the frig blig

Removal of Ogg Vorbis from html5 spec

Karlheinz Stockhausen, pioneer electronic (and NOT) music composer, died wednesday at 79 years old according to the BBC (who oughtta know). I remember his compositions fondly — the house with a different band playing in every room, the interposing national anthems, and of course the stimmung sung underground. May you rest in peace and your compositions continue to inspire..

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Washington) leaked an illegally recorded phone call (given to him by Florida couple John and Alice Martin who taped it from a police scanner) to reporters 10 years ago. The call was between Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republican leaders discussing the ethics investigation of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Boehner subsequently sued McDermott, who was found liable for civil damages and attorney fees by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. McDermott appealed, and yesterday it was reported that the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.

This is another instance of shooting the bearer of bad news. The conversation was between elected public officials discussing government business. McDermott considered the newsworthiness of the taped call important to informing the public about the conduct of elected officials. He claimed it was free speech and offered it in the spirit of whistleblowers attempting to inform citizens of wrongdoing.

And so he will be punished, to the tune of several hunderd thousand dollars.

Yesterday during the third round of the Seattle Go Center’s monthly ratings tournament, while pondering my next move the following words crossed my mind: “Don’t have too much fun!”

That struck me as having the tone of a proverb. So I hereby submit it as one.

What it means is, don’t let the joy of pursuit get you so wrapped up that you forget to coldly calculate the balance of the game. I suppose this is just another variation on “Always consider the whole board”, but with a psychological bent.

OK gotta go.

Most weekend mornings find me sitting near this machine quaffing its elixer. My neighborhood joint (one of). Mmmm…