ndmckinney|net

• Day 10 just ticked over to day 11, and I still haven't gone home yet. #
• Just passed 24 hours. The end is near!!! #
• Just billed my first 24 hour day. I feel like a legal pro now. Also, very tired. #
• @zerospry It's the flip side to the freedom of speech – the duty to self-moderate. in reply to zerospry #
• Going back to work. If you need someone to run a project right, just call ahead. #
• Documents have been produced, hope client is happy. 36 of the last 48 hours have been spent working this production. Ugh. #
• @zerospry Well, at least you tried and failed. Moral of the story: never try. in reply to zerospry #
• Attending web seminar on IP Counterfeiting. So far, it's equal parts FUD and industry talking points. #
• Single biggest flaw in FOSS model: developer gets bored, quits. #
• Me: I'm having a problem using X. Support: X is the worst program ever, use Y. Me: That's not what I asked. Support: I don't care. #
• With only 89 days until I head to BCT, I need to work extra hard to be "Army Strong" #
• Today was apparently a massacre at Redskins Park: http://bit.ly/ayFEac #
• Just finished another case. I'm the one you call when you want discovery done right. #

• @zerospry Yay, until you break off your USB stick in the slot. in reply to zerospry #
• I <3 you, 37 Bus. #
• Hey, Steve Jobs and I share a birthday! I think that means Apple owes me a free something #
• Only Maryland could destroy Miranda: http://nyti.ms/9D7fCD #
• @zerospry I tried moving from Ubuntu to a "real" Debian distro. Lesson #1 Ubuntu = Debian + packages updated this century. in reply to zerospry #
• Getting ready for my 9th straight day of work. Still no end in sight… #
• At least I have a view. http://twitpic.com/15o0s4 #
• @Vinni405 The sign's upside down. in reply to Vinni405 #
• @Thetick50 I think we'll be up there two weekends from now. in reply to Thetick50 #
• Metro fare increase: 10 cents starting today. Metro service improvements: nowhere in sight. #
• Work, Day 10: I think there is an end in sight… #

• If I can get 3D rendering working in Linux, I can purge Microsoft Windows from my existence. Stupid ATI drivers… #
• Man I'm sick of seeing snow. #
• With coverage like this, NBC deserves to lose money on the Olympics. Enough is enough: time for cartoons. #
• Hey Google, where's that Buzz tab you promised? I'm ready to opt-out now. #
• @karenmc21 We don't get curling. They only broadcast it on the cable channels. in reply to karenmc21 #
• starts a new case on Friday. #
• IP Litigation Costs http://tinyurl.com/ybe3rsh [via WIPO] #
• Just nuked my Google Buzz account. Just FYI: it won't be missed. #
• Final Canadian WWI veteran dies at the age of 109 http://bit.ly/a7dF3Y [via BBC] #
• Being back Neelie Kroes! http://nyti.ms/9xWzIL #
• @zerospry My PUR does the job, but it works overtime with DC's water. in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Yeah, it attaches to the faucet. Works well, but a lot of sediment builds up behind it. It's like going to the beach. in reply to zerospry #
• has six 10-hour days ahead. #
• Hey MPD car #2048 way to watch that car speed through a red light and do nothing about it. Public safety is only your job after all. #dc #
• 100 days until active duty. #army #
• @zerospry How is that a debate, nerd? in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry It's supre nerdy, but BeOS in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry wtf is ZNC? in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry haiku (Be successor) has gcc. Download your precious VNC source and compile it yourself. Tool. in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Sounds like you need to jailbreak your iPhone, too. in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Still have your RHIT laptop? It runs like a champ on it. in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Why not a Windows-I-Have-Super-Massive-Steve-Jobs-Envy-7++++++Phone? [Or whatever they decide to market it as, anyway] in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Beats mine. I tried to boot it up. The "your system is running" LED stayed on for about 3.4 seconds. Then magic smoke. in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Any chance we can get an endless keg of Guinness? in reply to zerospry #
• @zerospry Honestly, the first version was the best. It's been a downhill slide since 1999 (like MS in generally). in reply to zerospry #
• Tasteless Microsoft Olympic advertising FTW!!! http://yfrog.com/37v0rp #
• Neelie Kroes: Why we need competitive markets http://bit.ly/aZcJgs #
• Nederlandse FTW!!! http://bit.ly/a1nfzp #

The Second Circuit is deciding whether or not the practice of “reverse payments” — settlement in patent infringement cases where the patent holder pays the alleged infringer to stay off the market — are subject to antitrust scrutiny.

Interesting concept, but my gut feeling is that the practice is anticompetitive. It’s remarkably similar to what the big tech companies did back during the dot-com boom: buy out their competitors to keep them from competing in the market. I know the issue here deals with alleged patent infringement, but the methods are almost identical.

As the article notes, the Federal Trade Commission seems to have the same opinion that I do.

[From Can Patent Holders Buy Off Infringers? Courts Take Another Look - News - ABA Journal]

• Washington DC should declare this entire week cancelled due to snow. Everyone gets a much needed winter holiday! #
• @CarlosAntonorsi It messes up my Reader feed, too, but I think the API is screwed right now. in reply to CarlosAntonorsi #
• I think I'm done with @socialiteapp. They have simply failed to maintain any of the APIs I use. There are plenty of competitors who care. #
• @socialiteapp That's only part of the problem. The Google feed keeps breaking; Flickr doesn't work properly. The program feels like a beta. in reply to socialiteapp #
• @socialiteapp I've mentioned the Flickr problem before. You kept blaming Flickr's API. in reply to socialiteapp #
• Round two of the snow has begun in DC. Enough is enough. #
• Peaking out from behind the snow on my windowsill. http://twitpic.com/12b1wx #
• @Thetick50 It's possible. Depends how much snow we get down here. in reply to Thetick50 #
• Not only have we gotten several more inches of snow, but the wind has redistributed the snow we got last week, undoing all DC's shoveling. #
• @Thetick50 Looks like you got the day off tomorrow. http://opm.gov/status/ in reply to Thetick50 #
• Icicle caused by water leaking into my apartment. I think there's an ice dam on the roof. http://twitpic.com/12llzr #
• The water has stopped dripping into my apartment. That, or it's dripping into someone else's apartment. Either way, I'm happy. #
• @Thetick50 Looks like it. Try @opmfeed in reply to Thetick50 #
• The Strippenkaart is no longer valid in Rotterdam. Long live the OV-Chipkaart! http://bit.ly/ariMfu #

There is a paradox in the American economic recovery. GDP is expanding at incredible rates, and yet the economy keeps shedding jobs. While the official unemployment figure stands around 10 percent, including worker who are underemployed pushes “the full measure of slack in the labor market closer to 20 percent“. While economists and policy analysts are mixed as to what this means, one certainty is that there will be few gains in employment for the foreseeable future.

Is the problem that there just too much supply in the US labor market, or is there a fundamental change in the way the U.S. handles employment?

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• 120 days until active duty. #
• Xfinity: a lousy name for a lousy service. #
• Wow, I never noticed just how much ad space NBC is selling on it's website. Guess you can't tarnish the brand any more than it already is. #
• The Party of No is really an Army of One: http://bit.ly/9y4wSX #
• Is meaningful patent reform coming? http://bit.ly/dn7w9S [via the Economist] #
• It's days like today that make me glad I don't have to shovel snow. Yay apartment living! #
• The Google Chrome experiment is over. Without complete support for @1Password, the browser just doesn't fit into my workflow. #

For about a year now, I’ve been playing with the Arduino prototyping platform to learn about embedded programming. After a year, however, I think the time has come to say goodbye to the Arduino and program my microcontrollers directly.
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