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George Washington’s Farewell Address – Warnings For Our Times

From Washington’s Farewell Address – To The People Of The United States, written in 1796 with help from Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, around halfway in you read:

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force—to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
Washington’s Farewell Address – To The People Of The United States

Presidential farewell addresses are the exit interview, whereby the employee can be candid. Calling out systems that do not work. Noting people who are problematic. Reminiscing on administration successes. Ignoring failures and scandals. Predicting future problems. Eisenhower warned us of the “Military Industrial Complex.” Reagan embraced all sorts of immigrants and the “shining city on a hill” but warned that Americans would begin to take for granted their freedoms.  A book about presidential farewell addresses is overdue. It would be a great way to teach United States history.

It is eerie how George Washington in 1796 could have predicted the character of a man hundreds of years into the future – “…by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people” explains precisely the method of Donald Trump. And to think that Washington probably wrote the address with a quill pen and inkwell.

Download Washington’s Farewell Address. Print it out and read it. It is slow news that does not break. It is only twenty-six pages.

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On Tranquility of the Mind – Seneca Quote

We ought to take outdoor walks, to refresh and raise our spirits by deep breathing in the open air. Sometimes energy will be refreshed by a carriage drive, a journey, a change of scene, good company and a more generous wine. Upon occasion we should go as far as intoxication, half-seas over, not total immersion. Drink washes cares away, stirs the mind from its lowest depths, and is a specific for sadness as for certain maladies.
From The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca – On Tranquility of the Mind

Deep breathing, travel, company, half-seas over quantity of wine. Sounds like stoicism to me.

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Traffic Lights, Artificial Intelligence and Driverless Cars Stopped at Red Lights

Driverless Car is San Francisco

You see them everywhere is San Francisco these days – driverless cars. Waymo uses a Jaguar with cameras all over the place. George Orwell is probably mumbling “I told you so!” from his grave. Driverless cars are found on slow streets, going up and down hills in neighborhoods, in downtown during rush hour, on crowded streets by Golden Gate Park – sometimes two, one after another.  No one in the driver’s seat. Rarely a passenger in the backseat. They creep me out.

I was thinking about these cars that often clog up our busy streets, endlessly mapping the terrain, when at an intersection where everyone was going nowhere -everyone was waiting at a  red light. I thought: how hard would it be to put a little artificial intelligence (AI) into urban traffic signals? It seems now the traffic signals all are all on egg timers.

Like most things in large organizations, like cities and counties,  large companies and corporations, things move slowly when adopting new ideas and technology. This is both good and bad..

Half of San Francisco’s traffic signals were built more than 30 years ago.
– Traffic Signals Program

Half of San Francisco’s traffic signals were built more than 30 years ago. This means that they were built to last but the actual technology in the signals is from the 1990s or older.

The failure of many of the technological transformations of our society is that they are done without a very holistic mindset. The larger consequences are rarely considered. Economics and a quick buck seem to be the driving forces.

What if just 10% of the technology of the fancy driverless cars went into more responsive and “smarter” traffic lights? A traffic signal could sense that even though there is a left turn signal there are no cars there, and by the way, the through traffic is backed up due to a sporting event just ending. There are many more scenarios like this, and I would think that the actual programming would be pretty simple if/else statements.

I did inquire with the City or San Francisco and got a quick response. This is what they said:

“To your inquiry about traffic signals and AI, the majority of signals in San Francisco are pretimed, or the timing is predetermined based on minimum requirements and estimated demand.  Some locations have sensors that change traffic signals based on actual demand or presence of certain vehicles like buses.  But no set of signals operated based on algorithms that optimize based on artificial intelligence.”  – sfgov,org

In other words, almost all traffic lights are are on egg timers, or “pretimed.” If any of our readers know of any companies or municipalities developing more modern traffic signals, feel free to comment below.

 

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Kamala Harris and Tim Walz – How Myths and Fiction Become Reality

The national political scene, with all the pundits and polls, the constant news updates, the never-ending spectacle, the name calling, the disrespect all make for a wild and sometime entertaining ride for our modern-day, short attention spans. What often goes unnoticed is how art, in particular films, have often  predicted our political realities and the miraculous turn of events. This is rarely mentioned in the mainstream press.

ACT 1

When Joe Biden decided to retire I could relate. Eighty-one years old and all the slogging through the blizzards of bullshit, spin doctors, fundraising speeches, jet-lag, international turmoil beyond your control, family tragedies so grave and tragic most people would either hit the bottle hard or have just crawled under a rock. So Joe exited stage right and Kamala rode in on her horse.

It all reminds me of the movie Blazing Saddles where instead of Cleavon Little riding into town it is Kamala Harris. Like when another black sheriff rode into town on a horse named Hope, some folk still can’t fathom the concept of a black president. Now the additional shocker is that she is a woman.

And then there is the new sheriff’s sidekick, Tim Walz. Like Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles, Walz can shoot a gun better than most and fortunately does not have a drinking problem. And in an even stranger similarity, in both cases the duos are in town to save the day from a wave of thugs, crooks, liars and big corporate railroad types wanting to buy and control little people’s pocket books and even their souls .

Once again, art becomes reality. Once again art foreshadows the future. Once again, art and imagination pave the way for justice. Mel Brooks was on to something.

“America and think about it. After all the promise of America is what makes it possible for [me and] Tim Walz [to be] together on this stage today. Think about that. Think about that. Think about it. Two middle class kids, one a daughter of Oakland, California who was raised by a working mother. I had a summer job at McDonald’s. The other a son of the Nebraska plains who grew up working on a farm. Think about it. Think about it. Only in America is it possible that the two of them would be running together all the way to the White House.”
– Harris and Walz rally Las Vegas, August 10, 2024

ACT 2

A few months back I was thinking about it… thinking about who would be the best person to run if Joe Biden dropped out. Who could possibly be the hero who saves the day. After much thought I came up with the only person who would easily win – Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks has done it all. He has flown an Apollo mission and returned to earth with the help of a little duct tape. He has had AIDS. After his FedEx plane crashed in a violent  storm he survived for years on a deserted tropical island eating only coconuts and killing fish with a spear. He has saved Private Ryan. He has battled against Somali Pirates and won. He has jogged from one side of the country and back again. He has coached an all-woman baseball team. He is a person of mythic proportions and everyone would vote for him. He is someone who always seems to do the right thing. He could get us out of this political mudslinging and toxic delusional silliness. He seems to always play the hero.

So when Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz as her running-mate, you could tell right away that it was the right choice. Not some buttoned down careful politician whose family had been in the politics for generations. Not an Ivy League type. Not a show business person with perfect hair and a smile made for T.V.. Instead, someone a little like a fictional Tom Hanks.

Tim Walz grew up on a farm in Nebraska and was in the Army National Guard for decades. He has taught internationally and spent a year in China. In a small town in Minnesota he taught high school geography and social studies. The high school football team had lost 27 straight games when he joined the coaching staff as a defensive coordinator. Three years later, in 1999, the team won its first state championship. He sponsored a gay-straight alliance student organization at the small town high school after a student at the school wanted to start the group. You can’t make this stuff up.

In other words, his life is waiting for a Tom Hanks movie. Tim Walz is a Tom Hanks character – someone who deals with adversity and overcomes it through character, good decisions, common sense, great people skills, luck and hard work. And he has a rural way of speaking and communicating that has been missing in American politics since Jimmy Carter.

Hollywood. The script is still writing itself. I am not sure Tom Hanks plays the role but time will tell.

“We have some hard work ahead of us. But we like hard work. Hard work is good work. And with your help this November, we will win.”
– Harris and Walz rally Las Vegas, August 10, 2024

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News from San Francisco – The Quarterly Report – September 2024

The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months. You are now reading “Slow News That Doesn’t Break” – the exotic internet.

National Politics

Kamala Harris, the former San Francisco District Attorney is the Democratic Party nominee for president. This turn of events happened quickly and San Francisco and Oakland are generally very proud and excited about her running and winning the election; it was in the nick of time. While Kamala Harris was D.A. of San Francisco I do not remember too many details but you can read an excellent piece What These Decisions Tell Us About Kamala Harris’ Approach to Criminal Justice.

Well I ain’t running from the law
Don’t know a lawyer I could call
And you won’t see me on the six o-clock news
Ain’t no money singing these blues
– Down By The Railroad Tracks – Paul Lyons 2024

In 2020, when Kamala ran for president,  I remember talking to some folks in their twenties who would not have anything to do with Harris. “My God! She’s a cop! I cannot vote for a cop!” But Kamala Harris, unlike her opponent is indeed not running from the law and seems like someone who wants to fight for justice, the little people and take on the corporate monopolies. This time around young folk seem to be onboard. Kamala Harris, the good cop is the right candidate at the right time. Vote Harris-Walz!

Sporting News

The San Francisco Giants are a five hundred club, meaning they win as many games as they lose. They play in a very tough division and it would be a minor miracle if they make the playoffs.  The Oakland A’s are a few games from the cellar in the American League West and playing out their final year at the Oakland Coliseum before heading off the to Las Vegas. Many people and loyal fans are going to the games.

Weather

In late August we are experiencing typical late summer weather.  Last weekend the fog pushed back and we had a few warm days where even the ocean looked glassy and inviting. The communal event, Sunday Streets took place on Valencia Street and it seemed everyone was out and about. Golden Gate Park was full of people enjoying the sun and warm days. Come Monday the northwest winds began to pick up and the marine layer hugged the coast making the weekend seem like a dream. In reality it was surely just a teaser for the Indian summer weather around the corner.

Actual Things That Have Happened in SF

It was observed that a young man in his twenties, while looking at his phone and walking north on Third Street, walked into a street lamp which gave off a distinct high metallic ringing sound like a bell (I think it was a C#).  He was uninjured but startled and seemed a bit embarrassed by the episode. In another era people would read books while walking and similar events must have happened.

King Street, Ancestry.com and Centaurs

I recently noticed some very interesting, and a bit humorous frescos of centaurs and mermaids, all with the theme of baseball, on a King Street building directly across the street from the Giants baseball stadium.

At some other point in history, baseball players evidently had four legs and tales, and women seemingly could play catcher and the outfield. My how things have changed over time! Ironically, the office for ancestry.com, the genetic testing website, is a few doors down. I wonder if anyone else sees the irony.

Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors

Mission Street is finally getting some love with new bus stops and asphalt. It is a slow process but much needed out on the edges of town.

 

That is The Quarterly Report – August/September 2024

Photo Gallery of SF

The Quarterly Report – August/September 2024

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4742 Mission Street, The Old El Tapatio now Almost Finished

4742 Mission Street is now a five-story building. It has been under construction for a few years. It looks to be a mix of residential and first-floor retail but the end result is still a bit of a mystery. The windows are in. The paint has dried. Who knows? It may be fenced-off for months or years as that is what can happen out here in the hinterlands of San Francisco.

The location was once El Tapatio, a dance hall with live bands.  A few years back I wrote about this historic location in a piece – El Tapatio Closed for Good – Another Live Music Venue in SF Gone.

El Tapatio Closed for Good – Another Live Music Venue in SF Gone

Out with the old. In with the new. I still think the ghost of Perez Prado is somewhere in that place.

 

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News from SF – The Quarterly Report – May 2024

The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months. You are now reading “Slow News That Doesn’t Break” – the exotic internet.

Sporting News

Baseball season has begun. Recently a new lovely park opened just south of the ballpark with tables, places to sit and a lovely statue of Willie McCovey. I was riding my bike when I saw the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ceremony seemed a bit subdued –  like someone wary of a new luxury car getting its first scratch. The Giants are 17 and 21 as of this report. I will check back in after the All-Star Break. That is my usual mode of operation.

McCovey Cove

Weather

The season changed to spring sometime in mid-April. The 20 knot northwest winds started up and you just knew that the fog was next. The temperature of the water at Ocean Beach went from 58 degrees Fahrenheit to 52.  Now in early May we are experiencing some exceptionally warm spring weather with temperatures in the 80s and wind blowing from the east. The real news these days is definitely the weather report. Pay attention, as at anytime the temperature can drop twenty degrees and the fog machine will start up.

Politics

The 2024 mayoral race in San Francisco is going to be one wild ride. There is a lot of outside money coming in with front groups like GrowSF and TogetherSF supporting various well-off candidates. What is different this time around is that there are many candidates that San Francisco Chronicle calls “moderates” running while there are just two “progressive” candidates, Ahsha Safai and Aaron Peskin. Good grief! The labels that these newspapers bestow on politicians is beyond silly. Daniel Lurie and Mark Farrell are not moderates. In another era, in another town, they would simply be the usual pro-business Republicans.

Aaron Peskin, with his years of knowledge of the city, his neighborhood credibility, excellent speaking skills and a new-found sobriety may be a tough candidate to beat. I traveled down to Portsmouth Square and heard Aaron Peskin’s mayoral announcement speech. It was extremely refreshing to hear a politician speak in complete sentences and have something meaningful to say.

Aaron Peskin among supporters

I will be a Mayor who loves this city, and doesn’t beat up on it for political gain.  A Mayor who works for everyday San Franciscans and their neighborhoods, not just the well-to-do and the well-connected. And I will be a hands-on Mayor, using my 25 years of governmental know-how to once again make San Francisco the city that knows how.
Aaron Peskin – Candidacy Announcement  – April 6, 2024 Mission Local

Let me be clear. I support arresting fentanyl dealers and holding them accountable. But arresting drug users, and doing nothing more, is a cynical and dangerous policy that results in more overdoses, and not more treatment for addiction.
Aaron Peskin – Candidacy Announcement  – April 6, 2024 Mission Local

After the event I was able to talk to former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos who supports Peskin. He said that being mayor was the hardest job he has ever done. He said that when the 1989 Lomo Prieta earthquake hit during the World Series he was at the game and then whisked off to a command center where he found out the head of emergency services had just had had a heart attack. For the next few days he was winging it. I thanked him for the great job he did as mayor during those unpredictable times.  He was an awesome mayor.

National Politics

When Donald Trump was asked about whether he raped Jean Carroll he said that it was not possible as she was not his “type.” Isn’t it interesting that he has not said the same thing about Stormy Daniels. Perhaps Stormy is his type?

Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors

Sooner or later you figure out the plan. Starting at Geneva and Mission and heading north they are repaving the bus stops with concrete. It is about time. What is odd is that they pretty much pour the concrete and then slop asphalt in between the new and the old.  Thanks for the effort.

Valencia Bike Lanes and the Sunny Side of the Street

Merchants and many people are still angry about the center bike lane on Valencia. The parking has changed with the installation of individual digital meters. What is strange is that in many places half of the block is for only drop-off parking. This is silly, not practical and a gift to companies like Uber and Lyft.

Valencia Street center bike lane

Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine

Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized but the red-tape for merchants is often too much and they remove their parklets. This is a topic that a city mayor Breed could have a lot of impact and instead it ends up highlighting the incompetence of city government.

That is The Quarterly Report –May 2024

Photo Gallery of SF

The Quarterly Report – May 2024

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Washington’s Dream – SNL – Weights and Measures – Excellent Slow News

I do not know who wrote the Saturday Night Live skit above, but it is very funny. It was probably a team of writers. But nobody knows.

I have always wondered why comedians today do not make more use of historical figures, especially the “founding fathers.” Humor can then merge with irony in a way that reaches a wider audience. It is like slow news, perhaps “slow humor,” where the vantage is long, and the costumes essential. You do not cringe. Instead everyone simply laughs as the truths are often of the everyday, non-political, small world. It is humor that is self-evident.

A while back I had the idea of a skit where Benjamin Franklin uses a time-machine that he had invented but did not tell anyone about as the plans were lost in a fire. Ben travels to the United States in our current era and then to a drawing room where seated are Jefferson, Washington, Adams and probably others. Someone’s wife. Perhaps a black enslaved person or mistress.

Hand on his knee, Franklin would calmly explain what he saw – explain what he had observed in the twenty-first century America on his time-travel. The majority of the content would be the others commenting and asking questions. These comments would be based on history and their actual writings, personalities and known beliefs. The possibilities are endless. It would shine a light on how originalism is an absurd concept. The world changes, but things also stay the same as in the ending line, “where all Black men are free,” to which Washington ignores like a Florida history book. Evidently, we still have much work to do with our weights and measurements. Equality on many fronts is still but a dream.

NOW THE FUN STUFF! FOURTH GRADE WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS

Weights

16 ounces in a pound. 2000 pounds is a ton There is no word for 1000 pounds

Liquids

Liters and milliliters are used for soda, wine and alcohol

Gallons, pints and quarts are used for milk and paint.

There are 3.78541 liters in a gallon (but nobody knows).

1 liter = 33.814 Fl oz

Distances

Inches, feet, yards and miles

12 inches to a foot. 3 feet to a yard,

5028 feet to a mile

1760 yards to a mile (but nobody knows).

Sports

Meters are used in unpopular sports like track and swimming. (Also springboard diving, but no one asked.)

In football, where the field is 100 yards long, an extra-point after the touchdown is worth 1 point. A field goal is worth 3. A touchdown is  worth 6. A safety is worth 2.

Temperature

The great nation of the United States of America measures temperature in Fahrenheit. You spell Fahrenheit  F-a-h-r-e-n-h-e-i-t.

Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Celsius.

To convert temperatures in degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 (or 9/5) and add 32

For example

10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
40 C =  104 F

You can also, multiply Celsius by 2 and add 30 to get an approximation.

CODA

Mel Brooks used recent political history and satire in The Producers. He did it very daringly in “Springtime for Hitler” which is over the top. It combines Broadway showtunes and dance numbers in a Busby Berkeley style with the Third Reich. It is absurd and you laugh because of this absurdity. Oddly, it was a premonition for things to come.

Another amazing use of history and satire in humor is Monty Python’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail..

Let us know of other routines that have taken this tack. So far, nobody knows.

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Historic Klamath River Dam Removal – Interesting Story Off the Radar

A news story that get very little coverage is the Klamath River dam removal project.  In January 2024 the last dam was “removed” and the river started flowing unimpeded for the first time in over 100 years.  Of course, change of this nature (no pun intended) is difficult for many parties involved.  When dams are removed you end up with  “mud-flats” and the entire ecosystem has to readjust to the new river.

6 Things You Need To Know About The Klamath River Dam Removals

To listen to a very good and informative discussion, listen to this episode on KALW’s Your Call and an interview with Amy Bowers Cordalis.

https://www.kalw.org/show/your-call/2024-02-19/yurok-klamath-karuk-native-tribes-celebrate-historic-dam-removals

This story is definitely “slow news” and will evolve over the next decade and beyond.

 

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News from SF – The Quarterly Report – February 2024

The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months. You are now reading “Slow News That Doesn’t Break” – the exotic internet.

Sporting News

After two very close playoff games, the San Francisco 49ers are headed to the Super Bowl to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.  A miraculous catch by Brandon Aiyuk on a very deep pass that actually bounced off the defender’s facemask may be the reason they are in the big game.  Of course, the entire Bay Area is excited and it will be a wild weekend. Go Niners!

Weather

The new word of the year is “atmospheric river.” San Francisco has been pummeled by this weather phenomenon which is basically a river in the sky that dumps large quantities of rain in short periods of time.  Nevertheless the weather has been wet lately mixed with glorious days of sunshine. Often the sunsets have been beautiful. Out at Ocean Beach the parking lot continues to be eaten by the ocean. It is amazing how the contour of the beach changes.

Politics

Nothing to report as all the entrenched powers that be remain in hold of city government.  No one seems to be irate that drug overdoes in the Tenderloin and homelessness are still major problems. Chesa Boudin was recalled a year ago and Brooke Jenkins was installed at D.A.. For the most part, things have remained the same on the street, but for most people San Francisco looks like most west coast large cities. People just living their lives in the tidy neighborhoods. We have a tough on crime D.A. but people often drive their cars like there are no laws. Stop signs evidently are simply a suggestion.

The Depths of his Dishonesty is just astounding… He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.
– John Kelly on former President Donald Trump as reported in The Atlantic

The Depths of his Dishonesty is just astounding… He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life. – John Kelly on former President Donald Trump as reported in The Atlantic

Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors

A street cleaning ticket in San Francisco is now $90. Always best to keep track of your wheels in this town.

Valencia Bike Lanes and the Sunny Side of the Street

The center bike lane has many people up in arms. Merchants say people are not coming into their stores. The center lane is pretty awkward. I have no opinion on the matter but think that the center lane is ugly from an aesthetic perspective. What is more problematic is the fact that the parking is all done with the new digital pay stations and there are no coin meters. This is very confusing as the parking rules are not stated on the street.  After some research I have learned that it is basically the concept that between 9am – 6pm you must pay for parking. To me this is discrimination to those not tied into using their phones for everything. Very confusing.

Here are the Valencia Street Parking Rules for you edification

12am – 9am Free 
9am – 3pm $2.25 per hour 2 hours
3pm – 6pm $2.00 per hour 2 hours
6pm – 12am Free

https://www.sfmta.com/demand-responsive-parking-pricing

Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine

Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized but the red-tape for merchants is often too much and they remove their parklets. This is a topic that a city major Breed could have a lot of impact and instead it ends up highlighting the incompetence of city government.

In February 2024 rarely do bands play outside – more often the music is inside. Remember to tip the band

That is The Quarterly Report – February 2024

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The Quarterly Report – February 2024

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Digital Millennium Copyright Act 25 Year Anniversary

UPDATE: OCTOBER 31, 2023: Not a single media outlet celebrated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 25 Year Anniversary. Amazing!

It is now October 2023, twenty-five years after the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Seven years ago I published the piece below about the 18 year anniversary of the DMCA.  The DMCA has made it so you can listen to just about any recording made in the last 100 years for free on YouTube after looking at some ridiculous advertisement for five seconds.  It has made it so tech companies and publishing empires no longer have  responsibility for what is published on their applications, websites and what they now call “platforms.”  Safe harbor. Everything is just content.  Stuff. No one owns the stars.

I predict that on October 28, 2023  very few media organizations will acknowledge the DMCA 25 year anniversary.  The world changes and while it is changing hardly anyone notices; we all just roll with it as that is the only option. So pop the champagne corks. To the liberation of content!

FROM MY POST on OCTOBER 12, 2016
Digital Millennium Copyright Act 18 Year Anniversary

Passed on October 12, 1998, by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended Title 17 of the United States Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of the providers of online services for copyright infringement by their users.
wikipedia.org

It is 1998 – The Senate Now Has E-Mail
Let’s Have a Party!

25 years ago this month the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed. I would wager that very few people even know what the DMCA is, but it has affected modern life substantially. It is in many ways just one more version of an old story of plunder by larger more powerful entities, and the taking advantage of the smaller, but often more vibrant creators. In many ways, it has made it so the copyright laws in such industries as music are pointless.

But let’s back up a bit. Everyone can remember the transition that happened when CDs came out and then everyone was ripping their CDs to MP3s and handing off 100 gig drives full of music files to their buddies. Then there was Napster that simply stitched all these drives together in one big mass orgy of free MP3s. Napster got the injunction primarily because the established music industry  had no cut of the racket. Along come tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung and to cover their liability the DMCA made perfect sense. If someone has “illegal” music on their devices, they should not be held accountable. Furthermore, if someone uploads a Beatles tune as a video with a picture of Ringo Starr as the graphics to YouTube, why should YouTube be held accountable for such blatant infringement? All good and well. But that was 1998. Today is 2016. I am certain that in 1998 most members of the Senate had no idea the true implications of the DMCA. In 1998, most of the members of the Senate probably did not even know how to manage their own email. They were still licking stamps.

The DMCA’s principal innovation in the field of copyright is the exemption from direct and indirect liability of Internet service providers and other intermediaries.
wikipedia.org

Let’s look back a bit. In 1998 the leading browser of the day was Netscape 2. Internet Explorer was at version 5.5. If anyone remembers IE 6, imagine how terrible IE 5.5 must have been. Windows 98 had probably just been released.  Man, that is scary. My point is that the DMCA has not been updated for 18 years and is an extremely flawed piece of legislation. The large tech companies have in many ways based their entire industry on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It allows for basically everyone to break the law everyday and not have to worry about it. When was the last time that a cop pulled someone over and wanted to check if the person had pirated music on their phone? There probably is thousands of dollars of contraband on everyone’s devices. Ain’t gonna happen.

Times Have Changed – Google Is Our Master of Information

But this is what is disingenuous about the DMCA. Companies like Google know just about everything about you. What you buy. What websites you visit. Your birthday. Your favorite color.

In 2016 they have the ability to determine if a piece of music is copyrighted via matching wave forms, and indeed this is how they “monetize” this work.  But YouTube refuses to acknowledge this UNLESS they are in a position to make money off of that music – they make money anyway but that is another post. The only way the copyright holder can get the videos of their music taken down is with take-down notices. If a song is popular, this can mean hundreds of separate videos with the same song on it.  The artists cannot simply tell the ISP such as YouTube “I do not want my work on your network.” YouTube is sort of like that creepy neighbor running a crack-house who borrowed your weed-whacker last spring and refuses to give it back claiming ignorance. Musicians, songwriters and composers have better things to do with their time than chase down illegal version of their work.

YouTube is sort of like that creepy neighbor running a crack-house who borrowed your weed-whacker last spring and refuses to give it back claiming ignorance. Musicians, songwriters and composers have better things to do with their time than chase down illegal version of their work.

Which brings me back to 1998. Do you really think in 1998 anyone could predict such entities as YouTube or Facebook? And unlike the owners of these companies, I believe these entities are not just platforms, they are simply publishers with free content providers and creators. These publishers have to take responsibility as well for copyright infringement. It is within their technical realm but they are playing dumb as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 suits them just fine. The DMCA is to their advantage.

The real master of deception with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is  YouTube. Facebook, Twitter and the like have simply entered personal lives and monetized birthdays and other important life events until people depart from this world. Personalized marketing on steroids that the users all agree to though without  really reading the privacy policies.

But all such companies are the modern-day plunderers. Instead of grabbing continents, forests, rivers, enslaving the natives and digging for gold, they are plundering your personal events and consumer habits along with the likes of great artists like James Brown, Elton John, Charlie Palmieri, Vince Gill,  Willie Green,  Slayer, Bette Midler, Woody Guthrie (the list is endless) and any person who has recorded or published a piece of music in the last hundred years.

Conclusion

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act needs to be reexamined and rewritten every five years to reflect and take into consideration the changes in technology, creativity and platforms. It is an important part of combating the many inequities in our society.

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News from SF – The Quarterly Report – October/November 2023

The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months.

Weather

While the world has experienced floods, droughts, earthquakes and hurricanes, the San Francisco weather pattern has been quite normal lately. We had a typical Indian Summer pattern for a while then a bit of rain. The skies are clear and we are now experiencing beautiful sunsets. In the coming week there should be off-shore winds out of the east. If you you come to San Francisco, bring a light jacket and warm hat. It does get chilly from time to time.

Politics

Senator Diane Feinstein died on September 29, 2023. Her replacement chosen by Governor Newsom is Laphonza Butler. So it goes.

Self-Driving Cars

The self-driving cars got the axe for the the time being. Too many variables. The fire trucks are concerned that they often get in the way. A tragic event happened on Market Street when a jaywalker got hit by a car then got pinned under a self-driving car. No bueno!

Self Driving Car

So the virtue of the young damsel and the driverless car must wait for another day.

“The fashion in those days, among the ladies, was to to travel around without lackeys or coachmen and to drive oneself; husbands preferred wives to be at all times alone, so as to be more certain of their virtue; which goes directly counter to the view of the moralists, who say there is no virtue in solitude.”
-From The One-Eyed Porter – Voltaire

Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors

The roads are still terrible in the poor neighborhoods. The pavement on Mission Street looks like a war zone. If you are on a bicycle be careful out there.

Bike Lanes, The Great Highway and the Sunny Side of the Street

The Great Highway opened to vehicular traffic on Mondays at 6 a.m. through Fridays at 12 p.m. and opened to pedestrians and bicycles only from Fridays at 12 p.m. until Mondays at 6 a.m. On holidays, the Great Highway is closed to vehicular traffic.

It is a lot of fun to get out to the Great Highway when it is closed to cars. On the weekends it gets busy with people walking, running a riding their bikes

 

Sporting News

The San Francisco Giants fizzled away. The 49ers are getting a bit beat up and having trouble winning games when they do not have all of their stars on the field. A young quarterback who is getting a reality check was long overdue.

The surfing has been pretty good overall, with some large, long-period swells now showing up every few weeks. 10 feet at 20 seconds was recorded recently and people were surfing Mavericks.

Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine

Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized. Sometimes bands play outside but more often the music is inside. Remember to tip the band

 

That is The Quarterly Report –October 2023.

updated: 10/31/2023 with more Great Highway photos.

Photo Gallery of SF

The Quarterly Report – October 2023