6. September, 2002 - clearing the decks for the weekend

• Parents more gullible -- falling for we were just hanging out line from kids: Coed Sleepovers Increasingly Common. [fark!]
• Patent suit could sting eBay, but I think a more traditional look at patents might prove useful. eBay made a significant improvement (which is patentable) on the guy's original patent. They actually shipped. Perhaps that's the criterion that needs to be applied to software and business model patents: Have you shipped it and does it work? [scripting]
• Percy Schmeiser lost the case Monsanto vs Schmeiser. Percy has been farming canola so long he still refers to it by the archaic name "rape seed" [it's not that archaic - I heard it growing up in northern MN -DaveP]. For 40 years he's been saving seeds, but he still lost his case - you can't stop the wind. His crop was found to contain genetics from Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" canola, and Percy has to pay. [I think he should charge Monsanto for contaminating his crops, but I'm funny that way -DaveP] [Jim]
• Eden Prairie company may flee proposed smoking ban for businesses. The proposed ban sounds pretty harsh. [strib]
• Chronic Wasting Disease Found in an elk raised on a farm near Aitkin, MN. Chronic Wasting Disease is similar to BSE, and there are worries that it may have been involved in the deaths of three men from Wisconsin and Minnesota. See the Strib story: Chronic wasting disease found in Minnesota for a lot more details, and their list of links for even more.
• The Sullen Majority of youth in Iran. If we just leave Iran alone long enough, there'll probably be big change there. [scripting]
• Mad Kane's Iraq, Iraq Song Parody (sung to the tune of New York, New York).
• In Greece, use a Game Boy, go to jail. Or play any other electronic game, for that matter. The idea was to stop online gambling. Uh, yeah. [some guy]
• And if you've made it this far, reward yourself by heading over to Davezilla to take The Man Quiz. [davezilla]

Copyright 2008, Dave Polaschek. Last updated on Fri, 06 Sep 2002 08:27:41.