Pardon me, sir. Do I have a dog in this fight? After my term of service on the PASS board of directors ended in December of 2009, I fully intended to stay far, far out of the way. It's an intention that I've largely been able to fulfill,excluding the odd conversation with an occasional board member or committee chair looking for a little impartial advice when weighing some consideration or other. If you keep up with going's on within PASS, then you'll know that there's been some hullabaloo lately. Please reference paragraph 1 again at this point to understand that I don't really … [Read more...]
Good News for Women in Technology – Barbie Has Joined the IT Scene
March 10, 2010 by 3 Comments
I'm happy to report that Barbie is now a cognizeti, a digerati, ... yes even an IT Professional! This year's new Barbie is Computer Engineer Barbie. Several months back, I encouraged all my friends and followers on Twitter to vote for the IT job for Barbie in Mattel's recent public job selection for the eponymous doll. That encouragement was founded in an experience I'd had years earlier - becoming a dad to a very beautiful baby girl. When I was growing up as a kid, I clearly recall how odd it was for a woman to have a career outside of a handful of "traditional feminine jobs" like … [Read more...]
[OT] When Does Media Content -Truly- Become Public Domain?
January 20, 2010 by 1 Comment
I've always been intrigued by our process for allowing creative content, such as songs or movies, to become public domain. A common usage for public domain might be to create a short family video and, seeking a peppy and familiar piece of background music, you settle on "The Entertainer", by Scott Joplin. (If you've never heard of it, listen here. You'll recognize it.) Since the music is past the 75 year limit of copyright protection, it is now public domain - meaning that you don't have to pay or seek permission to use it for your family home video. Now, it seems that many old media … [Read more...]
