DRM Garbage Again!

There I was casually reading a review of the new $499 Olin OBDP-1000 Blu Ray player in "MX" the other day when I came across this paragraph:

It will play Region A Blu Ray discs and upscale Region 4 DVDs only - it is not a region-free player.

Shivers - not this Region Coding nonsense again!

I'm contacting the ACCC. I thought region restrictions were illegal in this country!

(It should be noted that I won't be buying a Blu Ray player anytime soon. I'm still waiting for HDTVs to fall to a rational price.)

I'm Boycotting the Olympics

I remember how angry I was on July 13th 2001 when I heard that Beijing had been awarded the 2008 Olympics.

I was angry because I have not forgotten what happened in Tiananmen Square on June 4th 1989. Thousands of people had been gathered there protesting for democracy, and they had been fired upon by the People's Liberation Army, and their bodies crushed to pulp under the treads of the advancing tanks. (Even now no-one knows how many people were killed - at least 600, possibly thousands.)

And then there were the lies from the Chinese Government about what had happened there.

After the massacre thousands of people were rounded up, some were executed, many were imprisoned. Now 19 years later many of them are still locked up.

And in 2008 we have a Chinese Government that is more concerned about avoiding embarrassment than getting serious about justice and human rights issues. Writers, like Hu Jia, critical of the Government are harassed, arrested, given dodgy trials, and then locked away.

"35 Chinese journalists and 51 writers are still in prison. Over 90% were arrested or tried after Beijing's successful bid."
[4 Corners episode 'Voices of Dissent.' Broadcast on the ABC - May 19th 2008.]

Until the Chinese Government acknowledges this massacre and makes a formal apology for it to the world and to their own people - I will continue to consider them as little more than barbarians!

I feel that the awarding of the Olympic Games to Beijing is an abomination, and I am boycotting the Games. I am refusing to read about them, watch any of the TV broadcasts, or buy any products from companies supporting the Olympics.

INSPIRATION

*Presented at Monash Toastmasters on February 12th.*

There are many sacred books in the world and many volumes offering guidance in the art of living.

They are all valuable. They all provide much that is thought-provoking and wise.

But the universe is ancient and the universe is vast. It is too big and too complicated to ever be encompassed in any one book - however inspired.

And each of us lives a life which is unique in the history of the world and faces a combination of problems which are specific for us.

And every day is the dawn of a new world.

We won't find all our answers in any one book - and anyone who claims they can be - even if they are clever enough to quote chapter and verse - is a fool!

Wisdom is not gained through reading - though its seeds can be planted through books. To become wise we must take all that we have read, combine it with our experiences and what we have learnt, and from the whole combination - take in, throw away, ponder and distill a new recipe for living.

There is no easy route to wisdom - we have to do the hard work. Otherwise we will have words - but they will have no meaning.