’t give anywhere near the level of support that I got directly from the president and his main man (of course)..  My over all opinion on the device itself has gone from “avoid at all costs” to, “okay its not bad so long as you get the most recent version”.  I still find myself occasionally using the G7 which I still find telling but I am not sworn off Razer products as I was previously..  And no they didn’t pay me or make me say these things..

Now on to the original post ::  I was pretty frustrated and angry when I initially wrote this.  The tone is a lot harsher than it should be and for that I apologize, but the message is still basically what I want it to be..

As I have said previously, I’m a pretty hard core Logitech fan.  I use a lot of their hardware, and am always very happy with it..  I have used several Logitech mice in my day (corded and cordless) and up until fairly recently was using a Logitech G7.   The G7 is one of their cordless gaming mice and I have used it for a while.   I really like it, it’s a wonderful mouse and I highly recommend it.  My only complaint being that I wish it had 2 thumb buttons instead of one.. that was it.. my only complaint..  I managed to break the mouse wheel on mine though due to my own stupidity and being a bit rough with it, so it was time to replace it..

A buddy of mine has a Razer mouse and loves it, so when I was at the store and saw the Ferrari of the Razer mouse line; the Mamba wireless gaming mouse — I went ahead and picked it up..

At $129.99 I expected this thing to perform like no other..  In fact, at twice the cost of my Logitech G7, I expected it to perform twice as well..  It came in a really nice box, with a lot of high and mighty claims on the box so I was thinking I had a winner..

Let me be clear here – this mouse is the biggest piece of shit, I have ever.. and I mean.. EVER used..

I have been struggling and fighting with it for a while now, it’s beyond the time for me to take it back or I would.   I’m going to compare it to the Logitech G7, which I now know to be a superior mouse in every way except possibly the three listed below which has nothing to do with how I use the mouse;

• Packaging: The Razer folks took some queues from Apple on this one, the unboxing of the mouse is actually really impressive.  They use very high quality packaging.  Nice job.  I mean the packaging was so nice, I still have it all..(that’s not normally for me.. I usually toss the box asap)
• Dual Modes: The mouse can be used both in cordless or corded modes.  That’s a nice innovation and frankly I think all mice should adopt this.  Again.. Nice job guys.. I seriously like this and hope all mice do this in the future.. Quick! Patent it!
• 5600 DPI: The mouse has a very high resolution so I’ll throw this in as a plus but I never used it.. Frankly 5600 is way too high to be useful in my FPS games.. It’s twitchy as hell..  I usually used one click up from default.. (not sure what that resolution actually is)

Yeah.. that’s really it.. I’m trying to think of other nice things to say but I just can’t think of anything..  I have used this mouse from day one as a wireless replacement for my G7 and I expected it to perform as such.. Boy was I wrong;

• Battery Life: Their packaging states clearly that this mouse has a battery life of approximately 14 hours of continuous gaming or 72 hours of normal gaming usage.  Horse shit!  I mean it doesn’t even come remotely close to 72 hours of ANY kind of use.. 72 hours of sitting on the desk and it’s dead..  it doesn’t come close to 14 hours either..  If I get 8 hours of just “work use” I’d be happy..  14 hours of continuous gaming use?!  Bullshit..  This is just a marketing lie..  There is also only the one battery, and the only way to charge it is to put the mouse on the stand.   Fail.The G7 comes with two batteries, and you charge them via a charging station thats plugged into a USB port..  One G7 battery lasts a full day of constant gaming..  I would have to change the battery every day, but it takes a second to eject the old, and insert the new and have the old one fully charged again in no time.   Win.
• Sleepy Mouse:  I have never had a mouse go to sleep as often nor as quickly as this one does.  If you stop using it for 30 seconds (or less sometims), it goes to sleep.   It then takes up to 30 seconds for it to recover, IF IT RECOVERS AT ALL!So you get up to go to the restroom.. Yeah mouse goes to sleep..  Getting a quick drink from the kitchen?  Yeah sleep mode..

  Most of the time when the mouse came out of its self imposed torpor the buttons would work but the laser optic wouldn’t — so you couldn’t move the cursor.   I would be forced to turn the mouse off via the switch on the bottom, then turn it back on and hope it woke up.  Sometimes it would.. sometimes it wouldn’t..  Fail.

  This was an extremely common occurance too, it really made me wonder if I had a broken mouse..The G7 never sleeps.. or if it is sleeping it wakes up the absolute instant you move it.. Win.

• Responsiveness: Their claim to fame on the box is that the Mamba has a 1ms response time!!!  Further stating that other mice have 2ms and others have 8ms.. *gasp*Again.. Marketing shit.  Frankly the response times of this mouse mean nothing..   I am not sure exactly how long it takes my eyes to observe a targer, decide to react, tell my hand to move and my finger to click, and my muscles to actually perform that action..  but I’m pretty sure the difference of 1 or 2 milliseconds wont make a difference.

  More over, due to internet latency all that speedy mouse shit is completely lost in the noise of the intertubes..Further more, due to the sleep issue from above and the fact that it would take up to 30 seconds to recover half the time the mouse seemed incredibly unresponsive..  Epic Fail.

  Again, the G7 which might be one of those “other” mice and have a 8ms poll .. Bit it always performs perfectly.  And using it I still come in first on CoD Multiplayer more times than not.  Win.

Mouse Suicide!

I can go on.. The form factor took me a little getting used to but it wasn’t bad..  The clicks sound good and feel good, and the mouse wheel is okay if a little “mushy”.. (personal preference)  But its performance as a mouse left me wanting..  A lot.. And often..  The simple fact is the Mamba is extremely unreliable and quirky.. It may work fine as a corded mouse, but as a cordless it’s almost worthless..

On one of the forums I visit they suggested I update the firmware of the mouse to see if that helps..  So I did:  At which point my Mamba committed suicide.

Yeah not kidding.  (Firstly; why the hell does my mouse have a firmware?!  It’s a mouse!! )  I installed their firmware update software, followed their instructions to the letter.. And for my trouble got a paper weight.   The firmware updater erased the mouses brain completely, started its bootloader process then stopped working..  Now it doesn’t even work as a mouse and nothing I do will fix it..  The best part is, there is no hardware reset.

Seriously?! I mean I thought it was telling before that I was forced to leave my broken G7 on my desk for when the Mamba decided to go off into the weeds, but now its completely shit the bed and I’m forced to use the G7 entirely..

I can’t tell you how unhappy this makes me.. I’m so entirely and completely dissatisfied with this piece of hardware.. I’m seriously considering boxing it up and just sending it back to them with a letter to their president..  If this is the quality of their hardware, I will never ever buy a Razer product again.. Ever..  More over I will tell people of my experiences with it.. Ala this blog post, my forums and others..

At this point as my last ditch effort I have created a ticket with their technical support in the hopes that I get some help, but I’m willing to bet I wont get a response.   I also plan to call them tomorrow and see if I can get this straightened out.. I’m sure there is some way to reset the darn thing and I just don’t know how..   But again my hopes aren’t high..  I also seriously doubt the firmware update will fix the other issues this mouse seems to be plagued with..

I really wish I could write this as a personal letter to Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff..  He’s the president and co-founder of Razer and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t make excuses for the experiences I have had..  So.. Mr. Krakoff, this is to you..

Your company  missed the mark by a mile on this one..  Now lets see what your customer service department does..  This can still be a complete win for your company if you do the right thing here..  Good customer service can still save my opinion of you, but at this point I’m frustrated with the Mamba to the point of not wanting it any more..

I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

Day 2 — Razer Phone Technical Support — (888) 697-2037

Razer email support did reply within the 24 hour period.. The response seemed somewhat canned but did ask relevant questions so it was just a way to start the ball rolling..  I wanted faster results so I decided to call..

It took me ages to find the damn phone number..   It isn’t on their website at all.. I had to get it off a forum where someone else did a bunch of research to get it..

Bob answered the call and asked me my name… I told him and at the same time told him that I thought this mouse was a hunk of junk and it was also extremely frustrating and hard to find a phone number for them..

He then mumbled ” ‘ats by design ” prior to asking at normal volume; “What phone number can you be reached at if we get disconnected..”

I stopped him and said “Wait, did you just say thats by design?”  He said “no no I asked for a phone number to reach you at..”.. what a tool.. I’m not deaf..

I’m using a stereo headset to make the call so I can hear you in both ears with perfect clarity..  I know what you said..   You should never say something like that to a customer, even if its true — which apparently it is..

Bob seemed nice enough if maybe a little snarky.. But as a Razer T1 Support monkey, I could tell he was just browsing the web looking for solutions and was out of his depth..

At one point he had me completely remove the drivers for it, then had me try to update the driver via the device control panel, to the driver installer.. Not the driver itself, but to the installer..   I told him that this wouldn’t work and why — he seemed completely confused and put me on hold..

I got put on hold 3 times over the course of the call, each hold period got progressively longer while he researched solutions.. (read the internet, or went to ask someone..etc..  I know how our support monkeys work..)

Later in the call I casually asked “So do you guys get a lot of support calls?”  He said “No not really.. “  I said, “Thats cause the phone number is so hard to find.. thats by design right?” to which he stated.. “Thats right! Its what we hope for…”

… Sure.. why bother supporting your products…  I can’t believe you admitted that..  Saying things like that to a customer can get you fired..

Bob of T1 support knew nothing about this product or how to support it other than what he could read.. After 35 minutes on the phone with him he admitted that “he might actually have to escalate this call to T2″..  Stressing the word actually, as if he was shocked.. I wasn’t..

In my own testing of the product prior to calling I did more trouble shooting and research than he did ..

At 42 minutes he came back and asked “Does the mouse light up?”  .. No it doesn’t.. The lights stopped working the instant the bootloader firmware update failed.. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that early in the call, but maybe not.. I was thinking it if nothing else..

To which he said; “Okay we are done.. we have to get you a new mouse!”  I’m thinking, Yeah.. I knew this yesterday.. I certainly knew it 45 minutes ago..

So now I’m supposed to wait for RMA notice in the email..

Day 2 + 45 minutes — Razer Email Technical Support — RMA’ing this thing

So I got the email pretty much as soon as I hung up the phone..  I have filled it out and returned it..  One thing they wanted was proof of purchase.. well.. I have the thing don’t I?  I have all the packaging too..

I stated on the phone that I didn’t have that so I’m going to assume for the time being that it will be okay..

So far I’m not blown away by customer support here..  It was painful to find and the person I found wasn’t all that helpful..

Lets see if they will RMA it without proof of purchase..

Day 2 + 3 hours — Razer RMA Process

Fail.  It appears they are refusing to RMA this defective piece of crap without proof of purchase.   I have the product in its full packaging, with the Fry’s Electronics label on the front.. but I don’t have a receipt thus they are saying:

1. They can’t verify that the product was purchased from an authorized seller of Razer products.
2. Can’t verify that it wasn’t previously “used”, it isn’t “counterfeit”, and not “gray market goods”.
3. Can’t verify that the product isn’t “defective”.
4. Can’t verify that the unit is still within the warranty period.

Wow..

1.  The product was purchased from Fry’s Electronics in Austin Texas.  I still have the packaging, and at this point I have put the mouse back in the box entirely..  There is a label on the front that is the Fry’s label.. I’m pretty sure their authorized to sell Razer products cause they have a lot of it..  So this is a BS excuse.

2.  I gave you the serial number of the product in the RMA request.  With that you should know if the product has been previously used, or if its counterfeit.. You should also know to which country the product was initially shipped..  Again.. BS.

3.  I can 100% guarantee you the product is defective.. Your software made it so..  That’s the whole point of this attempted RMA..

4.  Your website states that the Razer Mamba has a warranty of 2 years.  Since it was unveiled to the world at CES in Jan of 2009, I’m pretty sure we are still win the warranty period..

This was a canned response letter and is very likely the first thing they do..   Deny first..

Never mind that their product is BROKEN DUE TO THEIR SOFTWARE..  Yeah you heard me.. THEY BROKE IT.. Their update software killed my product, but its my fault and I’m just out the money and now the mouse..

So apparently the only thing I did wrong was to buy a Razer product..

I could be coming away saying; “Wow, I didn’t really like the mouse but their customer support was excellent.. they treated me really well and took care of me.. I’d do business with them again..”

Or, I could be coming away saying; “Wow.. what a bunch of asshats.. I will never ..ever.. ever.. buy from them again.. and now I’m going to tell everyone I know not to.. ”

Based entirely on the experience I’m having, its clear to me they want me to do the second..

More as it happens..

Offensive Footwear

So a co-worker of mine showed up wearing what, at the time, I could only describe as “glove shoes”.  They are sort of like water socks, where each toe has its own sleeve to fit in.  They looked quite comfy and interested me..  I talked to him about it a bit and finally decided, what the heck.. I want a pair!

I went to REI Austin and tried on a couple pairs before settling on one..  They are great!  At first my toes rebelled at fitting into their own slot, but once I convinced them that I actually did want them in there all was well..

It’s sort of feels like wearing a silk glove that had the bottom dipped in rubber.. Extremely comfy to be honest..  I hate having something between my toes so I was a tad worried that I wouldn’t like them due to that but these feel completely natural..

The primary issue I have with them is the down right hostile reaction I get from folks when I wear them..

At this point I have been called a “frog man”, “weirdo” and a “fag”.   Can you believe that?  Someone actually was so offended by my footwear that they called me a fag… Really?   And that was three different people btw.. not just one..  Most people that seem them have a reaction, and not always a friendly one..  Everyone has to comment.. “Nice footwear!”, “What the hell are your wearing?!”.. etc..

It boggles the mind..   Flip-flops / Showershoes are all the rage and if you stop at any social gathering and look around someones wearing them..  Toes completely exposed.. That’s normal and acceptable.. but my version of the same exact thing where the toes are covered is completely foreign  to the point of being offensive to some folks.

They are so “weird” that they jar that person’s whole reality..  Even though they have toes too!  People are odd..

I will say that I kind of feel like I’m actually using my toes to walk with for the first time..  These things are super grippy and when I walk in them, my toes are actually apart of the process..  Where as previously, in a closed mono-toe shoe your toes don’t do much..

In these your toes are busy doing what they were always meant to do and as such, I have some sore muscles in my legs..  As Gonzo put it, it’s sort of like the matrix..   “Why do my toes hurt?  Because you’ve never used them before.. ” hehe  And he’s right!  Nothing hurts.. let me be clear these are awesome.. but I can tell that some muscles are just now starting to be used..

Either way I highly recommend them..

Whack a Seal!

So, on Saturday the 11th of April, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) held an awareness gathering in World of Warcraft where they killed four quest NPC’s as a form of protest for the unethical killing of seals in real life.  Some how it got into their heads that by focusing on protecting the digital seals in a game and instead performing the far more ethical act of killing the would-be digital seal killers, it would bring awareness to the unethical killing of real world seals.

So.. let me sum up for those who can’t put this together — what they are saying is..   Kill the people who are killing the seals.

Are you fucking kidding me?!  How is that more ethical?  They honestly are saying that it’s more ethical to kill humans than it is to kill seals?  That’s their stance?  Really?

I’ve always heard PETA was a bunch of psycho douche bags but damn.. But to their point; Apparently a lot of seals (between 100k and 400k this year depending on which website you go to..) are killed annually by the Canadian government..  Or rather, their killing is sanctioned by the Canadian government..

PETA’s website goes on a very graphic tirade about how awful it is and how each seal “must look on as fellow pups are bludgeoned to death before meeting the same bloody fate.  The anguish that a mother seal feels as she watches her baby being beaten to death just a few feet away from her is horrifying and can be heard in her desperate cries…” Wow.. Nice spin.. Complete bullshit, but a good spin all the same..

In doing research for this, I have watched a lot of videos.. And in each video I have seen it has had some lone guy run up on an individual seemingly adult seal that was alone on an ice flow and repeatedly whack the seal in the head with a hammer on a pole.. Kinda gruesome true.. But PETA paints this as mass murder where all the baby seals are gathered up and executed Auschwitz style.. That simply isn’t true..

Firstly, I have no idea why the Canadian government has an annual seal season.  And from what I have read, no one else knows either..   There must be a reason, and despite what PETA thinks its not because they are all evil evil communists who hate children..  Thats how PETA paints it, but again.. not true..  That’s propaganda..  There must be a reason it’s legal — what is it?

Apparently I’m willing to look at it a bit more objectively than PETA is;  It could be just like the deer season here in the US.. I simply don’t know.  All the websites I have found on the issue are one manner of propaganda or another..  Finding hard facts is near impossible at this point because of all the inflammatory crap being flung back and forth..

The simple truth of it is;  If it’s legal, then it’s legal. You can be offended by it, but that doesn’t mean that its against the law.  You can delve all you want into the morality pool and every one of us will come up with a different opinion on the subject.. But from a legal stand point, you can’t say that killing seals is illegal.  It’s not illegal.

I personally think the primary difference is that seals are endearing..  It’s sort of the same difference between a rat and a squirrel.. Squirrels are cute, we love them!  Rats are ugly, we hate them!  When the simple fact is they are both rodents that carry diseases, only one has a fluffy tail and lives outside which people find endearing thus squirrels are thought of more positively..  Seals are cute and as such we are offended by their early demise..

I’m more than willing to concede that there are baby seals being killed out there on the ice flows.. Probably more than a few.. but to say that all the seals being killed are just cute cuddly wuddly baby seals is pure propaganda plain and simple.  Most folks that look at a picture of a seal have no idea how old that seal is..  Hell they all look like babies right?  I’m not 100% sure, but I thought seals out on the ice flow alone (as in the videos I saw) are adults, no baby seal would go out that far alone..

Here is one of the videos I saw of seals being clubbed to death, and yes — it’s pretty gruesome.   But I would say it’s no more gruesome than a deer getting shot during the annual hunting seasons here in the US..  How is that different?  It’s an animal being killed by a superior species..  Just like a lion that chases down and kills a gazelle for it’s meat..

I eat meat.. The steak, pork and chicken that I consume also was once alive.. and is now dead..  And according to PETA I’m a murderer for it?  Really?  It’s been going on for a long time.. And my maxillary permanent canine teeth sort of imply it was meant to go on.. So why does PETA think that this sort of activity is so bad?

They would answer that a lion wouldn’t kill for sport, or wouldn’t kill for just the skin.   To which I say; Sure they would and do all the time.   Dolphins are one of the more intelligent animals on the planet and they kill for sport..

Frankly, this is just propaganda by an organization that has no power.. You see,  PETA wants to bring your attention to what they call, an injustice.. Something they call unethical..

And since PETA has the word “Ethical” right in their name they must be good right?  The words right there, therefore they must be the ones doing the ethical and moral thing..  So if you disagree with them, then you’re unethical!!  You bastard.

The problem is, it doesn’t work that way.  Ethics are a system of moral principles governing an individual or group.  Those principles are discussed and agreed upon by that group.  No one individual or group can decide what those principles are for another individual or group.  Meaning, what’s ethical here.. may not apply there.  What’s moral and ethical for you may not apply to me..

In this situation you have PETA trying to tell another group what’s ethically right, and if you don’t do what they think is right you’re wrong.   PETA is trying to control you and your way of thinking..   And they think you should DIE for disagreeing.  That’s right..  Remember from above, they think the people killing the seals, should be killed…

Frankly, I find that PETA is nothing more than a terrorist group (or even religious cult) that is extremely vocal and is very good at crafting sensational, vivid, graphic and even horrific language and imagery in order to manipulate people.  They do it in such a way as to make you feel bad if you don’t side with them, and if that doesn’t work they will intimidate, harass and threaten you..

That alone to me seems unethical.

The issue here is, like so many other animals in the animal kingdom (and yes, WE are animals) we tend to think animals are good to eat.. Most PETA members are vegetarians and as such have a moral stance that killing an animal of any kind for any reason is wrong.  Oh and they’ll tell ya about it too.. We have differing ethical stances when it comes to the killing of animals.

I’m all for not killing critters if we can get around it.. but sometimes it’s necessary.. Like for food or for other products that we deem necessary.. Where as PETA paints this picture that we are torturing animals for our food.. Or that these seals are being tortured to death for their fur.  I haven’t seen that.  I have yet to see where they hook up the car battery to the seals teets just to cause pain.  Or where they derive some sick pleasure from slapping a seal around..

In every video I have seen, they kill the animal in very short order.. It may take two or three whacks but its over and done fairly quickly..  How is that torture?   Torture to me implies the repeated infliction of pain over a period of time from which you derive some sick sadistic pleasure..  Walking up to an animal and bludgeoning it to death with intent to use it for one purpose or another, isn’t torture..

I have seen horrific and evil video of animals being tortured.. (Just watch the PETA website..)  Yeah that shits awful.. But that stuff is illegal and there are laws in place to stop it.   The seal hunts are legal, and not in the same category despite what you think.

Look, I love animals.. I do.. I always have..  And I think the torture of animals is wrong and the people doing it should go away for ever.. But it’s pretty clear to me that PETA loves animals more than Humans..

PETA will try to tell you that animals are todays “slaves” and that what happens to a cow or a chicken today is morally identical to what happened to the Jewish people in the holocaust..  And that shit is fucking offensive as hell.. And I’m not Jewish!!  To actually trivialize the holocaust like that is just unimaginable and goes a very long way to prove that anyone who belongs to PETA has no basis in reality.

Hrmm.. maybe they belong in a game?

2009 Penny Front

So I wasn’t terribly shocked to find a brand new penny in my hand upon receiving change for the breakfast I purchased this morning..  I was however shocked to see that they have been completely redesigned!!

Apparently 2009 was the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and as such four new designs were commissioned and released to celebrate that as well as the 100th anniversary of the production of the Lincoln cent (penny).

I have to think that Lincoln would be embarrassed…

click to enlarge

The front design is the same as it was, but the reverse has 4 new designs apparently featuring four major aspects of President Lincoln’s life;  his birth and childhood in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois, and his Presidency in Washington, D.C as seen to the left.

I’m okay with the first two.. The log cabin and the rail-splitter designs are nice and seem appropriate to me.  The last two are also nice designs but I question how those images were more relevant to Lincolns life than say; the Emancipation Proclamation, or the Lincoln-Doublas Debates on the topic of Slavery. or something related to the Gettysburg Address maybe? etc..

I’m just not sure that a picture of the Capitol cluttered by scaffolding was a good salute to Lincoln’s life.

But most importantly;  Dear god, WHY?! … why do this?  Amid all the government bailouts, corporate bankruptcies, and an economic down turn to rival that of the great depression, how much money did the government blow to redesign those coins?

No one forges the penny so why redesign it?  Did the old designs some how fail?  Not only that but these 4 new designs during 2009 are mandated to be further redesigned again in 2010 to a permanent design.

Is this some effort to instill value in an almost valueless coin? I’m sure all the numismatists will appreciate it.. Or maybe it’s bizarro feel good tactic by the government to cheer us up?  I dunno..  But the amount of money that was bound to be put into this redesign process seems silly.  Especially in an age where the penny seems largely pointless.  Most people don’t stop to pick pennies up off the ground..

To be fair; No they aren’t worthless.. think how much everything would go up if you had to round up to the nearest nickel.. but still..

At one point (prior to 1982) all US pennies actually had a metal content that at market value was worth more than face value of the coin. Now however, all pennies are 97.5% zinc with only 2.5% being copper (coated over the zinc) and as such have an intrinsic value of $0.0028… So 0.28% of face value..

According to the US Mint the costs to producing and shipping already designed one-cent (penny) coins during the fiscal year 2007 was $0.0167 per penny.[ref]  That doesn’t count the cost of redesign..

$0.0167 to produce a coin worth $0.0028, with a face value of only $0.01..    Dear god no wonder we are in debt..

So, 5 billion pennies in circulation worth $50 million dollars, cost the government $70 million to make..  For those of you who are really bad at math, thats $20 million dollars wasted..

I have to think even Lincoln would be ashamed..

Recently I hurt my neck — I don’t know exactly what I did, but whatever it was it hurts. I *think* I slept wrong on it and it has hurt for days. We have a sleep number bed and it slowly loses air over the course of a month or so, so if you don’t every once in a while bump it back up you end up sleeping on a really really soft (incorrect) bed. And since I’m no longer 12, any hurt I get seems to take a while to heal.

I have corrected the soft bed issue, but that doesn’t solve the immediate problem of the neck ache. Truth be told, the only thing that will really resolve it is time. Especially if its a pinched nerve or something like that.

However, I mentioned to my sister that I had this issue during one of our calls and she suggested that I seek the attention of a chiropractor. Now let me preface this by saying, I have always thought of chiropractors as charlatans. However, I fully realize that this opinion had previously been largely driven by the media, television, movies and other peoples opinions. No personal experiences. No real clue that they were snake oil pushers, just a preconceived notion that they were a bunch of slack jawed flim flam salesmen.

I realize that this isn’t fair of me at all and so when my sister suggested it, I figured.. what the hell.. I’m going to have an open mind about this, and give it a try. I’ve been wrong before, surely I can be wrong again. I wasn’t.. but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I shopped around a bit and went with a chiropractor located here in Austin sorta near my work. He has a very big practice, with a lot of people coming and going in a high traffic area off Anderson lane near one of my favorite Korean places. I walked in, made an appointment for the next day, and walked out. The office has a very professional atmosphere so I figured I had made a good choice.

I asked the receptionist roughly how much these things go for because I had never gone to a chiropractor before and had no Earthly clue. She told me that visits usually ran anywhere between $47 and $247. To which I said, “So, $247?” She chuckled and played off my joke. I mention that because it’s important later.

The next day came and I went to the appointment at 4:45. I got there early, and sat down filling out the “paperwork” which mostly consisted of questions like “Did you ever falldown and go boom as a child?” — “Were you ever abused as a child?” — “Did your parents spank you?” — etc.. A lot of questions dealing with my past, not really medical in nature but rather general questions about events that could possibly have left some sort of scaring or emotional trauma.

Frankly, I found most of the questions to be somewhat creepy, and not really related what so ever to the issue at hand. But, again trying to have an open mind .. I filled out the form.

I waited for a while, and eventually the receptionist introduced me to a female “doctor.” Who was very kind (everyone was pretty nice) and showed me the office. Once she was done with that she took me to an “exam room” and told me the doctor would be there soon.

Now, I use the term exam room really really lightly here.. It was a room with a computer, a scale and a model of the human spine. I’m not sure why they called it an exam room as nothing akin to an exam really took place. I mean the “doctor” stood me up and looked at me, had me stand in front of a mirror and proceeded to mumble about how much was wrong. “You see how one ear is clearly visible and the other isn’t.. that’s because you turn your head … a clear sign of subluxation.”

Sub-what?

This was the root of all my evils, my clear signs of subluxation! They were pushing the subluxation problems left and right!

My ears aren’t even, thus I turn my head when I stand — a sign of subluxation. My shoulders aren’t even when I stand — a sign of subluxation. My hips clearly rotate! — a sign of subluxation. My right leg is shorter than my left leg — subluxation! When I stand on two scales, my weight isn’t perfectly distributed between them which means I’m shifting my weight because of… You guessed it.. Subluxation.

Realistically I think all of those things are a very clear sign that I’m a Human being, and as such not a perfectly synchronous creature.. but hey, I’m not a MD.. (Neither are they mind you..)

Between the two doctors, they actually said “subluxation” so much, the word started to lose meaning… er, not that it had much to begin with.

During this whole interview process, and lets be honest thats exactly what it was, they were interviewing me to see if I’d be a good sucker. I went along with everything, thus they then switched to trying to convince me that I was in dire need of their services.

At the end of the little interview with the main quac..er doctor he kind of went over prices.. He basically said, “oh and uh, this is going to run normally about.. uh “.. *doing mental calculation* .. “lets see.. ” *looking at the sky* … *carry the one* … ” roughly 5 xrays at $40 each plus the $47 exam .. so that will be $247 dollars.”

He made a big show of not being sure of the price and having to “figure it out”.. What a douche.. I already knew the price, because of the little joke between me and the receptionist above. Hey what do you know, its exactly the amount she told me was the max.

This is where I got the “used car salesman” vibe from him, he just came off completely slimy. But golly a really swell guy. At this point everything is screaming scam.. I mean absolutely screaming.. But, in the interest of being open minded and really really wanting the neck pain to go away I continued on.

The main doctor went away. This would be the last time I saw him that day, and I had only seen him for maybe 15 minutes during the interview process when he was determining if he’d be able to bilk another sucker.

At this point they shuffled me off to a secondary examination room that had a special thermal machine which would give them some super secret special information about my back. In short, it measured the skin temperature of my spine.. They had me take my shirt off and rolled this gun looking thing with two wheels on either side of the nose, up my back and the results were… A squiggly line on the monitor. This was a very important test, and I’m sure it gave them loads of data! er.. or it gave them a squiggly line.. Not sure..

After the squiggly line test, I went and got my x-rays. I say I “went”.. I didn’t actually go anywhere but into the next room where the female doctor sat me down every which way in front of a very old x-ray machine and took some pictures.

This seemed all wrong. I asked her, “are you licensed to run this machine?”, I got no answer so I asked; “are you an x-ray tech or something?” to which she replied “No. I’m a doctor.”

I asked, “A medical doctor?” to which she said “No, I’m a chiropractic doctor.. I went to school for eight years.”

uh.. okay. Well, I mean I don’t know better.. I assume that means she’s qualified.. She seems to think she is and she seems to sorta know what she’s doing. The equipment seemed old, and I wasn’t given any kind of lead apron protection but who knows if that even does anything.. Either way it still seemed kinda iffy to me.

The other thing was the x-ray “gun” was pointed directly at the wall, which means it was right at the Korean restuarant next door. That wall isn’t very thick. The room didn’t seem like a special room or anything.. it just seemed like a regular room that they put an x-ray machine in. I mean I don’t know Texas law on this but that really doesn’t seem right. Surely there must be some kind of radiographer certificate that is required by the operator, and more over some sort of license for the machine and the room itself.

Once the x-rays were taken the female doctor explained to me that the doctor would need to “go over the x-rays and study them to see if they can help me.” I sort of assumed this would take a few minutes and then the doctor would come in and talk to me further.

No. No, no you poor fool. No this takes many many hours, and “they wouldn’t be able to get to it today.” She sent me to the receptionist who then proceeded to ask for payment.

Wait.. Nothings been done and my neck still hurts..
At this point I had 15 minutes of forms, followed by a maybe-20 minute (at most) chat with the doctor, followed by a 2 minute back roll squiggly line test, followed by probably 30 minutes of x-rays. No “adjustments”.. No explanations of whats wrong.. nothing. Just a thanks, see ya.. pay up front.

The receptionist collected the $247, and made my next appointment where they would go over the results of my x-rays and “all the other tests”(?!) — A WEEK LATER.

I paid. I left. I was still in pain. I was pissed.

What the hell did I just pay for?! Because what I got was a 5 won plane ride.. (that’s a Korean saying.. it means I was just taken for a ride or I was rolled.. or I was screwed)

I expected a little more.. hell, I expected anything.. I got bubkiss. Fine.. I went home, still hurting.

At this point I’m starting to do research and have seen a lot of different sites and people say that chiropractors are fakes. And any chiropractor that uses “subluxation” is a complete sham artist. I’m not getting a good vibe at all from everything I’m reading.

What shocks me is the number of folks that were coming in and out of this place. I mean it was stocked to the gills with happy people.. I’ve been there 3 times now, the appointment, the initial visit and the visit I’m about to talk about, and each time there were 10 to 20 people in and out getting stuff done. This place does a lot of business.

That alone made me think, that there must be SOMETHING to this. I mean this many people can’t all be complete suckers.. Surely they aren’t all dolts. There were business professionals in suits coming in and getting “adjustements”.. Mothers and fathers with kids, students, athletes.. surely they can’t all be idiots falling for some sucker trick.

Clearly I’m just letting my biases get to me.

So fine. I will wait and go to the next appointment. I seriously thought it was just me and that I was being silly..

The problem being, they did nothing to address my immediate problem. I still have neck pain. The next day, I mentioned my experience to some folks I work with and one of them suggested going to a massage place here in town. I jumped at it. Hell, it had to be better than what I had done so far.

I went and got a massage from Susan Parker the lead massage therapist at Massage Envy. It was great! At one point she did tug on my neck a little which did hurt, but I know she was trying to help and when I said ouchies, she stopped and was apologetic about it. A good massage. I will go back and would recommend her. (Though, warning; Do NOT say “You can push harder, you wont hurt me.” Dear god don’t say that.. ever.. )

Right before my massage, I was called by the chiropractor and told that the doctor wanted to see me. He had an opening at 3, and wanted me to come by. This was a little worrying, I mean usually if the doctor wants to see you as soon as you have a chance, you have something wrong with you and he has nothing but bad news.

That was my first thought, then I realized that my experiences up to now had pretty much proved that he would do whatever it took to try to play on my fears.. thus this fits right in. Almost had me there. But I assuaged my fears by telling myself, this guy is still trying to play me. Sure enough, I was right.

After Susan finished abusi..er.. massaging me.. =) (she really was very nice.) I went to the chiropractors office. I felt pretty good and figured that everything would be much easier for the chiropractor since I was nice and limber. I sat in the little waiting area for probably 20 minutes, then was called over to the table.

I layed down, the chiropractor came over and told me that he took a look at my x-ray and saw a major subluxation in my neck and that he bets that I was in pain. Never mind that I told him exactly that the day before.

I said that yes my neck is still sore. He then tried to play on my fears by saying that we’ll we have to fix that subluxation because Christopher Reeve‘s neck injury was in the same location. Mind you I haven’t ridden a horse in 25 years, but okay.. fine.

This more than annoyed me by the way, I actually was somewhat offended though I don’t know why. I mean I don’t know what kind of traction he was hoping to get with me here but he didn’t need to bring “Superman” into it. I have nothing but the deepest respect for Christopher Reeve and his family, I felt this was a slight. I can’t actually put my finger on why though..

Anyway, he still hasn’t gone over my x-rays, or the squiggly line test with me. In fact, he hasn’t talked much to me at all other than to make sure I was still on the hook and to attempt to play on my fears..

He layed me down and “examined” my legs and pointed out that I clearly had some subluxtion as my right leg was shorter than my left, due to my drastic back misalignment. He then rolled me on my side and proceeded to position me using this table and headrest jig that I can only describe as being some form of torture device.

I mean my head was forced top down at an odd angle and my neck was exposed up and in a very unnatural position while on my side. He then started poking and prodding my neck, and for the briefest of moments I think I knew what it felt to like to be Marie Antoinette just before they pulled the leaver.. It was extremely uncomfortable, and I felt very exposed.

He then pulled out a device that he did name, but I forget what it was called.. So I can only call it the “thumper”. It sorta looks like a hot glue gun, but has a little rubber extention where the glue would come out. And when you pull the trigger it goes *thump*. Extremely lightly.

He proceeded to explain that this device will help to realign my spine. I’m dubious.

Before he began he jammed his fingers into the center of my back and asked, does that hurt? Dear god yes it hurt — it felt like he just stabbed me with a hunk of steel. So I said, yes that hurts. He kind of mumbles “mm yeah.. subluxation..”…

Then he applies his thumper. This thing hit about as hard as you could if you were to flick something with your finger.. I mean it did virtually nothing. He would push it fairly firmly into the side of my exposed neck and then pull the trigger.. *thump* He did this 4 or 5 times.. then moved it a tad, and thumped a few more times..

At the end he put it down, and touched the center of my back in a way that I can only describe as a gentle caress and said, “I bet that doesn’t hurt as much now that I’ve corrected your neck.” — Well.. Yeah.. you’re not pressing as hard ya doofus.

He then goes down to my feet and says “Hey your feet are now aligned perfectly. ”

Do I really come across as this stupid? OH my god you’ve healed me! er wait.. No, my neck still fucking hurts..

He then said he was done. He proceeded to explain that I’d notice the changes very little in the beginning but would notice it more over time — say 6 to 9 weeks worth of treatments. “Thats how long these things take.” Thanks for coming. See ya next time.

Time spent: 40 minutes? Maybe? And that includes the 20 minutes I waited in the waiting area.

Still haven’t gone over the x-rays, the squiggly line test or even talked to me really. They ushered me up to the front, demanded another $47 and sent me on my way. This time I have no appointment for the next “treatment”.. er.. “adjustment”.. er.. what do I call this?! The receptionist just said, “the doctor will call you.”

So I’m done with this fucker.. This whole thing is a crock of shit. In the 6 to 9 weeks that he is performing his “healing” my body will likely heal itself. Something I’m sure he’ll be happy to take credit for.

I think I’ve been pretty open minded and fair. At every turn when my bullshit meter was screaming at me, I silenced it and just went on. I’m a software engineer for IBM and I was an intelligence analyst in the military — I think I’m a fairly intelligent guy who can see patterns and can validly call shenanigans when I see them.

This guy is a complete sham. Which means that chiropractors everywhere are likely a complete scam. I wanted to believe otherwise, I was trying .. I had an open mind.. Bullshit.. This whole thing is a lie.. If this is what chiropractors do then they are a bunch of ballwashin bastards..

I really got the sense that this chiropractic thing is something that if you don’t believe in it, it wont work. THAT’S NOT MEDICINE! I can not believe in penicillin, and the shit will still work — because that’s what medicine is. Your beliefs don’t enter into it.

At this place I seriously expected someone to walk in with a big pair of magnets and start “adjusting my chi!”

It’s like he’s selling good feelings.. Come in, I’ll make you feel better by paying some attention to you — which he didn’t even do.

It really pisses me off that in the United States people can lie, and sell you snake oil and there is no law against it. It should be illegal. But the simple fact is, if someone plays on your fears or desires and bilks you out of money you’re just out that money.

At this point I’m not sure what to do. I’m going to go in and get my x-rays at the very least. They can’t charge me for those since I have already paid for them. I feel like I need to talk to a lawyer. I mean at this point I feel like I have been completely taken advantage of.. He was playing on the fact that I was in pain, and doing everything in his slimy power to play on that pain..

What complete vermin. I can only assume he is also doing the same thing to everyone else that goes in there. “Treating them” and giving them “adjustments”. Preying on those who don’t know better or those who can’t see whats going on. They perceive that they are getting better because of his trickery and thus they think they are, when in reality the only thing happening is maybe a mild placebo effect and that time is doing all the work.

Chiropractors aren’t medical doctors. It’s amusing to me that the American Chiropractic Association says “education requirements for doctors of chiropractic are among the most stringent of any of the health care professions”.. What?! Short of maybe.. I dunno.. REAL Doctors.. And any medical profession that has to say how “stringent” their educational requirements are is clearly full of shit. What medical profession has had to try to convince people that their eduction requirements are stringent? None!

I looked into it and to be a “Dr. soandso D.C.” you don’t even need a 4 year degree. The Council on Chiropractic Education sets the minimum guidelines for chiropractic colleges and the minimum prerequisite for enrollment as 90 semester hours, and a 2.50 GPA. Hell, *I* could be a chiropractor.. Oh except my parents were married, and I wouldn’t sully my name by being one.

In the mean time, I’m out $300 and my neck still hurts.

And it seems that about 3 times a week there is a pack of 10 or so college age people standing out side quietly protesting. All of them wearing the same obnoxious t-shirt with anti-abortion rhetoric and wearing tape over their mouths acting like they were the “baby” that was killed. All quietly standing next to their BMW’s and Jags saying that you’re a bad person and should be prisoned for murder.

My initial thought was, what the hell don’t these children have anything better to do?!

But the more I thought about it the more it pissed me off. And now all I can think is; how dare they?!

These kids are actually protesting the actions of people who are in very hard situations; situations that they themselves have NEVER been in. More than half of the protesters were men!

You’ve never been pregnant while standing between a rock and a hard place.. Yet you have the raw audacity to stand there and judge a persons action, when you yourself haven’t had to make that choice?! Fuck you!

They say that “adoption” is an option, yet none of them are familiar with the process or the foster care system. More over, all of them are out there saying you should do something that they themselves aren’t willing to do! I assure you, none of those twenty-something’s have adopted a child. A painfully clear case of “do what I say, not what I do.”

At the end of the day, or whenever they get tired – these kids all get back in their BMW’s and jags that mommy and daddy are paying for and drive home. They haven’t a clue what others are going through or how hard their lives could be.

I seriously don’t understand people.. Why do people think they have a right to judge the actions of others, especially when they haven’t had to make those decisions themselves? I mean it’s very easy to stand back and armchair the world.. but when you actually live it life gets a little more complex. Most of those decisions are very hard, and not easily made.

People making those decisions sure as hell don’t need some snot nosed juvenile barely off their mothers tit to cast their trained opinions at them..

Ultimately it comes down to this;

1. You don’t get to tell others what to do..
2. You shouldn’t get to pressure people into doing what you want them to either..
3. And you certainly don’t get to judge people who make actions contrary to your beliefs, especially when you yourself haven’t lived this situation.

]]> http://randomstringofwords.com/how-dare-you-judge/feed/ 6 http://randomstringofwords.com/more-riaa-thuggery/ http://randomstringofwords.com/more-riaa-thuggery/#comments Wed, 09 May 2007 15:46:21 +0000 Jason http://info.rsow.com/more-riaa-thuggery/ I maintain that the RIAA are a bunch of thugs and bullies with nothing better to do than harass not only you the consumer, but the artists themselves by using litigious threats and terrorist tactics to get their way. I ask you, is it possible for the RIAA to display more greed or avarice without actually hiring Satan as its general counsel?

The RIAA is known for alienating it’s fans by over charging, completely failing to embrace any semblance of new technology and then sues anyone who tries to give music fans what they want.

The “Recording Industry Artists Association” (RIAA) has not one damn thing to do with the artists. And now, as a thank you to the artists that made the RIAA what it is, the RIAA is making moves to reduce artist royalty payments.

The RIAA is burning the candle at both ends. They are pissing off consumers, and pissing on the artists they supposedly support. It really does seem like every decision they make has something to do with the limiting of the exposure of the music that artists create. This is contrary to anything that an artist would want, but then the simple fact of the matter is the RIAA has NOTHING to do with artists.

The latest in a long line of unbelievable bullshit that they are actually getting away with is the decision that was pushed through in March by the United States Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) which will make all webcasting royalties going forward, AND dating back to 2006 so expensive as to make any kind of legal streaming station completely unfeasible.

This is an attempt by the RIAA to kill any and all streaming music on the internet, further limiting exposure of their clients content.

Digitally Imported Radio (http://di.fm) one of my favorite stations which I happily pay a fee to has stated;

The new fees, making us owe literally more than *two million dollars* due July 15th, do not take any realistic business model of a service such as ours and most others on the web into account. The short story translation is that Digitally Imported the company already owes just for 2006 many many times more in royalty fees than all combined revenue generated.

Imagine a picture similar to if for every $1 we earn before even any expenses, we actually owe about $5 in royalty fees.

[...] This situation spells doom for webcasting on the Internet, and many services such as Digitally Imported Radio will be forced to stop all public webcasting, switch to subscriptions only, or SHUT DOWN ENTIRELY – WITHIN MONTHS, IF NOT WEEKS!

What?! God damn it! I actually like di.fm.. I think they are great! I can tell you right now my productivity at work will slip if my music goes away, but thats another story..

You may be saying, “Well the CRB isn’t the RIAA”.. True, however the it was the RIAA’s idea. The whole thing got pushed through by SoundExchange which is a non-profit organization originally created and puppetted by the RIAA.

Basically what they have done is passed a law that states that any web broadcasting business is not taxed on the amount of people that actually make a purchase, but rather they’re taxed on every person that happens to listen to the stream at all.

Imagine if you will, that your favorite FM radio station incurred a fee every time someone channel surfed by their station. Oh you heard a 3 second clip of XYZ song, pay us $1. Yes it’s that bad.

This crap forces the small law abiding independent webcasters to switch to the dark side, and become illegal if they want to stay in any kind of business. Suddenly they have to leave the US to continue their business. In most cases this wont work either as there are legal precedents that have established that as long as the listener is in the US, they are still liable. And affordable high capacity bandwidth in the US also make moving to another country highly unlikely..

Something to think about:

Terrestrial AM/FM radio stations in the US pay nothing for recording industry royalties due to a law made in consideration of promotion value that playing provides in return.

Satellite Radio services have to pay 7.5% of revenue – which I think is a bit high, but I understand the reason since its a subscriber system anyway – there typically isn’t a “free” satellite station.

The new law makes webcasters have to pay any where from 100% to 500% of revenue.

Artists, you MUST distance yourself from the RIAA. They do not have your interests at heart. Their goal is simply self service, and this latest move is a completely blatant attack on your musics exposure. Next the RIAA will be suing the content creators (artists).

The RIAA – Text book example of what NOT to do to your customers or supporters.

This bill gets pushed through July 15, 2007. In my mind, it will forever be known as the Day the Music Dies, unless…