Wednesday Lazy Linking
- Giving Up On Patents. ongoing by Tim Bray (2010-02-23). "Not so many years ago, even as I was filled with fear and loathing of the hideous misconduct of the US Patent & Trademark Office, I retained some respect for the notion of patents. I even wrote what I think is an unusually easy-to-read introduction to Patent Theory. But no more. The whole thing is too broken to be fixed. Maybe it worked once, but it doesn't any more. The patent system needs to be torn down and thrown out. . . . And here are a few words for the huge community of legal professionals who make their living pursuing patent law: You're actively damaging society. Look in the mirror and find something better to do." (Linked Tuesday 2010-02-23.)
- Happy Birthday, BBS! Scott Merrill, TechCrunch (2010-02-17).
WWIV, Wildcat, Celerity — these hallowed names represent the best of a golden era of communication, back when "getting online" meant tying up the family phone line, remembering arcane Hayes AT codes to maximize performance out of the 9600 baud modem your dad borrowed from work, and TradeWars was the…
(Linked Tuesday 2010-02-23.) - For Your Own Good. cherylcline, der Blaustrumpf (2010-02-23).
Well, this is horrifying. From Slate.com, the story of how federal officials not only outlawed alcohol, but poisoned industrial alcohols as well: Doctors were accustomed to alcohol poisoning by then, the routine of life in the Prohibition era. The bootlegged whiskies and so-called gins often made people sick. The liquor…
(Linked Tuesday 2010-02-23.)